News From Guam

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 15 Feb 04 - 08:41 PM

Well, Nick and Carmela's party was a big success. Lots of people, lots of food, laughter and beer. They were celebrating five birthdays. The festivities started at 1:00 and there were hula dancers to entertain at 3:00. When I came out of my half of the duplex I found my front yard full of people. I filled a plate and joined in the fun. I sat with the old men, the patriarchs, and talked of Guam and the world, solving all the problems, as I watched the rest of the people. there were little kids and their parents and grandparents. There was an inflated jumping pad out in the field next to the house. A few of the older kids were tossing a football in the street.

At 3:00 the hula entertainment began. It is a dance company located here on the island. Their instructor is from Hawaii but they do dances from all over the Pacific. It was odd seeing those little girls, the oldest couldn't have been more that 14, doing the sensual dances from Tahiti. It just didn't seem to fit. But they were graceful and beautiful and very good. There were some movements I didn't think possible for a human body.

After the entertainment I retreated into my house and left the party to the locals. It isn't good for me to be in the company of women these days. I start to think about the benefits of a relationship and I don't want to go there again.

I forgot to mention something funny that happened the other night when we were working on the cardboard canoe. we had stopped for supper and I was talking to the host's two kids, 7 and 9. I was obviously the oldest person in the room so I decided to have fun with them. I told them I was the oldest person on earth and had them try to guess my age. We got up to 100 and I was still saying "Nope, older!" Finally they began to ask for the anser so I told them I was older than their dad. That was easy to see. So I told them I was so old that when I was young I had only black and white TV. That didn't impress them. So I told them that I was so old that there were no computers when I was born. The older boy's eye got big and he said, "That's even before the pilgrims!"

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: JennyO
Date: 15 Feb 04 - 11:11 AM

Wish I could be there!

Jenny (sitting next to my biggest fan - he keeps me cool)

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Amos
Date: 15 Feb 04 - 10:49 AM

I hear ya, Brett!! Can't wait to see you again!

A

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 15 Feb 04 - 10:39 AM

Brett-

Could you start a thread on your revisit to Maine and New Hamshire in March so we can better coordinate what could be happening?

At this point it looks like a song party at my house in Richmond on Friday, March 12th, and a special session at the Press Room on Saturday, March 13th.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 14 Feb 04 - 08:19 AM

I guess it's time to make another entry. I'm sorry I've been so lax in adding to this but work intrudes. For those in a romantic frame of mind who might think I was distracted by a lady you can guess again.

I had a few things I wanted to do today. I had a package to pick up at the Post Office in Barrigada. I wanted to buy the wood for my new sawhorses. I needed to look for some epoxy putty for sealing holes in the bottom of fancy flower pots. And I wanted to go to the cultural fair at Gef Pago. I decided to skip the Seafarer's meeting.

On the way up to Barrigada I finally found Hafa Books. It is the ONLY used book shop on Guam. I've been looking for it for 8 months now. Actually I gave up the search because I assumed the typhoon had blown it away. And for those who think I should have called, I did. There was no answer. Hafa Books is cleverly hidden behind Green Video (or VIDEO Green as the banner proclaims). It is in the same shop as Creations In Wood. It's in the basement of the building but there is a little sign that says Hafa Books and Creations In Wood.

It's a lovely shop with a good selection of used books and artifacts from Asia. There is a glass case with a variety of items such as a copper Chinese warrior about a foot high, a carved wooden skull from the Philippines, Inuit scrimshaw on mammoth tusk, an ingot of Chinese silver labeled "not pure", and a tray of carved stone Buddhas. There are also a number of baskets and glass and pottery items. I found Pills To Purge Melancholy. That book seems to turn up everywhere. I also found a compilation of NPR interviews from 1996. And I paid $10.00 for a DVD, Space Truckers, a Dennis Hopper Godawful science fiction farce that I have always enjoyed.

It was raining when I left Hafa Books. Someday I'll have to get the windshield wipers fixed. I had decided to do so when we get to the next rainy season but I may not be able to wait that long if the dry season stays this wet. I figured the cultural fair would be rained out so I headed home.

My neighbor is planning a huge fiesta for tomorrow. The festivities start at 1:00 with hula dancing at 3:00. Our dooryard is a 60' paved parking lot and he has covered the whole thing with a set of canopies. He has power washed the pavement and is working hard to clean up his side of the property.

This morning on my way out I met a friend of his who came by to help. We talked for the longest time. He told me of Sumay, the old village when the Navy base now stands. He remembers playing in the area called the Spanish Steps before the Navy built the ammunition pier and closed it. He described the fish and how they would stretch their nets. Then they lay back and waited for the tide to change. When they hauled the nets they were always full of fat large fish. He talked of hunting the coconut crabs and when he described the crab he hunched his body and held his arms out to portray the crab's pincers. He described the work of his sister who dabbles in taxidermy and how she has mounted a coconut crab and a monitor lizard. He is a very interesting person.

Yesterday evening I went up to South Finegayan to help the junior officers build a cardboard boat. The senior officers in the wardroom had decided the wardroom had to have a boat in next weekend's cardboard regatta and had tasked the junior officers to do it. I got drafted when I convulsed with laughter at their "design" which included the phrase "pointy front end".

We went to one member's house to do the work. when I got there they had cut out a twelve foot polyhedron. We broke down the boxes and got to work. I think I gave them pretty good design but they haven't got a chance. When I left they we gluing it together with white glue. I hope the paddler can swim.

Something happened that evening that still rubs me the wrong way. Our host made the comment that he wanted his wife to meet the other wives so they could get together and do woman things while we worked in the garage. The whole implication was so bigoted and tossed off so lightly that I just stared at him. Consider, if he had said, "Let the black guys get together and do black things." he'd have been strung up for not being sensitive to racial pride. But here the women seem to agree and see it as the natural way of the world. Men do men things and women do women things and if there is a need for some crossing over they wait for the other gender to come along and take care of it. When I went into the house for a trash bag our hostess and one of the other wives were crouched in front of a China cabinet looking at antiques cups and saucers. Our hostess leaped to her feet to make sure I, the man, had what I needed. There was something almost apologetic in her attitude.

I finally did get down to Gef Pago. I drove down the east side of the island after a shortcut through Talafofo. What a disappointment. The "cultural fair" was little more than a set of carnival booths without the carnival. They were selling plastic toys and cheap CDs, games of ball tossing abounded. Everyone a winner! Pitiful. The only craftsman there was Taitano the wood carver.

But across the street a woman had a booth selling fruit and tuba. I bought a bottle of tuba and a papaya. Now, some of you may wonder how you get a huge brass instrument into a bottle. The simple answer is you get the orchestra drunk and they lead the tuba player into the bottle. The real answer is that tuba is fermented coconut sap. It is sweet and very surprising in it's power. If you drink it for a while your legs forget how to hold you up according to my friends at work. They say it's even better if you add a little beer to it.

I guess I'll have a drink and go to bed.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: bbc
Date: 11 Feb 04 - 09:56 AM

Sounds great, Brett; keep us informed. BTW, my son's job offer in CA fell through (management put a freeze on all new hiring), so he will not be joining you there. Sigh, more NY winter for him!

Barbara

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 11 Feb 04 - 06:33 AM

Well, last week, on a Wednesday morning, I went into work as I usually do, with a jaunty step and a song in my heart, i.e., drag in late and grumpy, to be greeted with the words, "The cost plus mod was signed at 2:00 this morning."

This was not good news.

Cost plus contracting is a method where the contractor gets paid his costs in performance and then is given an award fee asumiing he's done a good enough job. The award fee is his profit. The costs covered are his actual expenses and his overhead expenses.

Sorry about the lecture.

What our illustrious leaders had done was to take half our contrat and convert it from fixed price to cost plus. The only drawback to that scheme is that none of us (read zero percent) have any experience with that kind of contracting. So, we've been doing a lot of learning in a very short time. Plus we have to figure out the intricate details of how to make this animal run. It ain't fun but that's what I get paid for.

The end result is that I drag home in the early evening and the last thing I want to do is settle down in front of a computer screen again. Sorry.

Plus the weather has been crumby for the last 5 days and it's supposed to continue crumby through the upcoming weekend. This is supposed to be the dry season (D-R-Y!!!). The sun is supposed to shine in an impossibly blue sky while puffy clouds skim from east to west on the trade winds.

What we actually have is a dark grey ceiling and wet drizzle broken by intermittent downpours. The wind tosses the palm trees and tries to snatch the hat from your head while it drives the rain into your face. One of these days I'm going to HAVE to fix those windshield wipers.

And, as though that weren't enough, there is a tropical depression forming to the southeast of us that looks like it has a good chance of building into a typhoon.

Is that enough? I hope so.

On to pleasanter things. As Mary said I am going home. I will be in San Diego from February 21 to March 5. Amos, you listening? Then on March 6 I head for Manchester, NH, where I will rent a car and head for Houlton. That week coincides with my daughter's (Mudcatter Tenjiro) spring break so she will join me in New Hampster and go with me. I will be back in southern Maine on March 12 to visit my old office and start a weekend of getting in touch with old friends. Then on March 15 I fly out from Manchester to San Diego and on to Guam.

I am really looking forward to this. I will stay with Charley Noble and my sister at various times while in the south. It will still be cold and I will have to remember not to wear my shorts and sandals.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: SINSULL
Date: 10 Feb 04 - 10:43 PM

Refresh
Nothing new????
How about your plans for visiting Maine?

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 01 Feb 04 - 08:04 AM

It's been a busy day. Yesterday I mentioned to Gordon that I felt up to walking in to Fort Santiago if he and his wife were still interested. This morning he called to say they were and that Larry wanted to go along.

So there we were in the early afternoon fitting all four of us into my pickup. I have an extended cab Ranger with two little jump seats in the back. I was the only one who could drive because I was the only one who could get us on to the base. With the exception of Gordon's wife none of us are under 6' tall. It made for crowded conditions.

Fort Santiago was one of the original four Spanish forts that guarded the harbor. After the USA took the island from Spain the fort was torn down and a gun platform was erected on the spot. After WWII the platform was only used for saluting guns and now even those are gone.

The path in to the old fort starts out as a nice wide track but ends in a wall of jungle. There is a tiny trail that winds up hill between the trees. After a while we found a clearing but not a clearing such as I am used to in the Northern Woods. Here was an open area but the edge of the jungle was a solid mass of green with small pink flowers. Those who have seen kudzu in the southern states of the USA know what a wall of vegetation looks like. The clearing looked as though someone had draped a sheet of green and pink over it. The green underfoot was the same as the green on the sides that grew up and over the edge above us and out of sight beyond.

The path led through this and plunged into the green wall. The heat was stifling and the air was still. We climbed, accumulating sticky seeds and cobwebs. Finally we came to the edge of the cliff but there was no platform and no ruins. We worked our way back down the trail and spotted another trail running n to the left. At the end of that one we found what we were looking for. It was overgrown and surrounded by jungle but there was an old safety rail and once you stepped up to the rail a fresh breeeze hit your face and cooled the sweat on your head.

We had a terrific view of the harbor. Below us a sport boat was coming in trailing a white wake behind. A grey Navy security boat rolled out to meet it but didn't interfere. There was a container ship moored out there and the whole coast of the island ran off to the north beyond it. The sun was bright and the sea was that lovely darkest of blues.

As we walked back to the truck we strolled more slowly and the other three discussed the different trees and plants that surrounded us. We saw plenty of papaya, males and females. There was pseudo rattan, nonos, and even some ifit trees. Larry and Vickie discussed the medicinal quality of some of the plants we saw and when we reached the truck I noticed Larry was munching on a piece of fruit he'd picked off one of the trees.

Once we'd all scrunched back into the truck we drove up on to the abandoned runway. Larry was sure he remembered where there was an old wrecked airplane from WWII so we went looking for it. We finally found tthe sign at the head of the trail in to where the plane was. There was a warning that the trail was rough and long and that walkers should consider their experience and fitness before trying it. Since Gordon was only wearing sandals and Larry said the trail was rough limestone we decided to leave that adventure for another day.

This has been a good day.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: breezy
Date: 31 Jan 04 - 10:06 AM

This is an amazing read.
God bless you Brett.
Happy new year.
And to all his Friends.
God bless you too.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 31 Jan 04 - 06:42 AM

Strange weather today. This morning I met Peggy at San Luis Beach to gove her the first snorkeling lesson. The sky was mostly cloudy, the water was cool, and the day was warm. When we'd finished and she'd washed her puppy (more about the puppy later) it clouded up and started to drizzle. By the time I got to the canoe the drizzle was rain. We waited for it to stop but there was no sign of that.

As we waited one of the rarest weather phenomena in Guam occurred. It got foggy. Thick walls of fog closed in on us and left the locals gaping at the grey sheets. Joe commented that he'd seen small patches of fog in the swamp but he'd never seen this weather in Guam. Of course, he's young. But Larry, who's been here 35 years, has never seen this on Guam either.

Cool!

Peggy's puppy is named Rosie. She's a young (mostly) black lab. She got the puppy from the local animal shelter where she does volunteer work. Someone had shot the dog and her back legs are paralyzed. She drags those legs behind her as she makes her way across the sand. The odd thing is that she has feeling in those legs and she can stand on them for very short periods but she can't seem to move them. They have sores from being dragged on the ground. The poor thing looks very happy and seems not to notice her disability. We took her into the water and she can swim after a fashion. She didn't seem to mind being in the water.

Peggy says she will give Rosie a month and if she isn't making any progress she'll put her down. I doubt if Peggy will have the heart to do it after a month but that is her choice.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 29 Jan 04 - 05:58 PM

Hey, Brett, looks like the temperature is going to hit 30 F this Sunday. What a heat wave! I can hardly wait to go out in my shirtsleeves again and catch some rays.

Glad you're feeling a little more chipper.

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 29 Jan 04 - 03:39 PM

Yesterday I worked a full day and then went grocery shopping! Of course, I was exhausted by the time I got the groceries put away. Still, things are looking up. I feel like I may be able to enjoy the weekend after all.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: GUEST,bbc at work
Date: 29 Jan 04 - 12:02 PM

I believe there's hope, Brett. My friend, who was a couple days ahead of you in symptoms, has been feeling almost normal for just the past couple of days. This flu takes patience, but I believe you will get your strength back soon. If not, get back to the doctor!

love,

Barbara

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 28 Jan 04 - 06:30 PM

The flu is gone leaving in its wake the pneumonia that has settled into my left lung. This leaves me feeling listless and tired all the time. My blood gas (percentage of oxygen in the blood) was only 93% at my last meeting with a doctor. I'm working 1/2 days and essentially getting nothing done.

Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: bbc
Date: 28 Jan 04 - 04:34 PM

Little dry flakes have continued to feather down all day, Brett. My snowblower is great, my front walk short, & I've gotten lots of schoolwork done. In this case, hurrah for snow!

best always,

Barbara

P.S.--How's your flu, etc. doin'?

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 28 Jan 04 - 07:45 AM

Tonight, whle leafing through the latest L. L. Bean winter catalog I realized I do miss cold weather. But not too much.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: bbc
Date: 28 Jan 04 - 06:34 AM

I've got about a foot of snow for you to miss this morning, Brett. At least, school is closed! Wish you were here. :)

love,

Barbara

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 28 Jan 04 - 05:05 AM

I took the skyrail/train combo when I was in Australia last November. Very nice trip. I met a lovely lass there....

Kuranda didn't do much for me but the trip up and back was spectacular.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: GUEST
Date: 27 Jan 04 - 10:59 PM

Check out the "Festival of the August Moon" at Kuranda about a half hour from Cairns. I cant remember the exact date, but obviously it's in August and goes from Fri.night to Monday afternoon.
A small intimate festival held in a natural amphitheatre which has been minimally landscaped. It features mainly traditional type folk music and also has an array of bush crafts on show.
In addition, there is also a world renowned Aboriginal Dance Troupe who usually have a guest artist or two, such as Gulpilil.
You can get there from Cairns by train or via the "Skyrail,"
The best way is one way by train and the other by "Skyrail,"
both an experience in themselves.
There is a local caravan and campsite about fifteen minutes walk from the venue, bookings advisable.
Reply to [e-mail]

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 27 Jan 04 - 06:19 PM

Poor Charlie. Didn't I warn you that I would be laughing when winter returned and I was not there?

Still, I'll get a taste of it in March when I return. I hope I remember to bring my sweaters, jackets, gloves, and warm hat.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 27 Jan 04 - 08:43 AM

Charley, leave the frozen ground & find a nice warm fire & lots of warm woolly things!!

Cats are warm & woolly, aren't they?

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 27 Jan 04 - 08:24 AM

Sigh!

Maybe I'll take up ice-sailing. Folks used to do that around here quite regularly, not the light 3-point suspension models that flit about the lakes but real hulls with built in runners. They say that a well rigged ice boat could tear along at 40 or 50 mph. Of course, anyone still aboard would be frozen solid.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble, all alone on the frozen ground

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 27 Jan 04 - 07:26 AM

fancy folks complaining about cold when it's mid-summer!

Tomorrow night we're off to the James Craig for another shanty sing. I might take a shawl with me - it can get breezy at the harbour side (but the thin silk one, not a woolly one).

Yesterday the James Craig & the other Tall Ships were out on the harbour to celebrate Oz day - what a sight that would have been. But I can't tell you about it cos I wasn't there!

Summer in Sydney - beaches, blue skies, colourful clothing, boats & ships on the beautiful blue harbour ...

sandra

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 27 Jan 04 - 01:43 AM

You would think by now I would be over getting the giggles every time someone tells me the temperature back home...

I just came back from the doctor's office for my follow up visit. I drove with the windows down and the wind blowing in my hair. The bay was blue-green in close. Farther out the rollers broke on the reef, brilliant white against the dark blue of the deep water. The rental jet skis were roaring around the track laid out for them in Tumon Bay. Farther down there were crowds of tourists at the Piti Bomb Holes. Some were walking out to Fish Eye, the stairs that run down to the reef so people can look at the fish without getting wet. Scuba divers and snorkelers were wading out to swim around the holes.

Cold enough for you?

Yep!

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 26 Jan 04 - 01:10 PM

Freda and others-

"The Hamster of Time" thread is rapidly sinking to the bottom of the BS Realm. If you're interested in raising it back to the surface and attempting to navigate the dire straits of imagery:Click Here!

There are guidelines provided and a link to a wonderful list of examples (Humph's as they're refered to).

Work hardly, Brett!

Charley Noble, where it's still well below 0 F

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: freda underhill
Date: 26 Jan 04 - 01:36 AM

i was most impressed with your post Amos, sounds like an interesting thread somewhere..

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 26 Jan 04 - 01:14 AM

Amos, I think you are in the wrong thread with that last one. This thread scintilates with the sparkling wit of... uh, it shines with the brilliance of... uh, well, at least it isn't always dull brown and smelly.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Amos
Date: 25 Jan 04 - 09:11 PM

...freeing the rusted hulk of Personal Identity to be swept up in the currents of Sublimated Intentionality, out from the receding shoreline of Lost Hair toward the distant, shadowy Promontory of Salacious Aspirations...

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: JennieG
Date: 25 Jan 04 - 08:06 PM

I couldn't resist it - post 600!!   How are you today Brett? It's Australia Day here, not a bad day, warmish but overcast, possible storms later (again). I have missed your news, I've been away for 3 weeks.
Hope you are feeling much more betterer
Cheers
JennieG

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 25 Jan 04 - 02:43 PM

Good imagery, Charlie.

I am going to try to go back to work today. Wish me luck.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 25 Jan 04 - 10:10 AM

Here's something to meditate while you're recovering, my original contribution to the "Hamster of Time Thread":

So as the pawls of the capstan of time click away, the mudhook of fate is slowly raised to the surface of tranquility.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 25 Jan 04 - 06:10 AM

Sins - years ago one of my friends had a similar experience with a no-nonsense nurse. She told the dental nurse she was going to be sick & she was - all over the woman's shoes!!

Brett - keep resting.

sandra

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 24 Jan 04 - 09:42 PM

I am feeling better. Last night I went to dinner at my boss's house. I left there at 9:00 and stayed up another couple of hours. Finally went to bed around 11:30 or so and slept the clock round, 12 hours! I rarely do that. It indicates how sick I must be. The problem is that I feel fine except for some tightness in my chest, a persistent cough, and the fact that I get winded very easily.

For those of you who smoke, this is your future!

Sorry to inject an antismoking message...

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: bbc
Date: 24 Jan 04 - 05:55 PM

Ah, Brett, sorry about that hospital experience. I think you're better off at home! Hope you're feeling better each day.

Thinking of you,

barbara

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: SINSULL
Date: 24 Jan 04 - 10:43 AM

Sounds like you have yet another reason to take better care of yourself - to stay the hell out of the local hospital.

Deep breaths must be the hospital cure-all for everything. I felt nauseous and warned the nurse. She, with great irritaion, said take deep breaths. I was just out of surgery and groggy, no glasses so I couldn't see a thing. Well, two minutes later the deep breaths stopped working and there I was needing a clean gown, clean sheets, etc. Boy were they pissed! Seems I was supposed to use a basin...I couldn't see it so I didn't know it was there. And between the pain of the incision and the grogginess, I couldn't have reached it anyway. Now that I think of it, despite their nastiness, I won that battle. hee hee.

Sounds like you did too.

SINS

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: freda underhill
Date: 24 Jan 04 - 10:13 AM

i've got the handcuffs, too..

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 24 Jan 04 - 09:41 AM

And I was hoping that you had enough sense left to get to the hospital. Maybe a home visit from Nurse Ratched would have been better, even if she did bring her Sawzall.

Damn! Now we have to special order another XXXX Roll & Go T-shirt. You want a special color this time? We could print it on a burlap gunny sack and cut off two corners.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 24 Jan 04 - 08:57 AM

don't get sick again! It's not good for you. I hope Charlie can get you another shirt.

Another great description of life on Guam & this time I wouldn't have liked to be there. Pity the poor defence personnel who normally use the facilities.

sandra

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 24 Jan 04 - 08:05 AM

[Here, at last is my description of the visit to the hospital. while you read this please remember this is a military hospital. Most of the caregivers were either enlisted men and women (corpsmen) or junior officers (nurses). These are the facilities provided to our soldiers and sailors.]

Last weekend, a three day weekend, mind, I got sick. It had to be flu. I had aches and pains, fever, chest congestion, etc. I dosed myself with Nyquil, the good green stuff, and aspirin. By Tuesday my temperature reached 103 so I headed for the emergency room at the Navy Hospital to get some stronger medicine. They weren't busy and took me right in. They asked me a mess of questions, took vital signs, hooked me up to a monitor, ran an EKG, listened to my lungs, sent me upstairs for a chest x-ray, grabbed the pictures when I got back and then said they needed some blood.

The young corpsman who came to take the blood sat down next to the gurney with his basket of supplies and tried to make conversation. He was manipulating my hand. and commented that he was going to insert an IV connection. On my other side another corpsman was manipulating my other hand. He said he needed some blood for a culture. I asked why he didn't take it from the left hand and he mumbled something about not needing much. I think he was taking advantage of the opportunity to stick someone with needles.

On my left the insertion of the IV connection became very painful but the corpsman finished quickly. Then I felt a seizure coming on. I squirmed in pain, feeling sick all over, and told them what was going to happen next. I don't think they believed me. I got the usual BS about taking deep breaths. Then I slipped into the floating dream state, oblivious to the world.

When I came out of it again I was halfway down the hall, wheeling fast as a crowd of medical people shouted things at each other. Someone was trying to ask me questions that amounted to, "Are you confused?" What did he expect me to say, "Oh no, I usually find myself on a gurney while medical people shout things at each other. This is a normal state for me."?

They got me into a bright room where they cut my Roll & Go T-shirt off. I tried to stop them but it was like Officer Obie in Alice's Restaurant. They had all this medical gear lying around and this was their chance to use it. They hooked me up to oxygen too.

I waited in that room for a long time. Finally a doctor came in to tell me they thought I had pneumonia and that I would be kept at the hospital for a couple of days. After another interminable wait and many more forms (Did I mention the forms?) they dragged me upstairs to my "room".

They had trouble maneuvering the gurney down the hall, through the doors, and into and out of the elevator. When we got to the ward the Nurse in charge, a young Navy Officer, pointed to a door next to the nurses station. They had to negotiate a difficult u-turn to get into the door. My impression on entering the room was that it was entered through the nurses' bathroom. I may have been confused. When they finally released me I saw it was a hallway with a sink for washing hands.

The room itself was everything I would have expected an upscale hospital room would be… if I was in a third world country. The walls were dingy, there was a hole in one of the walls at point, a tangle of bedside tables occupied one corner, and the TV did not work. They slid a battered night stand over next to my bed and moved the phone close enough to reach. The telephone was designed to hang on the wall so the hand piece kept sliding out of it's cradle because it sat at an odd angle.

The TV was not hooked up to cable but did have a VCR built into it. It was mounted high on the wall but the curtain tracks for the privacy curtains were in the way and made it impossible to turn the screen so I could see it from where I lay. Next day when they brought me some video tapes I found that the tapes and the boxes they were in did not match.

So, there I lay, no shirt, the johnny did not fit and they had no other size. They said they'd bring me some pajama bottoms but later reported they didn't have any. I complained that my feet were cold and asked for some socks or booties. They came back an hour later to report they didn't have any of those either.

I suffered further indignities but next day they allowed me to go home. They explained my blood gas index was up to 95% and that I had come in at 89%. They sold me a big brown paper bag full of medicine and gave me the johnny to wear home as a shirt. When I got back to my truck I noticed my swim gear and remembered there was a clean t-shirt in there. I was glad to get out of that stupid johnny.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 23 Jan 04 - 03:06 PM

Yes, poor girl, she is a lot like her father. Sigh. Fortunately she has some of her mother's drive and energy.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Lana
Date: 23 Jan 04 - 05:18 AM

I'm only "flitting" because I don't have a whole lot of internet access from my own computer right now and that's where all my favorites are saved.

Sorry. :-(

Feel better soon Dad, I'll try to call you again next week and hopefully the connection will be better with the phone card.
Talk to you soon!
love
Kelli

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: SINSULL
Date: 22 Jan 04 - 04:12 PM

Sounds like that apple didn't fall far from the tree. 'SINS

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 22 Jan 04 - 11:33 AM

Ah yes, my careless ne'r-do-well daughter flits in and flits out again.

(Of course, like all of us she's got her own cares. And she has not failed to do well at anything she turns her hands and head to.)

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Lana
Date: 22 Jan 04 - 10:11 AM

Hi Dad! feel better soon!!
*hug*
love
kelli

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: wysiwyg
Date: 22 Jan 04 - 08:56 AM

Jaclyn can do the dishes as a thank-you for looking out for her! LOL. (My incipient-dau-in-law is headed there to see a certain sailor.)

~S~

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 22 Jan 04 - 08:02 AM

dishes? who needs dishes - have a read of the non-cooking thread for ideas on easy feeding.

sandra

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 22 Jan 04 - 07:48 AM

I had a restful day. I called my boss this morning and he made the usual noise about anything he could do to help. So I thought about it and explained I was out of groceries and would he like to do up my dishes. He laughed off the dishes (as he was supposed to do) and took my grocery list. Around 1:00 his wife showed up at my door with two sacks of groceries.

We chatted for a while, talking of my Australia trip and her intentions to go there. It was nice to have a civilized conversation, face to face, with an interesting person. Today is her birthday. She's 64.

During our conversation I mentioned that I was now two weeks late getting my laundry done. She insisted on taking it to do herself. My boss will drop it off tomorrow afternoon.

Did I mention that they are very nice people?

But my dishes are still dirty.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 22 Jan 04 - 07:04 AM

in the words of my favourite Get Well card "Get well soon, you'll feel better"

Build up your strength, take all your pills & potions, & definitely keep away from Nurse Ratched.

sandra

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: freda underhill
Date: 21 Jan 04 - 09:46 PM

damn! i was going to come over with my hammer and saw..

nurse ratched