Thanks for the warm congratulations. Sorry, Carol, that you are having such a difficult time. Wakana thinks it was her nationality plus doing the work through the embassy that made the difference. I guess the immigration service doesn't see a big problem with Japanese trying to illegally immigrate.

She went to her interview all primed to talk about how well we know each other. I gave her notes about my history that she studied very carefully. In the end the interview only lasted five minutes and hinged on what her father thinks of me. When the interviewer heard that I had visted the family home twice and the father approved of me he terminated the interview and told her she was in.

And now for another story. Some events are painful in the anticipation. By ignoring them you can ease the passage of time until the date you have to face the music. Such it was with the lawsuit. I didn't sleep well in the days leading up to the initial hearing. I made a concerted effort to ignore the fact that May 26 was the trial date. So I didn't mention it in these pages. However, yesterday we went to court.

There was some mixup in the courtroom that was to be used. The schedule for small claims had a cover sheet that directed people to an upstairs room. But at the correct time nobody showed up to unlock the courtroom. We went downstairs where we learned the cover sheet was incorrect and that the trials would be in a downstairs courtroom. Once we got in there and settled down we had to wait because the judge was not in and the other judges were busy with other courtrooms.

When court finally started we were the last trial called. And the plaintiff did not show up. The case was dismissed but the judge warned me that the plaintiff could still ask for a retrial on the grounds that he could not make it on that day. He also explained that he thought I was partially responsible and that I should negotiate with the landlord. I'm not sure how that could be but I am not going to argue the issue. As far as I am concerned the door is closed and I will wait for it to reopen.

Today we are moving the canoe to Ypao Beach for a big inter-island festival. We'll be down there all weekend showing off the canoe and the work we are doing, selling T-shirts, and enjoying the festival sights, sounds, smells, and tastes. The sun is shining and the weather is warm and the weekend is promising.