News From Guam

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: bbc
Date: 07 Dec 03 - 12:14 PM

Yup, Brett, the weather is headed up to my sister in Maine--16-24 inches, maybe. Perhaps you're better off w/ a little rain?

hugs,

barbara

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 09 Dec 03 - 12:34 AM

Well, Sins, the neighbors have the market on mean dogs. And I'd hate to use a post office box but I will if I have to.

Barbara, did you get clobbered down where you are? Did you mean you got 16" to 24"?

We have rain showers sweeping in over us today. The sky will be bright, then get dimmer. I look up to see the mountains fading behind a curtain of gray. And then the rain pours down hard for a few minutes, moves on and the sun comes out.

This morning, coming down off the mountain, I noticed that the horizon was gone. The gray sea ran on to find the gray sky and there was no distinguishing the difference. I remember seeing something similar on a clear morning. The colors then were blue and no apparent horizon. And floating out there, either in the sea or in the sky, was a ship with a red hull and pale yellow superstucture. The colors were vivid.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: GUEST,bbc at work
Date: 09 Dec 03 - 12:07 PM

Brett,

I just got about a foot of snow & it was Sat. & Sun.--easy to clean up & no place I had to be. That's the way do do snow, as far as I'm concerned!

Barbara

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 11 Dec 03 - 07:06 PM

Well, there is no snow here and none in the forecast. The problem with that is the difficulty in finding some Christmas spirit. I went over to NEX II the other day to visit the dive shop. As I walked through the parking lot I caught the lovely scent of pine and spruce on the breeze. I was downwind from the lot where they sell the real trees. I stood there a moment bathed in the sweetness of a northern forest, remembering the feel of pine needles underfoot and the brush of boughs as I walked between the trees. It was a homesick moment.

I have not finished my Christmas shopping yet. My gifts will be very late, I'm afraid. I could make up all kinds of excuses but that won't get the boxes home any earlier.

Tomorrow the Traditional Seafarers are going into the woods near Pagat to check on a breadfruit log that may be big enough to allow us to build another canoe. It's been lying on the ground for some time now and may be infested with termites but we need to go check. We'll saw off the ends and see what it looks like.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 11 Dec 03 - 08:03 PM

Well. if the breadfruit log doesn't work as a canoe, you can always use it as a Yule log.

It's raining here today in Maine. Goodby snow, hello hockey rink!

Judy is busy editing her digital images of us at the Loaded Dog as I post this.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 11 Dec 03 - 09:57 PM

So, when do we get to see some of those images?

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 13 Dec 03 - 08:04 PM

Well, that was a productive day. I joined the Seafarers at 10:00 Saturday morning. After an organizational meeting we split into two groups. One bunch stayed to work on the canoe and the rest of us headed up to Pagat to look at a breadfruit log that had been blown down in Typhoon Pongsana last year. I expected it to be in the jungle.

We needed to determine if the wood was still good. A year on its side made it likely to be full of termites or other wood destroying pests or rot. We need a large log to build another canoe. I'd heard this one was large enough.

I have to describe my mental picture of what I expected. I figured we'd park off the road and trek in through the woods to the site. There we'd see a tree resting on its side and ready to be cut up. Nothing could be further from the reality of the situation.

To start with the tree was unidentifiable. It rested in a pile of culch, rocks, dirt, and other stuff piled haphazardly at one edge of an agricultural field. Vegetation had overgrown the whole thing. What we saw when we arrived was a ridge of vegetation at least 150 feet long and between 4 and 8 feet high. Somewhere in there was our log.

We started with climbing carefully into the vegetation and feeling for the thing with sweeping chops of a machete blade. Then Gordon climbed up on top and started to clear off the vegetation. He and his son finally figured out where the main trunk ended and they cut it off there with the chain saw. Then they worked back to the root ball.

The bark was a thin fragile skin with composted material under it. It was full of worms, beetles, centipedes and other tiny wildlife. At one point Gordon lifted off a piece of bark and found a worm ball, a seething mass of earthworms all wrapped up in a tangle of writhing bodies. We cleared a lot of it off and then started in on the buttresses that make up the bottom of the tree.

Unlike most trees in my experience this one grows wedges of trunk like buttresses to support the main body. These are narrow and we had to cut them away so we could saw through the trunk just above the root ball. It was awkward cutting. I could see that from where I stood, hands in pockets, doing my part as supervisor. I know, it's a dirty job but someone has to do it.

Once we had it cut through we attached a rope I'd brought to a protruding branch and tried to roll it out of there. With seven men hauling in time to a regular chant of "Pull!, Pull!, Pull!" we managed to make it move just the tiniest bit. It was time for some heavy duty action.

The farmer brought over his little tractor. We tied on to it and he took a strain. Now, the rope was a good piece of 5/8 inch braided nylon. Good solid stuff. I bought it a year or two ago figuring I could use it with Roll & Go to demonstrate pulling to a chanty but I never worked out how to do it. Now it was seeing some real work.

The tractor pulled the log over on its side and raised another big branch into the air. We tied on to that one and cut off the first one. The tractor took the strain and once more pulled the log over on its side. And that was as far as that log was going to move. We tried different angles but it was no go. The tractor just dug itself into the red clay.

We gave up on moving the log any further and were engaged in cutting out some smaller pieces from the big branches in the pile when a friend of Frank's showed up in his big 6 wheel Chevy 2500 pickup truck. He hooked on to that log and yanked it out of the pile and out into level ground like there was nothing there.

And there we were. We now have a log about 25 feet long, all solid wood. It isn't large enough to build an ocean canoe but we can build a small canoe from it. Everyone is excited.

And now I am home, sunburned and tired. It has been a good day. When I got home I was dirty, sweaty, sore, and ready for a shower. Now I am clean and feeling good about the day.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Amos
Date: 13 Dec 03 - 09:35 PM

All I can say, man, is you are having a helluva a lot more fun than the average Guvvy!! :>)

A

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 14 Dec 03 - 04:33 AM

Oh! I forgot to mention something. My friend Anthony was shopping for a ukelele. Now, I have always had the idea that the uke was little more than a toy. I remember Tiny Tim strumming his and I've know one or two people who play them as little more than for comic effect.

Well, Anthony bought his new uke. He paid $225 for a used uke with a plastic back. Man! Does it sound nice! I have had to rewrite some of my head software on instruments since I took up folk music but this is a major rewrite. He was playing it and I picked out a few notes on it. It has such a sweet happy sound. he told me of some guys who flat pick their ukes, other have different fingerpicking styles and others strum with a variety of styles. I guess I have some learning to do.

Anthony's goal is to be good enough to be able to justify buying a uke for $1,000! I wonder what the equivalent is in guitar dollars?

Amos, you'd be interested to note that I went to a "Holiday Drop-In" today. That is a military thing. You open your house for co-workers to drop in for some food and conversation and to share in the spirit of the season. It is as informal as they can get. So there we were, a bunch of people, the women sitting together talking woman things (babies, clothes, jewelry, etc.) and the guys sitting together talking shop and me in the middle bored out of my mind. But that is life inside the bubble.

All I could think is that these people needed to get out of the bubble and get a life. Don't get me wrong. They are, each and every one of them, good people. But they are in a corporate mind set that keeps them in a single track. They cannot break free and go out on their own. They cannnot rebel beyond a certain set of criteria. And they expect the white civilian employees to join in the game! Not me, buddy!

I am happy with my lot in life. I can go out with my Chamorro friends and harvest fallen trees and learn to carve with an adze and eat BBQ and drink cheap beer and tell dirty jokes and generally enjoy life. Next July, when I go to FesPac I will have an in with the festival because I will be there in connection with one of the island representative organizations. One of the guys owns a cruising sailboat and has suggested we take her out on a cruise with Manny as our navigator to teach us about the stars and how he gets around on the water. That will be a fun trip.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 14 Dec 03 - 11:53 AM

Brett, here's to "beyond the bubble!"

We're getting close to sending a set of digital images from our Oz Foray to be posted on Mudcat. You are prominately featured in several!

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Amos
Date: 14 Dec 03 - 01:34 PM

Cheers. man!! I second the toast -- to beyond the )(&^ bubble!!! LOL

A

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 14 Dec 03 - 07:04 PM

After I left Manny went up to look at the log. He is concerned about an internal crack between the rings that may make it unusable for a larger canoe. We will be cutting a few feet off to see how far the crack goes. If we are lucky we'll have enough left to make a one man canoe and plenty of wood to make models.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: SINSULL
Date: 14 Dec 03 - 08:10 PM

It's snowing, Brett. The snow that was supposed to start at midnight is snowing down.
Thank you for my black opal. I am so much more pleased with it than I would have been with a piece of asphalt. And now you don't have to dread the wrath of Mary.
Stay free, Brett. Sing, Sail, Carve canoes. Do whatever you have to do but stay free.
SINS.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 14 Dec 03 - 10:32 PM

Hmmm, Charley, what did we actually give her? Is this like that episode of MASH where Frank bought real pearls for his wife and fakes for Hotlips? Where Hotlips made such a big deal over the fakes being real that Frank swapped them and she got the real ones? What is Mary trying to pull?

Conversely, what do I owe you for my share of the opal?

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: freda underhill
Date: 15 Dec 03 - 04:11 AM

Hi Charley (and Judy!)

some of us here in Sydney are keen for those pictures too (even if we only got in on the tail end of the trip!)...

Fred from Erskineville

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 15 Dec 03 - 11:53 AM

Brett-

Yes, we've gotten another foot of beautiful snow, thought you'd like to know.

The black opal we delivered to Sinsull? Judy actually bought it. It was for an engagment that fell through and was on deep discount. We even passed along the original card! We will convey the very modest price by PM. Not to worry.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 16 Dec 03 - 02:01 AM

I called my parents this morning. They told me they expect 20" to 30" out of this storm. I couldn't keep from giggling while we talked.

Today is Dad's birthday. He's 76. And he'll spend part of it out in the truck, if he can get it started, plowing snow. It's a pain when you get this much snow this early in the year. If it keeps snowing you run out of places to put it. The dooryard just keeps getting smaller and smaller.

I don't have any checks because of the earlier thefts I experienced. I have no check card. So I am on a strict cash economy. If I want to pay my bills I have to find another source of checks, I'll have to use cashier's checks or something. I had to go up to Tamuning to pay for a delivery of LP gas and pay my rent. Tomorrow I'll get out to pay the other local bills.

I hope my new checks come in soon. And I hope no one steals them.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 16 Dec 03 - 06:30 PM

Now it gets scary! I just heard yesterday that I have been tapped to be the team leader for the BOS contract.

The Base Operating Support Contract (BOSC) provides all the required services that keep the base operating. This include maintenance of facilities and provision of utilities. All the little things that makes a big facility like a military base work is handled through the BOSC from trash disposal to line handlers for ships, maintenance and disposition of housing units to psychological counseling for sailors and their families. It's all bound up in one contract and now I have to run it with a team of experts. It's worth about $68,000,000 a year. As I say, scary.

Before you congratulate me you should know two things. One, there is no promotion, no more money and no additional perks. Two, I was not the first choice. The first choice refused the job.

But it will be mine and I will need to set things up to handle the new workload. I only hope I'm up to it.

On the plus side, Return Of The King opened here last night at 12:01 AM. If I had wanted to stay up for it I could have been among the first Americans to see it. As it is I may take the afternoon off to go see it. I will still be seeing it before my daughters and my nephew and that's good enough for me. So here's a raspberry at Tenjiro.

And, in the ancient tradition of our family here is a Christmas message to both of my daughters: Nyaah, Nyaah, Nyaah, Nyaah, Nyaah, Nyaah! I know something you don't know!

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 17 Dec 03 - 06:58 AM

Brett - I like that tradition!

Big job & so much money! I assume you work with others & they can do some of it?

And don't forget Cairns is only hours away, keep an eye on the Festivals link, you might need some musical weekends. Any chance of coming over for the National at Easter? Its our biggest Festival, & held in Canberra where the days are usually warm & the nights can get frosty.

sandra

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 17 Dec 03 - 09:38 AM

Brett-

You may want to check out Mudcat thread "are folk clubs shite?" which has some ungracious references to the folk club coordinators we recently met in Sydney.

So does your new responsibility as BOSC Team Leader mean that you can now fly in all your musical friends for entertaining the Base staff, general music parties, sailing, BBQ's, snorkeling, and beachcombing? Unlikely, I'm sure, but I just thought I'd ask...

Cheerily,
Charley Noble, preparing to "tidy up' the remainingg snow in the driveway before it forms its winter ice pack, not to be thawed out until June.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: GUEST
Date: 17 Dec 03 - 02:07 PM

Brett, perhaps it will improve your outlook and understanding of your new job responsibility if you know that BOS also stands for Book of Spells, every Wiccan's basic operating manual. Perhaps you could slip a few in and no one would be the wiser, like perhaps a spell for cleanliness and order? Or appreciation?
Blessings,
Barbara

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 17 Dec 03 - 05:50 PM

Barbara, it's funny you bring up Wiccan and spells. I have come to the understanding that the military is made up of mostly very conservative, Christian, staid, straightlaced people. So imagine my surprise when saw a whole row of books on spells and Wiccan philosophy in the base bookstore the other day. I have had to reorganize my little mental picture. There is obviously enough of a demand to get those books on the shelf. I was impressed.

As to the contract, my job will be team leader. There are plenty of people who will be doing the grunt work. They are good people and will make the job a lot easier to take. For perspective currently there are TWO team leaders doing that job. I shudder to think what will happen when they settle that cloak of responsibility on my shoulders.

Charley, I have some bad news for you. What we do for music would not be considered entertainment by the modern TV generation kids who make up the military. They would think it a waste of time and money. So it is unlikely we will be flying Roll & Go in for a winter concert series on the island. That's even if I had the power and money to make it happen.

When you mention snow removal I am reminded of something one of our Mudcat brethren or sistren said about house cleaning. It was something to the effect of; why bother, it only silts up again. Of course I know why you bother. You need to make room for more snow. And more and more and more. Charley, you are only half way through December and you already have a lot of snow. What are you going to do with the storms of January and February, not to mention March? I remember last winter when we were running out of room in the dooryard.

As for the "shite" threads, I generally ignore all those opinion threads. I don't care to read other people's opinions of stuff. I make my own opinion and keep it to myself unless asked. If someone has something negative to say I generally turn off anyway. It comes from being married for 17 years to someone with her own perpetual black raincloud, a glass-is-half-empty-and-could-spring-a-leak-any-moment kind of person. I've heard enough negativity to last me a lifetime.

Cairns is only four hours away but Sydney is a lot farther off. Still, I'll keep the festivals in mind. We'll see how the money and leave situation looks when we get closer to the date. I am planning to take a week off in March. I have to go to San Diego for a two week class and may take an extra week to fly home and surprise my parents. "Oh I was in this hemisphere and thought I'd drop in."

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Ebbie
Date: 17 Dec 03 - 09:36 PM

Naemanson, do you remember not so long ago when you were wondering if you actually wanted to go to Guam? How do you feel about it now?

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 18 Dec 03 - 02:01 AM

I like Guam. It has a nice small town feel. The people are very friendly and the weather can't be beat. The only ice I see around here is in a tall glass of iced tea.

It has its drawbacks but any place does. I am tired of my encounters with Guam's criminal class. My pickup has ants in it. And there is little folk music to be found here, only one band plays it and they work in a very expensive restaurant.

And I miss my kids. And my friends. And a few other points about Maine.

But I am enjoying myself overall and I am glad I made the move.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 18 Dec 03 - 09:05 PM

Brett-

We're preparing you a care package. Did you pick up a copy of Port Douglas by Peter Lik, with lots of beautiful photographs of the area? We apparently picked up a copy the first time we were out there and now we have two! You're welcome to it if you're interested. We'll also enclose a snowball...

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: JennyO
Date: 18 Dec 03 - 09:43 PM

Quick, send us some snowballs, Charlie! The hot weather we should have had while you were here, has now arrived, and then some! Currently, according to my favourite weather website, it is 36c (or 97f).

And to make matters worse, on Monday we are going to Woodford Folk Festival in sunny Queensland, where it is always outrageously hot and humid, and quite often rainy and muddy too. The Roaring Forties are playing there, and we're also involved in the running of singing sessions in the singing shed. Should be fun, anyway.

Come to think of it, the snowballs wouldn't stand a "snowball's chance in hell" here :-)

Jenny

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 19 Dec 03 - 06:40 AM

ya wouldn't catch me in a sub-tropical climate in the west season. It's also cyclone season (Nov-March) - hurricanes they call 'em in the northern hemisphere! No wonder it gets wet. Don't forget your gumboots, Jenny. Sydney will be much more pleasant & I will be sitting here with my electric fan moving cool air around.

cool sandra

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: freda underhill
Date: 19 Dec 03 - 07:15 AM

..ants in the pickup. I have a great cure for ants, cockroaches & other crawling things .

I have put lavender oils ( the cheap stuff from the chemist or supermarket, not any expensive stuff) over my front & back steps, and rubbed it into most shelves of my kitchen.

Brett, you've seen my place and all the others that are part of it here. We have been here for 8 years now, & my place is the only completely cockroach free one. All the others spray toxic chemicals. But most insects (including mossies) don't like the smell of lavendar oil, & just go somewhere else. The other advantage is that it is a relaxant and is also good on wounds (they used it on the soldiers in the trenches in france).

fred

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: JennyO
Date: 19 Dec 03 - 07:50 AM

Aw I dunno, Freda. I'm a great believer in lavender! I sprayed the cupboards with lavender and water in a spray bottle when I first moved into East Ryde, and in the three years I was there, I never needed to use anything else on the cockies. I've seen the odd large one here but I think they are isolated ones that have flown in from outside.

Speaking of spray bottles...............

Note to self on survival gear for Woodford

1. gumboots
2. spray bottles of water or rosewater or whatever (to keep cool)
3. Good hat
4. blockout
4. "Rid" for the mozzies
5. little mattock for digging trences around the tent when it rains
6. rain poncho
7. lots of cool clothes

etc, etc, etc.

Oh this is going to be such FUN!!!!!!!!!

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: freda underhill
Date: 19 Dec 03 - 07:58 AM

note to self for Gulgong..

hat

water

good book

new songs

comfy sandals

peace and quiet..       part of me is considering a last minute dash up to Woodford..    fred

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 20 Dec 03 - 09:13 PM

Charley, I did not pick up his book and I keep wondering why not. It's just as well. Once I had my big red duffle packed with all the snorkel gear and all it was 4 kilos over the allowable weight and I haad to repack it to rearrange the load. I had to do this while standing at the ticket counter at 11:00 PM with a long line of irritable and tired travelers standing behind me. Not a favorite part of the trip but almost the only black mark on the whole experience. The Peter Lik book would be welcome. You might want to forget about the snowball. I can get my own ½ cup of undrinkable water from the kitchen tap.

I'm glad to know the Aussies think they can convince me that their country gets hot and muggy. All I experienced was cold and rainy. *Grin*

Speaking of undrinkable water, I happened to mention drinking water from the tap the other day and two of the lunch table people were incredulous that we can get drinking water from the tap back home in the States. I thought that odd but I mentioned it to the women at the counter in Tuan's (a restaurant where I buy take out food sometimes) and they couldn't believe it either.

I saw a terribly sad sight the other day. First it was flashing red lights followed by a hearse and then two cars, only two cars. I would hope that when I die I have a bit more of a funeral escort than only the people it would take to fit into two sedans.

A friend and I went up to see the Spanish Steps on Friday. They are hard to reach because the road passes through the high security are around the ammo pier. Consequently the road is usually closed. However, the pier is being repaired this month so we can get up there. We drove out a former two lane road that has been narrowed by the creeping grass growing up from both sides. I had a general idea where the steps were. We followed the road all the way out to Orote Point where we found an antenna installation and some navigation markers for shipping. At the edge of the cliff we could look down on the beaches that surround the Spanish Steps but we were definitely in the wrong place. However, the view was breathtaking. We were perhaps two hundred feet up overlooking the entrance to Apra Harbor. It was a sunny day and the water was deep blue farther out but a lovely tropical green in close. And directly below us was a shallow bay with crystal clear water. Every detail of the ocean floor stood out in sharp relief, all tinged that same shade of lovely green, dark hummocks of coral and paler green sandy areas.

We went back along the way we came and found, in a clearing, the entrance to the trail down to the Spanish Steps. The steps were supposedly built by the Spanish (or more likely their Chamorro slaves) to provide water to the forts on top of the cliffs. Apparently there is a well at the bottom of the cliff line.

We walked into the woods a short way and found the entrance to the trail down the cliffs. We stood there, dismayed at what we saw. It was little more than a hole in the brush running straight down the cliff. Someone have run a 2" rope down the trail for people to hold on to for the descent and ascent. The cliff face was rough enough that there were plenty of footholds. It really would not be a difficult climb for someone with two hands free and able to take their time. And perhaps in better shape that we are. But we decided not to chance it at that time. I had my camera in my hands and didn't want to risk it dangling from my neck and my friend was totally daunted by the prospect of the climb.

We drove back, headed for Gab Gab but took a detour to explore the location of one of the old Spanish forts. The trail was well cleared for a ways but then devolved into a mere straggle of open space in thick brush, We did well along this until I took a photo of a particularly nice spider web. When my friend heard the word spider she headed back for the car and nothing I could say would turn her around.

So we went down to the beach an wetted our feet in the salt water and sand and talked and looked at the harbor.

I guess I'll have to go back to explore those areas without her.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 21 Dec 03 - 05:55 PM

One point I forgot to mention a while ago is that the toads have disappeared. From the day I got here they have been a very active part of the wildlife here. Every evening, or very rainy days, they would gather in the grass and on the pavements. Their corpses littered the roads. Now, I never see them. They must do something else during the dry season.

Also there are big white egrets here that were not here before. This seems to be their wintering ground or perhaps they are passing through on their annual migration.

By the way, dry season is a relevant term. Yesterday was a day of grey clouds and showers. Then last night the skies poured rain all night.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: SINSULL
Date: 21 Dec 03 - 06:57 PM

Well Brett. I know of one sure way to get a crowd at your funeral. Offer food and drink and a lot of it. Skimp on the casket and the flowers but not on the food and drink. Cheery thought.
SINS

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 21 Dec 03 - 08:06 PM

That's how they showed their respect for Brett Burnham,
That's how they showed their honour and their pride;
They said it was a sin and a shame, and they winked at one another,
How everything in the wake-house went the night Brett Burnham died!

Charley Ignoble

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 22 Dec 03 - 02:16 AM

That's pretty ignoble of you Charley. You got the easy part, the chorus. Now let's see what you do with the verses.

Well, I'm out of here. Christmas party tomorrow and I have to go wrap gifts and prepare my edible offerings. I'll be making Cuban Black Beans & Rice and Maine Corn Chowder.

The woman whose name I drew in the gift exchange listed Dove dark chocolate and a jigsaw puzzle in the wishlist that went around. I couldn't find any Dove chocolate but bought some dark chocolate treats from a local candy store and picked up two 750 piece puzzles at KMart. I plan to mix the puzzle pieces together in a shirt box and put the chocolate in with them. If the challenge of putting the puzzle is too much for her I will give her the boxes so she can see the pictures. I did this to my older daughter once upon a time. In less than an hour she had figured out that she had two puzzles and was already assembling the edges.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 22 Dec 03 - 06:16 AM

muddling jigsaws - that's cruel. If someone did that to my jigsaws I would get very cross, to put it mildly!

Brett, I love reading your dispatches from Guam, it's like being there.

sandra

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 22 Dec 03 - 08:45 AM

Aw, who wants a jigsaw puzzle to be easy.

Now that I think about it I believe I did that twice to my daughter. The second time I took out all the edge pieces.

I haven't mentioned the Walking Dude. There is a guy I see quite frequently as he walks along Marine Drive in Hagatna. He appears to live in one of the cabanas in front of the GovGuam Offices in the old governor's palace. He carries all his stuiff in a backpack that rides high on his back. His hair is thin, blonde, and straggles down to his shoulders. He has a long blonde beard. Some day I am going to have to stop and talk to him and hear his story.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 22 Dec 03 - 08:55 AM

Remind me never to let you near my jigsaws.

Worse jigsaw I ever owned was one showing the earth from the moon surrounded by BLACK. Earth was a small circular bit in the middle, black was more than 3/4 of the pic. All the black pieces were the same shape & size.

Maybe you can meet the Dude over the festive season & report back to us when you have info.

sandra

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 22 Dec 03 - 12:44 PM

Brett-

Your Port Douglas book is in the mail, going somewhere!

A sampling of our digital images from the OZ Foray should be on my personal website between Xmas and New years:Charley Noble Website

Enjoy your holiday festivities.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 22 Dec 03 - 04:23 PM

Thanks Charley, I really appreciate that.

I am taking some time this morning, some would say wasting it, to check in with my email and the Cat. I have been constructing the gag gift for the office. It's a Do-It-Yourself Chinese Acupuncture Kit. I made up a flashy sheet advertising the benefits which iwll be on top of the box. Inside will be a small bottle full of sewing needles with instructions to jab yourself with needles until you no longer care if you have the affliction.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 24 Dec 03 - 09:03 AM

While surfing for boats in Guam I found this web site belonging to NOAA. As a word of warning it is a large page with lots of pictures so it will take a while to download. I have seen many of them in my explorations of the island. What is really interesting is to compare the list for Guam with the lists for other places. We do seem to have a lot of wrecks here.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Dahlin
Date: 24 Dec 03 - 09:50 AM

Well Brett we are getting ready for Christmas Eve here in the State O'Maine. Forecast is for two days of rain. I mention that so you won't mis the snow! Hah! Have a cooconut milk eggnog and enjoy.

Dick D

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: JennieG
Date: 24 Dec 03 - 08:34 PM

I have a jigsaw that my son gave me a few Christmases ago - had no edge pieces at all, AND has 5 extra pieces. I'm saving it up until we don't have a curious young cat in the house!
And Merry Christmas Brett, it's 12.30 pm on Christmas Day already in Sydney! My sons here for lunch so I had better check up on the chook in the oven.
Cheer and Cheery Mistmas
JennieG in hot sunny Sydney

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 24 Dec 03 - 08:42 PM

Merry Christmas! I was up late last night, just for kicks, and slept in this morning. I was luxuriating in bed, listening to the radio, when my younger daughter called to wake me up on Christmas morning! Rotten kids, you just don't get away from them!

Then I called my family for a long visit by phone. Many of them have gathered at the farm for a traditional Maine Christmas with snow, a tree, too much food, lots of presents, dogs, cats, and one excited kid (my niece).

Today I will take my camera for a long drive around the southern part of the island. I want to stop at the Inarajan Pools and get pictures of Bear Rock and the Guam Shaped hole in another rock. Then I will find a nice white sand beach to enjoy my own version of a White Christmas. After all that I will head up to the theater to see LOTR.

I wish you all a very merry Christmas. May you enjoy it in whatever way makes you happiest.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 25 Dec 03 - 09:57 AM

JennieG-

I'll bite. What's a "chook in the oven"?

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: SINSULL
Date: 25 Dec 03 - 11:05 AM

Merry Christmas Brett.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 25 Dec 03 - 06:31 PM

Charlie, two trips to Australia and you don't know that a chook is a chicken?

Yesterday I took my camera for a drive around the southern part of the island. I started out with my first big decision being which way to go. This may not seem like a big deal for those of you who do not live on an island but it is here (at least for me). Previous trips have been south along the west side of the island. This time I chose to go south along the east side of the island. It was a good decision. By doing that I saw sights that were previously behind me when they became visible along the coast.

I headed east along the Cross Island Road and then, on a whim, took 4A south to Talafofo. I made a few miles that way before I casually check my dashboard. I was almost out of gas… on Christmas Day… many miles from a gas station. I had some important decisions to make.

I turned around to head for Agat. Then I decided there must be a gas station in Talafofo. There wasn't. I headed for Yona. Mile followed mile with the gas gauge showing no fuel. I took comfort when going up hill that the needle moved up a bit. There was still something in there. I drove through Yona, my heart sinking, as I saw no station anywhere. I had just decided to keep on for Hagatna when a Mobil station hove in view and I pulled in. Saved! At $2.07 per gallon!

I finally turned south and drove back through Yona, Talafofo, Inarajan, Merizo, Umatak, and back up into Agat. I took pictures along the way. It was a bright, partly cloudy day. We've had rain and clouds for the last three days or so. The sun was welcome. The temperature was in the low 80s but the humidity was high so it felt hotter. Nonetheless I drove with my windows open and the A/C off.

It was a beautiful day. I stopped to inspect the archaeological dig at Ylig Bay and checked out the surf farther south where the reef lies in close to the shore. I almost stopped at Jeff's Pirates Cove for lunch but the presence of a tourist bus kept me away. I saw the Guam shaped hole in the rock out in a bay next to Bear Rock, a bear shaped rock about fifty feet high. I stopped at Merizo's boat ramp and talked to a guy, a hoalie, sitting next to his camper van. He'd been tossed out by his wife and was already three sheets to the wind. He offered me a beer but I refused by lying that I did not drink.

As I passed into Umatak the clouds gathered and then the Rain Gods blessed Umatak and Agat. My trip was at an end. The scenic overlooks for the southern mountains were lovely, damp and austere, but I was out of film and they had to be observed without recording them. My last picture was of a wild rooster and his hen.

I headed north to the Micronesia Mall to go see LOTR:ROTK. The movie was sold out for the next two shows so I headed to the GPO and got into the 4:00 show. What a movie! The scale is staggering. Fine work and the end of four or five years of waiting. It was a little sad to see it end because the anticipation has been a part of my life for a long time. But it has been only a tiny part of my life and I was also glad to finally see the end.

After the movie I realized I had not eaten since breakfast and I went to King's for supper. Kings is similar to Friendly's in the States, Friendly's without ice cream. I had steak and tempura shrimp. Then I was off for home listening to Ken Nordeen's Christmas Wordjazz broadcast.

And that was my Christmas day. I hope yours are as fine or finer.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: bbc
Date: 25 Dec 03 - 09:25 PM

Merry Christmas, Brett! We're just having a quiet one here, my 2 sons & I. David is on the verge of taking a job offer in CA & leaving me. I'm happy for him, but sad for me.

hugs from rainy, warm NY,

Barbara

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: open mike
Date: 25 Dec 03 - 10:55 PM

thanks for that little island trip!
my son-in-law , whose family is Chimorro,
was here and read your post--now he wants
to see thos pictures! I understand much of
the sounth part of the island is air force
and not accessible to locals, as it the
northern part, where the navy has it's
base.
What's a Holie? (howlie??)

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 26 Dec 03 - 06:20 AM

& what's this bear-shaped rock?

sandra (Mz Bear to someone I know thru work)