Springtime In Guam

Subject: RE: Springtime In Guam
From: katlaughing
Date: 09 Mar 05 - 02:53 AM

Aloe Vera gel, Brett...works wonders on burnt skin! Ouch and how frustrating the day must've been, in some ways. I love the way you write about it...it really comes to life and I am THERE, watching through your eyes.

I cannot find the right website for the sub-protective sleeves I wear with all of my short sleeved shirts, but you can get the general of good protective clothing and accessories from a couple of sites: click here, and also here. I'll take a look at my sleeves and gloves and see if I can find their website. They came from Australia, so you ought to be able to get them easily. I burn through hats, too, unless they are SPF treated fabric!

Thanks, again!

kat (I haven't forgotten about calling; have been waiting for you to get home.:-)

Subject: RE: Springtime In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 09 Mar 05 - 02:18 AM

Sandra, I must have been a little punchy when I wrote that last post. THANK YOU should have been in there. When we opened the card I gave the female bookmark to Wakana to use in her books. She took hers and mine too as well as the card. She wants to work up a little display to show them off. It's a Japanese thing, I guess. I know that every gift we give her parents gets displayed in front of the little temple cabinet in the living room (chanoma)

There are many words to describe the events of the last few days. Busy is one of them. Hectic is another. There are others that do not usually get posted in polite conversations. I've used a few of them recently. You쳌fll note that I use no names in the following narrative.

Let's start with Saturday. The canoe had to go to Umatac this weekend for the annual Discovery Day festivities. Since Discovery Day fell on Sunday a group decided they wanted to sail the canoe to Umatac with an overnight stop in Cetti Bay. So, we had to gather at Paseo to help get the canoe in the water... at 7:30 in the morning.

I woke to the alarm clock, not something I've had to do very often since I retired. After a quick breakfast I headed out for a little canoe lifting exercise. I was early. At least a half hour early. Two more members showed up, and a few more trickled in, and finally we decided we had enough to move the canoe.

I don쳌ft think I쳌fve mentioned it before but the canoe weighs somewhere between 1500 and 2000 pounds. It is 22 feet long and 18 feet wide with the outrigger. It is a huge assembly of heavy wood. It takes a mess of us to move it.

Now, the canoe sits in a paved, covered, courtyard in the Paseo Park recreation building. There are two massive iron gates and a ramp down to the street. We turn left at the bottom of the ramp and then we are on the one-way street. There is a stretch of about 20 yards down the street to where we make a right to get up on to the grass and move down near the water.

We knew it was going to be difficult to get the canoe into the water when we put it in the courtyard but we also planned to build a trailer for it. The trailer was finished while I was in Japan. Last Saturday was to be its second usage. I had expected us to have a boat trailer that we could slide down into the water and just float the boat off. What they built was essentially a large dolly. It has 8 wheels that cannot be soaked in water, especially salt water, and we still have to lift the boat on and off.

So, there we were, four of us and one person to stop traffic. We trundled the boat out of the courtyard and down the ramp. We started the turn at the bottom and that is where things began to go wrong. The front steering wheels jammed and then one broke off. We managed to get the turn completed and moved far enough down the street to where the 6 or 8 cars waiting for us could get past. Then we started the turn on to the grass. We got up over the curb, part way down the grass when another front wheel broke off. We cannibalized a wheel from the back end and got the beast all the way off the road.

Now we started the long wait. So far only one person who plans to go on the trip has actually showed up. They trickled in and we waited. We had to lift the boat off the trailer using blocks installed one at a time while everyone else lifted. Finally we could move the dolly but lo and behold! The blocks are in the way! I was grinding my teeth by now.

We managed to get the dolly out without dropping the boat on anyone and we managed to get the boat down to the ground. We were still waiting but I figured they had enough people to get the boat in the water and I headed out. Wakana is still a little weak and I like to keep an eye on her.

I heard about the rest of the fiasco later. There were to be four people going down on the Quest. Five showed up. Then another! And they all brought camping gear and drinks and food and stuff and put it all in the boat. By then the wind had picked up. You do see where this is going, don쳌ft you?

The story from the crew on the boat is that the fishing boat that towed them out pulled too hard and the tow line was too short. Maybe. But I bet the load had a lot to do with it. Anyway, they swamped the boat. The first wave came in over the bow and just filled her up. Equipment floated out and away while the crew thrashed around trying to catch it and save themselves. After a long bail and a lot of urgent swimming they got the boat back to shore and pulled out of the water. The only thing that wasn쳌ft soaked was the beer in the cans.

Sooo, next morning we had to assemble at Paseo to put the boat on a trailer. One of our members has access to a heavy duty trailer, such as you might use to carry small tractors and other earthmoving equipment. The plan was to slide the trailer in between the hull and the tam (pontoon) and set the boat on a pair of sturdy timbers run across the trailer.

I once more woke to the alarm clock, once more I ate a quick breakfast and kissed Wakana goodbye and once more I drove to Paseo. I decided to go a little slower and arrived half an hour late. Once more I was the first one there.

Others showed up and finally we had enough to lift the boat high enough to get the trailer under it. That was higher than our previous lift. We had quite a slew of blocks under that boat and I was worried about stability.

Now we needed the trailer. When that showed up we found that the jack for the front end had fallen off somewhere between the ITC building and the hospital road. Off we went to look for it. An hour later we gave up looking. The trailer fit well under the boat and we chained the timbers down. Then we set the boat down on the timbers and tied it off. We were finally ready for Umatac.

We had walkie-talkies for the trip down. The intent was to use cell phones but too many we still drying out from the previous day. We formed a convoy. I was in the lead car followed by the canoe and another vehicle behind that. Other members brought up the rear.

It is about 25 miles from Paseo to Umatac by road. It is some pretty country with lots of mountain views and plenty of ocean vistas, long ocean vistas, as seen from the top of the many hills we had to traverse, on the two lane road we had to use one and a half lanes of.

It was a slow trip. I kept to about 25 miles per hour which is 10 MPH under the legal speed limit and about half of what the locals do on that road. When the traffic backed up too much behind us we pulled over to let them pass. I had to stop for gas in Agat. We all stopped frequently to check the load.

There is a long sweeping downhill curve going into the village of Umatac. At the bottom you have to make a hard turn and then you are into the village. There is a Viet Nam War Memorial at the top of the hill and I suggested we stop there until we could reconnoiter the traffic situation in town. Unfortunately we sailed right on past it and headed down that hill. We carefully worked our way through the tiny streets and came out at the park, right into the middle of a full carnival with cars and pedestrians walking and children running, and dogs fornicating (they do that anywhere, everywhere, all the time). I pulled into the first available parking space and got out. I saw the boat go by me and head into the crowd. The driver has nerves of steel. He also drinks so I was worried that his nerves of steel might be the result of 쳌gDutch courage쳌h.

We got down to the beach and found trucks pulling jet-skis all over the place. They had a jet-ski race planned for 2:00. There was a roar of motors from across the road from a motocross race. A sound system blared out island music. The sun was unmerciful and to make matters worse the beach at Umatac is black sand.

Miraculously we got the truck through the crowd and down on to the beach. We unloaded the boat and moved the truck out of the way. We got the boat rigged and set up the coconut palm frond to lubricate the bottom for the slide into the water. Wakana showed up and brought me a couple of my favorite sandwiches, PBJs.

Now, back in the old days, i.e., longer than 5 years ago, Discovery Day was the celebration of Magellan쳌fs landing in 1521. Then Chamorro pride got caught up in it and they started pushing to make it a celebration of the first discoverers back 3500 years ago. Another faction of the Chamorros wanted to make it a reenactment of Magellan쳌fs visit, complete with the murder of the Chamorros and the burning of the village. To that end they erected small coconut huts to burn. These 3 factions exist in an uneasy truce. The locals of Umatac want Discovery Day to remain unchanged. We were there to help with the celebration of the first discoverers.

We were supposed to bring the canoe in from the sea and land bringing plants and tools to start a new life. Then two young Chamorros would greet us with a traditional chant and a dancing group would perform dances and chants. It was a very nice plan and, believe it or not, it all went pretty smoothly.

The winds were blowing in from the sea so we couldn쳌ft sail the canoe out into the harbor. We decided to let them paddle out with a tether line. When the time came to bring them in someone would pull while they paddled against the wind. I had a grand vision of coordinating a crew on a rope singing a chanty. Sigh, that wasn쳌ft to be. The motive power for the canoe turned out to be one person - me. The line was about 3/8th inch, maybe only 5/16th. It was heavy duty fishing twine, tarred and stiff and brand new, just right for cutting into the soft hands of an ex-office worker.

Things went as smoothly as they could go for an event that wasn쳌ft properly planned, had no leader and no rehearsal. I pulled the canoe ashore with the help of the paddlers. The people at the microphone delivered their speeches and chants, the dancers performed their little bits in their little bits of costumes, and then the performance was done. The whole time I was holding that canoe against the push of the wind. My hands and arms were shaking with the strain. I was glad to relinquish it to one of our other members when I got the chance. Actually it was, 쳌gHere, hold this for a minute쳌c쳌h and then I walked off.

By then I had soaked up a lot of sun. I had neglected my sun block so I knew I was burning. I could feel it on my arms. I was wearing a bandanna and a hat so I figured the burn on my arms and legs would be my only discomfort. We headed up for something to eat but I was also feeling unwell by then. The festival gave us free food for our participation. That was a plus. But sitting in the shade and getting down some food didn쳌ft help so I headed home.

I was glad I had been through all that. It made me feel pretty good to watch the Chamorros celebrating the beginning of their culture on Guam. I was where I belonged, on the sidelines, helping invisibly, while they brought some attention to their people. Many people on the island forget that there was a thriving culture here before the Spanish destroyed it. Reviving what they can has been an uphill battle, one they may not win considering their opposition. I don쳌ft mean that anyone is opposed to it but the opposition consists of the other distractions modern society provides to keep their kids from learning their own culture. Video games, TV, and especially beer, babies, and the Catholic Church have done a lot to make sure that people have just enough to get their work done to feed their growing families.

After the event in Umatac the canoe had to go to the University Of Guam for their annual Charter Day event on Tuesday. The Traditional Seafarers Society is ostensibly a college club though we have very few actual college members. It was started at UOG and is still affiliated with the school. It was at last year쳌fs event that Wakana saw the display and decided to come check out the canoe and we all know where that went.

Charter day was fun, lots of high school and middle school kids, food booths, displays from all the different departments, the military had a display set up to persuade young people to become a part of the machine.

Whew! That's a lot of narrative. I'm not sure I got across the frustration of the whole thing. It쳌fs been an interesting week considering that it was the first back in Guam. Oh, and the sunburn. I wore a hat and a bandanna and still managed to burn the top of my head and my face and neck. My arms are burned too. My legs look as if they have never seen the sun! Why can쳌ft the rest of me be like that?

And it is official. I went to the doctor the other day and he weighed me. Since last September I have lost 33 pounds. I think the majority of that came off in Japan.

Subject: RE: Springtime In Guam
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 06 Mar 05 - 08:52 AM

Masato - many thanks for the links - I've bookmarked them.

The pics from the dollshop are exquisite - I assume they are top of the market? I've looked at traditional Japanese dolls in shops here & considered buying one/some, but I suffer from lack of space. My favourite japanese shop is closing down & I've bought origami paper as I can always fit a few more sheets into my paper collection. Tho the paper collection lives in a box that formerly held a pair of boots & there's not much room left in the box. I also have a very crowded shelf of japanese ornaments - small wooden dolls, flat paper dolls, fans,

I also enjoyed looking at the google images & printed out an origami figure & might try to copy it.

Brett & Wakana - I made the bookmarks following the Japanese language instructions in a packet of origami paper. I've bought several such kits & have also copied paper dolls I own. I recently bought a bride & intend to copy her, too.

sandra

Subject: RE: Springtime In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 06 Mar 05 - 06:02 AM

The last couple of days has been very interesting, and tiring. I want to do a full post but I am sunburned and exhausted. Sandra, we got your Christmas card when we got back from Japan. Wakana loved the bookmarks. You need to know you got the kimono folds exactly right!

Subject: RE: Springtime In Guam
From: masato sakurai
Date: 05 Mar 05 - 09:08 PM

Sandra,

THIS, catalogue from a doll shop, may help (click on the images to enlarge). Wakana's set of dolls seems to be a complete one. Most are like these (Google search).

Masato

Subject: RE: Springtime In Guam
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 05 Mar 05 - 09:03 AM

I'd love to see pics of Wakana's dolls (if you have them)

good luck -

sandra

Subject: RE: Springtime In Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 04 Mar 05 - 05:50 PM

Brett-

You do need a good attorney, one who's familar with housing laws and how claims are handled in Guam. Shall we start a "Defense Fund"?

What joy, a whole new chapter for your journal!

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Springtime In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 04 Mar 05 - 12:06 AM

We are home. Last night we slept in our own bed in our own home for the first time in a month and a half. Very nice. The change in climate from Japan to Guam is very nice. We went out to breakfast at Jan Z's and sat watching the boats in the marina and the surf out on the reef and feeling very comfortable to be at home again.

Of course we had a good old fashioned Guam welcome. If you are thinking of grass skirts and flower leis then let me disillusion you at once. We came home to find there was a hole in the water pipe outside the bathroom and water was spraying all over the place. Gordon and I went out, wrapped the rusted area in duct tape and added two pipe clamps. Today he'll put on a more permanent temporary repair. And, yes, "permanent temporary repair" is Guam standard practice.

I got home to find the PDN (local newspaper) shouting headlines about the poor condition of the roads. Apparently the governor had a little meeting to introduce 29 road projects he managed to get the Federal government to pay for. A couple of the local mayors gathered their constituents and crashed the meeting to demand more attention to the condition of the roads. The potholes and poor paving are tearing up people's cars.

That is true. The roads can be pretty bad. But last November when the PDN ran articles on the poor condition of the water system the arguments fell on deaf ears. I guess our locals would rather drive on smooth roads than have fresh water to drink and bathe in.

Oh, and we woke to the telephone this morning. It was the U.S. Marshall's office looking for me so they could serve me with a lawsuit. Apparently the landlord has decided to sue me for the fire after all. Back in November he wanted me to pay him $10,000 for the repairs to the house. Now he is suing me for $5,982 for the repairs. I guess we'll work it out in court. Wish me luck.

Subject: RE: Springtime In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 02 Mar 05 - 09:02 AM

Wakana is funny. She has worried about me being bored because I am stuck in this 쳌gcrummy little town쳌h (paraphrasing and taking liberties with her words). I keep trying to explain to her that she may think it is a crummy little town but it is all new and exciting to me. She seems to think she knows all the ins and outs of this place and that there is nothing new to find. At least, she thought there was nothing new here but I keep finding things she never knew about. Yesterday we visited a bonsai nursery. There were dozens of bonsai trees. We wandered around taking pictures and being amazed at the shapes and sizes. The woman who owned the nursery invited us in for tea and we talked of the business. I kept asking questions and trying to guess what trees on Guam would make a good bonsai. She gave me a book on how to grow and care for them. It was a great visit and Wakana was amazed this place had been there all her life and she쳌fd never known it. I found it on one of my many walks.

I have always heard of bonsai and have even seen one or two examples. We쳌fve all seen pictures of them. But I had never realized how many shapes and sizes there really could be. Some were wrapped around a standing piece of dead twisted wood. Others were actual groves of 10 or more trees, none more that a foot or maybe a foot and a half high. There were both evergreen and deciduous trees. To my amazement I learned that most of the trees we were looking at were not for sale. They already had owners! The nursery did not sell trees as its main point of business. It is literally a nursery in every sense of the word. They care for the trees and continue to shape them as they grow. The owners will take the trees for special occasions and then return them for continuing care.

As we talked I studied a tree that stood on a table in the room. Its twisted trunk was split but it looked healthy and strong. It was a pine and stood about 2 feet tall. The woman explained that the tree was over 100 years old. Her business has cared for the tree for the last 35 years. I looked at the tree and tried to understand the notion of 100 years of monthly care, the hands, long dead, that once shaped and pushed the tree to be the thing of beauty that stood before me. All I could feel was awe.

The woman쳌fs husband had started the business 35 years ago after apprenticing with a master bonsai expert for 10 years. Their son went off and worked through an apprenticeship program and only returned last year to work with his father but the old man died shortly after his return. Now he works on the trees and teaches others how to care for them.

Every year in Tokyo there is a bonsai competition. Professionals may not enter, only private citizens. However most trees are cared for and crafted by professionals so it is as if they are in the competition. The son had three trees that made it to the competition this year.

Today we experienced a flurry of activity as we packed up the messy room we have been living in and prepared for our journey back to Guam tomorrow. March 3 is the annual Girl쳌fs Festival, a celebration of girls in Japan. There is a Boy쳌fs Festival in April I think. Anyway on March 3 every house with a daughter or daughters has a set of dolls laid out on bright red cloth. The dolls represent the emperor and empress and the imperial court from the early history of Japan. All the dolls are dressed in fine kimonos with the emperor and empress dressed in several layers. Wakana explained that the custom began among the nobility and slowly spread to the upper levels of the samurai class and then the wealthiest merchants took it up. By Edo times (about 200 to 250 years ago) the custom had spread throughout the country.

So today they worked to pull all the dolls out of their boxes and set up the display so I could see it. Wakana쳌fs dolls include the royal couple, 3 ladies in waiting, 5 band members, an ox-cart for carrying the royal couple, and various dishes, flowers, tables and assorted accoutrements.

Wakana쳌fs parents also wanted to show me the war helmet that is displayed for the Boy쳌fs Festival but they couldn쳌ft find it in the closet. Instead they found the Benke doll. Benke is a pivotal character in the story of Yoshitsune and how the Genji family took over the role of Shogun. Benke was a warrior monk who made a habit out of beating Heikei samurai and taking their weapons. He was NOT popular but nobody was strong enough to stop him until he met, and was defeated by, the young Yoshitsune at Gojo Bridge. He became one of Yoshitsune쳌fs followers. The whole story is dear to Japanese hearts and the meeting on the bridge is even the setting for a commercial for soft drinks. Benke carried 7 weapons wherever he went and apparently he was unstoppable.

For lunch we had a traditional Girl쳌fs festival meal of rolled rice and rice balls cooked in a tofu cover. Then for supper I made them a taco salad. They seemed to love an exotic meal. It was their first experience with 쳌gMexican쳌h cuisine.

Tomorrow we fly. But it is supposed to be rainy and snow will fall. Sigh.

Subject: RE: Springtime In Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 01 Mar 05 - 03:09 PM

Nicely described, Brett!

Gee, you're missing another foot of fluffy white snow. I'll save you a shovel full in the freezer for your visit next September.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Springtime In Guam
From: Noreen
Date: 01 Mar 05 - 11:52 AM

Wonderful thread.

I had missed all your news until last week, Brett, and I have been working my way through the story. Thank you for letting us share your adventures!

Subject: RE: Springtime In Guam
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 01 Mar 05 - 07:38 AM

I'm definitely going to miss your descriptions of Japan, Brett.

sandra

Subject: RE: Springtime In Guam
From: SINSULL
Date: 28 Feb 05 - 02:36 PM

Those painkillers must be wonderful. From bed to tourism in a matter of days. Pictures, Brett?

Subject: RE: Springtime In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 28 Feb 05 - 03:38 AM

Yesterday Wakana and I went down to the Total Gift Shop (they don쳌ft mince words here) to buy a couple of house gifts in appreciation for the hospitality and help they have given us. We got a nice set of pots and pans for the kitchen and a decorative display. When her parents came home from an outing we sat in the kitchen to have coffee and we presented the gifts. Wakana쳌fs mother was overcome with the excitement of having decent cookware to replace the cheap saucepans she쳌fs been using for many years. They were both taken with the little decorative display, a set of small paper doors on a lacquer floor with a bamboo mat and a dish for charcoal (winter display) and moss and stone (summer display). It was a good thought and the gifts were very much appreciated. Of course, their help has been very much appreciated too.

Today we took a drive! It was great. We left the house around 10:00 and headed up into the mountains. We drove back roads through farmlands and small towns, over dry rivers and past small family cemeteries, always with the mountains on our right or ahead. For a long way we drove past a stream in a concrete bed. This was one of the three streams dug by the pioneers (yes, Japan had them) to bring water into the area for agriculture. It runs from Nasu Mountain all the way to Nasushiobara. Back then there was a narrow dirt track road that followed it and allowed the government to keep up repairs. Today it's a two-lane country road with houses and villages springing up along the way. This area was only settled about 150 to 100 years ago. Until then it was too dry for farming. But the soil was good and only needed water to make it arable.

The land is fairly flat with just a slight rise as you approach the mountains. Those loom before you like a wall of gray and white. We could see smoke rising from the crater of the volcano on the other side of the mountain. It was an awesome sight.

Eventually we ran in under trees and began the climb up the side of the mountain. The road ran in curves. The snow was piled high on the sides of the road but in the woods it was cut by many small streams. We pulled into one parking area where the smell of brimstone was very strong. Wakana told me that sometimes when the air was still the poison gas would build up in the hollow and birds would drop dead out of the sky. There are stories of old people going down into the hollow to sit and wait for the gas. It was a rocky ground. The stones in the stream were brown from the chemicals in the water.

I went up on to a bridge to take a picture of the little valley. A young Japanese woman coming the other way said 쳌gHi!쳌h to me and I automatically answered as we passed. I took two steps before I realized she had deliberately spoken English. I turned and said, 쳌gHow do you do?쳌h She was fine and said so. I complimented her on her English and she told me she had gone to school in Vancouver.

We could hear tires spinning on ice and it turned out to be our car. Makoto-san had parked on glare ice. The woman쳌fs boyfriend and I pushed the car off the ice and we were on our way again.

We had to pay a fee to continue up the mountain. We were still in the woods but we had occasional glimpses of the mountain peaks ahead. Then we came out of the trees and pulled over at a scenic overlook that had me breathless! The whole valley was laid out at our feet. As I have explained before the towns in Tochigi are on a plain that reaches between the mountains and a set of low hills. We could see it all from up there.

Then we turned and could see the 5 peaks that make up the Nasu volcano. Central was the peak that hid the crater. Wakana says you can drive almost to the top in the summer but the road is closed in the winter. We were about halfway up the mountain and had a panoramic view of all creation it seemed. The snow was deep where we were but there was none in the valley below. The peaks behind us were white. The trees, mostly hardwoods, were bare, of course, but there were different shades of gray where the various species grouped together.

The light was very bright. I didn쳌ft have my sunglasses. My eyes kept watering and I kept sneezing. But I kept looking and wondering at the beauty of Japan. It쳌fs no wonder the Japanese love their land.

We headed down the hill then. We drove past souvenir shops, ski slopes, volcanic hot spring baths or onsens, restaurants, and the little shops that make up a town. My father-in-law seemed to be in a hurry now. It was past lunchtime. I asked to stop at one of the souvenir shops but he kept on. We finally pulled into a little shopping plaza for tourists and wandered around for a bit but he hurried us out of there and back into the car. He was a man with a mission.

We arrived at the restaurant he wanted to eat at but found that they were almost closed. We were the only people in the place but the earlier lunch rush had cleaned them out. We loaded back into the car and headed for an Italian place he knew. There we had the opposite problem. The place was full and there was no room to wait inside. But we waited and soon sat down to a very nice meal. When we were choosing from the menu, which requires Wakana to read and interpret each item until I hear one I like, I commented that I wasn쳌ft used to eating in places that didn쳌ft wrap the food in paper and hand it to you in a sack. Ah, the gentle art of exaggeration. It can liven up a conversation no end.

After lunch we went to the Nasu Orgel Museum. An orgel is a music box. The museum is new and was built to house a collection donated by a wealthy local businessman. It is quite a nice collection and the building is very nice. There are tours where they play the boxes for you. Some are very simple and others are quite ornate.

After coffee in the lounge/gift shop we headed home. It was a lovely outing. We all had a very nice time but now we are tired and ready for a rest.

We head home on Thursday. We will exchange the chilly early spring for a hot summer. Gordon will pick us up at the airport. This weekend the canoe (Remember the canoe?) will take part in the Discovery Day celebrations at Umatac. The original Discovery Days were dedicated to Magellan쳌fs arrival in 1521. These days the day is dedicated to the first unknown Chamorros who found Guam and settled there.

Subject: RE: Springtime In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 24 Feb 05 - 10:32 PM

Bless you Sins and Charley! You are wonderful friends. Look for PM or email with details. Maybe that contact will work after all.

Masato and Wakana have both explained Haru-ichiban to me. They get a warm gusty day, it feels like spring is in the air, and then winter closes in again. Just like the January thaw back home except that here they don't get 6 weeks of blizzards after the thaw. We did get snow last night but not much.

Today Wakana's "little" medical problem required out-patient surgery. As to what it is let's just say it is not a pain in the neck but it does radiate pain and itching from a point somewhere to the south of there. She is embarrassed and ashamed but I try to explain that there is no cause for that.

She is resting in bed, high on painkillers and trying to beat her own high score on the PSP. When we bought the PSP I thought we were buying it for me but I seem to have trouble wresting it from her deathgrip. It's a good thing because she has been house bound and bedridden for quite some time and she has been able to escape from the slow march of time with the games.

Subject: RE: Springtime In Guam
From: GUEST,bbc at work
Date: 24 Feb 05 - 11:25 AM

Brett,

Thanks for sharing your meeting w/ Masato with us. Masato-san, you have now had the "Mudcat experience"--meeting someone in person for the first time, but feeling that you are already great friends. It's wonderful, isn't it? I wish we could all have the pleasure of meeting you; your contributions to Mudcat are very much appreciated. I will be flying through the Tokyo airport on my way to Korea at the end of March. I will wave & think of you!

best wishes,

barbara

Subject: RE: Springtime In Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 24 Feb 05 - 09:37 AM

Brett-

If you provide me the approximate date of your divorce decree I can try a search at the Sagadahoc County Court House in Bath. I'm not sure that getting the forms via e-mail will be sufficient for the U. S. Embassy. THEY may need to see a "proper certification" of said document. I could also track down your former wife for details if needed; as kitchen manager for the Georgetown Central School she was very helpful when we had father's memorial event there last summer.

Please e-mail me the "specs" for this archane mission.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Springtime In Guam
From: masato sakurai
Date: 24 Feb 05 - 07:28 AM

It was warm and windy yesterday. They say haru ichiban (spring no. 1) blew, which heralds the coming of spring. The three of us had a very good time as if we had been friends for decades. Today it began to sleet in Tokyo, half way back to winter.

Masato

Subject: RE: Springtime In Guam
From: SINSULL
Date: 23 Feb 05 - 11:22 PM

Here you go, Brett. You an do it by mail or phone (or walk-in).

http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/bohodr/recorder.htm

Subject: RE: Springtime In Guam
From: SINSULL
Date: 23 Feb 05 - 11:11 PM

Brett,
Was the divorce granted by a city or the state? Whichever - they must have the document on file. No doubt you will need to write them with assorted info which will trigger a form. I will see if I can find out anything for you.
SINS

PS Does Masato play the banjo?

Subject: RE: Springtime In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 23 Feb 05 - 10:13 PM

Well, I have met Masato! Yesterday I went to Tokyo for my appointment at the USA Embassy. Afterwards I met my brother-in-law at the nearby Starbuck's and we headed over to Kanda to look at guitars. He had found a new shop where he bought himself a used guitar.

The shops we visited were great little places crammed with guitars and other instruments. We looked and touched and played and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. I saw a tai-sho-koto. I had seen one in a mail order catalog earlier in the week and Wakana had tried to explain it to me. I had to see one to understand it. Imagine a wooden box about 2' long. There are 4 strings that run the length of the box. There is a cover over the strings with keys that look like old style typewriter keys. Looking under the cover you can see that the fret board has frets. The keys press all the strings down on to the frets. Essentially it is a mountain dulcimer with keys.

After we left the guitar shops we stopped at Disk Union. I was worried that we might be late for meeting Masato but Fumito wanted me to see this place. It was a neat little hole-in-the-wall type shop chock full of CDs, DVDs, and vinyl records. The first thing I saw, right as I stepped into the shop, was an old Pogues album, Rum, Sodomy, And The Lash! This was the first European "folk" music I had seen since I left New England. I was impressed. There were others bands represented, bands I actually recognized. I found a David Bromberg album and picked up the old CSN&Y album Déjà Vu.

Finally we set off to find Masato. I had arranged to meet him at the south entrance to Shijuku station. The crowds were thick. People were busily hurrying around at the end of the workday. We wandered around and finally spotted him.

Did I mention that folk music gets some attention in Japan? He swept into site, surrounded by bodyguards keeping back the adoring fans. Girls shrieked and boys looked on with adoration. His white cape swirled in the spring breeze and revealed a black skintight leather outfit covered with rhinestones and silver snaps.

Well, maybe not. Masato is a gentle college professor with graying hair. He wore a corduroy jacket over a plaid flannel shirt. He has a firm handshake and impeccable manners. We were conscious of the importance of the meeting. I am the first Mudcat he has met and the first one to meet him. I hope many of you can have the same honor some day. He is a lovely human being.

We adjourned to the 13th floor of the Takamayashima Building to a Chinese restaurant. I suggested we go someplace with slow service so we could have time to talk. Masato insisted on treating us to dinner. He wouldn't allow us to pay for anything. On top of that he gave me a CD that he said was all there is to know about Auld Lang Syne.    It has a 60 page booklet, written in Japanese. There are 27 cuts on the CD of various pieces of music all based on the melody line of Auld Lang Syne. There are simple vocal arrangements, classical pieces by Rossini, Beethoven, and Damgaard, music box pieces, bagpipe bands, brass bands, in Arabic, Japanese, and possibly other languages. What a guy!

The waitress brought a tall stack of small dishes to the table. I looked at it and wondered if they were all meant for us. It isn't unusual for the staff in the restaurants I have been in before to use a diner's table as a staging point for setting other tables. As it turned out we needed every one.

We started with beer and tea, then we had jellyfish, pork and pickled radish for appetizers. The servings kept coming; shrimp served in a pepper sauce, fried pork, soup, and yaki soba with squid, shrimp, and scallops and ended with fruit salad served over Chinese jelly. Itadakimasu and gochisosama to Masato-san for such a delicious meal.

I had to ask the question that we all want to know, i.e., how on earth does a homebound Japanese college professor get to know so much about European and American folk music? He dodged the question! Well, not so much a dodge as a humble shrug of the shoulders and the comment that he likes it and learns what he can. He doesn't sing or play but he listens to whatever he can get. I imagine he must have a library of music and books to die for.

We had a very good time. We drank a little beer and ate too much and laughed a lot. It was a lovely evening. Thank you, Masato. I hope to meet with you again next time I am in Japan.

After we left Masato my brother-in-law escorted me back to meet the shinkansen (bullet train) back to Nasushiobara. Standing in the train station Fumito echoed my sentiment. Masato is a real gentleman. Sorry ladies, but he is happily married.

As to my visit to the embassy, that was another ADVENTURE IN BUREAUCRACY! I had a 2:00 appointment. I arrived from Tochigi, 150km away, at 12:45. I was informed that the embassy was closed until 1:30 and I had to come back then! Sigh. I wandered off, got a cup of coffee and a muffin, came back and settled on the curb to wait. I fell into conversation with a young couple who were there for the same reason I was. When they heard I lived on Guam they got all excited. They explained they had friends who had moved there and they were interested in going there too. That and their little son kept us entertained while we waited. And we did wait. Getting into the embassy was like going through airport security, twice. At one station they physically inspect bags and walk you through the usual scanner. At the second station they take away your cameras, cell phones, and pocket knives and run your bags through an x-ray scanner.

Finally you are admitted entrance. Of course, there is nobody who is interested in helping you with the process. The room is full of nervous expectant people and in one corner there is an innocuous little gray machine. By intuition you are supposed to know that the machine provides numbers by which they will call you to the window.

Before going to the embassy you are supposed to download the instructions for how to prepare for the visa request procedure. We had spent the previous two days filling out forms, getting pictures and documents, translating Japanese language documents, and making copies. We had to provide a statement about our relationship, how we met, what we've done together, complete with pictures and documents. I had in my possession three sets of documents, the two sets we were supposed to provide to the embassy (according to the instructions) and one for our records.

When I stepped up to the counter the man started by asking for the copy of the ID page of my passport. The instructions hadn't said anything about that! Fortunately he was used to that and he stepped over to the photocopier to make one. Then he asked for the copy of Wakana's passport. That was fine. Then he wanted the various forms we had filled out. He scanned them and had me make small corrections. Then he asked for a copy of my divorce decree. I was astounded to say the least. There was no mention of that in the instructions! He pulled out his regulation and pointed out that they needed it to finish the application process. I tried to explain that it was destroyed in the fire but he wasn't interested.

He continued working and when he was finished he gave me a paper that identified what I needed to provide and where I needed to send it. He had only taken one copy of most of the documents I had sweated over and left me holding a pile of paper and written instructions on how to finish the process. Then I was left to find my own way back to the street. Sigh.

Now I have to figure out how to get a copy of a legal document from 8,000 miles away. Charley? Any ideas?

Subject: RE: Springtime In Guam
From: Donuel
Date: 23 Feb 05 - 03:16 PM

your finished postcard

http://www.angelfire.com/md2/customviolins/goodluck1.jpg

Subject: RE: Springtime In Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 21 Feb 05 - 11:48 AM

Oh, do give our warmest regards to Masato, that ever so intrepid song finder!

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Springtime In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 20 Feb 05 - 10:09 PM

Omigahd! My whole family is watching! I'll have to be on my best behavior now. Sigh. Japan is good. I like it. Guam is good. I like it too.

Nah! I guess I am who I am.

Yesterday Wakana and I walked down to Doki-Doki to rent some more videos. On the way back we stopped, at her insistence, at Dohton Bori for more Japanese pizza/pancake. This time we had a simple one with shrimp as the main ingredient. When we went to the drink counter to fill our coffee cups I looked out the window and was stunned by what I saw. The sun was low in the sky and shone quite brightly but we were under a thick overcast. The mountains varied between glowing in the sunlight and looming darkly under the clouds and in the shadow of the higher peaks. The light around us as we walked home was eerie to say the least with bright sun casting long shadows and making the buildings bright against the dark sky beyond. There was just a little snow coming down around us. The wind was very strong and cut through our clothing.

As I have said before Nishinasuno sits on a plain between the mountain range and some low hills. It is always breezy and sometimes the winds blow very strong. In the winter it comes down off the volcano to the northwest and sweeps across the plain. It쳌fs last stop, according to the weather maps I쳌fve seen, was Siberia and we all recognize that as a metaphor for cold.

On Wednesday I am headed for Tokyo to meet with the embassy staff about Wakana쳌fs immigrant visa and then I will meet up with Masato at the Shinjuku train station about 6:00. He is a college professor and looks like one in the photo he sent me.

Subject: RE: Springtime In Guam
From: GUEST
Date: 20 Feb 05 - 11:32 AM

Well Brett, So this is where you hang out. Since I don't have your email and you don't have mine, Mom sent me this address. How are you I haven't read all the posts to get all the news. Sounds though that you are happily retired and remarried !! Slow down. Life here is quieter. I enjoy the negative comments about Maine - I am very ready to move west. This year I take my boards again, and hope next year to apply out west. Problem is I love my job. My boss is greedy and lazy and feels that I should share in his indulgence in these two of the 7 deadly sins. So we are ever trying to work less for more money. It has not been as successful as we had hoped - we are very busy. But I enjoy work and it makes it hard to get west. But I will - I am unhappy living in Maine. The weater sucks, my house is small and tawdry .... And Montana is sooo beautiful. Mom and Dad are fine. I bought Dad a 4 wheeler and he is loving it. Who new? I did it for motivational and physical therapy after his surgery and wow, did that work. He's been all over the farm and has all kinds of plans for spring and summer. Mom is as busy as ever. Hello to Wakana and all her family. Keep in touch Bryn

Subject: RE: Springtime In Guam
From: Ebbie
Date: 19 Feb 05 - 08:55 PM

It's interesting, Naemanson, that "home" is Guam. How things have changed! And lovely too. I think we are all agreed in wishing you and Wakana the best.

Subject: RE: Springtime In Guam
From: CarolC
Date: 19 Feb 05 - 07:50 PM

Hey Brett. Glad to hear that Wakana's neck is better. I wanted to pass this on to you though just in case... I have a ruptured disk in my neck that has been bothering me for years. One of the things I have discovered that helps is to use a 100% goose down pillow. I can mold and shape it so that it puts a little bit of traction on my neck while I'm sleeping (unlike synthetic filled pillows, and also unlike duck down, which is more springy than goose down), but even when I have it molded the way I need it, it doesn't feel hard against my head (unlike feather pillows). Might be worth a try if it hasn't been tried already.

Subject: RE: Springtime In Guam
From: curmudgeon
Date: 19 Feb 05 - 09:18 AM

If it makes you feel better, it's ten degrees here in NH, with a forecast high of 26.
Love your wonderful posts. Keep it up and post some pictures. There are many of us here that would like to see your bride and the "new" you as well -- Tom

Subject: RE: Springtime In Guam
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 19 Feb 05 - 08:54 AM

hooray for Wakana!!

I'll really miss your descriptions of Japan, but more great description of Guam coming up.

sandra

Subject: RE: Springtime In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 19 Feb 05 - 12:45 AM

JOECLONE Request!

Would a kind Joeclone please delete my mother's email address from her post above. She needs a lesson on what not to do on the web.

Nice artwork Donuel. I love it and so does Wakana!

Mother, please! I had things just the way I wanted and then you go encouraging Wakana! Have you no shame?

As for you, Judy, I'll have you know that it is cold and snowing again! But the best news is below and it means this cold weather will be behind me soon. Yesterday I was out walking without a jacket!

This morning we rose early to make an 8:30 doctor's appointment and for the first time experienced a USA hospital type event. When we got there the doctor had not yet arrived! We actually had to wait!

Then the Japanese system got things back on track. The hospital arranged for Wakana to go down for her physical therapy early instead of at 10:30. We did not request this, they just did it. When we returned the doctor was in and we went straight in to see him.

He looked over the MRI, the x-rays, and the previous reports and then talked to Wakana for a while. He announced that she was cured. She did not need surgery nor did she need any more PT! BUT she is to take things easy for a while. She needs to build up her strength and BE AWARE of what she is doing to herself!

So we are going home. Yippee! I love it here in Japan and the cold doesn't really bother me all that much but I want to go home.

When we go to the grocery store we can see a wooded hill far down at the end of the street. Wakana told me there is a park there that is related to the first settlers in this area. So yesterday I walked down there to take a look at it. I stopped along the way to buy two books in Japanese hiragana, the first of the three alphabets I have to learn. [I am making good progress. A few days ago I read a sign, Kusuli (pharmacy), and this morning I read the name tag on our waitress's uniform (Ishi).] I got Toy Story 2 and Winnie The Pooh.

Anyway, coming out of the bookstore I took the first left and walked down a narrow street with houses on the right and rice fields and greenhouses on the left. At one point I had to leave the road to make way for a huge fuel truck that was slowly picking its way down and around the streets. At the end of the street I met with a T-intersection. I chose the left and walked down past a construction site and around the curve at the bottom of the hill. I found a set of stone steps leading up hill. I climbed for a while but I was pretty tired by then and I also needed a bathroom. In Japan you do not need to look far to find one of those and I quickly spotted one at the bottom of the hill.

Behind it was a lovely pond with gravel paths and a wooden walkway crossing it. I stopped to rest on a bench and watch the ducks splash and swim. The park is pretty and I imagine it is beautiful in the bright greens of summer and the brilliant colors of autumn. As it is I found it pretty in the drab of late winter. The gray sky reflects poorly in the water giving it an unhealthy caste.

A duck spoke to me but I guess he spoke in Japanese for I did not understand him. I imagined he was asking what I was doing so I told him. He didn쳌ft seem to understand. I guess he doesn쳌ft speak English. He said something else that sounded a little derisive to me but I was getting cold so I packed up my notebook, gave him a farewell bow, and moved on.

Wakana쳌fs father is sick, flu, cold, or something, and it has the household in an uproar. He takes it as a matter of course that the women on the house will wait on him and see to his comfort. Wakana쳌fs parents are traditional Japanese and it would never occur to her mother to tell her father to stick it where the sun don쳌ft shine. Instead she makes him rice gruel and then, when he complains about the flavor, makes him a second bowl. Their쳌fs was an arranged marriage and he was not her first choice. I get the feeling she has regretted it for most of her life.

This morning we got up early to make it to the doctor쳌fs office. As we sat around the table at breakfast I listened to Wakana and her mother speaking in hushed voices and thought of other early morning tables I had experienced. I thought about harvest season and going out in the cold September pre-dawn dark to spend the whole day picking potatoes. I hated that job. I thought about deer hunting and rising early to get out into the woods before the sun drove the deer too deep into hiding for the day. Those were better memories. The family had a one room log cabin on a lake in Maine and we would use it as home base for fishing and hunting trips. I would wake up and listen as Dad moved around lighting fires and getting breakfast ready. I would be warm in my sleeping bag but I also knew that I would have to get out and dress quickly for his breath hung in the frosty air and meant that my clothes would be cold against my skin.

Subject: RE: Springtime In Guam
From: Donuel
Date: 18 Feb 05 - 05:48 PM

http://www.angelfire.com/md2/customviolins/goodluck.jpg

Subject: RE: Springtime In Guam
From: JudyB
Date: 17 Feb 05 - 02:39 PM

And Brett, if you check the lyric pages for the songs you led on the "Outward Bound" CD, you'll see that your smiling face remains a part of the group's history (even if we were a little less than consistent about where you you're from)!

It was in the 40s here yesterday -

   We're warmer than Bre-ett...
   We're warmer than Bre-ett!

Love to you both,
JudyB

Subject: RE: Springtime In Guam
From: GUEST,Charley Noble
Date: 17 Feb 05 - 01:01 PM

Brett-

Yes, we finally got around to updating the "group picture" for Roll & Go. As some folks already know it's a digital composite which makes it technically easy to shift members in and out. However, the personal management of our group is never so seamless. Jennifer left last fall, primarily for health related reasons, and is also sorely missed. Jeff Logan is our newest member, at least 10 years younger than any of us, and though he had no experience singing traditional style sea music he's been able to pick it up briskly. Jeff's a fine guitarist and a joy to sing with.

Wow, I just noticed your mom posted a message!

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Springtime In Guam
From: GUEST
Date: 17 Feb 05 - 09:48 AM

Way to go Brett, I am having so much fun with this site. I now can't wait to see what new adventure you are up to, Loved the barber shop experience, Wakana has won my undying appreciation. I have some warm clothes wining there way to you. Mom

Subject: RE: Springtime In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 16 Feb 05 - 10:58 PM

I have apparently spoiled my mother-in-law. When we arrived I wanted to help out as much as possible. The only thing I am qualified to do is dishes so I took on that chore for myself. At first it was difficult to shoo her out of the kitchen. Then, as time went by, she would start to work at the sink if we lingered too long at the table. This morning Wakana started to laugh because her mother finished her breakfast and simply wandered out of the room, leaving her dishes in the sink. She noticed that her mother very happily rises from the supper table and goes in to watch TV without giving the dishes a second thought. I think that woman is going to miss me when I go home.

It snowed yesterday. We got a few inches by afternoon but we didn't have to go anywhere so it was no big deal. I went out and shoveled the area in front of the garage and the walk into the house. By evening the areas I shoveled were already clear of snow and today there is almost nothing left. It is a fine clear day with bright sunshine and warm temperatures.

Back at the end of January I ordered some warm clothes and they finally arrived a few days ago so I am more comfortable. One day Wakana pulled some yarn and a knitting needle out of a drawer and began knitting. After about an hour she asked me to give her my foot. She was knitting me a pair of slippers. She finished them quickly, working with no pattern and no prior experience in making slippers. They are very comfortable and warm. At first they lived up to the name of slippers, I nearly killed myself getting down the stairs, but we got some antiskid tape from the hardware store and attached it to the bottom.

It was a bit of a jab, Charley, to see that updated Roll & Go website. I was wondering when you would get around to taking my picture out. I'm looking forward to hearing the new Roll & Go configuration. I notice that Jennifer's picture is also gone. Did she finally quit?

Subject: RE: Springtime In Guam
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 14 Feb 05 - 09:04 AM

maybe you need to post a new picture, Brett

Subject: RE: Springtime In Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 14 Feb 05 - 09:03 AM

Brett-

Happy to hear that you survived your encounter with Sweeney Todd's Japanese counterpart. Next, please!

You may want to view Roll & Go's updated website: Click 'ear!

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Springtime In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 14 Feb 05 - 06:20 AM

I guess I'll pass on going into any red light districts, Charley, especially on Valentine's day!

Today Wakana got her wish. She dragged me into a barbershop and had her way with me. Sigh. I only wish I could have enjoyed the experience as much as she did.

Since she was the only one who could talk to the barber they spent a happy 15 minutes turning my head and discussing the work in Japanese while I emulated a mannequin. Wakana gleefully announced that he was willing to trim my beard also.

Then the headsman began cutting. He swaddled me in several layers of aprons and the snipped away with his scissors for a while. After they agreed that it was short enough he tipped me back and washed my hair twice. I tried to explain that the Amerika-jin were not really as dirty as rumor would have it but he seemed to think it was necessary. After rinsing, applying a rinse, rinsing again, and toweling he gave me a short head massage. Either that or he was getting a kick out of hitting the American in the head. Then he tipped me back again and started on the beard.

He snipped away with the scissors for a while and then took a piece out of my right earlobe. He actually drew blood! He explained to Wakana that the silver of the beard matched the scissors and he couldn쳌ft see where he was cutting. Hah! He trimmed and then cleaned up the jaw line using a straight razor. After the ear I was somewhat concerned but he managed to keep some form of control. He shaved my throat (!), my cheeks, the back of my neck, my forehead (?!), and inside my ears! After that he was done and I no longer looked like Hagrid. I was disappointed. I had just figured out how to say, 쳌gHagarido des. Harry Potter wa doko desuka?쳌h (I am Hagrid. Where is Harry Potter?) to children.

Today is Valentine쳌fs Day. In Japan women give chocolate to men on February 14. Between Wakana, her mother, and her aunt I have scored over 400 grams of chocolates and a can of Danish butter cookies! Men reciprocate in March with expensive gifts of clothing and jewelry.

By the way, I haven쳌ft mentioned the Japanese and green tea. All living creatures need air to live. The Japanese need air and green tea. In the grocery stores it is sold in bulk. The highway rest stops have vending machines to sell coffee, water, and sodas but the green tea is free. There is always a little teapot and a hot water pot standing ready to provide the right refreshment at a moment쳌fs notice. Green tea is bitter so I excited more than a little comment when I added sugar to mine!

Subject: RE: Springtime In Guam
From: GUEST,Charley Noble
Date: 13 Feb 05 - 10:40 AM

Brett-

Keep digging! Sounds like you're in a rich environment. Too bad you don't have a copy of Stan Hugill's SAILORTOWN book. It has a nice, well graphic, section on Japanese sailortowns. Of course you'd need someone like Stan as a guide, and Lord only knows what would happen to you. ;~)

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Springtime In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 11 Feb 05 - 08:21 AM

"That means that the people are really not doing much with music or other art."

Chomp, chomp, chomp.

That's me eating those words! Today we went to Harmony Hall for the local art exhibition. Harmony Hall is a community center. For those of us in the USA that means an old building with creaky floors and poor heating and lousy acousitcs. Not so in Japan. Harmony Hall is a multimillion dollar facility, the result of an extensive and very competitive fight between world renowned architects. It has art galleries, a lovely water decorated walk and two concert halls. The smaller one only seats about 300 people. It is the home of the local philharmonic orchestra. They have plays, ballets and other dance shows, as well the art shows and other artistic exhibits. I plan to go back there many times.

Today is Japan's national holiday to celebrate their beginning. The actual origins of Japan are lost in the mists of time but they date themselves from the first emperor. Today is their 2,676th birthday. Makes the USA seem very new indeed.

Oh, and if you are tired of the same old sword and sorcery movies try Onmyaji. We just watched two of them. Of course you will need to get one that is subtitled in English or your own language du jour. It is a fun set of movies about magic and heroism from Japan's 13th century. Pretty decent special effects.

Subject: RE: Springtime In Guam
From: Roger the Skiffler
Date: 11 Feb 05 - 04:14 AM

When I worked in a public library (1966/7),Brett, I had to do some research for a punter that involved tracking a particular ship down through Mariner's Mirror.It was a fascinating publication and I kept getting sidetracked!

RtS

Subject: RE: Springtime In Guam
From: CarolC
Date: 10 Feb 05 - 11:21 PM

Nonesense, Brett. They probably just play them politely.

;-)

Subject: RE: Springtime In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 10 Feb 05 - 10:54 PM

Carol - I haven't seen much yet but then I have only just scratched the surface of the music scene here. I am in an agricultural town. That means that the people are really not doing much with music or other art. There is a limited amount of painting, Wakana's mother for example, and little else. Of course, language is a bit of a barrier but Wakana helps out there.

At first I thought you were looking for Japanese manufactured accordions but the Japanese might be too polite to build or play them. *Grin*

On Wednesday I went down to Yokohama for the celebration of the Chinese New Year and to connect with a previous co-worker from Guam. She and her fiancée now live in Japan. The New Year parade was wonderful but very short. It seemed to be a set of three of the same thing. First there was a little handcart in which the parade staff was setting off the traditional firecrackers. Those were LOUD! I imagine the guys working the cart spent the rest of the night saying "WHAT?" every time someone spoke to them.

Then came the dancers. They wore elaborate costumes and heavy grotesque makeup. The first set of dancers seemed to represent some kind of Chinese nobility. The second set of dancers wore a mix of styles. The third set was a representation of some kind of battle between good and evil. Those guys were good. They had large batons that were "weapons" and they kept them moving in a rapid succession of twists and spins, throwing them into the air and stepping around to catch them and swing them at each other. Their costumes were quite elaborate too.

The next in each set were the Chinese tigers or lions or whatever. They each held two people and consisted of a grotesque mask and a long body. The person in the head would approach the crowd on either side and shake it, make the mouth open and close. I saw individuals in the crowd speaking with the person inside the costume and laughing with them, friends or family members I thought. Once more the last group was the best. The head person would leap into the air, assisted by the tail person. The head would shake ferociously and the beast's fangs seemed ready to rip into the flesh of the bystanders. Then the head person would give a tremendous leap and next be standing on the shoulders of the tail person and the beast would suddenly be as tall as two people, shaking it's head and threatening the crowd.

Then came the long dragon. This was a long colorful fabric Chinese dragon carried on poles. The dragon spent the whole parade chasing a ball carried by the leader of the troupe. The dragon danced in a series of spirals and circles, always chasing the ball and never catching it. At one point he encircled one of the Chinese tiger beasts when it was in it's tall stage. It was quite a display.

Last came the drum and cymbal band. They kept up a noisy rhythm for the dancers. Generally there was an older man beating the big drum and younger students (?) on the cymbals around him.

These separate elements came in sets consisting of the dancers, Chinese tiger beasts, long dragon, and band. They would march a few steps and then perform. The firecrackers came at the start of the parade and at the end. It was quite a spectacle.

I met up with my friends after the parade. They arrived late because they expected the parade to start at 6:00 PM and it actually started at 4:30. Fortunately for them they arrived early and were able to catch up with the tail end and see the last set.

I arrived in Yokohama around lunchtime. Before I went to Chinatown I went to the Yokohama Maritime Museum. The city has built a lovely maritime park with the Nippon Maru permanently docked next to a lovely open square. The other side of the square is the semicircular façade of the museum. The museum is built underground to keep from cluttering up the view of the ship. The backside of the museum is a long grassy slope from which you can see the whole ship from above the deck.

Japan does not have a great maritime history. There are stories of Japanese fishermen who get swept out to sea and are picked up by passing ships. One of those stories involves a crew picked up by a whaler. Most of them elect to be returned through China to Japan. One of them decided to stay on the whaler. He traveled the world before returning to Japan. On his return he was taken before the Shogun who required him to write his story down. I am still looking for an English translation of that story.

Anyway, the museum is mostly dedicated to modern shipping and trade. They do have a display related to the Nippon Maru and its travels. There are some displays of Japanese coastal trading and fishing vessels. There is a wonderful diorama of the arrival of the Black Ships in Yokohama. There is a nice diorama of Yokohama harbor as it is today with views from cameras set up to show harbor activity. One display shows a model of the Nippon Maru under full sail. You can press buttons to change the wind direction and the model braces its yards around to adjust to the new wind direction.

I went to the library where I panicked the woman at the desk with a simple question. "Do you speak English?" quickly creates a variety of reactions here. She hustled off to find someone who could talk to me. I explained that I was a singer of English and American sea shanties (and had to explain what those were) and I wanted to know what the Japanese had for traditional sea music. I knew I was shooting in the dark. She parked me at a reading table and went off to see what she could find.

I turned to look at the magazine rack and was surprised to be looking at a publication in English. It was the Mariner's Mirror, the Journal Of The Society For Nautical Research. The society was founded in 1910 and the publication is published quarterly. The November 2004 issue I was looking at had a wonderful set of papers and notes. One paper was titled 'Wetymologies, limber scupper, and bilge' and was about the origin of those words. There were also full-scale articles on the history of the English fisheries in Iceland, the difficulties avoiding the U-boats on the oil run between the Clyde and the Firth Of Forth during the First World War, and Lascar struggles against discrimination. There were "notes" which seemed to be smaller scale articles. These included a description of an 1804 frigate action, Antarctic whaling, and the biography of a naval surgeon of the early 19th century. There was a section of "Queries" from people who had found references to certain bits of history and wanted more information. These included details of Chinese divers used to salvage money chests from a shipwreck in 1761, the activities of Captain Plucket at Norman Cross, Irawaddy patrols, and marlinspike design for the Royal Navy. There was an answer section for previous queries. They addressed fore and aft bridges, horse latitudes, lighting on 18th century ships, and stuns'ls. The correspondence section discussed previous articles. These had apparently addresses the Golden Age Of Piracy and Topmen of the 18th Century.

I was quite excited about this little discovery until I turned to the subscription page. $70 for a year's subscription seems a bit steep. Still, if anyone is interested you might try writing to them. Apparently only snail mail is used there was no reference to a web site at all though I haven't looked yet. The address is:

M. P. J. Garvey, fca
Stowell House
New Pond Hill
Cross In Hand, Heathfield
East Sussex, TN21 OLX

Good luck. If any of our English friends run across back issues in a used bookstore please think of me. I will gladly reimburse you for the purchase as long as the purchase price is reasonable, i.e., considerable less than $70 for 4 issues!

Oh, and the woman came back with three books. There was a book of songs related to the Nippon Maru, a songbook from the old Japanese Naval Academy, and another songbook of sea songs. Of course they were all in Japanese but I carefully copied the titles and brought them back for Wakana to read. She thinks we might be able to find them in the Japanese version of a used book web site.

Subject: RE: Springtime In Guam
From: GUEST,winterbright
Date: 08 Feb 05 - 05:00 PM

That there concoction sounds to me like the Thursday "Lovecraft Special"! Urp!

Subject: RE: Springtime In Guam
From: CarolC
Date: 08 Feb 05 - 12:23 PM

Have you encountered any accordions in Japan yet, Brett? You've got me thinking now about a thread I started a couple of years ago called:

Some accordion with your Pad Thai?

I would be very interested to know whether or not squeezeboxes of any sort are in use in Japan.

Subject: RE: Springtime In Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 08 Feb 05 - 08:13 AM

No wonder the giant squids are so rare. It's not the great sperm whales that have been gobbling them up for years but the Japanese for their brunch.

You must bring the recipee with you when you pay us a visit next fall. In return I'll see if I can roll a squigly up in a crepe, with maple syrup, yogert and strawberry jam. Sounds yummy!

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Springtime In Guam
From: Amos
Date: 08 Feb 05 - 12:24 AM

Guarantees the goblins stay gone. Not only do they flinch at the very concept but the inevitable consequent flatulence creates an odor which is lethal if breathed by goblins. I thought everyone knew that!

A

Subject: RE: Springtime In Guam
From: Jeri
Date: 07 Feb 05 - 11:56 PM

You really put mayonnaise on a cephalopod pizza pancake?

Subject: RE: Springtime In Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 07 Feb 05 - 11:38 PM

Bob Zentz in NH? Ouch! I wanna be there!

Last Saturday after my Japanese lesson I went to the library. It's in the same building. I wandered down the aisles and turned in to one at random and there I was at the music section. Of course all the titles we in Japanese but one word did jump out at me... Jazz.

A few days ago I went for a walk and found a used book store. I wandered down one of the aisles and found myself in the music section. Same kind of evidence.

Yesterday Wakana and I stopped at a place for lunch. We had Japanese pancakes, or maybe you might call it Japanese pizza, Wakana does. Anyway they fill a bowl with batter and lay all the ingrediants on top. The bowl is then delivered to the table. Each table has a griddle built into it. The waitress then cooked the pancake for us. While she worked we talked. She is a university graduate with a major in English. She is also a semi pro musician playing piano and flute. At our request she played a CD on which she played backup for, you guessed it, an Okinowan folk song.

Sigh, music is everywhere. Good thing I like it.

By the way, our pizza featured cabbage, beef, octopus, and squid as wel as several herbs and spices. We topped it with a mix of brown sauce and mayonaise.

Subject: RE: Springtime In Guam
From: GUEST,sandra in sydney
Date: 07 Feb 05 - 08:30 AM

yah!! they certainly were good luck soybeans

sandra