BS: Happily Ever After In Guam

Subject: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 25 Jun 05 - 09:04 PM

As requested I am starting a new thread. My own connection to the internet is shaky at best, being that GTA, the Guam Telephone Authority, is running like a dog on three legs. Recently it was privatized so we can expect higher rates and less service. So it is easier for me too if we keep the thread lengths short. Click here for the last thread, Springtime in Guam.

We had an interesting accident on the island recently. Last week a 2,000,000 gallon water tank collapsed and the contents washed down through a neighborhood. Nobody was seriously injured but thre homes were damaged and a road was washed out. A nearby 3,000,000 gallon tank was damaged and capacity had to be reduced to 25%. Water crews working on other projects were rushed to the scene leaving their other projects unfinished. As a result our village was without water for several days because one of those crews was working to replace a water pump and had shut down the system. The cause of the accident was corrosion and failure to inspect the tanks regularly.

Poor service and mismanaged infrastructure is part of the way of life here on the island. In the meantime the court is working hard on trying many of the former government officials on corruption charges and mismanagement of funds. It isn't a pretty picture.

In the meantime we have reached the true end of mango season. We had some of Gordon's mangoes for breakfast. I think that is the last of it. Our six mango trees are now only shade. One of the down sides to having six wild mango trees behind the house is that the ground is littered with rotting mangoes that scent the air with the odor of over ripe fruit.

We have also reached the rainy season. It rains nearly every day. Driving down from Tamuning yesterday we could see rain showers ahead of us and soon ran on to wet roads. Then farther south we ran into another rain shower rolling in over the hills.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 25 Jun 05 - 09:14 PM

I thought it might be a good idea to provide a little click index to the threads in this journey.

Click here for the first thread, News From Guam

Click here for the second thread, Springtime in Guam.

Click here for the third thread, Happily Ever After in Guam.

If you stumble across this travelogue and decide to bravely take it on you can start at the beginning and follow our adventure to the current date.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 26 Jun 05 - 11:37 AM

It's a real roller coaster of a read but well worth it!

Probably even more exciting if you survived to tell the tale.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble, safe in his armchair in Maine

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Amos
Date: 26 Jun 05 - 12:36 PM

He did, didn't he?


A

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Alice
Date: 26 Jun 05 - 12:54 PM

A taishokoto! Wow... remember this old thread?

Click here

Hey, how do you deal with the brown snakes? My greatest phobia.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 26 Jun 05 - 08:55 PM

Oh, Alice, there are no snakes in Guam... and it never gets cold in Maine... and pigs can fly.

Actually in the two years I have been here I have only seen three or four snakes and none of them up close and personal. My friend Gordon uses their vertebrae in some of the jewelry he makes and sells. When Wakana's family was here we visited Gordon. As we sat in the living room I noticed a box full of bones and passed it to Ulala, our thirteen year old niece. She did quite a double take when she realized it was snake bones. Then Gordon pulled out the wired backbone of a seven foot snake. Everyone was suitably impressed. Last month someone brought him an eight foot snake. That is the largest anyone has seen though there are stories of much larger ones.

Amos, who's to say I have survived this story intact. I am remarkably changed from when I arrived here. And, as the Downeast story goes, when the old man was asked if he'd lived in the town all his life he answered, "Not yet."

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Amos
Date: 26 Jun 05 - 11:18 PM

Yup!! Heard that one when you were still an apple in yore papa's eye!! LOL!


A

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Dahlin
Date: 27 Jun 05 - 11:41 AM

Brett

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Dahlin
Date: 27 Jun 05 - 11:47 AM

Brett
    Glad to see the title of this new thread. Wanted to let you know that a received your gift for my retirement. It reminds me of a certain mermaid at China Seas. I'm having quite a discussion with Jo about it's location either at or homes North or South. Would send you an e-mail but not sure of your current address.
   Thanks again for the gift.
    Dick

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 27 Jun 05 - 09:23 PM

You are very welcome for the gift. I'll PM my current address. Have a very nice retirement.

As for your disscussions with your wife, I knew that would be a problem but I thought you needed the carving to decorate your home. Note, the mermaid is positioned to hold one wine bottle.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: katlaughing
Date: 28 Jun 05 - 05:03 PM

Grea to see this thread, Brett. I lost track there for awhile, so am working on catching up. IN the meantime, this one allows me to stay up on current adventures. STILL think it should be published with pix!!! Love reading it all!!

And, I will call, soon!

luvyakat

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 03 Jul 05 - 11:13 PM

The other day Wakana and I were watching TV and, as is usual in most programs, an act of violence occurred. She mentioned, half in fun, that she was afraid to go to the USA because it wasn't safe. That got me thinking about the picture of the USA we export to the rest of the world. I know it isn't normal (for Americans) to be introspective or concerned about how we look to the rest of the world but from the outside we do not come across the way our government hopes we do. Our movies and TV shows are loaded with violence and conflicting messages. In our media we casually kill off humans by the score but the puppies always survive. We require other countries to conform to attitudes and mores that we do not believe in ourselves.

As we are continually reminded we are the only remaining superpower on this planet. Yet the other countries of this world do not necessarily see us with the respect that we think we should get from them. I am reminded of the children who agree with their parent's directions only to then go off and do what they want anyway. Those same children inevitably roll their eyes at the parent.

Well, from the outside we are frequently the laughingstock of the world. The rest of the world has been through very tough times while we sat, fat, dumb, and happy, enjoying the best standard of life on the planet. Wakana frequently points out that I, and nobody I know in the USA, has ever been through truly tough times. Her aunt used to carry her father to school while her mother sold illegal rice on the black market. When she was old enough to work that aunt quit school and went to work to help support the family. I have met with that woman and shared a meal with her. She is happy and comfortable now but the stories she told to Wakana have left her feeling the emotional burden that her aunt carries.

There were no men in the family because they were drafted into the army and disappeared somewhere in the Pacific war zone. The USA has a few hundred men missing in action from the Viet Nam era. We work hard to try to find them. There are still missing men from the Korean Police Action and WWII. Japan has THOUSANDS of missing men from WWII. There was a reason why so many Japanese soldiers stayed in the jungle. Nobody knew where they were. Records were destroyed in the fire bombing and the bodies of soldiers who were killed in combat could not be recovered because there was usually nobody left alive after the battle. Plus the US Army was not concerned with recording the names of enemy soldiers before burying them.

It is easy in this day and age to look at Japan's success and forget where they came from but that is a mistake. The USA wants to export rice to Japan. But Japan is protecting its farmers, not because it is cheap but because they do not ever want to face starvation again. If trade is cut off from the outside they want to be able to feed their people. They have already faced starvation and it was enough to scare them.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 07 Jul 05 - 08:30 PM

We are deeply into preparations for the trip. Only two weeks to go! Reservations are being made and plans set in place for the experience of a lifetime!

I have so much to do and so little time.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: curmudgeon
Date: 07 Jul 05 - 08:56 PM

So looking forward to seeing you again and meeting your bride. Do let those of us who are liguisticly challanged know how to properly pronounce "Wakana" so that we may extend a proper welcome.

See you in September -- Tom

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 08 Jul 05 - 09:53 AM

Tom, it's pronounced the way it is spelt, Wa-ka-na. No emphasis on any syllable and the a is the same as the 'a' in 'father'.

You might have trouble with her last name, Tsukuni. I leave it up to you to figure that one out. Or you can call her Mrs. Burnham.

Susan of DT just PM'd me to let me know that I have been planning on being in Whitby a week before the festival begins! I was confusing Whitby and The Getaway. Now I have to rearrange the whole trip. Sigh. Work, work, work.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 10 Jul 05 - 01:48 AM

Yesterday we went out to hit a Japanese yard sale. we arrived as the canopies were coming down. Nothing to buy. When they say they will only be open two hours they mean it!

Then we headed down to the canoe. I have not been very active since my knee surgery but I have been doing better recently and we wanted to touch base again. We found the crew getting ready to mount the long beams on the canoe house.

For the last several meetings the crew has been setting the upright posts and cementing them into the ground. Now they wanted to set the long poles in place and tie them off with the cross beams. We set up a two leg lifting crane and hoisted one end of the 25 foot telephone pole into place and then got on the other end to lift the "light" end into place. About that time Manny showed up with a huge crew of his fellow islanders and we got the other piece in place with a minimum of effort. The Carolinians then set the cross pieces in place and tied them off. It's fun to watch them work. They laugh and chat in their home language, at ease with the work and the day. The canoe house will be built without nails, only rope tying the frame together and the roof to the frame.

After the work was done Wakana and I and two other couples adjourned to Carmen's for lunch. Carmen's is the local Tex-Mex restaurant. We went to celebrate a birthday and talk. It was a great time. Carmen's makes the best taco salads ever.

When we got home we were in for a surprise. You see, Wakana has discovered that she loves working in the yard. Every day she goes out to do a little trimming or mowing, digging and filling. The place looks great and it is all her doing. So we were dismayed to get home and find that someone had been working heavy machinery in our front yard.

It isn't actually our front yard. There is an electrical pole in our yard with a street light on it. The yard under the pole is actually an easement the power company owns. But we keep the lawn and trim the brush back, keeping the jungle at bay. Now it was a mess. we thought it might be the power company.

Today I was working at the side of the house, building the ultimate closet doors, when I heard someone in the brush. I looked up to see a young Chamorro man come out of the jungle and wander down to look at the mess in our yard. He turned out to be our neighbor. He'd inherited the house from his parents and had inherited a set of problems with it. The mess in our yard was from his contractor. The man was trying to protect his sewer pipe. Instead he'd messed up our yard and the pipe was not any better off than it was before. I expect he will have some harsh words with that contractor. He promised to have the mess cleaned up. Nice guy!

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 13 Jul 05 - 12:49 AM

Sometimes the day doesn't quite go as planned. For some people this is a BAD THING. Sometimes it is for me too, at least in the bad old days of full employment. But most of my stress is gone and I can enjoy kinks in my schedule. And that is a GOOD THING.

Yesterday we were enjoying our morning coffee when we heard a knock at the door. It was our next door neighbor, I'll call her Sally Smith. Sally was on her way to work but she backed her car across our driveway and over the edge of the bank on the other side. Her left rear tire was spinning and she wanted our help. We tried pushing but the car has rear wheel drive and it couldn't help up at all. We tried pushing a piece of plywood under the wheel but it was no help. So we got a rope and her other vehicle, a Scion, and pulled her out. No big deal. It was an adventure.

While working on the car one of the neighbors from the cul-de-sac drove by and told us her husband had a jeep and would be happy to help. After we got the car out I walked up to thank him and tell him we didn't need his jeep. It was an excuse to go meet the neighbors.

The road we live on is a dead end. It comes up the hill and makes a curve to the left at our driveway. We share part of that driveway with Sally. Her house is next to ours, a two story concrete house that looks new. Next to hers is a small, squat, yellow orange house. I haven't met the old man who lives there but Sally says he isn't very friendly. I had to retrieve our trash can from his house once and can testify to that. Beyond his house is the Babauta residence. Long time readers might remember the name Babauta. It is the name the ID thief used withdrawing money from my account. On the island it is a common name. These people are poor and their home reflects their financial condition. We all have stereotypes in our heads. I fight mine all the time but the Babautas are working hard to reinforce them for me. There are at least seven or eight children running around, a few in diapers, the house smells bad, and there is trash strewn around the place. Beyond the Babautas are three very nice homes with well kept lawns and good paint on the walls. The neighbor with the jeep lives up there. I introduced myself and we stood and talked for a bit. The neighborhood is very pleasant and everyone I've met is happy to be there.

Wakana and I had some errands to run. We wanted to go to a travel agency to buy the Japan Rail Passes and to look up some travel insurance. Then we needed to go to Continental to sort out a possible problem with her flight reservations. Buying the rail passes was no problem but the agency did not handle travel insurance. We went to Kmart for some minor items and then headed to Continental

At the Continental office we got a lesson in how much the Internet has changed our lives, adding efficiency and ease to the mundane problems we used to have travel agents handle for us. The agent, a very nice fellow named Gerry, put me on the phone to their internet desk. That agent transferred me to their international flights desk. She transferred me to another desk. Then I was transferred to yet another desk. When that woman, Gladys tried to transfer me I protested telling me this would be my fifth transfer. She opted to handle the problem herself.

I worked that phone for over an hour, most of it on hold listening to a mellow voice telling me I could no longer carry lighters on a plane. Gerry's supervisor, Emma, came over to find out what was happening and joined in the fun.

Now, many people in that situation would react with anger and irritation. I tend not to. I seem to see the funny side of such things. I was disrupting the work environment for two agents and their supervisor and the agent on the phone. Wakana slid a chair over for me and I was able to relax at my ease and chat with Gerry and Emma and the woman at the next computer. She was trapped with no customers because I was in her way.

As I waited a woman worked with Gerry on some ticketing or something. She had a little girl with her, cute kid, who seemed to be fascinated with me, the big bearded guy with the white hat. Wakana and I complimented her on her pretty shoes and her beautiful bracelet but she hid behind her mother. We played at peek-a-boo for a while before she worked up the courage to tell us she was four years old. She also told us her name but she spoke in such a little voice I couldn't make it out. Then she went off to play with her grandmother. She came back later to proudly show off the keys she'd been given.

I sat on the phone for over an hour. Finally the woman came back on the line to say she would have to call me back. We arranged for her to call us at home and we headed south. The agent and his supervisor were very apologetic. When we got home the woman had finally issued the tickets and we were golden.

In the meantime, Sally (Remember her?) wanted to take us out to dinner for rescuing her that morning. We opted for the Jamaican Grill.

Now, in the course of writing this little narrative I have tried to avoid talking about specific people and their specific ways and mores. To me that is gossip and has no real place in my life. Yet there comes a time when it is essential to a narration to get into the dirt, so to speak. Sally will feature now and again in this little piece and it might be interesting to know more about her. We first met her as she was walking her dogs. There was a man living in the house who I will call George. This was not the same man we'd met when first looking at our place. He'd introduced himself and talked to us about the neighborhood. I'll call him Dick Smith. Note, he has the same last name as Sally.

When we met Sally She said she was Dick's wife. Dick was in Dontunnastan teaching English. George was hanging around for a long time and we assumed he was a boarder. Well, we learned last night that Dick is her husband and George is her boyfriend. We've seen them all occupying the house at the same time though Dick and George are currently off island, Dick in Dontunnastan and George in Korea. Call me naïve but I would have a problem with that no matter which male I was.

OK, that's it for gossip. I don't usually have much to say about the people around me but she takes the cake.

We went out the other day to buy trinkets for the trip. It's a good idea to take trade goods when visiting the barbarians who live in countries less well off than ours. There won't be any food but we can bring other trinkets, jewelry, wood carvings, etc. We went to one of our favorite places and made them very happy. It's a little place called Marianas Handicrafts. The proprietors seem to be Korean. We've spent lots of money in there at Christmas times and we bought our shoe cabinet there so they are always glad to see us. The owner follows us around the store telling us how much she'll knock off the price for this or that item. Tomorrow we'll hit a few more of our favorite places to pick up some more beads and trade goods.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: open mike
Date: 13 Jul 05 - 07:38 PM

wow--congrats on your marriage...i guess i missed that in the previous thread. many happy blessings on you both! and good travels..

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 14 Jul 05 - 09:09 AM

don't forget the trade gods when you finally get to Oz. Us poor natives might be able to trade with you

sandra

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 17 Jul 05 - 07:14 AM

"trade gods"? Grin!

We just spent the weekend with a 3 month old baby in the house. What a reminder of parenthood. I wonder how my own children lasted through to their current ripe old ages (21 and 24).

One of Wakana's friends is having relationship trouble. Her 19 year old husband is currently in Cuba defending us from those terrible al Qaida prisoners. He has decided he wants a divorce. His wife, Wakana's friend, is a 26 year old Japanese woman with a 3 month old baby. She has, in the past, caught him running around with other women.

We visited her on Thursday and she was so depressed we invited her to spend the weekend with us. We hoped to talk some sense into her but it was no go. She is convinced her husband will come home, see the baby for the first time and become a perfect and loving husband. Some people just blind thenselves.

Having the baby in the house was quite a change in our usual routine. Wakana spent a lot of time with him, holding, singing, rocking, laughing, and generally enjoying herself. I held him several times and sat with him on the couch, just us guys, hanging out. It was fun but when the time came I was ready for him and his mother to go home this afternoon.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 25 Jul 05 - 06:33 PM

Leaving Guam for three months was a process that seemed to have no end. We had to finish the door to the outside closet, put up the storm shutters, screw them in place, write letters of authority giving various people permission to drive our cars, and care for the house, clean out the refrigerator and unplug it, take down the canopy, write a letter to the landlord alerting him to the leaks in the roof, and bring the kayaks into the living room, as well as many other tasks.

And it rained for the last three days, a steady downpour that soaked the ground and made working outside very difficult. When we finally left on Friday morning I was wet, muddy, and very tired. We got about four hours of sleep and rose at 6:00 AM. It would be another 17 hours of work, planes, trains and walking before we would sleep again.

On top of all that July 21 is a holiday in Guam. It is Liberation Day, celebrating the liberation of Guam from Japanese occupation. The days and weeks leading up to that date are filled with anticipation, carnivals, bitter remembrance, and celebration of freedom. There is a month long carnival at Paseo Park. There are interviews on TV and in the paper with survivors telling their stories. Families claim patches of land along Marine Corps Drive in Hagatna so they will have a prime location from which to watch the parade. On the day before the parade the street is lined with canopies as parties are started and barbeque pits are lighted. Every village and every organization builds a float to commemorate the liberation of Guam. On July 21 it all comes together in a huge parade that lasts most of the day.

It is worthwhile to note that June is the beginning of the wet season. Consequently every year there is some rain that falls on their parade. This year they got soaked in that three day deluge.쳌@쳌@It didn't dampen their spirits and the parade went on after all.

We flew out of Guam at noon on July 22.   The flight was uneventful and we managed to get our Japan Rail passes easily enough. We rode the bullet train to Kyoto in style, first class seats! The Japan Rail passes allow us to ride in the Green Cars when available. Lots of leg room and attention from the attendants. When we got to Kyoto we ran into trouble.

We were booked into the Eki Mae White House, a hostel supposedly near the station. Eki Mae means 쳌ein front of the station쳌f. Well, maybe when they established the White House it was near the station but ten years ago they built a new station! We tried to follow the directions on our computer printout and ended up walking in circles. We called and the person on the other end gave us (Wakana) bad directions. Finally she left me with the bags and ran off to look for herself. After a while she came back with a man who led us to a small white building tucked into a small back street. He took our money and carried our bag up to our room. We were booked into a ryokan, a traditional Japanese hotel. The room was a small empty space with a TV and a low table, a kotatsu. The beds were thin futons that lay on the floor with a single sheet and a quilt to go over us. Wakana referred to the futons as 쳌erice cracker futons쳌f. It wasn쳌ft much better than sleeping on the floor. But we were so tired by that point we didn쳌ft care.

There was only one bath room in the building and two toilets. The upstairs toilet, where we were, was a Japanese style toilet. This is a ceramic slit in the floor over which one squats. The toilet downstairs was a western style toilet. The bath room had a deep bath tub and a shower. There were heavy mats on the floor, similar to the welcome mats you might have seen outside of a house. The remnants of soaps and shampoos left by previous occupants were gathered in a container by the tub.

But the place was clean. The floors were shiny and there was new paint on the walls. The manager was a very nice guy. We surprised him one afternoon on our return and found him playing a guitar. It turns out he plays in a band doing golden oldies, 50쳌fs and 60쳌fs rock and roll. On our last day we left our bags at the hotel while we were out sightseeing and I handed him my Little Martin to play while I was gone. He enjoyed it tremendously. He also knows of Haruo guitars, owns two! And he has a friend who collects them. We left our email addresses so we can get more info in the future.

In Kyoto we started out at the top. We went up on to the viewing platform of the Kyoto tower. From there you can get a panoramic view of this ancient city. Kyoto sits on a plain surrounded by hills and mountains. It was the ancient capital of Japan before the Tokugawa shoguns moved it to Edo (Tokyo). Before that the capital was Nara. Kyoto is full of shrines and temples. Sacred places and ancient dwellings stand shoulder to shoulder with modern homes and businesses. Looking down from the tower we could see Gojo Bridge where, in the twelfth century the young Yoshitsune defeated Benke and gained his first follower in a life that would become legend. We saw temples and shrines erected by emperors and shoguns, lords of the courts, and wealthy men. On the hills old forts still guarded the passes that led into the city.

We took the train to Nara and visited Todai-ji, one of the oldest and largest statues of the Buddha. It is housed in an enormous temple complex that was built in 1195. It has burned and been rebuilt several times but it is still huge and sacred. I don쳌ft ever want to hear anyone complain about Americans and how they build things too big ever again. The temple building itself would cover half a football field! The statue inside is enormous and looks as serene as that big guy can look. He is built of dark wood and is flanked by two others coated in gold paint or leaf. It takes a while to soak it all in.

The approach to Buddhist temples leads through gates and vendor stalls line the way. At Todai-ji the grounds around the temple are a huge park that is FULL of deer. The Nara deer are 쳌gtame쳌h, that is, they expect to be fed. Actually they seem to be brown hundred-pound seagulls, some with antlers! Wakana asked me if I wanted feed them and I innocently agreed. She bought a packet of deer crackers from a vendor. These were thin wafers with two paper bands holding them together. As I started to remove the paper bands I felt a bump and looked down at a deer pushing at me. More were coming fast. The first one nipped me, urging me on. The paper wouldn쳌ft let go. More deer surrounded me pushing and nipping as I desperately tried to release the crackers. I was backing up fast now, breaking off bits of cracker and handing them out, trying to keep my fingers attached to my hands. Antlers swung at me. There must have been ten or twelve deer now pushing and nipping at me. Suddenly the crackers were all gone and they turned away and forgot all about me.

We headed back to the hotel after that. I was tired. In the weeks leading up to this trip I was unable to get much exercise thanks to that operation on my knee. Now I am paying the price. I bought a step counter before we left. In the days leading up to this trip I was not doing well at all, 600 to 1200 steps a day. Since then we쳌fve been averaging 3000 to 5000 steps. I have sore muscles and my feet are complaining. Today is a rest day.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: katlaughing
Date: 25 Jul 05 - 07:26 PM

It just keeps getting better and better, Brett. You do such a wonderful job of bringing us right there with you and Wakana! Thanks!

At the foot of Casper Mountain is a spot where folks have fed the mule deer for years. They've been discouraged by the Wildlife Division not to, but we all did it, anyway. It was a treat to drive up late in the afternoon, pull over and hand out "goodies" to them. I've had one take a carrot from my mouth. The owner of one house up there always put out cracked corn for them. When they were all done, they'd arrange themelves like lawn ornaments and sleep the night away. I am sure there are generations of them conditioned to this feeding. I would NOT want to be on foot feeding them, though! They can get rather pushy and dangerous if you don't satisfy them with a treat!

Thanks so much for keeping us up with your travels. As to your sore knee, etc. , I highly recommend Zheng Gui Shui. I would think you'd be able to find it there, even though it is Chinese. A lot of martial arts folks over here use it. Here's an "official" blurb from the factory in China: Invigorating the circulation of blood and removing blood stasis, relaxing and activating the tendons, reducing swelling and easing pain. It is used for the treatment of traumatic injury, various fractures, dislocation of joints. It can dissipate fatigue before and after exercise. Here's the online place where I buy it: click.

Have fun, take care!

luvyakat

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 29 Jul 05 - 02:11 AM

My last post was written from the hotel lobby in our hotel in Hiroshima in the early morning while Wakana slept upstairs. More about Hiroshima later. So far I have only told you about our first visit to Tadai-ji.

Next day we visited Nijo Castle. This fortress was built by the first Tokugawa shogun. It is a huge and beautiful place with a broad moat and thick gates. Inside are graceful buildings decorated with painted carvings. We had to remove our shoes to tour the inside of the palace. I rented an audio guide to explain what I was looking at. One of the unique parts of the castle is the nightingale floors. These corridor floors are designed to squeak when walked upon. Nobody could pass without making noise. It uses a system of nails and clamps and seems to be tuned because each floor board had a slightly different sound.

Outside the grounds are all sculpted gardens with neat ponds and trimmed trees. Parts of the castle are designed to give a clear view of the gardens so the shogun and his guests could view the garden while drinking their tea. One pond includes a rocky island and a waterfall.

Outside of Nijo Castle we found a sword shop. Unlike the souvenir swords you can buy everywhere this shop sells the real thing. The cheapest blade I saw in there was 1.2 million yen! They also carried a full line of accessories, braided decorative wrappings, embroidered silk sword cases, books on the uses of the sword, etc. They wouldn쳌ft let me take pictures of the swords but I got a shot from outside the shop. My daughters would have been drooling over that one.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 29 Jul 05 - 09:26 AM

when you have time, pls post photos. Even tho your descriptions are very descriptive, I want pics, too (please).

by-the-by, what is 1.2 million yen in $US?

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: GUEST,someone how knows
Date: 29 Jul 05 - 02:31 PM

July 29, 2005   Happy birthday Love You

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 06 Aug 05 - 12:56 PM

1,200,000 Yen = $12,000 And that's the cheap sword!

I've been running fast. Still too hurried to write any more. I had a nice piece written on Hiroshima but left it on my father-in-law's computer. Got to get caught up.

Just got back from a drive up to the north of England. I have only one thing to say about English drivers. In the local vernacular, they all bloody nutters!

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 18 Aug 05 - 11:17 AM

I am so far behind on this thread it's embarrassing. We've been to Kyoto, Nara, Hiroshima, Kurashiki, and Nasushiobara in Japan. In England we've been to Loughborough, Hadrian's Wall (Stayed in Slaley), York, Lancaster, Ogbourne St. George, Avebury, Lacock, Stonehenge, Devizes, and I am now sitting in Bath. Tomorrow we are headed for Abergavenney for a restful three days on a narrowboat. Then it's off for the Whitby Folk Festival.

I am writing these adventures up on paper and will get them into digital form and on the thread as sson as I can get up close and personal with a computer, probably from my parent's house in Maine next month.

This morning we met a Russian family at our hotel. They had driven from Russia through nine countries. We gave them some souvenirs of Guam and they gave us a couple of Russian spoons. The trade goods are working out!

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Donuel
Date: 18 Aug 05 - 11:30 AM

New Rules:

Yes it is true you can not carry a lighter on the plane. Zippo Inc is particularly distressed about this.

The new rules also state that you are allowed to carry up to 12 packs of matches.

PS It was matches the shoe bomber used on the airliner, not a lighter.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: katlaughing
Date: 18 Aug 05 - 05:44 PM

Brett!! I've been watching for a new posting by you to this thread! Whew!! Three days rest on a boat sounds like a good idea. You have been busy!! Good to hear from you...can't wait to hear the rest!!

luvyakat

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: wysiwyg
Date: 18 Aug 05 - 06:18 PM

More Wakana, less travel! :~) That's what really inspires me-- the love story!

~Susan

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 22 Aug 05 - 02:41 PM

Love? After a month on the road? What an optimist!

Geez, it's been at least two hours since we last kissed!

Poor Wakana had never, in her wildest dreams (or nightmares), ever considered that she would someday be steering a 48 foot narrowboat down a canal in England. But that's what she was doing yesterday and doing very well. It takes a bit of practice to figure out how to handle those boats, they are not easy to steer. The boats are 6 feet 10 inches wide. The canal narrows under the bridges to about 8 to 10 feet wide and at the far end of 48 feet of boat that sure doesn't seem like enough. Then there is the nervous anxiety of meeting another boat coming the other way. She's a trooper and did very well.

THis morning we woke to rain on the roof. What a lovely sound. We had a liesurely breakfast and returned the boat. Since then we've been on trains to get to Whitby. We got stuck at Midlesborough, about an hour from Whitby, and will finish the trip tomorrow.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: CarolC
Date: 23 Aug 05 - 01:51 AM

Oh, Brett... you're living your fantasy! Do you remember the thread a few years ago when you talked about it? I had the same fantasy, only my canals were in France and yours were in England. I tried to find the thread but no luck. But way to go on making that one come true. And with the right person too!

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Amos
Date: 23 Aug 05 - 08:41 AM

'Ow d'yer foind England, then, Mister Brett?

Oh, easy enough...I just turned left at Paris and there it was!

:>D


Congrats on all your good fortune, mate!!


A

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 27 Aug 05 - 01:25 PM

Wakana and I have formed definite opinions on English hotels. They are not nice opinions.

However, we are in London now and will be here until the morning of the 31st when we fly out for the good ol' US of A. We have set off the run to Toronto til later in September. We'll run up to the home farm and then down to the southern part of Maine for Charlie's shindig in Robin Hood.

I got an email from a former co-worker telling me that the base I worked at in Maine has been slated for closure. I imagine a lot of my friends and the towns peole are pretty upset. I feel like I dodged a bullet.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: SINSULL
Date: 27 Aug 05 - 02:02 PM

Brett - no hotels in Maine. We are awaiting your arrival and the lovely Wakana's with merry anticipation.
Love,
Mary

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 28 Aug 05 - 02:10 AM

No hotels? Oh, thank God! Wakana and I are getting real tired of hotels and restaurants. On September 1 we'll run straight up to my parents' house in New Limerick and then be back in the south for Charlie's shindig at Robin Hood on the 10th. I want to spend sopme time showing southern Maine to Wakana so I'll have plenty of time to visit.

We spent the night in a hotel with the grandiose name of Hyde Park West. The room is little more than a closet with a bathroom. I will be writing up a list of deficiencies to hand over when we check out today. It will be a long list. I just made a reservation for Days Inn over in Westminster. We'll be a little more comfortable there, I hope.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Roger the Skiffler
Date: 29 Aug 05 - 05:02 AM

Brett, there is a hotel near the Elephant and Castle (one of the lsat scenic or green parts of London) called the London Park Hotel. Until a few years ago it was a Rowton House: a hostel for overnight stays for the homeless, tramps, druggies and alkies (to use the terms in the popular press!). Now marketed at tourists!

RtS

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 30 Aug 05 - 03:14 PM

We fly out tomorrow at 1230. It has been an real nice trip but we are feeling a little warn around the edges. Next stop Maine!!!

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Donuel
Date: 30 Aug 05 - 04:34 PM

Steering a boat on an English canal !!

Thats it ! Your writing style has always reminded me of 'Three men in a boat'.

It is about 3 guys taking time to tour England by boat. Half travelog and half comedy it is a wonderful excursion. The movie version with Tim Curry is by far the best.

Thanks again for graciously let us vicariously share your love and adventure.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 30 Aug 05 - 04:55 PM

Brett-

We're finally back in Maine as well, back from our Pacific NW trek. Give me a phone call some time!

Charley Noble
area code-737-2187

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 06 Sep 05 - 12:03 AM

We are in New Limerick, Maine. Wakana is thrilled and excited by pretty much everything! Yesterday Dad took her on a long ride on the four wheel ATV he uses as a wheelchair in the woods. They went way down to County Road Lake down back where they met four people out on their ATVs. Then they headed back up the tote road to the Rendezvous Field. When Wakana saw the teepee she was so overwhelmed by the whole experience she began to cry. She wanders around the house exclaiming over the various bits of treasure she sees, a picture here, an antique there, some trinket Dad put together, a piece of dinnerware that is displayed on the hutch, etc. She is amazed by everything.

Today we went into Canada. It was her first experience to cross a border in a car. We went up to Hartland, New Brunswick, to see the world's largest covered bridge, 390.75 meters. We also wanted to do some shopping but the stores were all closed for Labor Day.

Charlie, I will give you a call. I was looking for your number today.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 06 Sep 05 - 08:30 PM

Brett-

We're having lots of fun preparing for your return. The elephant traps have been dug in the fields and neatly covered with blankers and freshly mowed hay. I've also reinforced the ladder down to the whaler and we're speculating on whether we should prepare a reinforced throne for you to sit on, remembering your last experience with a utilitarian chair at a Sydney BBQ.

Looks like we'll have about two dozen folks at our get-together in Maine. I'm NOT doing a Mudcat thread on this.

Bring your favorite flavor of bug spray and sunscreen.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 11 Sep 05 - 09:00 PM

Brett's probably too busy to post an update for his journal. However, I'm happy to report that he and Wakana did make it to the 1st Annual Robinhood Farm Musical Gathering in Maine this weekend and are recovering in the family cottage from a long evening of singing in the old barn, surrounded by a couple of dozen other musical people.

JudyD and I took them out this afternoon in our old Boston Whaler to Five Islands where we forced them to ingest lobsters, steamed clams and fresh corn. There is no end to the torture we impose on our old friend and his new bride. She's a game gal, though, and has a wonderful singing voice.

We had a great time this morning in the farm kitchen, with Mother and I arguing over how best to prepare crepes for the starving survivors of the late night festivities. Most just wanted their coffee and something to stuff themselves with. But if you're gonna do crepes, you owe it to your guests to do them right. Well, we really should have let the batter settle for 30 minutes as I suggested. The first one was a total disaster. But then they got better and soon there were happy sounds of gnashing teeth. There was even one left for me!

Did you folks over in Sydney hear Brett leading "Northwest Passage"? He was certainly rattling the shingles on the barn roof.

I think Brett and Wakana are planning to attend the Shanty Sing next Saturday in Portsmouth (NH), the Shanty Festival in Portsmouth the following weekend, and then Getaway for sure in October.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: JudyB
Date: 11 Sep 05 - 09:26 PM

It's not exactly a sea shanty, but see if you can get Brett and Wakana to do their duet of "I've Been Working on the Railroad" - wonderful harmony and two different languages simultaneously! Wakana says the plot (such as it is) is a bit different in the Japanese version, though it is still about a railroad.

Truly a marvelous weekend (though I could use a weekend to recover from it - as could Charley - he doesn't usually misspell my name....

JudyB

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: JennyO
Date: 11 Sep 05 - 11:42 PM

Ah, that explains it, Charlie - and I thought it was just the wind whistling round the house!

Wish I coulda been there!

So when are you guys coming back? We're still too poor to visit you any time in the near future :-(

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 12 Sep 05 - 10:37 AM

Jenny and John-

If we keep singing John's songs to enough people like we've been doing, you may be able to fly here first class!

We're planning a trip to the UK for next September, as our big trip. Then in 2007, we'd love some more time in Oz.

I do hope that Brett and Wakana are taking advantage of the tropical weather we're having today, in the 80's in September in Maine! We haven't even had time this summer to get to the beach, and JudyB (!) had to be back at work this morning. Of course, the reason we're having tropical weather may have something to do with the hurricane meandering up the coast from the south. We may get a hit later this week. I'd hate to haul the whaler out of the cove this Wednesday, but it's probably better to do that than try to find it after the storm. After all the singing last weekend, I'm convinced that the renovated barn can stand up to a category 5 hurricane!

If Brett is not careful, I may just hijack his thread!

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 13 Sep 05 - 12:32 PM

Brett and Wakana are off to Northern Maine again, after a couple of days cruising around the Midcoast and Southern Maine.

The next sighting of the happy couple will probably be at the Maritime Festival in Portsmouth, NH, 9/24 and 9/25.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 14 Sep 05 - 11:53 AM

We're here! Look no further! We are in houlton, Maine, where Wakana is recovering from a bit of a downturn. I think she just missed my parents' dog, Pye (short for Pyrite, what else could you call a golden retreiver mut?).

ANYWAY, we drove from Bath up to New Limerick in the remarkable time ten hours. For those who don't know it usually takes about 3 hours. But we went by way of Route 1 and stopped for lunch in Wiscasset and coffee and books in Damriscotta. I wanted to see the former site of the state prison in Thomaston. Then we slowed down to look at the boats in Rockland, Rockport, and Camden. We stopped for supper and books in Bangor and then ran up to New Limerick. This morning Wakana had her dog fix and was out mowing the lawn with a big grin on her face.

My next trip south will indeed be the Portsmouth festival. I won't make it to the shanty swap. My mother has plans for us and we must obey.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: GUEST,from bbc at work
Date: 15 Sep 05 - 11:30 AM

Hey, Brett,

I know where *I'd* eat in Wiscasset. Where did you go?

Enjoy,

Barbara

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 15 Sep 05 - 08:47 PM

Brett and Wakana-

Did someone leave a hairbrush in the cottage? And there seems to be an extra gray flashlight. If they are yours I can deliver to Portsmouth at the Maritime Festival, a week from Sunday.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Amos
Date: 15 Sep 05 - 09:19 PM

Wow, some of me ole stompin' grounds, Brett!!

Makes me yearn for those happy boyhood Augusts in Maine.

Enjoy!


A

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 17 Sep 05 - 11:09 AM

The hairbrush might be mine, Charley. The flashlight was in the cottage.

We ate at Sarah's Deli, Barbara. Where would you have gone?

Amos, ol' stompin' grounds ain't usually what they used to be. You might be dismayed to see the coast these days.

I spent yesterday taking a rock saw apart so I could ship it to Gordon in Guam. It is heavy as hell and rusted all over but I got the saw out of its enclosure and taken apart. Even without the case and the motor it is still heavy.

Today we have the leading edge of what was Ophelia. We have heavy rains and dark skies.

Wakana has resurrected some old skills and is working on a new one. She has been drawing the house and recently she bought some watercolors and has taken to painting. My parents love her. Yesterday they suggested I go home alone to get the place ready for her. They swore they would let her follow me soon. I don't believe them but I know she would be home once the weather turned cold.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 17 Sep 05 - 01:02 PM

Brett-

We've got your hairbrush back under control, lashed down with some bungee chord. We were quite surprisedlast evening when it started chasing our cats around the kitchen!

As I also mentioned in the Portsmouth Maritime Festival thread, your new Roll & Go shirt is finished and looks totally awesome. Should I spill some ketchup on it for starters?

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 26 Sep 05 - 11:19 AM

What a trip! It was great to be at the Portsmouth Sea Music Festival. And wonderful to sing with Roll & Go again. Especially after they presented me with a new Roll & Go T-shirt. I haven't had one since the hospital staff cut the last one off of my body.

So much good music and so many great performances. I finally heard You can't Be A Pirate and Roll Agamemnon and some wonderful renditions of so many great shanties. The new guy is a wonderful addition to R&G. They sound great and the reunion concert with R&G and Allison Freemen was too wonderful to be believed, especially since we had a great audience and very few motorcycles todeal with. The toling of the bell at 4:00 was a little difficult for Dick but he coped.

Thanks to Curmudgeon and Bat Goddess for their hard work in organizing the event as well as the hard work by all the volunteers.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 26 Sep 05 - 12:44 PM

Sure was great to see and hear you at the Festival, Brett, and get another chance to talk with Wakana.

The new member of Roll & Gi is Jeff Logan. He's a great guy to sing with, and an excellent guitarist.

I did not, Brett, that the new T-shirt had avoided becoming swamped by a giant burito at the Press Room after the Festival. Let's hope it fares better than your last one. But you should have known better than to challenge Godzila.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 04 Oct 05 - 06:33 AM

I cannot sleep well these days. My nights a full of disturbing dreams and I toss and turn in the little bed I share with Wakana. Right now it is 5:00 AM and I find I am done with the night. I didn't get to bed until after midnight. I know why this is. Our visit to The Farm is almost over. In two days we resume our travels. I must take Wakana away from here and back on the road back to Guam.

The Farm has captured Wakana. She has loved it from the moment we arrived. I think she would be perfectly happy to stay here if it could be arranged. She wanders around with a big smile on her face absorbing the atmosphere, breathing in the aromas and environment that makes up The Farm.

I don't blame her. My family has been here since the 1960s. It has developed its own brand of magic. Others, not just family members, have commented that the house just seems to hug you when you walk through the door. It's true. There is a comfort that seems to come from the walls and floor. The roof keeps out more than weather.

To start with there is the location. The Farm sits on top of a steep rise from the road. The driveway crosses a railroad track and rises, rutted and rough, to the red two story old Maine farmhouse. There is a big old birch tree at the top across the driveway from the house and an old two-car garage straight ahead. I cannot remember the left door ever working on that garage. There is a workbench built across it now. It houses the riding lawn mower and Dad's toy, a four wheel ATV he uses to travel the fields and woods to keep track of changes and uses.

On arrival you park in the dooryard. The house would be considered large in the rest of the world but not by New England standards. The main body of the house is a simple rectangle of two full floors with a story and a half ell that holds the kitchen and Dad's den. There is a sun porch and laundry room that used to be a full open porch.

A note about terms. In New England you park the car in the dooryard. It is close to the door used as the entrance to the house. The entrance of the house is NOT necessarily the front door. Generally the front door is a formal entrance and is not used as an entrance at all. A sun porch is one that was previously open but is now enclosed in glass.

Connected to the ell is another two-car garage, this one newer. There is a gap and then the wood shed and stable. Then, standing by itself and looking as though it were ready to collapse, is the old milk house. The big barn came down years ago and would have filled the area between the stable and the milk house. The whole ensemble made a right angle of buildings with its back to the north and west, the direction of the fiercest storms of winter.

Arrival at the farm, if you are family and have been gone for a long time, is a huge celebration. Driving up the hill you honk the horn to announce your arrival. You are greeted in the dooryard by barking excited dogs and people coming out of the house. Hugs are exchanged, dogs bark and run in excited circles, and the house fills with the happy excited voices of the new arrivals.

I imagine this must be a very unusual experience for a newcomer. As I said there is a special brand of magic here. The house is full of bric-a-brac. And it isn't the modern dust collectors that fill other houses. There are not little glass figurines in glass cases. No collections of matchbooks or bar coasters. There are none of those things you might find in modern houses. Here each item has a story and it yearns to be told. You might visit a thousand homes and not find such an interesting bunch of objects as here at The Farm.

I just tried to sit in the kitchen and list the items I might include in a description of The Farm. It is a daunting task. There is so much to look at and so many stories to be told. Many of the stories begin with "Dad made this…" or "Dad found this and fixed it…" There are carved birds, gnome houses, ship models and old clocks. There are two gun racks in the den full of muzzle loading rifles that Dad either built or repaired. The walls are festooned with pictures, prints of famous paintings, family members new and old (the older ones date from the 19th century), favorite dogs, old maps, hunt scenes (Mom is nuts about hunt scene paintings), and art work by family members down through the years (from Mom's Dad to current grandchildren).

Mom worked very hard to make each room special, painting, papering, and stenciling. There are four bedrooms with seven beds in them plus a big plush couch and a sofa bed in the den. With cots and other sleeping arrangements we have housed fifteen people in the place for Christmas or Thanksgiving.

This time of year, September and October, are special in and of themselves. The days are warm, the nights chilly, and the air seems to have a special clarity that speaks to the mind of change and the need to prepare. It is a last chance to enjoy the outdoors of summer before the cold and snow bring another form of beauty to the place. The trees are changing and the hills now wear skirts of swirling color. Every year we comment that the colors aren't as good this year but every year we look and enjoy and soak up the autumn.

Yesterday we woke and looked sleepily at the windows. They were gray and Wakana shivered thinking it was frost. When I told her it was fog she bounded out of bed and into her clothes. She was outside and had several pictures taken before I could catch up. We walked out into the back looking at the fog and the sun coming up to burn it off.

Wakana is full of boundless enthusiasm. Everything is amazing to her. She hangs on every word Dad says, asking questions that he is so happy to answer. And there is so much to ask about. She saw some birch bark boxes Dad had made and wanted to make some herself. She is now busy in Dad's shop soaking spruce roots and folding birch bark. She takes a "break" by painting pictures of this house and my sister's house, another that she loves. I have an image in my mind's eye of her and Dad out by the old garage looking at a box of rocks, fossils he had picked up somewhere. Every morning she takes her coffee and walks out into the yard to smell the air and walk the boundaries. The dog, Py, accompanies her.

Py is a mixed breed golden retriever. Because she is not a pure bred golden retriever they named her Pyrite, i.e., fool's gold. She is one of the most spoiled dogs on earth. She is the only dog I know that is fussy about food. My mother has spoiled her so that she thinks she needs a biscuit whenever Mom comes into the room. She gets a plate of leftovers from the supper table every night. Once Wakana made up a dish of the only food left, the skins of the acorn squash, and mixed it with the dry dog food. Py carefully ate only the squash skin and left the dry food for later. When Dad makes up the plate she watches him very carefully. Once he has it done he'll look at her and ask her if she thinks the cats should have it. Py growls and barks, wagging her tail until her whole body is involved in the movement. He keeps asking and calling the cats while Py keeps insisting she should have the food.

When we got here my parents had a horse, Erie, who they were watching for my sister. After a couple of weeks Erie went home. Wakana cried at the loss of her new friend. She had been feeding Erie the cornhusks and cobs after our suppers and had grown to love the old horse. She called her Blossom for some reason. Judging from that reaction she will be a basket case when we leave The Farm.

Wakana has worked hard here, claiming to be having fun. Mom commented once about weeding the flower bed at the border of the house. Wakana went out next morning and started in. It took her several days but she got the whole thing weeded and ready for planting. When Mom mentioned getting the house cleaned up for my sister's arrival (Today!) from Tennessee she went to work with the vacuum cleaner doing a better job than had been done in a long time. My parents love her. They have welcomed her into the family with open arms.

My sisters tell the story of when my Dad was all hopped up on sodium pentathol after his big operation a couple of years ago. They asked him who his favorite son was and he named my brother-in-law! I think now my sisters have been eclipsed by an in-law.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 04 Oct 05 - 09:21 AM

Well, good morning to you as well, Brett and Wakana.

It's foggy down here in Richmond but we're told it will all burn off in an hour or two. Judy and I are re-recording some tracks for Uncommon Sailor Songs, and laying down some new tracks for More Uncommon Sailor Songs.

This afternoon, maybe, we'll haul the old Boston Whaler out of the cove for the year, a complex procedure where I run the boat down the cove to the Town Boat Launch at the proper tide, and hopefully meet there with Judy, the van and the boat trailer. Then I back the trailer into the cove, haul up the boat, drop the outboard off at the boatyard for winterizing, and haul the boat back to the farm where it'll nest in the lower barn till next spring.

See you at Getaway!

Charley Noble

P.S. I still have your hair brush!

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 04 Oct 05 - 10:07 AM

Brett, another fabulous description that makes me think I'm there.

sandra

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: katlaughing
Date: 04 Oct 05 - 10:23 AM

Having seen New England as you describe it makes me long to be there, again, Brett. Absolutely some of the best writing I've ever read. PLEASE be sure to share it with your folks and thanks for sharing with us. I was just wondering about you two, yesterday.

luvyakat

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: SINSULL
Date: 04 Oct 05 - 10:45 AM

Brett,
Are you going to stop by for a visit? My house is a mess and I haven't weeded the garden since June. Will we see you at the Getaway?
Mary

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Leadfingers
Date: 04 Oct 05 - 11:01 AM

Mary just asked the same question I was going to ask - Getaway ??

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 04 Oct 05 - 05:09 PM

Wakana and I will be at the Getaway. Mary, I will call you this evening. No need to clean the house but we may want to take you up on your offer of a bed.

By the way, the hunt scenes my mother loves are fox hunting scenes. Oddly enough none of them show the bloody fur rags that is the fox at the end of the hunt.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: SINSULL
Date: 10 Oct 05 - 03:17 PM

I was hinting that Wakana might be motivated to clean and weed. SIGH! Anyway, you left a package to be mailed but no address to mail it to. If you see this, PM me. Otherwise I will get it at the Getaway.
SINS

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 10 Oct 05 - 06:40 PM

Oops! I guess I ain't as sharp as I wish I was. I'll PM the address to you.

We are visiting Toronto now. This part of the trip is the most important for Wakana because it reunited her with a dear friend from college. Her friend is Bulgarian but she speaks Bulgarian, English, Japanese, a little Russian and, I think has some familiarity with at least two other languages. Her husband is an artist who works in stained glass. He showed us a portfolio of some of his work. It's good stuff.

Today we celebrated Canada's Thanksgiving Day. We were invited to join Wakana's friend's family for dinner with friends of theirs. These are people they've met through work here in Toronto. The husband is Nigerian and the wife is Ukrainian. They had friends in to join in for dinner. At one point there were three Nigerians, three Bulgarians, two Ukrainians, one Japanese, and one United Statesian (me) sitting around the table.

The Nigerians had been in the Ukraine for many years and had met their wives there. Two were recently arrived in Canada. They had moved from Nigeria to the Soviet Union to take advantage of the free education offered under a government program to spread communism to other countries. They were no fools. They knew what was 3expected of them but the education was free. One is a mechanical engineer and another is a medical technician.

One thing they learned in the Ukraine was how to drink vodka. The level on the Absolut bottle dropped quickly. They also had some Ukrainian wine that was quite sweet. Dinner was a combination of Canadian food and eastern European foods. Very tasty and lots of laughter around the table.

Next stop is the Getaway!

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: CarolC
Date: 10 Oct 05 - 07:03 PM

I love the kinds of experiences that often come with hanging out with members the international community. One of my more memorable US Thanksgivings involved three Canadian men, a woman from Beijing, and me, the only USan. It was great.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 13 Oct 05 - 01:13 PM

We are staying at my nephew's house in Washington now. He and his fiancee have bought a "fixer upper" here and are living here with a kitten, very little furniture, and construction debris.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Donuel
Date: 13 Oct 05 - 02:03 PM

I'll try to bring a delicious spicy chicken, walnuts, peppers and rice dish to the getaway. One of the best things my wife makes. Singing for your dinner is optional.

I didn't register but I am hoping I can do a day visit or something since the camp is fairly close.
I expect I'll have to pay for parking or some such thing.

The drizzle should move out by the weekend.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 22 Oct 05 - 04:54 PM

We are home in Guam. It has been an amazing voyage of discovery both as a visit to the mainland and Europe and for us as a couple. What is most amazing is that we are still married after three months away from home!

Anyway, we arrived home to find the house whole and needing only a few tweaks to get set up again. We are seriously jet lagged and have spent a lot of the time since we got home asleep or gazing blearily across the table at each other. We picked up our mail and find we are not in any serious trouble financially though it took a while to sort through the 3 month pile of envelopes. There were only a few personal items, most were bills, but Kelli sent us a CD with the pictures of the wedding on it.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Ebbie
Date: 22 Oct 05 - 05:11 PM

It was great to meet you and your bride, Brett. I love Wakana's face- not only is it beautiful but it is full of life- mischievous, fun, curiousity, - any number of positive attributes. Treasure each other...

And thank you again for the pan dami (???) tray- sorry I haven't a clue as to how the material is spelt! From what you both said, it is a tree that is about as versatile and valuable as bamboo. I expect to hear more about it in future. Kind of like hemp- there are many uses for it that can be utilized in so many different ways. Somehow we, as a culture, got ourselves so roped into the timber and fossil fuels mindset that it doesn't occur to us that there are other things out there.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Roger the Skiffler
Date: 23 Oct 05 - 03:36 AM

?pandamus?

RtS

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: jacqui.c
Date: 23 Oct 05 - 09:15 AM

I second Ebbies thoughts here. I really enjoyed meeting both of you and look forward to your next visit to Maine.

Wakana is a real assett to any gathering, with a beautiful voice and a wonderful sense of fun. Next time you're here SINSULL and I will have to take her shopping......

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: katlaughing
Date: 23 Oct 05 - 11:21 AM

Glad to hear you have made it home, safe and sound and still married! Now, get to writing about it, man!**bg**

luvyakat

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 23 Oct 05 - 12:29 PM

Yes, I second what Katlaughing says. Get down to reviewing your journal and write it up. And I can hardly wait for the sequal from Wakana!

Nothing to do around here in Maine today but watch the pretty rain soaked leaves blow off our lawn into neighbor's yard.

It's OK to sit back and relax a few days, you know.

Love to you both,
Charley Noble and JudyB

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 25 Oct 05 - 06:54 AM

Pandanus. It is an ugly tree with a million uses. The leaves look a little like palm fronds but can be woven into a variety of objects. Dancers in Palau use them as brassieres to go with their grass skirts. The resulting material is soft as a baby's blanket. I have a tie made of pandanus and shells. We gave Ebbie a coaster woven of pandanus.

I HAVE been writing. I finally got an ergonomic keyboard and, TA-DA, a cable modem!!! I have a better internet connection now than I have had in a long time.

Here is my latest contribution.

Three times I have tried to write about our visit to Hiroshima. Each time I wind up leaving the computer before I get it posted. Now I should be able to convey to you what visiting that town was like. Even now, three months later, I am carrying the feelings of standing in the Peace Park. It was a powerful and emotionally gripping experience.

I guess a description of the place is in order. The Peace Park occupies a wedge of land between two rivers. At its point the two rivers come together and are spanned by the famous T-shaped bridge. The bridge runs from bank to bank across the confluence of the rivers with a smaller bridge running at right angles to connect from the middle of the bridge to the Peace Park. This was the aiming point for the bomber in 1945.

The park has a concrete avenue that runs its length from the A-bomb Dome to the Peace Museum and Conference Center. There is an eternal flame in its center with a water garden around it. There is the Peace Dome with a cenotaph in it containing the names of the 140,000 dead from Hiroshima. To the left, as you face the A-bomb Dome, and half way down the avenue, is the Children's Memorial. This is a stretched dome with three sculpted children flying/playing around its surface. Inside is the peace bell with a golden origami crane on its chain. In an arc around one quarter of the dome are large glass cases full of strings of one thousand folded cranes. While we were there two more strings of cranes were being delivered. There were fresh flowers on the marker inside the dome.

On the other side of the avenue is a large fountain. The water flows up and over a circular platform with a wedge cut out of it. The wedge corresponds to the position of the hands of a clock denoting the time the bomb was dropped. There are stairs and an elevator that takes you down under the fountain. There a circular ramp leads deep into the ground. Under the fountain is the Hiroshima memorial. At the center is a small version of the fountain above. The room is circular with twelve cedar posts that run from floor to ceiling. The upper half of the wall is a depiction of the famous three hundred sixty degree photograph showing the destruction caused by the bomb with the burned tree in the foreground. The picture has been built of one hundred forty thousand small tiles, one for each death. The lower have of the wall shows the names of the old neighborhoods that used to stand in the areas shown in the picture above. There is no sound in the memorial except for the splash of water from the little fountain in the center of the room. At the base of each post is a seat. It was on one of those I sat to weep for the fallen. Those were not the only tears I shed that day.

Needless to say Hiroshima is a very powerful place to visit. The peace dome has a continuous stream of visitors, tourists and mourners. It was almost impossible to get an unobstructed view of the cenotaph. There are fresh flowers at each of the memorials.

It would be very easy for the people of Hiroshima to be bitter and to blame the USA for what happened. I am, of course, very clearly an American. I did not know what to expect as a reception in this town that was the first to suffer the devastation of a nuclear attack. I was not prepared for what I heard from many of the people I met. To a person they welcomed me and thanked me for visiting their town. It makes it all the more poignant.

The museum is large and well laid out. The first part is the history of the town before 1945. Then there is the development of the atomic bomb. But in the center of the room, almost as an unnecessary reminder, are two large dioramas. One shows the town as it was on the morning before the attack. The other shows the town after the attack. There is a small red ball suspended over the second diorama showing the position of the bomb when it exploded. Overhead is a scale model of the A-bomb Dome.

Up the stairs are displays on the stockpiles of nuclear weapons and the efforts to ban them from the world. The museum is dedicated to the eradication of such weapons. It does not point fingers at any particular nation and does not pick out any particular aggressor. Instead they have taken their disaster as an opportunity to warn the world of the folly of using such horrors again.

But then you get to the gift shop and an opportunity to rest your feet. You need it. After that you go through the really horrific part of the museum, the part depicting what happened on that day in August.

The rest of the museum is laid out to show the effects of the three types of destruction caused by the bomb. First is the heat. There are charred tools, building parts, clothing, and children's toys. There are lunch boxes with the outside seared and the contents charred ash. There are melted glass and twisted metal pieces. Eyeglasses with the lenses melted out of them. There is a model showing survivors with the skin burned and hanging from their limbs, dragging themselves out of the wreckage. There are photos taken by the first newsman into the city after the attack. There are only five of those. He quite taking pictures after that and started to help the survivors. And there is the famous depiction of the shadows of objects on surfaces. They have preserved the steps of a bank with the shadow of a person sitting on the steps.

Next is the depiction of the blast damage. Most of this is shown by dished in steel shutters and twisted metal wreckage. There are crushed concrete walls and splintered wood beams.

Then there is the radiation damage. I couldn't face this one. I was suffering from emotional overload and hurried past the bottles with preserved ketoid scars, charts depicting death rates over time, and pictures of suffering, hairless women and men. It was a great relief to step into the sunlight and fresh air.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 25 Oct 05 - 08:39 AM

you weren't the only one crying, Brett

this is one piece of your writing I could have done without, thank you for posting it & sharing your experience.

sandra

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Ebbie
Date: 25 Oct 05 - 11:26 AM

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 25 Oct 05 - 01:29 PM

...

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: katlaughing
Date: 25 Oct 05 - 03:36 PM

...silent contemplation and tears as your words sink in...and I look at pictures of the Peace Park...

your words so precise and descriptive, yet personal and involving. I can almost hear the fountain. Makes me want to fold some cranes with Peace written on them.

I've missed reading your stuff. This one was your best, in some ways, imo.

oN a lighter notes, if I may: Pandanus. Ya didn't tell us the English nickname for it is "screwpine!":-)

Thanks so much for sharing.

In Peace,

luvyakat

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 25 Oct 05 - 08:14 PM

Screwpine? That is funny! I have only known it by its local name.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Ebbie
Date: 26 Oct 05 - 02:51 AM

From katlaughing's link:

"Uses: Pandanus tectorius is one of the most useful trees in Micronesia. The leaves, which are the most useful part of the plant, are woven or plaited into mats, thatch, sails, baskets, hats, local fans, marmars, anticrafts, and many other items. Tip of prop roots are eaten and are often used as native medicine in Pohnpei and maybe in other Micronesian islands as well. The fruit is a major source of food in Micronesia especially on the atolls. They can be eaten raw or cooked. Either way, it is very healthy. Besides serving as a food, its fibrous helps clean the teeth, acting as a natural dental floss. "

Methinks we humankind do not properly utilize what we have in this world...

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Bill D
Date: 26 Oct 05 - 12:45 PM

good to see you are home safe and sound! It was great to finally meet and hear you. Wakana is a treasure!

The Hiroshima stop must have been a hard thing...but it is good to remind ourselves of......ourselves.

Let me know how surprises work out...*grin*

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 26 Oct 05 - 05:35 PM

The "surprise" is a Christmas present from Bill's table. Wakana knows I bought something but Bill was kind enough to box it up so she could not tell what it is. It was impossible to hide the box while living out of a couple of suitcases.

Of course, she did make the comment that her favorite piece was still on the table at the end of our time at the Getaway... Doh!

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 26 Oct 05 - 10:24 PM

**While I was writing that last post Gordon called to see if we wanted to go kayaking. Wakana was not feeling well, her shoulders are giving her trouble, so I agreed to go. I am back now and amazed at what we saw. More later. I have to get this bit on the thread.**

Our next stop was Kurashiki. That one is much lighter than Hiroshima. I need Wakana for that one because many of the names of places have departed from my memory.

We had another reason for visiting Hiroshima. In Nishinasuno, Wakana's home town, we had eaten okanomiaki, Japanese pancakes. In Hiroshima they have a different recipe for the same food and we were determined to find and try their version.

We inquired at the hotel after we arrived and wandered through the darkened streets. Walking down one narrow street we saw an elegant restaurant with candlelit tables spilling out on to the street. We passed that and turned into a narrow entrance and passed parts of motorbikes, tools, gas bottles, and other unidentified clutter. In at the screen door we found a little restaurant with large wooden tables scarred from years of abuse, benches instead of chairs, magazines in wooden buckets, and toys in cases on the wall. The right side of this establishment was taken up with a huge grill with the cooks working across the grill from the customers.

We seated ourselves at a table and studied the menu. Rather, Wakana studied the menu. I amused myself by trying to pick out the few words I can read in Japanese. Wakana ordered and we watched the cooks go to work.

In Nishinasuno the okanomiaki is served as a bowl of ingredients and each table has a grill. Your waitress will cook it for you if you wish but most people cook it themselves. The ingredients sit on the batter and include cabbage, red ginger, other herbs and spices, and the main meat or fish. Generally there are two or three kinds of meats or fish in one serving. Wakana and I are fond of the shrimp, octopus, and squid dish.

In Hiroshima the base of the dish is soba noodles. The batter seems to be the same but there is a slight difference in the taste. There is also a fried egg mixed up in it. It쳌fs altogether different and not any better than the version served in eastern Japan.

It might be worthwhile to note that there are significant differences between east and west Japan. Considering that Japan is long and narrow and largely runs north and south this may be hard to fathom but it is true. If you look at a map of Japan you will see that it is curved. The southern part runs east and then curves up to go almost due north. In terms of land area the east-west portion may account for one third of the main island. However, it is in this area that most of Japan쳌fs history was written. So it is taken as read that western Japan is somehow different from eastern Japan. In the west they tend to eat pork as their primary meat. In the east they eat beef. And they each have their own version of okanomiaki.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: katlaughing
Date: 26 Oct 05 - 10:53 PM

What in the world are "marmars & anticrafts?"

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 27 Oct 05 - 04:42 PM

And he was "amazed" by seeing what?

Come on, Brett, this is not the Mark Trail comic strip where you get to string out your loyal readers for weeks on end. What did you and Gordon see while kayaking?

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: SINSULL
Date: 27 Oct 05 - 05:18 PM

I am looking at my basket and napkin rings and getting misty over your short visit, too short. Wakana is pure joy. At first she appears shy and demure but when she settles in the mischief shines through. Oh come on, Brett. Come back to Maine. The Christmas Tree Shop is calling. Jacqui and I need a playmate.
SIns.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 28 Oct 05 - 08:50 PM

OK Charley, here's your answer.

Kat, Where do you see the words "marmars & anticrafts?" I just reviewed my post and do not see them anywhere.

Thursday morning Gordon called to ask if we쳌fd like to go kayaking. Wakana is having trouble with her shoulders and declined to go but I agreed and shortly we had three kayaks loaded in his truck and Gordon, Larry, and I were headed for Nimitz Beach, a little park south of the Agat Boat Basin. It started to rain lightly as we unloaded and then turned into a tropical downpour. We waited that out under the eaves of the public rest room. Then we dragged our boats down to the water and headed out.

There were almost no waves but a strong breeze came up a little way out from the beach. It drove us south, which was fine with us. We were headed for an island about a mile from the shore. About a half a mile out we got into deep water. Long slow ocean waves rolled under us raising us up for a good look around. They weren쳌ft very high so they did not obstruct the view from the trough. Another shower came through and wetted us a little. Moving on the sun came out and the sky turned blue again. To the north there was a steady line of rain squalls crossing the island. Up there the sky was dramatically dark below and white above. Around us the water was an impossible shade of blue. The island was emerald green above and dark limestone below. The waves that pounded the seaward side were brilliantly white.

Off to the west a double rainbow formed in the last rain squall. Looking that way I could see Larry and Gordon running under the arch. There was water in the air around us and the sun was low enough that it seemed as though we were literally at the foot of the rainbow, with colors flashing along beside the boats. Occasionally we paused in our paddling, overcome by the beauty of the world around us. Looking back at Guam the mountains seemed draped by multihued green velvet giving them soft contours that ran down to the sea.

Suddenly, about 25 feet from Larry쳌fs boat, a school of flying fish broke the surface and flew about 20 or 30 feet before splashing back into the water. They were blue and white and light flickered off their wet sides and wing fins. Larry exclaimed at the sight and kept saying he쳌fd never seen such a large school in the air at once.

We skirted the outer edge of the island. Larry kept well off but Gordon ran in close to the rocks. The sea has cut the outer side of the island into deep narrow coves and sharp crags. The minimal waves we쳌fd been riding like a child쳌fs roller coaster crashed into the rocks and foamed white, surging into the coves with a booming sound.

We rounded the southern tip of the island and found the noddies fishing. These are large brown sea birds that roost in the rocks. Larry and Gordon both warned me that the birds like to dive bomb paddlers, they쳌fd each been victims. I was not victimized on this trip.

Coming around the island we could see that there were huge splits in the rocks with water surging between the pieces that made up the island. Caves have been dug by the waves, caves that are full of water at high tide. The limestone erodes in sharp edges and leaves no doubt about the damage that would be inflicted if you needed to climb to the top. On the inner side of the island the water shoaled out and we could see bright blue starfish on the bottom. I tried to touch one with my paddle tip but the water was still too deep.

Gordon led us into the shallow water and found a smooth ledge where we could pull up our boats. We waded in the shallows looking at the starfish and discussing the geology and history of the area. They pointed out where Manny had come ashore in 1972 with his grandfather on his first long distance voyage in a canoe. He would have been 12 at the time. They discussed the low income housing project we could see in the distance. They pointed out that you could see the geology of the area by looking at the vegetation. The mountains are capped with trees and higher jungle growth while the lower slopes only sustain the 6 foot high sword grass. Gordon explained that the trees grow on a limestone cap that lies on older lava flows. The eroded lava doesn쳌ft hold enough water to sustain the trees but the limestone holds water like a sponge. He says there is a spring up there that is the source of Santa Rita쳌fs water.

I had noticed that my boat felt a little heavy when I dragged it up on shore. I investigated and found it was half full of water. We are using what they call sit-on-top kayaks. These are one-piece hollow hulls with a hydrodynamic underside and molded impressions for the paddler and his gear on top. Some boats, like mine, have hatches so you can put some gear inside. It is a wet ride but who cares in the tropics?

It appears my boat was leaking somehow. I dumped the water and we got under way again. We paddled out to find a way through the shallows back to our original route. Gordon took the lead but he couldn쳌ft see any place where we could skim through so we headed direct to the shore. We slipped past an area with patches of white on the bottom. Gordon thought it might be where the coral had been eaten by starfish. There were a lot of those patches and he and Larry discussed the possibility. As we neared the shore I noticed that my boat was getting heavier and that I seemed to be working too hard. I couldn쳌ft keep up with the others. I thought I must be getting tired. After all it has been a long time since I had to paddle very far. We got into shallow water and I began to drag across the reef where the others had gone through without trouble. Then I felt water lapping at the small of my back and I realized I was sinking.

I was in very shallow water by then so I stepped out of my boat and took a look. I opened the forward hatch and found that I had even more water than before. I tried bailing with my hands but that was too slow so I upended the boat and water poured out. Once more I began paddling. Gordon and Larry had stopped to check on me and then moved on. They ran up the little river to look at the old Spanish bridge. By the time I caught up with them I was sinking again so I just made the run to shore.

It was a beautiful day. We were home by 11:30 AM and had had an absolutely wonderful experience. I now have to figure out why my boat sinks. It may be that I am too heavy for it, I do have that problem, and it may be that I need to seal the after hatch so water cannot get in. I will do some tests today.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 29 Oct 05 - 12:17 PM

Whew! You had me worried for a while.

Beautiful writing!

You might consider taking a battery-powered drill with you the next time you go out in that kayak. If it begins to fill with water again, all you really need to do is drill a hole in the bottom and the water will all drain it out. Trust me, would an old salt like me steer you wrong?

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Ebbie
Date: 29 Oct 05 - 01:42 PM

But don't forget to take a cork along to plug the first hole, Brett. Sometimes the second hole can't keep up. We forgot once- never again.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Amos
Date: 29 Oct 05 - 01:50 PM

Brett:

IF it was your mass, you never would have gotten across in the first place -- that wasn't variable.

This kind of kayak has a molded prow which sometimes gets opened up when the kayak gets stood up on end for loading into a trailer or on a car-top. Check the tip of the prow. Otherwise, mebbe put it up on a pair of sawhorses and fill it with water and reverse-engineer the leak that way.

A

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: katlaughing
Date: 29 Oct 05 - 03:23 PM

Brett, it was in Ebbie's post, quoting the link I had put in:


"Uses: Pandanus tectorius is one of the most useful trees in Micronesia. The leaves, which are the most useful part of the plant, are woven or plaited into mats, thatch, sails, baskets, hats, local fans, marmars, anticrafts, and many other items.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Donuel
Date: 29 Oct 05 - 09:44 PM

CNN
7,000 lucky US troops are being moved off Japanese Islands and are to be stationed in Guam.

At this rate we should pull out of Iraq by 2058.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 30 Oct 05 - 12:30 AM

People on Guam are happy to see the trooops coming. It will be a big boost for the economy. However they are forgetting that the USA is moving them out of Japan because of all the trouble they caused there!

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 31 Oct 05 - 07:00 AM

Well, here in Guam Halloween is over. The young trick or treaters have gone home to pig out on candy and the older people have switched their loud stereos from spooky music to rock and roll. Wakana and I went to Gordon's house to participate in the festivities. I had no idea what I was getting myself into.

The subdivision where he lives, Santa Rosa, is the focus of trick or treat on Halloween. I had heard this before but had not given it much thought. Therefore I was ill prepared when I saw cars parked along the access road into the subdivision. The cars were parked on both sides of the streets all through the place. Sereos blasted and lights flickered. Nobody waited in their homes for the kids. Everyone was at the end of their driveway with the buckets of candy. The air was filled with the scent of BBQ and under the carports tables groaned under the weight of the food. Coolers lined the sides of the driveways. The parties were in full swing.

Wakana wore a summer kimono. She looked so sweet. I had planned to do a pirate but then realized an even better routine. I took a white strip of cloth and bound it around my head covering one of my eyes. I had daubed it with red food coloring. As I walked around that night I approached costumed kids and said, in a very sincere and not at all scary voice, "Could you help me? I, I've lost my eye. Is it in your bag? Have you seen it anywhere? I really liked that eye. I sure will miss it. Etc." I had a great time talking to wide eyed children. Some even looked in their bags to see if it was in there. One rotten kid reached up and looked under the bandage to see if I'd really lost it!

(Sine most of you still have Halloween to look forward to I suggest this simple costume. You can wear street clothing and all you need is a strip of cloth and some fake blood. The juxtaposition of normal clothing and the loss of an eye makes for real horror.)

We came home with bags of BBQ and potato salad, cake and a soursap. Wakana thinks we will not have to cook for the rest of the week.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 31 Oct 05 - 09:00 AM

Being a pirate is all fun and games,
'Til somebody loses an eye.
It stings like the blazes, it makes you pull faces,
You can't let your mates see you cry.
A dashing black patch will cover the hatch
And make sure that the socket stays dry;
Being a pirate is all fun and games
'Til somebody loses an eye!

Brett, you would have been amused by Nor leading this song at the annual Pirate Halloween Party at the Maine Maritime Museum. We even had spare parts for most of the other verses.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 31 Oct 05 - 05:35 PM

It's funny the stories you hear while hanging around the locals. Gordon had a couple of disembodied plastic heads as decorations last night. Someone commented that they would not go well at one of the local schools because one of the students there had killed his mother, stored her head in his refrigerator, and was feasting on her remains when he was caught. I challenged them with that story claiming it must be an urban legend but these guys are ex-teachers after all and they hear the real horror stories of life in Guam. They all swore to the accuracy of the tale.

One of the many visitors last night had a young deer on a leash. Its body was about the size of a cocker spaniel's with the long spindly legs of a deer. It was totally tame and seemed to enjoy the petting and attention it received.

Wakana and I had a long discussion about our future here on the island. We both agree we need to consider moving elsewhere. Either Maine or Japan will do. I this she really wants to move to Maine. However it works out we need to save up a huge pile of money to cover moving expenses. We figure we will be here another two to five years at least.

I went down the the Department Of Education to get an application for a teaching position and to apply for a substitute teaching position. Today I'll call the University to see about a job teaching at the English Language Institute.

I guess the vacation is over. I am out of money after The Big Trip and I need to start saving for the trip home in May for Amy's graduation. What really hurts is that Continental has a sale on fares to the USA right now. Anywhere in the USA for only $900! By May that will be long gone.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 01 Nov 05 - 08:48 AM

Phooey, I guess we won't be seeing you & Wakana at the National Folk Festival for a few years?

sandra

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 02 Nov 05 - 12:34 AM

I don't know what the future holds. I guess none of us do. We do want to get to Australia but we need to make some money first. It doesn't seem fair that it costs as much to get to OZ as it does to get to the east coast. But we will make our plans as we pass our time. It would be a shame to retreat to the farm without exploring more of this part of the world.

Yesterday afternoon Gordon and I started to water blast the house. That was an education. We started on the roof. As I've mentioned before the roofs here are flat concrete slabs with a lip to control the water that falls on them. Climbing on top of the house I saw a huge area, black with mold, littered with limbs and leaves, and some construction debris. The water blaster stripped the mold off easily but scattered it all over the cars below and us. When he quit we had most of the roof done, now gleaming white. Today or tomorrow we will finish the roof and work on the sides. When we get to the dry season we'll do it again and then throw on a coat of paint.

I have learned and continue to learn about the tools and techniques necessary to maintain a concrete structure. A water blaster is one of the most important. This thing strips off mold, dirt, paint, and the skin off of bare toes. Gordon told me about that last one. I did NOT experience it.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 02 Nov 05 - 02:51 AM

and

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 02 Nov 05 - 02:51 AM

100, thank you

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: bbc
Date: 02 Nov 05 - 10:07 PM

It's been fun sharing this time with you, Brett. I'm sure the future will be good, too.

best always,

Barbara

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 02 Nov 05 - 10:24 PM

Poor Wakana. Last night over our supper of curry and riice she began to reminisce about Maine. She was thinking of the day I had gone down to Bangor and Mom was at work. It had been only her and Dad at home. She'd made curry then. Next thing I knew she was crying. She is homesick for a place she has only visited once. I understand. The Farm, and my parents, can have that effect on people. I guess going back to The Farm is really in our future.

Today we finished water blasting the roof. We got it pretty much done before the machine ran out of gas. After refueling it and starting it up the high pressure hose blew of with a report like a gunshot. The gasket is gone and we cannot finish until we get another. Wakana was having a great time up there. I took up a chair and we tooke turns working while the other relaxed. The view is spectacular, much better than ground level.

I don't know if I have ever described this house to you. It is a one story concrete building that sits on a small lot off a small dead end road on the side of the mountains. The jungle presses in behind us and the land rises steeply up to the peak way up over our heads. There are several mango trees back there, tall trees that feed us in the spring. In front of the house the land drops away. The house in front of us is low enough that we look at its roof.

Beyond that house the land falls into a valley. Across the valley the Harry S. Truman High School stands with its monolithic main building, windowless and stark, marring the view. Beyond that the ocean glimmers through its various shades of blue and sometimes gray.

Our house is a three bedroom ranch. We have one bathroom, a large livingroom and an eat-in kitchen. There are three exterior doors, an outdoor closet and wide eaves as is normal in Guam. The back corner of the house has no eave, only a tangle of rebar where a falling tree once took off the eave. Long streaks of black mold color the wall there. We would have cleaned off that mold today but...

All in all it is a comfortable place. Gordon has dug a ditch around the back of the property to channel water off of the lawn but a part of the back wall has collapsed and now we have a very wet lawn. It is the rainy season, as I have said before, so we get rain every day and that works to keep the lawn wet enough that you can churn up mud just walking across it.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 04 Nov 05 - 03:56 PM

Well, we finished water blasting the roof. And we did the worst of the sides of the house, where the eave is broken off. The mold was thick and black there and came off in chunks, splattering me with black chunks and water. We ended the job by cleaning the crust of dirt off of the cars.

I have been reading a very good book. I recommend it to anyone who is interested in the early days of the samurai. The name of the book is simply Musashi. It is a novel of the life of the man considered to be the first samurai. He codified the mix of violence and philosophy that made the samurai of subsequent years a more refined class of people. Essentially he wrote the Japanese equivalent of the rules of chivalry that the European knights professed to follow. He had an interesting life. He was a ronin, a masterless swordsman, who wandered the roads seeking to perfect his skill with the sword. Nobody could beat him. However, instead of swaggering around, proud of his ability, he took each fight as an opportunity to learn and he saw each event that he encountered as a lesson in how life should be lived.

I have started to sell some of my library on E-Bay. I cataloged my science fiction books and did a little research. Most of them are, as expected, worth little. But I have a few surprises. One of them is a little paperback Armed Services Edition of H. P. Lovecraft's Dunwich Horror and Other Tales. I found it listed on other sites for between $50 and $85! I also have two first editions of Dune that are selling pretty good on E-Bay right now. It should be interesting to see what else this stuff goes for. I also have to whittle down the record collection. I am going to throw out most of the old classical music albums. I will sell the old R&R stuff, Beatles, Rolling Stones, etc., on E-Bay or some other site.

I am selling this stuff because I need to make room for Wakana in this house. Most of the stuff around us is mine. She owns the couch, and most of the stuff in the bedroom closet but not much else. There is a lot of stuff we bought together. And there are her mother's paintings. But it doesn't take up much room here and she does have a bunch of stuff in Japan that should, by rights, come here. There's no real hurry because she doesn't have enough money to get the stuff here but someday she will if she ever gets out there to find a job.

I have three job applications to fill out. I had forgotten how much I hate to fill those out. What a pain. And I have to put together a resume. I must be the only adult male in the world who completely forgot that I woudl have to make up a resume if I wanted to work for a living.

Sigh, here it is, 7:00 AM, and I am sighing over work to be done. I guess the vacation is over.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 07 Nov 05 - 03:52 AM

When my kids were living at home they would periodically clean out their closet. I would go by the room and see stuff piled everywhere. They called it "dumping the closet".

Today I "dumped" the library closet.

It needed it. I had rifled through the boxes many times looking for books and restacking the boxes. I want to move this office into the library but I needed to get the antique drop front desk out of there and do some rearranging. I have been working on it for almost seven hours now and can report that the closet is going back together nicely. The room, and the living room, and the hall, and the shop, all look like hell.

Part of the problem is that I have been finding wonderful stuff. I have been coordinating what goes into boxes and what stays out on the shelves. And I have been finding yearbooks and memorabilia from a career I didn't want and no longer have.

I worked for 16 plus years in Brunswick. The core staff that was there when I started was still there when I left. Of course other people came and went and in the normal course of events in an office that was so closely knit together their departure usually rang some deep emotions.

One of our more beloved office mates was Carl. He was old, terribly thin, and had washed out tattoos running up both arms. He had served in the Pacific during WWII. He was loved by all as a decent softspoken hard working man with no anger left in him. But he could be riled if you really worked at it.

Anyway we also had a co-worker who had started out as a juvenile deliquent in Philadelphia. The judge had told Jim at the tender age of seventeen that he had a choice of joining the Navy or going to jail. He became an electrician and then went to work at the Naval Air Station in Brunswick when he got out of the service. Jim is a marvelous Irishman with an enormous appetite for work, beer and Bushmills Irish Whiskey.

He is also something of a poet. He used to write a poem for each office member when they left or retired. Usually it was pretty funny but it always touched our emotional sides as well.

Then Carl retired.

Jim wrote the poem but that tough old Irishman also cried when he read it. He swore he would never write another poem and for years he didn't. No matter who left he sat silent at the going away parties.

Then I left for Guam and he wrote me a poem. I was staggered at the time. My tears and his marked what it meant for both of us.

Today I found that poem and tears flowed again. They are flowing now. Love is expressed in many ways and sometimes takes us by surprise.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 11 Nov 05 - 12:10 AM

Well this is different. Gordon called earlier to ask if we'd had our flu shots yet. We hadn't and he said he would take care of it. It seems his wife, who is a nurse, went to get hers and instead of giving her a shot they gave her 10 doses for her family. They have four doses not spoken for and Gordon offered two of them to us. Pretty cool. That will be a first for me. My friends down through my lifetime have given me some pretty neat things but never medical coverage.

The rock saw arrived at Gordon's house yesterday. The poor postal worker had her hands full getting it into the truck and out again. It was about 150 pounds in three boxes. Now Gordon and I get to put it together.

Wakana has been working in the yard since our return. It's amazing how much stuff can grow on Guam in only three months. Gordon kept the lawn mowed more or less but the jungle visibly crept back into our space. Wakana has been cutting back the new growth and reclaiming our lawn a few feet at a time. She comes in sweating and smiling, feeling like she has accomplished something. The lawn looks very nice now but we still cannot work in the back yard, the ground is too wet. One task back there is too dig out the channel that runs the water around the property. The bank collapsed a little and filled it in.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: katlaughing
Date: 11 Nov 05 - 07:15 AM

Still finding immense enjoyment in reading along, Brett, thanks to you and Wakana for sharing!

Ya know, if ya published, ya just might find a bit of money in it to finance some of the travels, etc. I'm telling ya this is GREAT stuff and even worthy of Globe Trekker coverage (show on PBS, now rerunning on the Travel Channel.)

I know what you mean about a resume! And, congrats on the cleaning out. I've a shed full of plastic bins. My goal is to get through one per weeek, to start. Trouble is most of them are filled with memorabilia, family archival stuff, and other memorable *treasures*! I have started to dig the crates of books out from under the bed, enter them in a catalogue program, and figure out whether I want to sell them on ebay or amazon. Good luck with your sales!

luvyakat

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 11 Nov 05 - 11:18 PM

I just made my first sale on E-Bay. I sold 10 old solo dungeon game books for $15.50. Gotta get them packed and mailed.

Went to a workshop this morning on growing coffee in Guam. The climate is right and there is coffee growing wild here, last vestiges of the old Spanish plantations. We learned how to prune and harvest coffee. I missed the end of the workshop because I had to go to the doctor. I've got some kind of problem with my chest. It's either bronchitis or pneumonia again. Sigh, it's time for my nap.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 11 Nov 05 - 11:48 PM

what a bummer - look after yourself

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 14 Nov 05 - 02:13 PM

Some medicine makes all the difference. I feel much better.

We moved into this place some fourteen months ago. At that time I went around town and set up all the utilities as required. The following October I received a water bill with no money owed. I didn't receive anything more. I tried calling the water department but couldn't get past the automated phone system. When we got home from The Big Trip there was still no water bill in the pile of mail waiting for me. I finally managed to talk to someone in the water department and she promised to send out our bill. She said something ominous then. She commented that it looked as though we might have a leak in our line.

I got the bill last Saturday. According to the Guam Water Authority (GWA) we have used 348,640 gallons in 438 days or 795 gallons a day. This in a house with no washing machine or dishwasher and only two adults living in it. The bill is for $1,660.22.

Yesterday I went down to GWA to dispute the bill. I asked for a readout of all the meter readings since I'd set up the account. It turns out the only reading they ever did was on October 28, 2005, a few days after I called them!

So, now I have a new fight on my hands. Gordon is angry too. The meter is a long way from the house, down by the road with two houses between ours and the meter. There could be a leak anywhere in the line that runs through the brush. He asked them two years ago to move the meter closer to the house and had no response. This is a common occurrence with GWA. It is estimated that 40% of the water they pump into their system disappears back into the ground through leaks in the pipelines. The infrastructure on the island is a joke. The bureaucracy can't stir itself to do anything about it. It is so frustrating. I'd get angry about it but that does no good. I know that things are the same wherever I could go, except for Japan.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 14 Nov 05 - 02:40 PM

I originally signed in intending to write about last night's entertainment but I got sidetracked with the water problem. We went over to the university to listen to our friend, Sandy, give a talk on recent archaeological excavations she has been involved in here on Guam. She spoke at first of the history and pre-history of the island. Then she showed us what she (well, her team) has found at Ylig Bay and in Malesso.

The pre-history of Guam is broken into the pre-latte period running from the first arrival of humans about 3500 BC to 850 AD. The latte peiod runs from 850 to about 1700. At that point we get out of the pre-history and into the historical period because the Spanish began writing the history of the place in their typically brutal fashion.

The historical period is broken into phases. There is the Spanish Colonial Period running from 1688 to 1898. Then the first American Period from 1898 to 1941. Then the Japanese Period from 1941 to 1944. And finally the second American Period from 1944 to the present.

As a side note it is interesting to point out that the Japanese occupation was not entirely bad. Wakana and her Japanese friends have been finding out that the Japanese did many positive things while they were here. These things have been overshadowed by the terrible things they did to the Chamorro people. One of the positive things they did was to study the pre-history of the island.

Both of the sites, Ylig and Malesso, were rescue and recovery digs. The Ylig site was discovered by the construction crew widening the road south out of Yona. The Malesso site was discovered by a construction crew digging to bury utility lines.

Ylig Bay is a perfect place to live. The Ylig river brings fresh water down from the inland areas and the reef system supports plenty of fish to feed a community. the river has cut a channel through the reef to allow access to deep water for the heavy canoes. Sandy found that there was a thriving community there throughout pre-history and into the Spanish period. They discovered extensive burials and many artifacts pointing to a rich and healthy community.

In Malesso the construction crew was digging for the power lines when they discovered a layer of cobblestones. They called in the archaeologists. Before they were done they had uncovered a long avenue of cobblestones and a previously unknown graveyard. It appears the burials were hasty and there were a lot of them in a very short time. Historical research indicates that there was a smallpox epidemic on the island at the time.

All in all it was a very interesting evening.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: katlaughing
Date: 15 Nov 05 - 11:44 AM

Glad to hear you are feeling better. That's a LOTTA BATHS, though!! Hol(e)y Cow! Good luck in resolving the meter, leak, AND bill issue.

The archeological stuff sounds very interesting. It is neat that you are able to be so close to such things and the people who are involved in them.

luvyakat

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 16 Nov 05 - 02:01 AM

Today was laundry day. We headed over to the laundromat in Hagatna and then, after all the hot work we went to the pool close by to swim. What a nice way to end a hot job. The we went for lunch and over to pick up the mail. Two more boxes arrived but not the one from Sinsull. I'll have to check on that one Mary.

When we were at Sinsull's house last September, or was it October, I forget, she showed us her carved wooden serving tray. It is a sight to behold. Sins has a fine touch for acquiring bizarre and unique items, a touch that borders on whatever follows tacky. Believe me when I say, you do not want this woman buying you gifts if she has a mock argument going with you.

Anyway, the tray has a few levels, it seems to me there were four but I was overwhelmed at the monstrosity of the thing. I could be wrong. It rotates and is topped by a carved wooden pineapple. The leaves of the pineapple can be removed and used as spoons. This thing really needs to be displayed. It is the height of the woodcarver's, uh, art.

The reason I am telling this story is that I truly bleieved it to be a one of a kind artifact until the other day when I went into Marianas Handicrafts. That's right. They had one in there for sale. Sins, they were selling it for almost $70 so you know yours has some value. I wouldn't part with it if I were you, especially in this direction. Believe me, if I really need one I can get one here.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 17 Nov 05 - 05:58 PM

The boxes we mailed on October 5 arrived yesterday. They took 42 days to make the trip. Glad we didn't pack anything perishable in there. Inside were the books I bought on the Big Trip and a couple of DVDs I picked up along the way. Almost all the CDs I bought along the way I left with my mother for her to mail to me. She notified me the other day she was almost finished listening to them and that she was keeping one of them! Sigh, there goes the trust one places in mothers....

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 17 Nov 05 - 09:44 PM

Brett (& Charley & Judy, too)

I've finally got pics of your long-ago visit scanned (along with about 90 other pics!) I've had a week off to concentrate on scanning & will be sending pics later today.

sandra

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 18 Nov 05 - 04:08 AM

Great! I'm looking forward to seeing them. So is Wakana. She seems to think I had a girlfriend there in Australia. I need the pictures to show her I didn't have one but three or four.

We got our last box today. It was the one with the souvenirs for our friends. Now we can have our We're Back! party and show them the Slide Show From Hell! At last count I have nineteen CDs of pictures from The Big Trip.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 18 Nov 05 - 04:49 PM

Tomorrow is Wakana's birthday. I am making evil plans. She wants a set of carving chisels which I have already purchased plus a new set of watercolors and a fancy watercolor palette. Tonight I have to bake a cake.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: SINSULL
Date: 18 Nov 05 - 05:33 PM

Watercolors? Wish you had mentioned it when you were here. My niece is an artist and has sent me endless tubes of watercolors, pallettes, brushes (some handmade), books, knives, and anything else she had related to watercolor.

I knew had a rare find when I saw that luau multi-tiered tray at a garage sale and asked about the price. The man laughed and walked away. When I said I was serious, he offered me $5 to take it. Seems it was his mother's and after five years of yard sales it was still in his basement. I insisted on paying something for it. Maybe I will use it this New Year's Eve.

If it didn't cost a few hundred to ship, you and Wakana would have had it as a wedding gift.

Note to all reading this - most of my "decor" came to me in the form of gifts. Then I retaliated and the collection grew.

Happy Birthday, Wakana! Celebrate.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: katlaughing
Date: 18 Nov 05 - 06:41 PM

That would be our Sins! So thoughtful in her gifts.:-)

Happy Birthday, Wakana!!

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Leadfingers
Date: 18 Nov 05 - 08:45 PM

Having SEEN SINS Serving tray , all I can say is 'Bloody Hell' !!!!

A MOST imprssive piece of kit !! And you can still buy them ? There's a frightening thought for Secret Santees !!

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 18 Nov 05 - 11:18 PM

Bake that cake, Brett, and happy birthday to Wakana from those of us in Maine.

So she shares a birthday with Stan Hugill? Stan would have been 99 on Saturday.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 19 Nov 05 - 08:59 AM

happy birthday Wakana from me, too

Brett, did you receive the pics?

sandra

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 19 Nov 05 - 02:19 PM

No pics yet. By the by, if you sent them to the chanty address that one is dead and gone. I should have sent out a notice to anyone who used that but it was an exclusive list, i.e., I don't know who I gave it to. Sorry.

Currently my only address is the Yahoo account.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 20 Nov 05 - 05:01 AM

that explains everything and as I'm super efficient I long ago deleted the yahoo address, so sent a PM asking for it

sandra

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 21 Nov 05 - 08:11 AM

Today we went to get Wakana's car repaired and go to the movies. We started off innocently enough but found the road blocked when we got to Hagatna. There was a truck on its side at the next intersection. Thus began one frustrating and harrowing day. We are quite exhausted.

Marine Drive runs almost two thirds the length of the island, from the Air Force base to the Navy base. It varies from four lanes to six lanes in width. In northern Hagatna there are two intersections with roads that run in an easterly direction. That is the point at which the cliffs start as you go north so there are very few roads that run into the center of the island. Those intersections are key to movement here. And the accident blocked one of them.

Wakana and I were in two cars because we were going to drop her car at the repair shop. We got separated in the chaos at the first intersection and lost each other running east towards the Agana Sopping Center. She turned at the Bank Of Guam building but I had to go with the flow of the traffic all the way up to the shopping center. I cut through the parking lot there and managed to get over to the main drag up to Maite. As I came out on to the road I met with Wakana again. We turned for the "shortcut" through Tijan past the airport and stopped dead in bumper to bumper traffic.

Now, some of you may experience slow traffic in your daily lives and think little of it but in Guam it is rare. To be caught in a long line of cars barely moving is unusual enough that you just have to sit back and take the experience as it comes. After a few minutes it gets old and you want to get moving. Nothing was moving today on Guam.

Let's just say it took us an hour and a half to make a trip that should have only taken half an hour. We finally delivered her car and went over the the GPO for lunch and a movie. We saw Harry Potter, got out at about 5:30 and headed home... And the damn intersection was STILL closed.

We ended up going further north before we could cut east and south enough to get around that intersection. I used up half a tank of gas just sitting in traffic today. I don't want to go anywhere tomorrow!

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: SINSULL
Date: 21 Nov 05 - 10:24 AM

That was my normal commute when I lived in NYC. Funny - it never bothered me until I moved to Maine. Now if I have to wait through two changes of a traffic light I get upset and babble on about moving Downeast away from the traffic.

Life is tough, eh Brett?

SINS

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 21 Nov 05 - 07:04 PM

According to the paper (Pacific Daily News) the accident involved six vehicles. A tractor trailer hauling a container ran out of control down the hill off Route 8 and crossed six lanes of traffic hitting four other vehicles before coming to rest on top of the sixth. One man was killed two others injured. One of the cars was driven by a Guam Supreme Court justice. I think it's the biggest accident in GUam to date.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: katlaughing
Date: 21 Nov 05 - 07:07 PM

I am gratefull you and Wakana came to it after it happened, Brett! Even if it did mean a long time sitting.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 22 Nov 05 - 07:35 AM

I found that I will not be able to deal with traffic again. But then, I do not plan to ever live where traffic is a problem. Wakana wants to move to Maine eventually. I do too once I've seen some more of this part of the world. She has been to many of the islands and most of the nations in this hemisphere. I have not. She raves about the food in Taiwan. I would like to experience that. She talks of the snorkeling and the scenery in Pohnpei. I'd like to see it. I'd like to go back to Australia and see New Zealand. I might even try to look up my Thai cousin some day.

So we will eventually go back to Maine. But for the time being I need to find a job. Can anyone give me some pointers on how to flip hamburgers?

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: JennyO
Date: 22 Nov 05 - 10:59 AM

Can anyone give me some pointers on how to flip hamburgers?

Brett, pointers won't work. You need this spatula!

Guess I'm just in a "flippant" mood...

Jenny

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 26 Nov 05 - 08:48 AM

Today we learned that Wakana's favorite uncle (maternal) died. He'd had a strokeabout a week ago. He was her favorite uncle, the photographer who took our wedding photo, such as it is. He took over the family business, her grandfather's photo studio, and kept it going. Times have been hard for them with the advent of digital photography and a move away from formal sittings. He leaves behind a wife and two grown daughters. He was only in his fifties. Wakana's brother was very close to him. They were like brothers growing up. This has hit him very hard. Wakana will probably go back to Japan for the funeral.

Friday we went kayaking. There were six of us. One person had never been in a kayak before and couldn't swim! Two had not been in kayaks for a long time. But we had two very experienced people and myself. We headed out but had not gone very far when I realized my attempt to seal the leak in my boat was a failure. I was paddling the Incredible Sinking Kayak! Wakana and I headed for the relative safety near the shore and let the others head out to Anao Island. Sigh, we could see them stop to watch the dolphins. Then we lost track of them for a while.

In the meantime we paddled down to look at the old Spanish bridge. I had to stop to empty my kayak at one point. We reached the bridge by paddling up a little river. It was very nice in the jungle though we could hear cars on Route 4 not too far away. The bridge is no longer used and sits covered with vegetation, slowly moldering in the jungle.

We went back to the beach and I dozed in the shade while Wakana wandered up and down looking for shells. She came back with a double handful. Technically I did too but I did it with only one shell, one that I picked up while paddling in the shallower stretches.

I guess I am going to have to come up with a better fix for that damn boat. I really am too heavy for it.

Wakana is not large enough to handle her kayak, she doesn't force it down into the water deep enough to let it find some stability. Fortunately our neighbor gave us a small yellow kayak that she fits into very well. She likes it but it is not suitable for offshore kayaking.

So both boats will go up for sale. Maybe I can get a two person model. I really need to figure this out because we like the exercise and the experience.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 27 Nov 05 - 07:24 AM

It never rains but it pours. One of the friends who joined us on our kayaking trip enjoyed herself so much she decided to get her own kayak. On a whim she went to one of the hotels to ask if she could buy one of their old beat up kayaks. They GAVE her eight of them! And they may have more for her on Wednesday!

It's a funny old world, isn't it?

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 27 Nov 05 - 06:10 PM

Brett-

JudyB and I had a quiet evening at home stuffing two cornish rock hens, baking them to perfection in the oven, and then stuffing ourselves.

Outside it was first snow, then sleet, then thunder and lightning, and finally rain.

A nice day to hunker in!

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 28 Nov 05 - 05:41 AM

Ah, how I remember those crummy days when you could just hunker down and let the weather roll over the house. The wind whistling the snow around the corners, the rattle of sleet against the windows, the smell of the wood fire in the stove, and warm slippers on my feet. Then, a quick run to the woodshed for more wood and the sharp knife of the wind, a little snow on the neck, the fingers cold in the gloves, and the sold sound of the wood in the basket. Then back inside where the warm moist air fogs the glasses and the familiar sounds and smells envelope you in some intangible blanket of security.

We have days like that in Guam only without the cold. We call them typhoons.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 28 Nov 05 - 06:29 AM

well said, Brett

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 02 Dec 05 - 04:17 AM

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Skinner Plaza is all decorated in lights to make a nice Christmas village. There are groups selling trees in most of the parking lots. The stores, of course, are full of holiday decorations and busy with shoppers. There is no snow or cold weather though. We still stroll around in shorts and flip-flops. I have to mow the lawn. We will NOT have a white Christmas.

But we are putting together our mailing list for cards. We have to get packages wrapped and into boxes to send to our families and friends. We made a last shopping trip today to our favorite basket shop to get presents for some family members. We are almost ready. We'll put up our tree next week. It isn't an organic tree but it is real.

My mother complained about my answering machine message. She said it was too rude. All it really said was that we were not answering the phone and we probably had a good reason. Bowing to her wishes I changed it yesterday to say that we could not answer the phone and it broke our hearts not to be able to take the call. We hoped that they be so kind as to leave a message so we could get back to them as soon as possible. I may have gone a little too far in the other direction but I have always been one for extremes.

Wakana came back last night. When she left she had one back that was 2/3 empty. When she came back that bag was stuffed and weighed 20 KG. And she had three other bags with her. And she mailed three boxes from Japan. She had been shopping to buy Christmas presents and brought back fun stuff too. She got my parents some *******. You see, I cannot reveal any of the presents because my family sometimes reads this. So, Mom, if you are reading this, nya, nya, nya, nya, nya, nya.

We went to our favorite Vietnamese restaurant for lunch today. It has gotten seedier lately. We had to brush ant off the table. I noticed the Buddha by the counter was getting crusty with dirt. I'm afraid I do not want to go back there. It's a shame because they make the best fresh lumpia on the island.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 02 Dec 05 - 04:45 PM

I ran across this passage from Joseph Conrad's YOUTH the other day:

Nothing moved. The fronds of palms stood still against the sky. Not a branch stirred along the shore, and the brown roofs of hidden houses peeped through the green foliage, through the big leaves that hung shining and still like leaves forged of heavy metal. This was the East of the ancient navigators, so old, so mysterious, resplendent and somber, living and unchanged full of danger and promise. I see it now – the wide sweep of the bay, the glittering sands, the wealth of green infinite and varied, the sea blue like the sea of a dream.

It doesn't look like that from my back porch here in Maine. Maybe I should check out the view from the front door!

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Ebbie
Date: 02 Dec 05 - 07:53 PM

Charley- in a complete leap from the subject - that reminds me. A friend's cat went to the door to be let out on one extremely wet blustery day. My friend opened the door and the cat peered outside. Cat backed away and trundled off to the back door.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 03 Dec 05 - 04:36 AM

I'm going to have to re-read some of the old Conrad books I have. It may mean more to me now that I am here in the tropics. Back when I was in the Frozen North I couldn't get past the snow banks that lined the road and the drifts that filled the walks.

Today we went out to buy a sewing machine. For the last week and a half they have been advertising a sale at the local craft shop. We headed out innocently enough. We knew that Ward's mother would be there and Gordon wanted to get one for his daughter-almost-in-law.

Our first intimation that we were getting in over our heads was when we got caught in traffic as we approached the shop. Ben Franklin, the shop has a most imposing name, sits on a sleepy side street with a number of other small shops and a large sporting goods shop. Mark's Honda car sales facility is split by the street and people sometimes use the car lot for parking when going into the shops.

Now however the street was crowded with slow moving cars. There were people headed into Ben Franklin and coming out laden with boxes. We managed to get a parking spot and headed in. Coming through the main door we could see the store was busier than normal but there was nothing to indicate the crowded parking lots. But we could also hear the crowd in the back of the store.

They had cleared out the middle of the place and set up two long tables at right angles to each other. There were demonstrator models set up along the tables. People, mostly women, were crowded around the machines, poking and prodding, asking questions and examining bits of cloth with a critical eye. On the other side of the opening were stacks of boxes on wooden pallets and more tables with cash registers on them. A line ran from that table to the back of the store and around the back wall and up the side wall to the demonstrator tables. Ben Franklin is a large store. There were a lot of people in there. The air conditioning was running full blast and could barely keep up with the humidity thrown off by that many people.

We were fortunate. Ward and his mother were there and Ward's mother had been in line for an hour. She was close to the registers so we had her buy a machine for us. Gordon did too. Unfortunately they had run out of the cheapest models and we had to buy the more expensive one but, we have a machine!

While talking in the crowd we realized that the Japan Festival was going on down at Ypao Beach Park. This was the third one since We came to the island and we had not yet been to see it. We decided, since we were into crowds today, to head on down.

Approaching the park we saw signs warning us that the parking lots were full and advising that free buses would carry us from various other parking lots. We tried anyway and got lucky. We found a spot in the parking lot right at the beach.

The festival was set up in a big square of canopies. There was a smell of cooking food, music blasted from huge speakers surrounding a stage, men and women wandered around in traditional Japanese dress, and the kids from the aikido club were there in their martial arts uniformas and bright colored belts. We arrived before the start of the fun and could not buy anything yet. We had to use tickets at the booths instead of money so we purchased $40 worth of tickets. One booth had a book sale, all Japanese books, and Wakana bought a bag full. We saw the portable shrines that would later parade around the site. We bought some drinks and some Japanese fruit, madarine oranges and green pears. Wakana gat a 5 minute massage and I bought her some scented lotion for her hands. We watched some local high school kids, including Gordon's daughter, perform an abbreviated version of Snow White in Japanese. The dwarves were represented by kids walking on their knees. It was a riot.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 05 Dec 05 - 08:17 AM

Tomorrow, December 6, Wakana and I will have been married one full year. It feels strange because she doesn't want an anniversary gift. I feel like I have left something out of the equation.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 05 Dec 05 - 08:59 AM

doesn't seem like a year from this end.

happy anniversary!!

sandra

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Amos
Date: 05 Dec 05 - 04:01 PM

A YEAR?? Jehosaphats!! What a rapid year THAT was!!

Gift or no gift, warmest congratulations to the twp of you.


A

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 05 Dec 05 - 05:31 PM

Why it was just the other day...

I believe JudyB and I have been together for more than 20 years but, you know, a WHOLE year's not too shabby.

Best of luch for your centential!

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Col K
Date: 05 Dec 05 - 06:54 PM

You seem to have packed a lot into your first 12 months. I hope the next years contain as much love and joy as the this one has.
Congratulations on your first year.
It was wonderful to see you both in Whitby (UK) and at the Getaway, I hope that we may meet again sometime in the future.
Lots of Love
Colin

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 05 Dec 05 - 10:12 PM

Hmmm, that last was from one of the boyfriends Wakana met on this last trip.... Colk and Bill Sables, two of her favorite people. If something ever happened to me I think I know where she would go!

Just kidding, of course. But you are all correct, it doesn't seem like a year can go by that fast. It sure has been interesting but then every day in my new life has been interesting.

I just sent a letter of complaint to the manufacturers of my incredible sinking kayak in New Zealand. I wonder if they'll bother to write back?

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 06 Dec 05 - 09:44 AM

Rise again, rise again!
May your letter not be lost to the knowledge of men...

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 07 Dec 05 - 07:06 AM

The kayak company wrote back to ask for pictures of the Incredible Sinking Kayak. They want to know what model it is. I don't know if they are looking for some reason to put me off or what. I sanpped a few pictures and emailed them off. More coming.

A couple of weeks ago Gordon and I went to view items for a government disposal auction. In the process I got stung by a wasp. It's been a while since that happened. Anyway, we looked at a lot of different things. Gordon got excited about some 3,000 gallon fabric water tanks. He thought they would be useful in case of a typhoon. It isn't a bad idea. We also saw a number of other items. When we got back to his house we talked with his neighbor. They decided to put in a bid on quite a few items. In the meantime I put in bids on a few items including a 1994 Ford Aerostar van that I had NOT looked at. All I had seen was the pictures.

Well, I got the van for $140. I got a few other items as well. Gordon and his neighbor got the water tanks, all 9 of them! These things are huge. They are still in their crates and weigh 345 pounds a piece. They also bought some light sets. I don't kow where they are going to put this stuff.

In the meantime I have to figure out how to repair the van and get it on the road. Fun, fun. Charley will remember that I had one of those in Maine and sold it to one of his tenants. I wonder what year that was?

Last night Wakana and I went to the Hilton for the night. They have a special deal for locals, $100 for the night and use of the water park. We got a room with a balcony looking out over the water park at the bay. we sat and listened to the surf and watched the lights of hotel row gleam on the water.

Later we went down to The Genji, a Japanese restaurant, for dinner. She ordered a California roll (sushi) and I ordered the Niji supper set. We shared the whole meal and waddled out of there stuffed to the gills. Good thing she didn't order a set also.

Next morning we lolled around in the pools and rode the water slide. What fun that slide is! We settled into the jacuzzi and then moved to a cool pool with one side open to look at the ocean. After a hour and a half of that we showered, dressed, and came home. We felt like we'd already had a full day and it wasn't even noon yet. We were relaxed and tired.

Did I mention the big adventure Wakana's parents had? Her mother is an artist, as I am sure I have mentioned. She was invited to join an exhibition of Japanese artisits in Heidelberg, Germany, last month. She and her husband flew to Germany where they spent a happy ten days touring the country. Today we got some of the pictures and some German chocolate. Yummy!

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 08 Dec 05 - 12:49 AM

Oh! I forgot to mention something fun. You kow how the Gideons put bibles in all the hotel rooms? Well, in Japan and here in Guam there is another organization placing books in hotel rooms. It is titled, The Teachings Of The Buddha. It sure reads a lot better than the bible.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 09 Dec 05 - 08:34 PM

Brett and Wakana-

Happy to hear you all had a nice stay at the Hilton. Some quality time together sounds nice.

You'll be interested to know that I got to shovel out my driveway this evening. I really wasn't planning to do this because when there is a big snow storm I generally have it plowed. Well, you guessed it. The plow done broke down and I had the unmitigated joy of shoveling out the whole thing. Fortunately the eight inches of snow was fairly light. Now it's nice and clear.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: katlaughing
Date: 09 Dec 05 - 09:15 PM

Happy Anniversary!!

Sounds like a wonderful time!

Congratulations to Wakana's mom, too! WOW!!

Anyway I could bribe you to get one of those Buddha *bibles*? Would love to see/have one and am willing to send "cash." :-) Seriously!

luvyakat

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 10 Dec 05 - 02:57 AM

Kat, I just so happen to have "accidently" dropped one in my bag. If you'll send your address (again, sorry) I will forward it to you gratis.

Charley, I hope you made a point of enjoying the experience and kept me in mind while you worked. I certainly think about you several times a day, especially when I am out in the sun, sweating and enjoying the view of the water.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 11 Dec 05 - 02:40 AM

Gather 'round, children, and Uncle Brett will tell you another chapter in the story of The Incredible Sinking Kayak (TISK).

Last week I took the hatch apart and sealed it with the 5200 Marine Adhesive/Sealant. I glued the hatch coaming in, let the stuff set up for a couple of days and then glued in the hatch and let that set up for a couple of days. Today we went to sea.

Now, the newspaper has been warning of high surf conditions due to a confluence of a cold front out of China and the trade winds. To be sure the surf is pretty dramatic but we were going to be in the protected area at the Agana Boat Basin. Gordon had one of the boats he's been working on and we were going to test them out. We launched without incident. Wakana was in Gordon's boat and I had TISK. We crossed the harbor marveling at the color of the water. There was a strong wind blowing but the water was relatively calm. Wakana was very happy with the kayak she was using. It ran along smoothing under her, braving the little waves and darting along with little effort on her part.

My own kayak ran well but I started to notice the, by now, very familiar drag and therising water around me that indicated that I was not doing well. I headed back across the harbor. I called to Wakana that I was sinking. I felt behind me looking for the water level. There was a distinct gap at the top of the hatch. I kept goin, knowing that the boat was filling up with water as I paddled. Gordon came down to look at the hatch as I sat in the boat. I put my hand on it to show hime the gap and the cover came off in my hand! Water poured into the boat! Luckily I was no longer in deep water. I am NOT a happy kayak owner.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 11 Dec 05 - 05:20 AM

Uncle Brett, you are the best storyteller - I can feel that tropical water!

sandra

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 11 Dec 05 - 11:04 AM

Brett-

Have you considered kayaking with a snorkel? That way when your vessel sinks beneath the waves you can continue paddling while enjoying a view of the underwater paradise.

If you're not careful I'm going to compose a kayak song.

I wonder if a snow shovel would work well as a paddle? I could send you one of my extra ones.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble, temporarily based in NYC

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: CarolC
Date: 11 Dec 05 - 11:39 AM

Happy anniversary, Brett and Wakana!

Brett, it seems to me, just to make your incredible sinking kayak safe enough for you to use it until you get the matter resolved, that if you get yourself a kayak floatation set (something like this), you ought to be able to use the kayak without it taking on enough water to cause you quite so many problems.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 12 Dec 05 - 08:20 AM

Oh, Carol, that's not a bad idea. Or maybe a couple of garbage bags full of ping pong balls. One friend has suggested that I fill the kayak with foam.

I am tired tonight. It has been a long time since I was this tired. I really should sleep.

Today Gordon and I set out to take possession of the items we bought at the Government auction. First I had to get my car registered. I mean it has been a while and I needed to get on to a military base. So this morning I headed up to the department of motor vehicles. I have tried before but each time the lines were depressingly long. I figured to get there before it opened in order to get to the head of the line. I managed to wade through the crowd to get to the door easily enough but my heart was sinking faster than my kayak. Then a ray of sunshine. Everyone headed for the driver's license renewal line. Whew!

So, I met Gordon at the base and after a little fussing by the bureacratic security people we managed to get to the warehouse. We loaded out the umbrella stands, the tables, the chairs, the unknown hydraulic cylinder that seemed to have become part of one lot, and then, Gordon's light sets. Six crates of wire and glass. And his hose sets, ten rubber two inch hoses. And the nine flexible water tanks. And my 'new' van. Then I set up a canopy over the van so I can work on it. And I went to the post office to mail the Christmas packages. And I went to the grocery store.

Gordon's water tanks are supposed to hold 3,000 gallons each. They are similar to an above ground swimming pool only these are made out of drap rubberized canvas. He set one up in his driveway and began filling it. When we spoke at 6:00 PM the hose was still running.

I gotta sleep.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: CarolC
Date: 12 Dec 05 - 10:58 AM

I don't know if this is the kind of foam your friend had in mind, but JtS just mentioned foam shipping popcorn as a possibly less expensive alternative to ping pong balls in the garbage bags.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 12 Dec 05 - 06:59 PM

Well, you have to know Buzz. He thinks in terms of high tech and doesn't let money considerations weigh him down. I think he was thinking of shooting some kind of liquid foam into the thing. He forgets that even foam has weight and I already have trouble lifting the kayak by myself.

Today we are going to mail Christmas cards. I would like to send each of you a card. If you want a card from Guam (not that it looks any different from any other Christmas card) please forward your address to me. This is Wakana's first experience with most of our traditional Christmas rituals. Last year she was not feelign well when we put up the tree and I did not mail cards out. She is having trouble curbing her patience when looking at gifts that bear her name under our tree.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 16 Dec 05 - 07:16 PM

I'm so bad. I just got an email telling me the Side Door Coffeehouse was canelled this evening because of a storm. I sent back a reply that talked about life in the tropics and signed it Brett (No Snow) Burnham. Such a bad boy am I!

Gotta go work on the van. No real progress yet. I have to remove the steering wheel and didn't have any deep well sockets. I borrowed them from Gordon last night.

Gordon and Buzz have been fretting over all those tanks they bought. They filled one and it leaks. Of the nine crates they bought only eight had tanks. Of the eight tanks they bought only two were new, the rest had been used at some point. When I saw them yesterday they were planning on unpacking and setting up another tank and pumping the water from the leaking one into it. Water was running down the gutter in front of Gordon's house and they were rigging a pump to carry the water.

Nobody has shown any interest in buying any of the tanks so far. I think it is a race between me getting the van running and them selling their tanks. One, two, or maybe all three of us may have made unwise purchases.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 21 Dec 05 - 07:00 PM

Still no progress on the van. I borrowed a wheel puller and it completely failed to grip the steering wheel. I guess I am going to have to break down and buy one.

It is almost Christmas and I hope all of you, at least all of those who celebrate the holiday, are enjoying the preparations. We are done with our gift purchases. I need to wrap Wakana's gifts but that is proving difficult. I can't seem to get her out of the house long enough. At this rate she'll have no wrapped gifts under the tree.

This is actually Wakana's first Christmas. Last year she was sick with her neck problem though we didn't know what it was at the time. She couldn't fully enjoy the season. This year she is in full swing though she isn't sure about the Christian side of it. A background in the Buddhist and Shinto religions does not prepare one for a Christian holiday, even one as secular as Christmas has become. So, she's excited about the tree and the gifts and the food and unsure about the Christian messages. She's impatient to open gifts and unsure about the manger story.

By the by, we were talking with some of our friends about local beliefs the other day. Two of them are haolie school teachers. They remembered discussing Christianity with their school kids. It seems the kids had the attitude that they were NOT Christians, they were Catholic. I think the old Spanish missionaries must have left out a key piece of information when they were enslaving, uh, converting the locals. Frank, a Chamorro from Guam, told us of his niece who held this same attitude. When he tried to explain it to her he raised the ire of his sister-in-law. So he sent her to their priest. The woman, he says, was visibly shaken by the news that she was indeed a Christian.

We have a new canoe t-shirt that looks pretty sharp. On the back it has the star compass and some Carolinian constellations. In the center is the canoe on a course from Chuuk to Guam. Gordon put together a little blurb to hand out with the shirts that explains what is on the back. I quote as follows:

"Paafu (Star Compass)
Paafu is Polowatan for "star compass".
Master Navigator, Manny Sikau, is from Polowat, an island in Chuuk State of the FSM. Mr. Sikau is a "pwo", which means he has been ordained as a master navigator and has successfully completed many years of training. Only a few navigators ever achieve this distinguished status.
The sidereal or star compass is a visual aid to teach students the important directional stars. First, students learn the names of the stars and their positions on the 32 points of the star compass. Later, they will have to identify these stars in the sky and eventually learn the direction to sail to various island destinations.
All of the stars rise in the east and set in the west, with the exception of Polaris, or the North Star. The stars are useful when they begin to rise or are about to set, because that is when they are low on the horizon and indicate a direction on earth. The navigator closely monitors the predominant swell at night and determines the angle that the predominant swell strikes the canoe when on course toward the appropriate directional star on the horizon. By doing so, the navigator can maintain course in the daytime and at night, or when the clouds hide the directional stars.
The significance of the symbols of the dolphin, frigate bird and trigger fish are that these animals are Carolinian constellations used in navigation. Triple dolphins are the symbol of the Carolinian seafarers. They can be seen as tattoos on the inner legs of some navigators.
The center symbol on the front of our T-shirt is the asymmetric bow (straighter on the lee side) of the traditional canoe. This is the logo for the UOG Traditional Seafaring Society."

Note: the front of the shirt has four sets of triple dolphins with the logo in the center. Some of you at the Getaway may have seen me wearing one of these shirts.

Happy Christmas and happy holidays.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 21 Dec 05 - 09:39 PM

Brett and Wakana-

We received a mysterious package from you but we don't dare open it until Christmas.

Your package was mailed out today. It probably won't find itself to Guam for several months.

Cheerily,
Charlie and Judy

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 22 Dec 05 - 07:17 AM

seasonable greetings to you all

sandra

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: MMario
Date: 22 Dec 05 - 08:32 AM

Brett - I know people of several denominations who have been shocked to find their denomination is "Christian". Including Catholics of more then one branch of the Catholic church.

I've also had people ask me "Are you Christian or Catholic?" And also "Are you Christian or a Protestant?"

*sigh*

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Ebbie
Date: 22 Dec 05 - 12:16 PM

There are also people who confuse 'godliness' with Christianity. There are people who think that a belief in God means you worship Christ.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 22 Dec 05 - 01:56 PM

Charley, you can open the box, the gifts inside are well wrapped. There's one there for your Mom. She was so kind to us on our travels and we never sent her a thank you card for the use of the room.

Actually we never sent thank you cards to anyone who helped us out while we were on the road. I want to correct that poor behavior now.

THANK YOU!

Sandra, your card and gift arrived today. Thank you. I can't wait to open it but Wakana has gotten into the spirit of the holiday. She can't wait to open gifts but will not allow anything to be opened early. There was a card attached to a gift from my parents and she insisted that we should read the card. I knew that the card, being taped to the gift, had to do with the gift but she prevailed and I let her open the card. Now we know there is a tray inside. I think my father made it. There was a comment about nostalgia for the farm and reminding Wakana to nag me about bringing her back there.

Libby, you don't want to get me started on the hypocrasy of religions. That's a topic that has encompassed the best of humanity and the absolute worst. I am thoroughly disgusted with my fellow humans when it comes to that subject.

The Christmas packages are arriving hot and heavy though we should be about done. As seen above I now know there is one coming from Charley but my family is all accounted for. My parents sent one that arrived with torn paper so we opened it. Well, I opened it. I think Wakana would have been willing to tape up the tears and pretend she couldn't see what was in there. It was a little snow shovel painted with a snow scene and decorated with wire and beads. It doesn't appear functional. Too light. But it is pretty and Wakana is charmed. It will have to go with the 'FROST HEAVE' sign we brought back from Maine on our last trip. I apologize to all those people who were not warned about that bump before they hit it at whatever speed they were making at the time.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 23 Dec 05 - 02:10 PM

My father's tackle box has been on my mind lately. When I was young he worked as an immigration inspector on the border between the USA and Canada. Those were the days before 9/11 when the worst they had to deal with were the poor Canadian looking for jobs in the US or drug smugglers trying to sneak a carload of drugs through the northern frontier.

Dad worked rotating eight hour shifts. That meant he would occasionally work a shift from midnight to eight in the morning. And in the winter, in northern Maine, there are very few people moving around at time. So, he took along something to keep him awake and keep his hands busy. He took his tackle box.

Now, my father isn't an avid fisherman. That tackle box was magical. He had many interests and hobbies and that box carried them all around for him for many years. It was small, metal, and worn, metallic gray in color where the paint was still clear. Inside it was pale green but you couldn쳌ft, or didn쳌ft, bother to look at the color once it was opened. For inside was magic.

Of course there were the tools but saying that gives you the wrong idea. Many people think of tools and see socket sets or claw hammers. Dad didn쳌ft carry such things in the tackle box. He routinely made his own tools, little knives with hand carved wooden handles and tiny chisels with bright sharp blades. There were little scraps of sandpaper, folded so only one rough side showed. Bottles of glue and paint were in there too, and the brushes, carefully cleaned after each use.

But also in the tackle box were his little projects. He would make ships in bottles and so you would find tiny ships under construction in there, toothpick masts with little scraps of sails, and bowsprits bravely leading the way. He experimented with scrimshaw on beef bone and inside the box might be small ovals and squares of his stock half polished and slowly becoming future pieces of jewelry sporting ships or whales or walruses. There was the unusual scrimshaw stock in there too. He had a piece of mammoth tusk in there and a piece of human bone.

There were little bits and pieces of other things in there as well. I remember a small vial of mercury that we loved to play with. These were the days before such things as mercury poisoning were heard of and I used to love to play with the little shining ball of liquid metal. That might explain a lot about me today쳌c

There was a tactile and aural excitement in handling the tackle box. It was coarse on the outside, thin metal and plastic. It had a distinct sound, a tinny metallic sound when you opened it. Then there was the sound of the shifting contents as you rummaged around looking for whatever was in there.

I쳌fm sure he still has that box somewhere but these days he has a shop, a room as long as a two car garage is wide and about a third as deep. That is his tackle box today and it is as full of magic as that old box he would tuck under his arm as he stepped out the door on those winter nights, off to sit in that little office on the border and carve and dream his dreams.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Col K
Date: 23 Dec 05 - 06:52 PM

Seasons greetings to both of you.
Hope we meet again
Love
Col

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: ranger1
Date: 23 Dec 05 - 07:15 PM

Merry Christmas, Brett and Wakana. And yeah, Brett, bring her back soon!
Tami

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 23 Dec 05 - 08:25 PM

The "tackle box" is a keeper, Brett. Now if you'd just string together some verses.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 23 Dec 05 - 11:15 PM

Today is Christmas Eve in Guam. We went to the grocery store for some last minute requirements. The surf on the reef was very dramatic. There was no wind and the sea was very calm but underneath that calm water were huge rollers that beat themselves into white froth on the coral. The water was pale green and the sun made the breakers a brilliant white set against the green of the water and the blue of the sky.

The shopping center was a zoo with last minute shoppers rushing here and there. THe grocery store was packed. We grabbed what we needed and ran.

One of our needs was two bags of apples for Wakana's pies. She's making a pie to give to Gordon and Vickie. We just peeled and cut them up. Then I insisted that she open a Christmas present from Mom. Sure enough there was a Betty Crocker cookbook in there. Wakana leafed through it looking for the pie recipes and then started to cry. She was so touched by the thoughtfulness of the gift. I wonder how it will be tomorrow morning when we open the other gifts.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 24 Dec 05 - 05:46 AM

It's almost 9:00 on Christmas eve and I am shutting down the computer for the night. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Happy landings, Santa.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 24 Dec 05 - 06:32 AM

Brett, I'm pleased to read that the pressie arrived on time. Sounds like you & Wakana will be having fun tearing wrappings of parcels very soon.

We're a couple of hours behind you (it's 10.30pm Christmas Eve here) & we're heading for 38 Celsius (about 100 F) after a day that was almost as hot which I almost managed to avoid by staying in most of the day behind dark curtains & in front of the fans. Bushfire season has started & firefighters are on alert.

ho ho ho

seasons greeting to all

sandra

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 24 Dec 05 - 10:04 AM

Good grief we have to wait another 14 hours before midnight!

Of course, some of us tear open our preseents Christmas Eve.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: SINSULL
Date: 24 Dec 05 - 12:08 PM

It is Christmas Eve in Maine and from Guam has come 41 degree temperatures and a package! I love surprises.
Happiest of holidays and the best year ever to you and Wakana, Brett.
Come home to us soon.
Love,
Mary

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 24 Dec 05 - 06:09 PM

Happy Christmas! We woke early, Wakana first for some reason. We have been through the gifts, unwrapped and appreciated each one. Wakana cried over the photo collage of the farm. She had made one for my parents so it was a surprise. I got a gift subscription to Writers Magazine, The Agent's Directory, and the 2006 Writer's Market from my parents. I guess I are a writer, huh?

I gave Wakana a turned wooden box I bought from BillD at the Getaway. I have been keeping it hidden since then. Last night I ransacked the house looking for it. I thought I needed to wrap it. Turns out I already had wrapped it and it was under the tree. She loves it. Good job, Bill.

My mother called about midnight last night. She wanted to catch us opening presents. She was off by 6 hours. That long time difference is always screwing people up.

Nice morning. Now I have to go cook a turkey.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 26 Dec 05 - 03:24 PM

Well, Christmas day was a success overall but the dinner was a failure. I overcooked the turkey and it was way too dry but that was nothing compared to the explosion.

I had the mashed potatoes made, the peas were cooked and sitting on their respective burners on our electric stove. I was making the gravy. I set the roasting pan on the burner and turned it on, added the flour and water, and stirred. Unfortunately I had turned on the wrong burner. We have, uh, had a casserole dish made of heavy glass. It was sitting on the stove because there was no other place to put it. I looked down to see the burner glowing through the dark glass. I turned it off to let it cool. I turned on the correct burner and began to stir the gravy. I went to the cupboard on the other side of the room to get a bowl for the gravy and BANG the casserole dish exploded into glass slivers that covered the stove top. The food there was covered in glass. Dinner was ruined.

Sigh. We threw out the food and cleaned up the mess. Wakana and I cooked up more mashed potatoes and peas and we had our dinner but I was unhappy with it. Sigh. Still Christmas was great, we had a wonderful day. We called home and heard of their fun times and talked to the family and then settled in and enjoyed our time at home, alone. Wakana worked on her carving, she has some mahogany but she쳌fs not happy with it for carving. The wood is too long grained and difficult to carve a smooth surface.

Yesterday I finally got the steering wheel off the van and I got down toe the ignition switch housing. And I am stuck again. I though that it would be easy once I got there but it is not. But then, nothing ever is.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Amos
Date: 26 Dec 05 - 05:01 PM

Hang tough, buddy; cars and vans are infamous for having impenetrable layers of obscure and impossible fasteners and connections and such; this is why DIY AUto Parts stores do such a land-office business. I bet they make more in special tools and advice visits than in the original parts sales.

I use professionals as long as I can afford it, as a result of many long unhappy hours wrestling with hard-to-find nuts and incomprehensible nested interconnections.

Persist and persevere -- oh, and you might want to take pictures on your way in so you can put things back the way you found 'em afterwards!!

Regards,


Amos

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 26 Dec 05 - 11:13 PM

Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm not doing this in desperation or with any kind of personal angst riding on my shoulders. This van is analogous to the alarm clock we all dismantled when we were kids. The difference is that I intend to get it put back together and usable... eventually. The goal is to spend as little money as possible. Thus, when I get the ingnition switch out and dismantle the interlock for the steering wheel and shift lever I will install a simple switch instead of a key. The van will start with a switch and a push button litke the old fashioned cars and farm tractors used to. Fun, huh?

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 27 Dec 05 - 10:02 AM

Got the key out and tried to start it. No go. Starter clicks but it doesn't turn over. I may have purchased a big white storage closet.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Amos
Date: 27 Dec 05 - 10:40 AM

Check battery charge level first. Then solenoid.


A

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: CarolC
Date: 27 Dec 05 - 11:12 AM

DEAR MR. FORD

Verse 1.

Dear Mr. Ford, I dearly loved my van,
My '85 F-150 was a beauty when it ran!
But it didn't run a long, long time,
So I buried it in the ground,
Sure it makes a little bit of smell,
But it never makes a sound!

Chorus:

Cause things fell off and things let go!
And nuts loosened up and I was always being towed!
Things would seize and refuse to work.
And I always felt like a real jerk.
Out there on the road,
When my van wouldn't go,

So...

Verse 2.

I got sick of dragging it home
and wouldn't it rot your socks?
Just as I fixed one thing on it, another thing fell off!
So I buried it in the ground,
With a four inch pipe up through 'er,
And now I got me an '85 F-150 Ford Econoline sewer!

Chorus:

So...

Dear Mr. Ford,
Got thinking the other day;
You know myself and the other fellers kind of liked the old interior
I guess we're willing to pay.
We're ordering a brand new van,
With them seats custom made,
We're going to park it on top of that sewer pipe,
And there's where it's going to stay!

Final Chorus:

Things won't fall off and won't let go!
Nuts won't loosen up, I won't need a tow!
Things won't seize and refuse to work!
Though I might look like a real jerk,
Every time I got to go!
But it would pleasure me to know!
That my outhouse will be a Ford!

Kevin Blackmore - 1988
(Buddy Wasisname and the Other Fellers)

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 27 Dec 05 - 06:29 PM

I have a tape of Buddy Wasisname but it doesn't have that song on it. I love it. The only thing they missed on is that the Econoline is an E-150 not an F-150.

I don't think I have written about the chickens here in Guam. They are everywhere. At first Wakana and I thought they belonged to people but they appear to be running wild. Gordon says you can grab any you want if you are hungry. But, he says, you better be pretty near starving because they are stringy and tough.

We are surrounded by jungle on the side of a hill. There is a flock of chickens that seems to congragate in our yard every morning while the roosters compete in crowing their pride. Mama hens herd little herds of chicks and they all scratch and peck through the yard on some sort of established route. Occasionally you'll hear a chicken in the jungle cackling her happy announcement at laying a clutch of eggs.

These chickens are not the fat happy hens of the barnyard. They are small and lean. They can fly but not very far. The roosters are grand with bright colors and cocky attitudes, standing tall watching over their harems. They do not put up with intruders to their flock. One day I had to brake hard when one rooster chased an intruder across the road and into the brush on the other side. They were both going hell bent for election and the fleeing rooster took to the air to get over an obstacle.

Wakana's work in the yard has been put on hold while her toe recovers. She was visciously attacked by the stump of a shrub she had cut down the day before. She's been limping around with a rag tied around it for a couple of days now.

When we were in Maine she demostrated her prowess with watercolors by painting lovely pictures of my parents' house and my sister's house. Consequently she got lots of art supplies from the family for Christmas. However, I gave her carving chisels for her birthday. She had been carving lovely relifs of flowers and made a set of wood blocks to glue on to my dashboard. The blocks have a guitar, some musical notes, and a letter "B". She isn't interested in drawing and painting anymore, or at least, not right now. I think she needs the right inspiration. She loves those two houses and loved doing the work. I think there isn't anything here that inspires her to paint. Once she gets back to Maine I believe she will start painting again.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: SINSULL
Date: 27 Dec 05 - 08:04 PM

Exploding casseroles?I had a similar experience with a glass coffee pot. I let it burn dry. As I turned off the gas, a gust of cold wind came through the window and BOOOOMM!!!. Exciting stuff. Glad that you too were not harmed by sharp or hot glass.

Now do you really think you ought to be screwing around with the van's electrical system?
SINS, who loves her silk dresser scarf.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Amos
Date: 27 Dec 05 - 08:16 PM

I recall a certain story about spaghetti and a Waring blender, I think it was, that is better not repeated... :D


A

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: katlaughing
Date: 27 Dec 05 - 10:57 PM

You ARE a writer, Brett!! BTW, the online version of Writer's Market is wonderful to use; kept up to date; ability to track your submissions, etc. Well worth it and a LOT easier to use the search function for specific publishers, etc. than the book, imo.

Beautiful imagery is your name!

kat

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 28 Dec 05 - 08:40 PM

Well, I hope I can put something together for people to read. Remember according to Edison only 10% of success is inspiration. The other 90% is sweat, or in my case application of fingers to keys.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 30 Dec 05 - 06:40 AM

We got a nice gift from Charley Noble today. A snowman on a sled, a nice decoration for a desk. It will look good next to my canal boat and daleks. We also got his Christmas car. If you didn't get a card from Charley you really missed out. His mother is quite an artist (as in internationally known) and she painted a picture of his two cats.

The package also included his latest CD, More Uncommon Sailor Songs. Nice work, Charley. Haven't been all the way through it yet but what I heard was pretty good. Wakana commented on how nice your voice is.

Tonight on TV we saw Max Havoc And The Curse Of The Dragon. It was filmed in Guam. If you get a chance to rent it you should, not because it's a good movie because it really sucks. But it does have some very nice shots of Guam. Someone commented in the paper that watcvhing that movie was like seeing a road accident. You didn't want to look but you kept seeing familiar faces and places.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 30 Dec 05 - 08:37 AM

Brett-

Nice to hear that the mail gets through to Guam. Maybe we'll try sending you some snow and ice so you can try out the sled and the little snow shovel! You should make a tape of reciting "Dr. Dogbody's Leg" for your father on the next appropriate anniversary.

Mother enjoyed the wood carving you and Wakana sent her, and we are trying to find a special surface for the lovely silk dresser scarf that is safe from the cat gang.

Do try a New Year's call again at Sinsull's. A lot of your pals will be there, drinking and singing.

Cheerily,
Charlie

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 30 Dec 05 - 11:33 PM

That's a great idea. I'll give you all a call. Hope to hear some good music too. Wonder who I'll interrupt?

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 31 Dec 05 - 08:06 PM

Happy New Year! We went out to Gordon & Vicki's house last night. A bunch of people were there. We heard stories of past earthquakes (the strongest was 7.9 Richter), typhoons, frog incursions, the loss of the shrew, plumbing code violations, children's Christmas presents (I got a Strawberry Shortcake and...), BBQ recipes, and school budget problems. At midnight a thunderstorm rolled through providing us with buckets of water and plenty of natural fireworks.

Today I called my parents to wish them a happy new year and then I called Sinsull's house to interrupt her new year party. I spoke with JacquiC, Sinsull, Kendall, Curmudgeon, Charley Noble, JudyB, Nor, and heard Bat Goddess singing in the background. Gordon Bok was there but I didn't bother trying to talk with him. I'm not sure he'd remember who I am. I did recommend he talk to my father about wood finishes and provided a name of a book that has a great deal of information about wood finishing, Gunk to Glow.

So Happy New Year to all and to all a good night.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: CarolC
Date: 01 Jan 06 - 12:58 AM

Happy New Year to you and Wakana, Brett.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: ranger1
Date: 01 Jan 06 - 01:07 PM

Gee, Brett, what am I, chopped liver? Forgotten again *SIGH*

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 01 Jan 06 - 06:50 PM

Sorry, I tried to remember everyone. Maybe I'll do better next time. In compensation, you can have a nice lunch at Jan Z's next time you come to visit me...

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 03 Jan 06 - 07:14 PM

I have been remiss in discussing Wakana쳌fs harvest. She has been working in the yard again, cutting back the lush vegetation that threatens us on every side. Our front yard ends in a steep drop down to the neighbor쳌fs property. That slope is covered with thick vegetation, brush and vines. She has been working down over the slope cutting the vines and freeing the trees that grow in there. She has found a lemon tree and another papaya tree. She also found a rather interesting vine growing up a tree, one that she left in place because of the vegetables it carried. She found pumpkins growing overhead, big ones. So far she has harvested two of them and another fell today. I see pumpkin on our dinner table in the future.

Another harvest she has been looking forward to is our bananas. There is a patch of trees in one corner of our yard with several trees in it. They are actually overgrown. But there have been bananas ripening on them for some time now and Gordon helped us cut a tree to get the fruit the other day. Now, you have to understand that Wakana has been practically pacing back and forth in front of these trees waiting for the fruit to be ready. Once we dropped the tree and cut the bananas from the stem she held this huge pile of fruit proudly and asked me, 쳌gWhat should we do with them?쳌h Sigh. You쳌fd think that planning would be part of the anticipation.

We쳌fve since been eating bananas at every turn. Bananas here are like zucchini back home. When the zucchini ripen everyone has too much. Zucchini bread appears on the table every day, they appear in bags at neighbors houses and fill baskets by the road.

Here it쳌fs bananas. She tried to give some away but everyone has bananas. Gordon didn쳌ft want them. Steve took some but he lives on a boat and has no trees. She has added them to bread pudding and yesterday cooked some in coconut milk and added it to our curry for supper. It was very tasty.

Another fruit that is coming along is the mangoes in the back yard. Apparently they produce twice a year. There is a small crop in the early winter and a larger one in the summer. So we will have mangoes soon.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 03 Jan 06 - 07:45 PM

Yesterday I got serious about applying for jobs. It's time to get back into the working world. I applied for teaching jobs at the Department of Education and Guam Community College and a Museum Curator's job with the Department Of Chamorro Affairs. Now we will see what we will see.

To qualify for a teaching certificate here I need to pass a Praxis Test. I am scheduled to take that on Friday. It is a pretty basic, Reading, Writing, and 'Rithmatic test. Plus I need a TB test and police and court clearances. Busy, busy.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: katlaughing
Date: 03 Jan 06 - 07:51 PM

The job hunt sounds exciting, Brett! Good luck! Leave time for writing though, okay?:->

Such abundance of fruit! I cannot imagine what it would be like to have hanging over one's head! Would love to have my own banana tree. Fresh ones would be so good in my morning smoothie with frozen blueberries, rice milk and rice protein powder!

kat

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: SINSULL
Date: 03 Jan 06 - 08:45 PM

Are there tarantulas in the banana trees? Does Harry Belafonte stop by and hum the Banana Boat Song? 6' 7' 8' BUNCH!!!!

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 03 Jan 06 - 09:17 PM

No tarantulas though there was a huge spider on the shampoo bottle when I reached for it in the shower. Of course no glasses so it was just a blurry mark on the bottle till it moved.

As for "6' 7' 8' BUNCH!!!!" our bunch was only about five or six hands of little 6 inch bananas. Doh! I forgot to put some in mycereal this morning!

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 04 Jan 06 - 09:09 AM

Today I had to deliver additional paperwork to the various offices where I dropped off my applications yesterday. Let's see, I had to provide my District and Superior court clearances, my police clearance, my college transcripts, and my DD214 showing that I was honorably discharged from the Navy. The DD214 is a laugh. It is a copy of a copy, and that was charred in the house fire in 2003 so the edges are all uneven and burned.

Oh, and the Department of Education wanted my original transcripts, thank you very much. I told them they would only get a copy until they hired me. I was applying to other places and the winning employer would get the original. But they don't want to keep them, they just need to look at them to verify that I have an original copy.

This job thing is very complicated. And expensive. I had to shell out $5 for the police clearance, $15 for the Superior Court clearance, $26 for the District Court clearance, $125 for the Praxis Test to get my teaching certificate, and $28 for the TB test. This is ridiculous.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Leadfingers
Date: 04 Jan 06 - 09:27 AM

All that mucking about just to get gainful employment ! Am I glad I was able to get out of 'Day Jobs' . Best of luck , mate .

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Leadfingers
Date: 04 Jan 06 - 09:28 AM

WHEEE !!! 200 !!!!

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 04 Jan 06 - 05:53 PM

Yeah, well, I wouldn't need gainful employment if I wanted to stay here. But I need to go visit my friends in far away lands so I need to work for it.

It would be easier if those friends would come here to visit me.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 06 Jan 06 - 07:54 PM

Well, there's news on the employment front. I have papered the town with applications, been stung with needles for the TB test, spent three and a half hours squinting at a computer screen taking the Praxis test (I'd forgotten my reading glasses), visited offices handing in applications, and revisited those offices giving them additional information, taken requested papers to offices only to hear that they really didn't need them, pounded over the roads all over the island.

Then on Thursday Wakana decided to visit some of the golf courses to get some job applications. We decided they were all too far away to be worthwhile jobs so we stopped in Tumon so she could pick up a job application at a wedding coordiation business. She went in unemployed and came out with a part time job.

The night before she had been bemoaning her lack of qualifications for any job on the island except sales clerk.

Of course, now she has to go to work while I can stay at home and eat bon-bons.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 06 Jan 06 - 08:54 PM

good on ya, Wakana

Brett, make sure you leave some bob-bons for Wakana as an after-work snack!

sandra

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 08 Jan 06 - 06:56 PM

Poor Wakana... again! She has put in numerous hours clearing the brush between our house and the one in front of us. That house was occupied by old man Rice when we moved in. Shortly after we moved in he disappeared. It turns out he had cancer and had moved in with his family during his treatments. He died a few months ago. Now his house is being cleaned up and retrofitted with good windows. The people go in after work and labor in there until about 9:00 every evening.

And yesterday they clear cut the area that Wakana has been caring for. Her lemon tree is gone. The pumpkins are gone. We now have a clear view of their backyard, in fact the back yard now runs up to ours! Wakana is shocked and heartbroken.

On the plus side her work in our back yard is going well. She claims to be making a nature trail. If that is a trail then so is a four lane highway. But from where I now sit I can see tree trunks where before all I could see was bushes and sword grass. We will build a set of steps running up the bank to the upper area using old tires and gravel. That was her idea and it is a good one. Gordon likes it but then he likes anything that is cheap and only requires hard labor. Never saw anyone work like that man does.

Well, actually I've seen plenty of men, and women, work like that. It is the only way to survive in Maine nd the other northern tier states, and Canada, and, actually, anywhere in the cold when you live closer to the traditional lifestyle. Work is part of the routine. You cut, split, and stack your firewood and then carry it into the woodstove, clean out the surplus of ashes and add them to your compost heap or scatter them on your driveway, dig up your garden in the spring and plant it in neat rows that you weed and hoe and water, and tend it all summer while fixing your own cars and repairing your home, and cutting your firewood that you split and stack as you harvest your garden, can the surplus, and reap the benefits of all that hard work. Of course all that is done while working a full time job and tending to the children. And that is just the tip of the iceberg. Much more has to be done to keep body and soul together.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 09 Jan 06 - 11:19 AM

Time to put another log on the fire!

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Dahlin
Date: 09 Jan 06 - 04:10 PM

Brett
    I'm glad to see that you may get into that "teaching business" yet! I am now in Florida until the current Ice Age ends up North. Nice to feel some of those warm tropical breezes you describe so well.


Dick

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: katlaughing
Date: 09 Jan 06 - 04:49 PM

That's a shame about the pumpkins and lemon tree! I remember feeling so shocked when I saw people casually cutting down trees in New England right after we moved there from Wyoming. In WY, it takes so much to get one little sapling to survive and grow, it seemed like sacrilege to cut ANY tree down. Of course, they do in order to cut down on forest fires and for heating purposes, but NOT in their own yards!

I wonder if the people who cut down the lemon tree, etc. have any idea of how precious such things are to others? I guess it all depends on how common things are...

kat

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 10 Jan 06 - 06:35 PM

This morning I explained the religion vs. science debate in the USA to Wakana. She was amused, incredulous, and shocked. She could not understand how a nation that ranks so high in the world could have such a ridiculous attitude. She could not understand why an idea so ludicrous as creation could carry so much weight in the modern world.

Then I told her that the president of the United States of America, the man who calls himself the leader of the free world, believes in creationism, and she just pitied me.

I recently read that the performance of US math and science middle school students ranked below that of 38 other countries and that advanced students in math and physics student ranked dead last among students in 30 other countries. Since 1990 the number of bachelor's degrees in engineering has declined by 8% and in math the decline has been 20%. In the USA 32% of students graduate with degrees in science and engineering. In China the figure is 59%!

Recently I've been watching the ill fated TV series Firefly. The unstated assumption in that series is that the future is based on a Chinese superiority. The characters occasionaly use Chinese epithets and signs are in English and Chinese, mainland Chinese according to Wakana.

I guess the producer knew what he was doing.

Wakana's pity hurts.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Amos
Date: 10 Jan 06 - 08:18 PM

Then I told her that the president of the United States of America, the man who calls himself the leader of the free world, believes in creationism, and she just pitied me.

It makes me pity us all, Brett!


A

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 13 Jan 06 - 03:08 PM

Is there some form of higher injustice in the world? Maybe there is a supreme being and S/He has a sense of humor. If so, the joke escapes me.

Have you noticed that when you talk for a long time you get a sore throat? And if you yell loudly or tolk loudly for a while you may lose your voice?

Why doesn't that happen with dogs?

Our neighbor has a dog that has suddenly had to move to a doghouse outdoors. As a result that dog has decided to spend its days and nights barking. The dog isn't barkng AT anything. It's just barking, a continuous nagging bark that goes on and on.

The other night I leaned out the back door and yelled at the dog. She shut up for a second and then, I swear I'm not making this up, she answered me with two lower pitched woofs. Then she went back to her perpetual barking.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Amos
Date: 13 Jan 06 - 04:09 PM

She was saying, "Woof you, biped!! What do you know? You can't even bark without losing your voice!!".

Hell, you've heard of the Little Leather-Winged Bat, right? Dogs are leather-lunged.


A

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 13 Jan 06 - 04:25 PM

The question before us, ladies and gentlemen, is how can barking be curtailed? Another consideration might be whether the bitch's bark is worse than her bite? Is she, indeed, a shaggy dog? We really need much more information from our dear friend Brett, the hair of the dog so to speak.

How will it all end? Well, it's sure a dog-eat-dog world! But whatever you decide to do, Brett, try not to be dogmatic.

ARF, ARF!
Charley Ignoble

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Amos
Date: 13 Jan 06 - 05:54 PM

...and don't let your dogma get hit by your karma, whatever you do.

Arf!


A

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 15 Jan 06 - 06:58 PM

Today is a big day. Today Wakana is off for her first day in her new job. It is the end of five years of "vacation". Of course, most of that time she was in school earning her master's degree and learning English but there was little pressure on her most of the time.

On Saturday she had her orientation. She is working for a company that sets up and coordinates wedding ceremonies for tourists. Weddings are a big business on Guam. Every hotel has at least one chapel and there are other chapels scattered around Tumon. Two Lovers Point is a very popular place for wedding pictures perched as it is two hundred feet over the ocean and overlooking hotel row.

Her company coordinates wedding at the two chapels. They conduct one wedding an hour all day every day. They will hold seventeen weddings today in the two chapels. Her job is to make sure everything is set, the makeup looks good and the clothing is straight, the minister and the chauffer and the other elements are in place to make it a proper celebration for the happy couple.

I think it is a funny job for a woman who could offer little or no input for her own wedding.

Anyway, she is excited and, I think, a little nervous. She has never worked in an office full of women before. She has never had a job like this before. And she has never had to wear a uniform before.

She has to wear black. We were laughing about her looking like she was in mourning. Black slacks, black blouse, and black shoes. Certainly nobody will mistake her for being part of the wedding party.

And now, for the funniest part of the whole story. When talking with her new boss she mentioned she was married to an Amerika-jin. He became very interested and wanted to know if I would like to act as the minister for the weddings. A license is not necessary as all the couples are already formally married by the time they leave Japan. The company only provides a ceremony, not the official sanction of the minister/priest. That would be the funniest job I've ever held.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Amos
Date: 15 Jan 06 - 07:25 PM

Done it for years, Brett, as a sort of sideline. Very rewarding work, too, but not in financial terms.

A

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: JudyB
Date: 15 Jan 06 - 09:27 PM

So what sort of costume does an Amerika-jin minister wear?? Something silky??? Perhaps a sort of mitre hat? Do post a photo that is suitable for embellishment by your friends!!

JudyB

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 21 Jan 06 - 12:48 PM

Maybe Brett and Wakana are working so hard that they don't have time to post an update.

You know that's one of the occupational hazards of working, so I hear tell.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble, working hardly

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 21 Jan 06 - 04:40 PM

OOPS! Sorry. We bin bizy.

We are into the "dry" season now. I put it in quotes because our back yard is still sloppy mud and it is still raining a little every day. I haven't been able to work on the van because the grass around it is only a disguise for the mud. Gordon and I jacked it up and slipped some concrete slabs under the front wheels to keep it from settling into the slime but I need to crawl around under the thing and cannot until we get a long dry spell.

The USDA is supposed to build a drainage system up behind the house. Actually they've been working on planning and surveying for over a year now but they haven't started work yet. It would be great if they would do the job before the next wet season.

Wakana has been working all week and is very tired. We went to the canoe meeting yesterday. When we got there she parked herself in the shade and apologized for not having any energy. I unfolded one of our canvas beach chairs and settled her in it. She promptly fell asleep and sat there for over an hour with buses running by behind her and the chain saw running in front of her. I doubt an explosion would have disturbed her.

We had a problem with our canoe house. The local authorities would not approve our building permit. That was awkward because we had already begun building and we had to quit. After some haranguing of the political establishment by some of our more savvy members they finally gave us our permit. Now we are back into construction.

The utt is a traditional canoe house built from wood and thatched with sword grass. We have the frame up and are working on the steeply pitched roof. It is about 35 feet long and about 25 feet wide. The frame is made of old telephone poles sunk deep into the ground. The cross members are also made up of telephone poles tied to the uprights. The ridge pole is a single 38 foot telephone pole and will be about 25 feet off the ground when we get it up there.

Raising the ridge pole was a mystery to me until yesterday. We had a crew of Puluwatese working under Manny and another older man. At each end of the frame they raised two tall poles, trimmed and debarked tree trunks about 10 inches at the base. These were set into holes and tied tightly to the frame. Cross pieces were lashed to one of each pair of uprights and another piece was lashed at the top tying each pair together. Apparently we will raise the ridge pole into place with ropes and an upright will be placed under it to hold it in place. Then the rafters will go in to form the roof frame. That will be one long day of work. A 38 foot telephone pole is one heavy piece of wood.

It was a beautiful day down by the water yesterday. The trade winds kept the apparent temperatures down and the sun was bright on the water. There was a surfing competition down at the harbor mouth. That is one of the few places on the island where you can surf. We have very few sloping beaches that the waves can get to. The reef stops most of them way out from shore. The water was clear and blue and green and all those tropical colors that water should be.

I tried to get a job at a dive shop a while back and was refused because I was too well educated, i.e., too old. Yesterday I was rejected from the museum curator job I쳌fd applied for. Hmm, what is the message here?

Over the last few months I have been experiencing some pain in my left hand, in the joint where my thumb joins the hand and some unusual pain on the skin of the back of my hand. I finally asked the doctor about it. X-rays show a bone spur in the joint and a bump on the back of my wrist that may be pressing on a nerve. I have to wear a splint to immobilize the thumb. Next week I am supposed to get a shot in the joint. If that doesn쳌ft work the doctor wants to operate. Sigh. I cannot play my guitar any more. That makes it tough.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 28 Jan 06 - 06:59 PM

Well, I now have two jobs and need to be working on my resume for the third one. I have been hired as a substitute teacher for both Guam Community College and for the Department Of Education. Plus I need to prepare a resume for a job running classes for an educational tour group working out of the Marriot Hotel. There is also a job opening for a firearms instructor dow on Hotel Row and I want to take the "six-pack" captain's course and test next month. The "six-pack" captain's license allows a person to run charter fishing boats and dive boats with up to six passengers. It is much in demand here.

Yesterday we worked on the canoe house. It now lookes like it will be a real house. It has a ridgepole and rafters supporting it. It really has a house shape. We have four rafters in place and fourteen more to go. Everything is made from logs and it is all tied together. There is no metal in it at all. The guys from Puluwat swarm all over it, talking and laughing, pulling on lines and heaving on poles. We haolies stand around and grab lines and pull when needed. We work at debarking the logs and trimming the knots off smooth. I used my axe for the first time in a long, long time and was pleased to see that I can still wield the blade with some accuracy.

Today we are sunburned and sore but we have a real sense of accomplishment.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 08 Feb 06 - 06:01 PM

Wow, it쳌fs been 12 days since my last entry. I am slacking off. Fortunately nobody noticed. Of course, I쳌fve had trouble getting into the Mudcat lately.

Last Monday I had my first substitute job. I was called in by the Liberal Academy to teach English as a Second Language. There were two students with very different abilities. The Korean man speaks English very well with an easily understandable accent. The Japanese woman is new to this country and suffers from a lack of vocabulary, needs work on her grammar and is hampered by the need to not make mistakes. She is easily embarrassed. I worked with them for three hours. It wasn쳌ft until half way through the lesson that they admitted to me that they are regular students and that they had homework assigned by the regular teacher. So, we went over their homework and I assigned them more based on what they쳌fd been working on. I hope it is enough.

Wakana stopped by the school yesterday and they told her the students had asked for me again. I guess I did all right.

Last night Wakana suggested that I advertise language classes in the newspaper and start teaching on my own. I hadn쳌ft thought of that. I need to skull that out a bit.

The canoe house continues to rise from its own ashes, or wreckage. I don쳌ft know if I explained that point but the club already had a canoe house on that site but it was destroyed in the super-typhoon that hit the island six months before I arrived. We are only now getting a new one up. Last weekend we got more rafters in place and a couple of braces to prevent end-to-end racking. The scaffold was taken down as well. In a couple of weeks we will be ready to begin thatching.

I have been investigating bio-diesel as a fuel. There are very few diesels on the island. According to some friends and some of the web sites I have been reading I can run a diesel on vegetable oil. I think I can get used vegetable oil for free here on the island. All I need now is a diesel pickup truck. I have always wanted a big gas guzzling monster pickup but I am too eco-conscious to ever actually own one. With a vegetable oil burning engine I can!

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 08 Feb 06 - 09:51 PM

Brett-

Nice to read an update! Keep on trucking!

You may want to send Nor an e-mail congratulating him on achieving 60 years. We'll all be over at Salem Street this Saturday evening helping him pass over that bar. Hell, with all the liquor his friends are bringing he should be able to fly over that bar!

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Ebbie
Date: 08 Feb 06 - 10:10 PM

Hey, Brett- we noticed...

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 09 Feb 06 - 07:32 PM

Wow! Nor is 60? Soon he'll be as old as you, Charley! I'll send him a nice card.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 09 Feb 06 - 07:48 PM

More job hunting yesterday and again today. I will apply for a job as a reporter for the local paper. You know all those times you say, "I could do a better job than that!" Well, I'm going to give it a try.

I will also apply to Marianas Steamship Agencies for something called Vessel Operations Coordinator. I don't have a clue what that individual does but it looks interesting. The ad doesn't mention any specialized skill or experience.

Gordon is planning to replace our water feed today. We have been limping along using a garden hose from the meter to the washing machine faucet in the back of the house. The run from the meter is over 250'! It took four hoses to make that run, two of them 75' long. He wants the water company to move the meter closer to the house.

My last water bill was over $2200. I sent a letter to the water company asking them to take responsibility for not telling me I had a leak and to knock it back to a reasonable number. No response yet.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: katlaughing
Date: 09 Feb 06 - 08:03 PM

This thread is one of the very few reasons I even check the Mudcat these days. Thanks for the update, Brett. It continues to fascinate and amaze.

Go, Teach'!!

(I've been having some shooting pains and dull pains in my thumbs and wrists, etc. My osteopath diagnosed it as carpal tunnel from my sleep position. You're gonna love this, he has me wearing "bilateral cock-up splints" at night and it has really improved.

Best to you and Wakana,

luvyakat

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 09 Feb 06 - 08:36 PM

Brett-

Your latest job application may at least make a decent song challenge in the spirit of Gibert & Sullivan:

Now I am the Vessel Operations Coordinator
For the Marianas Steamship Agency...toot, toot!

Oh, and check out the above midwest parody of "Northwest Passage." It's also a hoot!


Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 10 Feb 06 - 06:29 PM

"bilateral cock-up splints" Does Roger approve? If he쳌fs like the rest of us men he is unilateral. LOL

I have had some trouble with my hands and wrists myself. It started in my left wrist with a burning sensation on the back of my hand. Then I developed pain in my thumb joint. Apparently I have a ganglion forming on the back of my wrist that caused the burning sensation. The thumb pain was caused by a little bone spur. It seems to have cleared up but a week ago I slipped on a steep piece of ground while checking the water meter. I caught myself on my right hand. My wrist has been sore ever since and does not seem to be improving. Yesterday the doctor looked at it and decided it wasn't broken but I might have cracked a bone. And because of the injury I am developing a ganglion on that wrist too. Sigh. He wants to operate.

Yesterday I received an email from the Japanese woman I worked with in my class. I had invited both of them to write to me to practice their English. I was surprised that she took me up on the offer. The Japanese are very sensitive to embarrassment. She wrote a message containing 38 sentences. I separated them and gave her corrections. She had 24 of them absolutely correct and I congratulated her on her usage. One of the sentences was incorrect but was exactly as I have heard it spoken by native English speakers so I corrected it and then pointed out that she had good company. She apparently wants to have a pen pal kind of communication because she said she wanted to talk about pets in the next email. I think she really wants to learn. I wrote to her about the White Cat. I guess she got a lot out of the class. Wakana was impressed by her desire to learn and I think it has inspired her to try harder herself.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 10 Feb 06 - 09:32 PM

Brett-

You are reminding me of the mystery of reading English as written by non-English speaking people. One of my favorite compliments as a teacher in Ethiopia was to be told by students that "I was a clever and my home was far!" As I thought about this compliment I decided that it implied that wisdom resided beyond the local community which was an unusual bias. In Maine we generally assume that people "from away" are screaming idiots and they frequently are!

I don't think you need at this point any intercultural mentoring but I wanted to share.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Barry Finn
Date: 10 Feb 06 - 09:32 PM

Your 5 yr vacation is over? Did you finally retire from the Navy. Got an Idea. Get out of Guam. Big rumor is that the government wants to ruin the Island & pull the chain. He's gonna expand the islands buy expanding the bases. Get your six pack & run down wind(would that be north?), you & Wakana buy a schooner like the one you were raised on, come home to Maine (actually not Maine but Portsmouth, it's closer for me) & do 5 married couples a day & teach them Japanese, on the water, & hire me as the handsome(???) cabin boy. Everybody will be happy & the world will once again be as it should be. I know doing 5 married couples a day may be might be a strain but you could ask Kendall & Jacque for help with the tired & stubbon ones. Handsome cabin boys don't do that they have other specialities, they sing & pull ROPES. Whatever you guys do, I know you'll do it with a smile on your faces. BTW you can call the vessel "Kinky Kuple". Sometimes I think I'm a riot, ha,ha. It's nice catching up with ya.
LOL
Barry

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 11 Feb 06 - 05:46 AM

Barry, I hate to break it to you but the "handsome cabin boy" did stuff with the captain that I really do not want to do with you.

As for the six-pack license, I do not have enough sea time, even if I take a few liberties with the truth to qualify. I did not take the class.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 13 Feb 06 - 07:50 PM

I got a substitute job today! Next week I have four days teaching a class on marketing... MARKETING! What the hell do I know about marketing?

Should be fun!

Happy Valentine's Day to all of you. I bought Wakana a little picture frame and printed pictures of us to go into it. I made a card for her too. She bought me a box of chocolates. That is the usual way the Japanese celebrate this day. The woman buys chocolates for the man. On March 15, White Day, the man reciprocates with expensive gifts of jewelry or brand name items. Something wrong with this picture. Fortunately we, in this household, do not celebrate White Day.

The other day I picked an old book, Lucufer's Hammer, off the shelf to reread. I found a slip of paper in it that I had once used for a book,ark. It had a Christmas list on it. The list mentioned my sister's oldest son but did not mention my own kids, now 21 and 24 years old. Since it does not include my father's father then it is from about 1981. It mentioned both of my grandmothers and my sister's mother-in-law. It includes my other sister's boyfriend, the one that she DID NOT marry. That sister has been happily married for quite a while. They have an 11 year old daughter. I guess I last read that book in 1981 or 1982, 25 or 26 years ago. Amazing how much changes in our lives.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 14 Feb 06 - 02:06 AM

Ifound a package slip in the mailbox the other day. Wakana's mother had sent us another package of Japanese food. I swear, she must think the USA has no food in it fit to eat.

This slip had a piece of paper on it directing us to go to the central post office in Barrigada. Apparently U.S. Customs wanted to check the package. We did that today. We had to be there between 10:00 and 12:45. We had to wait on a loading dock and ring a bell. It took forever for someone to come to talk with us and then even longer for them to bring the package out so we could open it in front of the Customs agent. I think he was disappointed to see the packaged food. A siezure, or an arrest, would have made his day.

Wakana took me to lunch at the Marriot down on Hotel Road. They have a lovely all-you-can-eat buffet. I am stuffed. I don't want to eat again today which is too bad. She made a lovely apple pie this morning.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Barry Finn
Date: 15 Feb 06 - 02:21 AM

Bret, you were not what I had in mind as serving, you're not even a captain. I was thinking more about the 5 couples, the women that wanted to be bedded & not wedded. The handsome cabin boy was always considered to be the most stand up guy in a crew. Just a fancy fantasy from my days (younger, much younger days) living the sailors life on the Lahina Roadstead, Maui.
Glad to hear your valentine's day was a nice time, many more.
Barry

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 16 Feb 06 - 06:10 PM

I went to talk to the teacher I'll be subbing for. She gave me the low down on the job. Schools in Guam are substandard at best. The room is large and cluttered, as every classroom must be. There is a bank of computers along one wall and half the room is given over to office type desks (being a business class room). The air conditioning is set to 24 degrees centigrade. The teacher explained that it is a well equiped classroom because it is a GCC funded class. The other classrooms are not so well off and most do not have AC! Next week we will be in the audio-visual room in the library and then, she said, I will see what passes for an educational facility here on Guam.

I have already heard about the poor state of supplies and facilities. In some schools the teachers have to supply pencils out of their own pockets and chalk (or grease pencils) is not supplied by the school. Books are out of date and audio-visual materials are not supplied. Gordon used to work in the schools as a science teacher. His classrooms were stocked with the best equipment and had the best facilities anywhere. The school didn't do that for him. He is a born scanvenger and fixer. He would take a broken AV cart and fix it up better than new. Then he would lock it in his office and NOT lend it to be broken again. He once scavenged a number of broken VCRs and cannabalized some to repair the others. He had TVs in his room, fastened to the walls so they could not be borrowed. That is what a teacher needs to do to get decent materials on this island.

Private schools do not have this problem. Most are Christian schools teaching religion and education. The ideal job would be at St. John's School. They pride themselves on a 100% college attendance rate.

And I have a cold. Bah humbug! My throat is sore and my nose runs and I feel like crap. Ugh.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 17 Feb 06 - 07:16 PM

I was just reading the thread on non-love songs and remembered that way back in February 2000 a friend and I went to a party. Since it was February the people were singing love songs in their song circle. My friend and I had each recently had our hearts broken so we were in no mood to sing love songs. We racked our brains to sing any anti-love song we could, espousing our distaste for love and happiness in relationships.

That was a long time ago. Now I am happily married and she will be marrying in June. I am looking forward to being at her wedding. She asked me to sing a love song. I wish her all the happiness in the world.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: SINSULL
Date: 17 Feb 06 - 07:51 PM

A wedding coordinator? OOOOOOHHH! Shall we stock up on goodies from the Christmas Tree Shop. Did she show them her collection of Wedding Hideobilia from the Getaway? Can Jacqui and I play too?

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Amos
Date: 17 Feb 06 - 09:49 PM

Oh, Brett...you're inna heap o' trouble now, boy!!! LOL!!!


A

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 18 Feb 06 - 12:58 PM

It's funny how seriously people take a wedding when they spend several thousand dollars on the event. Wakana wears a black uniform, has to maintain a calm, unruffled, and controlling demeanor, and still allow the people to enjoy their hour with the company. That's right, one hour. They pump couples through that chapel like cattle through a chute in the Chicago packing houses. Wakana comes home with stories of crying brides, proud and crying fathers, inept mothers, and hard-to-herd guests. The couples spend a lot of money on their wedding and it has to come off perfectly for them.

The Japanese have a highly developed sense of propriety and formality. When they screw up in the performance of their duties then it is up to Wakana and her work mates to set things right and clear up the mess. For example, one of the parts of the ceremony requires the mothers to each light a candle and set them in the candelabra. It쳌fs a simple enough duty. However, at one wedding the mothers lit their candles and then tried to light another, apparently invisible, candle with it. They were sticking the lit candles fire side first into the candle holder. Wakana had to step into the ceremony and show them what to do. She now has added a simple rehearsal of that part of the ceremony to her To-Do list.

The services offered by the company include the wedding, rental of the gown for the bride and suits for the men, photos and a video of the event, and a reception in one of the small reception halls outside the chapel. You can request a flower shower with flower petals or an explosion of doves from a basket. The gowns come in a variety of styles from simple white to fancy embroidery and shiny bits. The bride can also choose between any number of jewelry to go with the ensemble. It쳌fs quite a system, all designed to strip a happy couple of money.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: SINSULL
Date: 19 Feb 06 - 09:29 AM

Oh please let us play too. The Christmas Tree Shop has big plastic hearts with fake rose petals. You could sweep them up and use them over and over again.
Or how about silver Love Dice as wedding favors????
Wakana will be at the Getaway, right????

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 19 Feb 06 - 03:16 PM

It is good to know there are special people in the world like you and Jacqui, Sinsull. Too many people take something that should be fun, like a wedding, way too seriously. I am so glad that Wakana could finally relax and enjoy our wedding. My friend Olga from work couldn't do that. I think she said her wedding was going to cost in excess of $10k. She spent months agonizing over party favors and dresses and glasses and invitations. I am amazed she found time to work. When Wakana and I attended her wedding we couldn't see that she was having any fun. It appeared to be an extremely tiring and difficult day. You and Jacqui should go into the business of throwing FUN weddings, and other holiday parties.

As for the Getaway, I'm afraid that is not in the cards this year. I have to go to my daughter's graduation in May and we are committed to go home for Christmas. Unless some unknown wealthy relative kicks the bucket and drops a ton of cash on me we are not going anywhere in October.

I am finally feeling better after the cold. It has been a long time since I had a cold. I'd forgotten how it feels. Yesterday I woke late, had breakfast and went back to bed. I slept most of the day and woke feeling much better. We went to Gordon's house in the evening so Wakana could help his daughter with her Japanese homework. They were expecting friends to come over to play Tres Siete, a Chamorro card game. He tried to explain the rules but I couldn't get my mind around the point system. It seems low cards have full points but higher cards only have 1/3 point and something else with words and how you lay down your cards alerts your partner to the next play and something else... Let's just say, it ain't easy.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 20 Feb 06 - 03:35 AM

We get a lot of Japanese weddings around our famous harbour, and one day I saw a 3 person & 1 fancy car photo event: bride, groom & female photographer. Pose, snap, move along, pose, snap ... anyway, they looked like they were enjoying themselves.

A friend's recent wedding was the most comfortable & fun wedding I've been to since my sister's wedding in 1989.

At the time my friend was planning her simple fun day, a colleague was watching her bride friend going thru hell looking for the perfect shoes to hide under her perfect dress ... Big money wasting event that the bride was too freaked out from work stress, mortgage stress & wedding planning stress to really enjoy, but I'm sure it was picture perfect.

The pics from my sister's wedding were perfect - 100+ folks in the park, females all wearing yellow plastic "Pam's bridesmaid" badge, males wearing "John's best man" badge, 8 year old guest wearing white tulle & veil cos she wanted to be a bride, her mum in yellow tulle, my other sister in 1950's ballerina length afternon dress with her semi-tame parrot on her shoulder ...

sandra

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 20 Feb 06 - 05:37 AM

Now that sounds like my kind of wedding...

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 20 Feb 06 - 06:35 AM

to continue the story - my other sister decided the wedding should be formal, which was why she found the second-hand bridesmaid dress, & as Pam was wearing a cream mini skirt & jacket, painted a life-size pic of a formally dressed bride & groom, cut out the heads so our bride & groom could look thru & get their photos taken.

it was a great day, 100 friends attended & John's stuffy colleagues who objected to the red-printed A4 invitation saying 'Pam & John want your presence, not presents' stayed at home. Apparently they would have attended if the invitation had said 'John & Pam ..." Lucky us.

sandra

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 21 Feb 06 - 07:13 AM

I came, I saw, they conquered! Today was my first day as a substitute teacher. Omigod. What have I done?

Actually it wasn쳌ft too bad. But the class room does not have air conditioning! It gets HOT! The kids droop like wilting flowers in the heat. The paper sticks to their hands and the table tops.

In the first period there is a special needs kid. He doesn쳌ft pay attention, doesn쳌ft want to learn and when you check his work he pretends to work hard but does nothing. I see him as a future president. Another boy watches me out of the corner of his eye and becomes very busy when I look at him. Definitely VP material.

Things got a little confusing in the afternoon. They ran out of work to do and we settled into some serious babysitting, i.e., herding cats. The cell phones came out to play. It was awful. I realized this evening that I had only assigned half the work the teacher left for them to do in the first period. Oops!

Tomorrow is a brand new day. They shouldn쳌ft run out of work. I have gone over the lesson plan and I think I see what the teacher intended. Plus we have to make up the work from today. If the cell phones appear I think I will invite them to join me in the front of the classroom where they can wait patiently for their owners. The same for the MP3 players and iPods. Kids have too much.

Wakana came home from her first day as a coordinator. Previously she has been working as an assistant. Today she ran the show. She is quite proud of herself. She was complimented by the supervisor for doing a good job. That was good for her to hear.

She has succeeded in making another father cry. I think she쳌fs keeping count and working on a scoring system. Today쳌fs father of the bride was nervous about his role in the wedding. Wakana told him about her trip down the aisle (or, as the Japanese call it, the Virgin Road). She talked about walking with her father and thanking him for taking care of her. He replied that he hoped she would be happy. When she finished her story he was mopping at his eyes. She쳌fs quite proud of that too.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 21 Feb 06 - 08:20 AM

what with wedding coordination & relief teaching, you'll both be in permanent work!

sandra

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 24 Feb 06 - 06:42 PM

It's Saturday. After sixteen and a half months of freedom I had forgotten how wonderful a thing is Saturday. After sleeping in for most of those days I find that not waking to an alarm clock is a great thing. And soon I will lay me down for a nap. What a life!

Wakana came to the class yesterday afternoon. I had our slide show from our Big Trip. Some of the kids are interested in Japan and I wanted to show them the pictures. They were fascinated. The kids who didn't want to watch the slides sat with Wakana and talked with her. She showed them Japanese writing and talked of her life. I think we gave them quite a good Friday afternoon.

I may have to work on Monday as well and maybe even on Tuesday. Their teacher is healing from her operation but she says she may need another couple of days. I'm having fun.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 24 Feb 06 - 08:44 PM

Nice to hear that the work is working out.

We've caught your cold. I should have known better than to have opened your thread last week.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Ebbie
Date: 25 Feb 06 - 07:07 PM

Just about the only reason I returned to part time work, Naemanson, is so I'd get an occasional day off. The second week there wa a holiday and I had 5 days off in a row- Heaven!

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 26 Feb 06 - 05:32 PM

Today the teacher returned to the class. I dropped by in the morning to give back her books and the papers the kids turned in. As we talked the first class trooped in. We enjoyed a few moments before I left. It was a good class and I feel I really made a difference. At least I was head and shoulders above their last two substitutes. One walked out on the class and left the kids alone while he went home for something. The other would put her head down and sleep in the afternoon. At least I learned the kids' names and helped them when they needed me.

Now I go back to the same dull routine of retirement (sarcasm intended).

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 01 Mar 06 - 06:45 AM

I got a call yesterday from GCC for another substitute job. This time it's for a Tourism class at the same high school. It's only for one day. Funny how this becomes almost routine so quickly.

Today Gordon, Wakana, and I went to look at a couple of Mercedes Benz 300SD sedans a woman is selling. We wandered into a neighborhood that we didn't know existed. The cars are in ludicrous condition. One is a 1983 and the other is a 1985. We couldn't get the hood open on the 1985. The 1983 has plants growing on the floorboards. The sunroof on the 1985 has rusted and has been dripping water into the car for a long time. But they are diesels.

Gordon, Ward, and I are planning to buy diesels and burn vegetable oil in them for fuel. The fuel is envoronmentally cleaner and almost free. The performance is about 95% to 98% of burning diesel for fuel. You guys ought to look into it.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 01 Mar 06 - 08:10 AM

Brett-

Caution may be in order. Remember when you are tooling along the highway in your resurrected diesel Mercedes Benz 300SD burning vegetable oil, the smell is likely to make you VERY HUNGRY. The result may be incompatible with your weight-loss goals...

It's another week of subzero weather in Maine but spring is just around the corner, but watch for black ice!

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: katlaughing
Date: 02 Mar 06 - 12:02 AM

LOL! Charley!

Brett, my Rog says the grease from one McDonald's burger would get you across the whole island! (I know, I know, it's not vegetable oil!**bg**)

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 02 Mar 06 - 02:15 AM

Thanks, Roger *GRIN*. Actually you could burn animal fat but it has to be heated hotter than veggie oil.

And Charley has a point. Apparently cars that burn waste veggie oil smell like french fries or whatever was cooked in that oil. NOT good for keeping away the munchies. Remember Cheech and Chong's marijuana van and the motorcycle cop that trailed them through the smoke? Once he got them stopped all he could do was cop some snacks off them.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 04 Mar 06 - 11:57 PM

Wakana's job withh World Bridal is a continuing source of frustration and stress. She really doesn't like it. The other day she moaned a wish that I would find her a better job.

Friday, after a particularly frustrating and difficult day, she arrived home ragged and sweaty to the news that she has a job interview on Thursday. Actually we both do. I had seen an ad in the paper for the Japanese School in Mangilao. They are looking for ESL teachers. I went over there to pick up the applications and was told they had to be in before 6:00. Wakana was at work. So I came home, filled out both applications, attached our resumes to them, and delivered them by 5:30. The news perked her up though she is concerned about her ability to teach English.

Our air conditioning has been turned off. The day is cool, relatively, and we have the doors and windows open. The noise of the chickens reverberates through the house. A gaggle of chicks just paraded past my window calling loudly for their mother. There are two big roosters in the flock, one is basic black and white with speckles and black and green tail feathers. He is quite a creature but his rival is gloriously colored in browns, reds, greens and black highlights. The colorful one is obviously subordinate to the black and white rooster. I saw the confrontation yesterday which ended in quite a chase.

The big news on the island is that secret surveilance cameras and microphones have been found at the airport. It's a huge scandal with no agency claiming ownership. The local law enforcement agenciies are pointing fingers at the Feds and the Feds are denying everything.

The other news is a big push to dispose of junk cars all over the island. Hundreds have been picked up, many more than expected. This month they will be picking up cars in our village. Rusted beaten hulks are appearing all over the place to be there in time for the disposal teams to come in. One day you drive by an empty patch of ground and next there are two cars sitting there, then four, then five, etc., until there is a pile of twisted rusty metal waiting for the disposal people to arrive.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 05 Mar 06 - 08:09 AM

good luck on the job changing.

as a point of sheer vulgar curiosity, how are THEY planning to dispose of the cars? dump 'em at sea to make artifical reefs, or send them overseas for pulling apart or landfill? or something else I've not thougth of.

sandra

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 05 Mar 06 - 12:52 PM

Brett-

Best be sure to secure your van-in-process-of-renovation.

Bright and sunny today here in Maine. The temperature may hit 30 F.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 06 Mar 06 - 05:18 AM

Actually the van is going away. We've determined that the engine is seized up. I advertised it for sale today as a parts vehicle. Failing that I'll have the disposal team pick it up.

Thay are crushing the cars on site and shipping them away to be melted down and recycled. Yeah, I know, I was shocked too.

Today Gordon and I replaced the water line for the house. We'd been limping along with a leaky garden hose. Now it's all new Schedule 80 PVC. We spent the day digging trenches and hacking through undergrowth with the machete to run the two hundred feet down to the meter. This afternoon Gordon was getting into his van after a long hard day and he stepped in water. There was a pond next to the house. Somehow we'd managed to put one joint together without glue!

So now our front lawn looks like a construction site with a trench, piles of dirt, a wheelbarrow and lots of concrete slabs out of place. We have our work cut out for us getting it back in order.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 06 Mar 06 - 05:22 AM

By the way, this morning we were talking about the similarities between Maine and Guam. Gordon started to speculate on the impact of winter on a culture, the planning and preparation it takes to get ready for the season. Then he said something interesting. Apparently the Chukese language has no future tense. They have past tense and present but no future, at least they didn't before the coming of the Europeans and Asians.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 08 Mar 06 - 09:34 AM

My computer has been down for the last few days. I finally had to reload windows and it works but it is very sluggish.

I woke this morning to the sound of the telephone. It was Guam Community College asking me to come in to substitute for their automotive classes. The teacher is in the reserves, I guess, and was called in for an unscheduled meeting. The work consisted of babysitting three double periods of kids with NO lesson plan and NO instructions. The teacher left me with three DVDs for the kids to watch and they claimed they've already seen those videos. Now they can say they've seen them one more time.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 09 Mar 06 - 04:40 AM

Today Wakana and I each had a job interview... for the same job... at the same time. There are twelve other applicants. This is the job that I applied for and filled out her application too. The interview was rather rudimentary so I guess they had already made their decision. One question was about the possible disruption of merital harmony if only one of us was hired. (They are filling two positions.) We each got a laugh out of that one and reassured the interviewers that we had already talked about this and would have no problem with that decision.

The water problems have left us paranoid about water. The evening after we connected the new line we had low water pressure and I immediately ran down the hill to check the meter. It wasn't moving so there were no leaks. This evening Wakana came in and announced she could hear water splashing in the bushes in front of the house. I searched out a flashlight and was on my way out the door when she realized it was chickens moving not water splashing.

Today Wakana saw chicken sex for the first time. A rooster was getting it on with a hen when the alpha male rooster came running along and put a stop to it. C'est la vie.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 09 Mar 06 - 07:19 PM

This morning I made reservations for my next trip home. I leave Guam on May 9 at 6:35 PM and arrive in Portland at 10:09 PM. I have to be at my daughter's graduation in Virginia on May 14. I leave to return to Guam on June 20 but I have to lay over in Los Angeles until June 27!

I am staying that long for a few important events including the wedding of an old friend. I will also be able to work in a few other things like the Mystic Sea Music Festival and Sinsull's monthly music party, I hope.

So, here are the requests. Amos, ol' buddy, pal, friend, and gentleman of long standing respect and honor... Can I bunk in with you and your lovely wife while waiting for my ride to Guam? Or can you recommend a quiet stretch of beach where I can sleep?

Charley, can you send me Meg Frost's address? I wonder if she's willing to take on an old volunteer for work at the festival?

I may have other requests as time goes by. You may want to bail out now.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 09 Mar 06 - 07:23 PM

Oh, the reason for the long layover is that it is the busy season (yeah, right!) and that I am flying on my frequent flyer miles. Total cost for the trip is $37.00 plus 60,000 miles.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 09 Mar 06 - 07:32 PM

OOPS! I just got a call from the Japanese school! They want me to teach English for the next school year from April 2006 to March 2007! Now what do I do?

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Amos
Date: 09 Mar 06 - 07:42 PM

So, here are the requests. Amos, ol' buddy, pal, friend, and gentleman of long standing respect and honor... Can I bunk in with you and your lovely wife while waiting for my ride to Guam? Or can you recommend a quiet stretch of beach where I can sleep?

Why sure, both or either, as you prefer -- but just to clarify, it's a futon in a separate room, no hot-bunking. LOL!!! You're talking June 20 to 27? The bathroom will be finished by then, so you'll even have a bathroom to yourself, barring unexpected additions.

Unless BBW has a plan she hasn't told me about.

Will confirm.

Regards,

A

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: SINSULL
Date: 09 Mar 06 - 07:45 PM

Brett,
Ed Trickett on May 4th! Come a week earlier.
Will Wakana be with you? Jacqui and I have planned an all day shopping trip. Have a map for the "most charity stores covered in one day + the Christmas Tree Shop" route and everything.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 09 Mar 06 - 08:14 PM

It's one step forward, two steps back,
Moving down the Naemanson track,
Doing the Naemanson hornpipe!

I'll see what I can do to get Meg to e-mail you a form.

There's always a bed here for you as well or you can use the cottage in Robinhood.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: JudyB
Date: 09 Mar 06 - 09:15 PM

So if I read this correctly, you'll be teaching English at the Japanese school in May and June, which is when you'll be in the US for graduations, weddings, sea music festivals and so forth.

Perfect!

Declare it a field trip and make 35% of their grade dependent on either accompanying you or doing an independent study of similar complexity.

(You might need to negotiate with Amos, but I'm sure we can fit 20 or 30 students into the cottage - they're used to Japanese trains, so they should feel right at home.)

See you in the spring?

JudyB

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 10 Mar 06 - 12:07 AM

Mary & Jacqui, I'm sorry but Wakana will not be coming along on this trip. We cannot fit her into the luggage. You will have to wait for Christmas time to make that round of junk shops, uh, er, "charity" shops.

The Japanese School called back. I am OK but will not start there until August. That will allow me to go home for the graduation.

Thanks, Amos. I'll get into Los Angeles on June 21 and leave on June 27. I'm sure there's a bus to get me to San Diego. I'm looking forward to visiting the maritime museum again. Maybe this time I can get to that aircraft carrier too.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 10 Mar 06 - 12:22 AM

By the way, there is no chance that I can get there in time for Ed Tricket. That's way too early. I wish I could be there.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Amos
Date: 10 Mar 06 - 09:51 AM

Brett:

You can also take the Metro liner down the coast from LA, more comfortable.

I'll PM you my cell phone. Let me know when and where you'll be touching down.

A

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: SINSULL
Date: 10 Mar 06 - 01:34 PM

New Year's Eve at my place, Brett?

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 10 Mar 06 - 07:02 PM

That sounds good, Mary.

Amos, I like the idea of the train. When I get there I'll tell you all about my Big Trip and our experiences with trains.

WARNING! I will be traveling with the Slide Show From Hell! On our big trip we took over 2,000 pictures and I have incorporated them into a DVD slide show. If you put me up you are doomed, DOOMED I tell you. Muahahaaaa.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: SINSULL
Date: 10 Mar 06 - 07:35 PM

Home movies?????
Well - we'll set you up upstairs with a projector and a screen. Anyone who feels the need to have you inflict this on them can wander in and out at will. I will remain downstairs.
SINS

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 12 Mar 06 - 06:57 AM

It's more insidious than that. The slide show is a DVD disk. It HAS to go on the TV. Must... see... pictures... show slides... to friends... The eye calls to me.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Amos
Date: 12 Mar 06 - 09:44 AM

Sorry, Brett, but we here in Dodge require all home-movies, slides vacation photos, and other weapons of a mass soporification to be checked at the door. You can have them back when you leave, providing you show me an actual ticket.

A

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 12 Mar 06 - 02:51 PM

LOL! I will try to control myself.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: SINSULL
Date: 12 Mar 06 - 03:04 PM

I knew there was a reason I never got a DVD player. Saved by my fear of technology!
Leave the movies behind and use that space to bring us something wonderful from Guam, like Wakana.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 14 Mar 06 - 06:02 PM

On Sunday afternoon Wakana and I were headed home, driving south on Marine Corps Drive. We noticed that the clouds in the southern sky looked funny, the color was wrong. As we drove it became clear that what we were looking at was a huge plume of smoke from grass fires.

Grass fires are not unusual this time of year. It쳌fs pretty dry now. The last substantial rain we쳌fve had was in early February. The center of the island is mostly grass lands where the tall sword grass grows. Sometimes that grass burns off in patches.

We drove up on to Cross Island Road to see what was going on. We had to go all the way to our old house on Bishop Felixberto Flores Drive. There we walked across a lawn to look down into the valley.

The terrain is pretty rough out there. The valley is cut with gulches and high ridges. You could walk for miles over ground that a crow could fly in only a mile. The sides of the gulleys and gulches are steep and the soil is rocky and sparse. It쳌fs perfect for growing grass but for little else.

We heard the fire before we saw it, a crackling roar that seemed to fill the air. Then we saw the flames leaping high into a smoky sky and the grass withering and blackening in torment. The landscape behind the fire was blackened ruin. At one point a deer broke cover and fled up the gulley. All in all it was a pretty dramatic sight.

The residents of the house were there, a young military couple and their five year old daughter. They had a friend with them. Their home was in no danger. There was at least an acre of neatly trimmed lawn between the sword grass and the house. We chatted while we watched the fire. They had sent the little girl off to the house to bring two beers out to the men. She disappeared into the house and reappeared a little while later carrying the two cans. The house sits up on top of a sharp slope and the little girl was faced with the prospect of carrying the heavy (for a five year old) cans down the slope. She solved the problem in typical child fashion. She rolled the cans down and then walked and slid down after them. She picked them up at the bottom of the hill and only dropped them once or twice getting them to her father and his friend. The cans were covered in dirt and bits of grass and obviously were not going to open peacefully. We all got a good laugh out of the incident and praised the child for her hard work.

As it turns out the fire was one of the biggest seen in Guam in several years. It was a busy day for our firefighters. There were actually three fires. The big one we saw burned 2500 acres and threatened the military families living up at NavMag. There were about 30 homes that had to be evacuated. One local guy left and drove through flames to get out of his dead end street. But nobody was injured and property only suffered smoke damage. The other fires burned an additional 500 acres.

Yesterday I went over to the Japanese School to sign my employment contract. I will be paid $19.00 per hour and $9.00 per hour for each meeting I am called in for. I start my job on August 24. My first meeting is in April.

I also got paid yesterday for my substitute teaching. I am now rolling in filthy lucre. $325.00! What joy. In addition to that I finally received my income tax refund for 2003. That date in NOT a mistake. Here on Guam income tax refunds come in 2 years after you file them.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 15 Mar 06 - 06:28 PM

When I was a child in northern Maine we lived in Van Buren which is about as far north as you can go without leaving the USA. Nearby, in the city of Presque Isle was Loring Air Fore Base. Loring was a SAC base where the big B-52 bombers were based and ready to attack the Soviet Union if necessary. I remember going there as a Boy Scout on a field trip.

There was a plane crash while we were living there. One man was killed. It was big news in a small community. I remember it clearly.

Yesterday I learned the rest of the story.

I was at the Continental office to pay for my ticket home in May. Next to me sat an old man. He was not the genteel version of age nor was he a fit and trim good looking old man. This man looked like a cadaver. With only a little makeup he could have played in any of the zombie movies that have been so popular over the years.

We got into conversation. It turns out he was a medic working at Loring when that crash occurred. He was on the team that recovered the wreckage and the body of the man that was killed. He says the biggest piece of him was an eight pound unidentifiable gob of meat. They identified him from bits of teeth they picked up at the site.

The dead man was the radar operator in the plane. The pilot realized they were going to crash and ordered the radar operator to bail out. Records show that he ordered the man to bail out twice. Then he left the plane. When they found the man's seat they found that the safety harness was not buckled. Apparently his fiancée was waiting for him on the tarmac and he had released the harness so he could jump out of the plane as soon as it rolled to a stop. When the pilot ordered him to eject he didn't have time to get it back on.

So, here I am separated by at least 40+ years and half the globe from that incident and I meet a man who can tell me a story from my childhood. Isn't life wonderful?

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: katlaughing
Date: 16 Mar 06 - 01:45 AM

That is incredible, Naes!

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 18 Mar 06 - 05:41 PM

I have been working on a PowerPoint presentation to explain the canoe club to potential sponsors and contributors. We are a non-profit college oriented group. We need to beg for money. To that end I have been counting cars. As my friend Al pointed out the potential sponsors are going to want to know that their logo will be seen by a lot of people.

Yesterday as I watched the traffic I saw one car come down the street and then veer into the parked cars! It was the first car accident I saw from start to finish. Usually you hear the sound and turn to see the end.

There was a woman behind the wheel and she had a baby with her. I guess she was looking at what the child was doing and wasn't watching where she was going. The child was NOT in a baby seat nor was s/he strapped in! If it weren't for that I would feel sorry for her. I hope she's learned her lesson.

By the way, nobody was hurt though the baby was crying. She was moving slowly but not slowly enough to prevent lots of damage.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 19 Mar 06 - 07:41 PM

Change of plans. I cannot justify the expense of staying on the east coast for two months. We are strapped for cash and I have projects that need doing. I called Continental this morning and changed my return flight to come back at the end of May. This means I will NOT be stopping in Los Angeles, I will NOT be going to the Mystic Sea Music Festival and I will NOT be going to my friend's wedding. But I WILL save some money and I guess that is the responsible thing to do.

Sigh, sometimes I hate being a grownup.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 20 Mar 06 - 04:18 AM

One of our local banks has a poster that says "Waiting is Boring " & gives a number to call about getting a loan.

Like you I prefer to try & save money, in a responsible grown up manner. On Saturday night I bought the 2 CDs I didn't have at Frankie Armstrong's concert, borrowing part of the money from a friend, & ended up walking home cos I'd spent my taxi money!

Well, I had to get the CDs & the concert was only in the next suburb ...

sandra

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 24 Mar 06 - 07:58 PM

Thursday was the day I appointed to repairing the bathtub faucets. They've been leaking for some time and the mixing valve was letting as much water down through the tap as through the shower head. Plus the water coming out of the tap was mostly hot water so you boild your toes while taking a somewhat cooler shower. Not good.

Gordon came up to help. We managed to get the valves out and look at them. We packaged the parts up and headed for the hardware store to get replacements, we hoped. If no replacements were available we would have to replace the whole system and that meant breaking out the tile and concrete wall.

Of course, the hardware store we needed to go to is in Northern Tamuning. It's quite a ways, for Guam. Gordon wanted to accomplish as much as possible on this trip. We stopped by his house so he could change into more acceptable clothing and so he could pick up some stuff.

Here is our itinerary:

Canoe - to drop off the fishing net we will use to soak bamboo in salt water for the canoe house.

Ten-Tak - to get parts for the bathtub

UOG Agricultural Experimentation Center - to look at the composting experiment and see the machine they use to turn the compost pile.

Robert Taitano - to drop off the clock mechanisms Gordon is selling to him.

Benson's - to buy wood and hardware for three projects I need to work on.

United Seaman's Service - Lunch, around 2:00.

I'm sure there are some people who believe we should have run out to get the parts and then run back to get the project completed. But gasoline has just hit $2.91 a gallon here and we needed to combine as much as possible.

The composting experiment is interesting because nobody composts here. The temperatures are too high and the dry season is too dry. They have to turn the pile once a week and spray water on it to keep it working. They found that too long between turnings and the beneficial bacteria would start to die off from the heat.

Taitano is THE master wood carver on Guam. He is native Chamorro and very talented. He is a thin little older man with a ready smile and bright eyes. Those eyes lit up when he heard Wakana paints. He gave me two carved pieces and asked for her to paint them for him. It's kind of an audition. If he likes them he will give her more to paint and she may have a creative job with fewer rules. She says she doesn't like following the rules at her wedding job.

Yesterday we got our yard back in order, replacing the concrete slabs that Gordon and I moved to put in the new water line. Then I put some wooden supports under the bench seat I took out of the van so we could use it for an outdoor bench by the front door. We can sit there and watch the ocean and the jungle. I've been out there playing my guitar and listening to the roosters crow in the morning.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 02 Apr 06 - 08:21 PM

Last Wednesday we took the carvings Wakana had painted to the Chamorro Village Market Night and showed them to Mr. Taitano. He is very excited about her work and wants her to do more of them. We visited his shop on Friday and he gave her five more to do. His only comment is that the colors need to be brighter. The water colors she used, especially the pink and the greens, did not show up very well on the dark wood, particularly after he applied the thick coating of finish to the pieces. She went out and bought some acrylics though there might be some form of paints that would provide brighter colors. The wood is very dark. Any suggestions from the artists in the group? Sandra? Charley, you want to ask your mother for us?

Remember that job interview I got for Wakana at the Japanese School? That interview was for teaching English. Last week the school called her begging her to come work for them as a Japanese Language Teacher! They appear to have had a shake-up at the school and some teachers have quit over a dispute. They need someone to come in on Saturdays to teach Japanese to the students. They쳌fll pay her double-time to work all day, eight periods, plus a weekly meeting at the school. They hired her sight unseen, on the basis of an interview for a different subject with people who are NOT part of this program. We met with the administrator and the other Japanese teacher at the Hotel Okura yesterday. Wakana was lukewarm to the idea at first because this effectively removes her from the canoe club. (We meet on Saturdays.) But she realizes how important this is to getting teaching jobs in the future so she will do it.

So, let쳌fs see, she is working at the Liberal Academy teaching Japanese to some adult students. She is still working at World Bridal but is down to two days a week. She starts at the Japanese School on Saturday. She쳌fll be painting for Robert Taitano whenever she can. Can someone pass me the box of chocolates? My favorite soap opera is coming on쳌c

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 02 Apr 06 - 08:27 PM

This is weird. I posted an entry after the 24th above and then checked to see that it was there. It was so I then posted again with more info. This has been a busy week. The second post went in and I checked on it. Sure enough it was there but the first one I posted today was gone! And while I was doing all that the entire thread disappeared from the Mudcat! Now it's back!

Anyway, here is the first post from today:

Last Tuesday we toured the island with a group of Japanese high school students. Our friends, Ward and Kayoko, are part of the exchange program between George Washington High School and the high school in Shodoshima, Japan. The tour was scheduled for Tuesday but neither could take the time off from their respective jobs to attend. They drafted us.

There were seven students (six girls and one boy) and two Japanese chaperones (man and woman). The students are all sixteen years old. Their chaperones don쳌ft look much older but they are. The schedule started with a few hours at the Untalan Middle School. We were met by the Assistant Principal and taken in tow by three members of the student government. They were shown the classrooms, library, gym, locker room, band room, athletic fields, and cafeteria. They got to eat cafeteria food and meet with students. They listened to the band play and Mari played the piano for them. Untalan has the best school band on the island and it shows.

After that we took a bus ride to Nimitz Hill, Ga쳌fan Point. Fort Soledad, and the Merizo Bell Tower before returning to the high school. Ward was there to meet us and take back his students. We were exhausted and glad to relinquish the responsibility.

As we started out on the trip Wakana told the kids that they had to be careful not to miss the bus or we would leave them behind. She also told them they each had to practice their English with me. Some of them came forward on their own and I had to make a point to engage the others.

Masako, the female chaperone, had some photographs she쳌fd taken with a Japanese pop singer. All the girls were envious and kept wanting to look at them. She and Wakana cooked up a scheme where they could compete for the pictures. They made me the judge. My wife is a lot of trouble.

I judged them on English skill and bravery. At the beginning of the trip they were all very shy. As the trip progressed they became more comfortable and eventually I managed to speak with most of them. I awarded first prize to Shoko for being the first to speak with me (bravery) and for speaking with me the most. I awarded second prize to Mari for volunteering to play the piano. Third prize was split between Myuki and Rika for their conversation with me about Japanese TV and for folding some Origami structures for me and Wakana.

Last night we went to their goodbye party at the high school. They wore their kimonos, sang songs, performed a dance, played Japanese games with their host families, and performed a traditional Japanese play about the Bamboo Princess. They cooked a huge meal of udon, rice, fried chicken (Japanese style), and potato salad with mochi and chocolate for desert. We had cold green tea for a beverage. There were also brownies and fruit salad. At the end of the entertainment they had to read thank you letters to their host families. The first to read was the young man. He passed through the ordeal quickly and returned to the line. Then next was little Shoko. By the second line she had tears rolling down her cheeks. That got the rest of the girls crying. By the time the third kid started in to reading the rest of the girls in the audience were crying too, including those who had NOT hosted a student. Poor kids. I wanted to hug them and tell them it was all right.

I gave them a copy of the first Roll & Go CD for their school. So now there is a school in Shodoshima that has a copy in their school library. That CD is getting wider circulation than most folk CDs. I just wish we were selling them out there. The Roll & Go crew would be busy packaging and mailing.

By the way, congratulations to Roll & Go for making the performer list at Mystic this year. I am kicking myself now for cutting my trip short.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: katlaughing
Date: 02 Apr 06 - 08:31 PM

So much for retirement, Naes! You two are BUSY!! Congrats to Wakana for being such a hot comodity in the employment market and to you for getting so much done AND telling us about it.(Our son just replaced all of our plumbing for us. whew! Just in time, too. We have so many minerals in the water, here, our pipes literally had "hardening of the arteries." We found one which just had a pin hole letting water through. No wonder it took so long for the washer to fill!)

Any chance you could put up some pix of the artwork/carvings? I'd love to see them. Have you started workign on your book, yet?

Sorry things will not work out for Mystic and your friend's weddng, though. Growing up is no fun, sometimes!

luvyakat

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 02 Apr 06 - 08:32 PM

I forgot to mention Wakana's recent experiments in English. When I met her she would have easily fit into the stereotype of Japanese femininity. She was shy and soft spoken. Nothing negative or abusive ever came out of her mouth.

But then she visited my parents, particualrly my father.

Since then she has been trying out American foul language. Her favorite usage is "What the hell?" She also favors, "Son of a bitch!" and "Gadammit!" I am trying to teach her when NOT to use such langugae but she doesn't seem to take the lesson to heart.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 02 Apr 06 - 10:26 PM

Brett-

Once the "cat is out of the bag" there is sure to be a flogging!

Have you mentioned other expressions such as "leeping lizards" and "Mercy Maud"?

Will you be back in time to share the 2nd Annual Robinhood Farm Musical Gathering, 2nd weekend in September?

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: CarolC
Date: 03 Apr 06 - 04:40 PM

On the subject of painting on wood, it sounds like she needs to apply a sealer on the wood before painting it. That's pretty standard for painting on any surface, really, including canvas. This page has some instructions about decorative painting on wood...

http://att.bhg.com/att/story.jhtml?storyid=/templatedata/bhg/story/data/12982.xml&catref=cat1880084

This Google search has some good information also...

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22decorative+painting%22+wood+sealer&btnG=Google+Search

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 03 Apr 06 - 07:54 PM

Thanks for the sites. I copied some of the info and will print it for her. The wood in question is Ifit (ee-fit). It is a very dense dark wood. The paint seems to work well on its unsealed surfaces. The difficulty lies in making it bright enough on that dark surface. She's working on it and loves the challenge.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: CarolC
Date: 03 Apr 06 - 08:07 PM

It's wonderful that something she loves to do sort of fell into her lap like that.

If she needs her colors to be bright, she needs to apply a coat of white in the areas she's going to paint first. If the wood is very slick, she might need to rough it up just a little with sand paper (just like you would do with furniture prior to applying paint) so the white layer or sealer will adhere. If she uses a sealer, it will need to be white. Another possibility would be gesso. I would ask an art supply store or similar business if gesso would be the best thing to use. Gesso is what artists put on canvas prior to painting.

Wish her luck for me, ok?

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 04 Apr 06 - 03:14 AM

Will do! She has been happily painting all day. She's very focused.

Earlier today we were kidding around and I smeared her glasses with my nose. Then I placed my own glasses out of her reach. She made a comment about me recognizing her revenge later. A few moments ago I came in to turn on the computer and found my reading glasses heavily smeared. I laughed all the while I cleaned them.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 06 Apr 06 - 04:13 PM

The other day I stopped by the Department Of Education to ask about my teacher certification paperwork. They've had it for a few months now. I got the same tired questions, "When did you submit the paperwork?", "Have you taken the PRAXIS test?", "Did you pass?", "Did you give us a copy of the test results?", etc. I was ready for the last question. I had a copy with me. But the PRAXIS company had sent a copy to the DOE. God only knows what they did with it.

Then I stepped next door to ask about my application to work as a substitute. I congratulated them on having such a healthy and dedicated work force. I knew they were healthy and dedicated because my phone had not once rung to call me in as a substitute. They looked through the file, I looked through mine to answer questions and then the woman pointed to an innocuous document that DOE had given me. If I were to take that document to the schools they would start calling. Back when they handed me the document in a pile of others they said nothing about that.

So yesterday I started distributing the document. At the first school they said they would probably call in the morning about 7:30. At the second school I handed over the document and they handed me a time card. I guess I'll be working in the near future.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 07 Apr 06 - 06:53 PM

Sooo, yesterday I went to the LP Untalan Middle School for my first day as a substitute outside of the GCC system. I arrived bright eyed and ready to work with the fine little children. I left, eight hours later, ragged and old, in pain and covered with sweat, my brain dull and my eyes glassy with fatigue. My throat was on fire and my voice was shot. Behind me were the rotten devils happily ignorant of my condition, ignorant of my attempts, possibly even ignorant of my presence. I came, I saw, I was defeated! And I was cheated by the school system.

You know, it is impossible to impress children in that age group. By middle school, for those who do not know, I'm talking about grades six, seven and eight. These kids are between eleven and thirteen years old, full of energy, impressed only by celebrities, violence, drugs, and anything else they can see in the movies and on TV or hear in their music. In the chapter on government they saw a sentence about how the executive branch executes laws. The only word they focused on was 'execute' and they immediately assumed the government was executing people! Their mouths are continually spouting words. They cannot be stopped. They have no volume control. They have no behavior control. They cannot process any words that restrict either their movements or their behavior. They were out of control and I was outnumbered.

I had a great time.

What a challenge. I need to do some thinking over this next week. I need to come up with a way to connect with them. I need to figure out how to get their attention and, more importantly, keep it.

And I was cheated out of two hours time as well. At the end of the day, as I was filling out my time card I listed my actual time at the school. I was then told that the system only pays for six hours for substitutes. My lunch time didn't count and there were two break periods I didn't have time to take. Grump!

The experience would have been much better if I had been given something to work with. I had not lesson plans, not explanation of what class I was working in, no attendance sheets, no support at all. The sheet they gave me had a list of rooms and what period I had to be at what room. There was no map to tell me where the rooms were. And the sixth period was to be in either Room T9 or 19 and that is what they wrote on the sheet. I guess it was up to me to decide where I wanted to be for that period. Plus it was a double period featuring something called Step 2.

It turned out that was the only time I had a lesson plan. It was an effort to teach the kids how to deal with insults and bullies. We were supposed to work with role playing but I didn't feel comfortable leading a role playing event where I didn't know the kids. Instead I chose some empty desks and used 'George', 'Morris', 'Alicia', and 'Margaret' as my demonstrators. It seemed to have worked. I had as much of their attention as I could seem to get.

When it was over the substitute organizer asked me to come back on April 18. That is the next school day. School is out next week for Easter Break. Thank God I get a chance to recuperate.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: CarolC
Date: 07 Apr 06 - 10:23 PM

LOL

They're getting new hormones for the first time, and their myelin sheaths aren't fully formed yet. It's an impossible age. Good thing we were never adolescents, eh?

;-)

Maybe you should wear a big red nose and clown shoes or something when you go back. That ought to get their attention. Or you could wear a huge boa constrictor around your neck or something.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 07 Apr 06 - 10:35 PM

wot a way to run an education system!

Is a substitut teacher just a child minder & is the class expected to make up lost time when their regular teacher returns?

sandra

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 08 Apr 06 - 09:30 AM

Brett-

As you walk in the classroom door, rear back your head and sing, "SALLY, FREE AND EASY!"

That should get their attention...how you to follow through from there is up for grabs.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 08 Apr 06 - 10:20 PM

I don't think I sing that song loud enough to cut through the chatter.

Wakana had HER first day teaching kids Japanese. She came home feeling ragged and torn also. It was the first day of extra-ciricular Japanese classes at the Japanese School. The very small children were not scheduled to be there so she had the first period free... almost. One family did not understand that their five year old child was not supposed to be at school. They put her on the bus and sent her anyway. When the school called to tell them their error they left her there. Neither parent came from work to rescue that child. Wakana had to baby sit for the first half of the day. I am still in shock that those parents left their five year old child in a strange place with nobody to look after her.

Anyway, Wakana had a difficult day dealing with kids from age 5 through age 10. She gave them a test to determine what they know and talked to each of them. She collected a journal from them and distributed new ones for them to write in, Japanese, of course. This morning she corrected all the papers. The journals were a mish-mash of good Japanese and gibberish. The kids could draw pictures illustrating their entries and some of those were very good.

She doesn't seem to be very enthusiastic about their scholarship.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 08 Apr 06 - 10:51 PM

And here is number three hundred. Must be time to start a new thread.

Subject: RE: BS: Happily Ever After In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 08 Apr 06 - 11:28 PM

Here is the next thread in the series, Working (At Last) In Guam