As far as North Korea's nuclear threat goes I am not really concerned. I went to the nuclear destruction website (you knew there HAD to be one) to see what kind of destruction we would see. Believe it or not the destruction of the Airforce base would not extend to our village in the south. Even destruction of the Navy base would not cause a great deal of destruction where we are. If we go to Japan and NK targets Tokyo, we would be relatively safe in Wakana's home town.

If you want to see what would happen in your own area the site is Alex Weller's NukeMap

I have been through, what seemed to me at the time, terrible trials and tribulations. At least that's the way it seemed in the context of my own life. But looking at my life in the context of the people who have touched my time on Earth, directly or indirectly, I've had things pretty easy.

For example, one of Wakana's students, a high school sophomore, had an asthma attack at school and collapsed about 2 weeks ago. He has been in a coma ever since. We stopped by the hospital over the weekend. The kid's mother and several family members were there, of course. We met some other students waiting for more classmates. They were all going up as a group to sing a song to their friend. As it turned out they sang 3 songs. Wakana is very upset and worried. He was one of those students who stand out socially and academically.

This disturbs me on a couple of levels. Of course, there is the immediate concern for Wakana and the kid's family. Things don't look good. But I also remember the bad year, the year 2 of my own students died, the same year one of my best friends died. I was a basket case.

As another example, I suffered some nerve damage to my left arm a few years back. As a result I can no longer play my guitar. I was never particularly good with my guitar but I miss it. I cannot claim any great personal disaster but every time I drop something, every time I try to manipulate something small, every time I miss keys while trying to type, I am reminded of this personal tragedy. Yet, I am much, much better off than many who have suffered much worse.

It's all relative.

I've had a real-world education on my own capabilities in the last 2 days. A friend needed to replace an exterior door on a storage shed. I went to help him. I cannot believe how much that job took out of me! The first day was demolition and measurement, with planning. Then it started to rain… thankfully. Today we cut the door and placed it in the hole. And I am beat. I gotta get more exercise.

I am working outside my area of expertise. I am used to wood construction but the termites here in Guam make wood construction foolish. Even small pieces of wood stored outdoors become snacks for the little monsters. The wooden workbench my father made for me is getting pretty fragile. It will not survive.