News From Guam

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 27 May 04 - 12:09 AM

Well, I just filled out a form that could have a deep impact on the rest of my life. The Navy is offering early retirement with and incentive bonus in order to trim the rolls. I signed up. That means that they might make an offer to allow me to retire early. I am not committed until I accept or refuse that offer.

Kind of scary.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 26 May 04 - 12:15 AM

Snow? Blackflies? Let me give that a little thought, a very little thought. You left out the mosquitoes, the mud, the cold rain, and a lots of other little details.

But then you also left out the special warmth of a room heated by a wood fire. The smell of a wet wool coat and the special earthy smell of early spring with snow piled by the road and the fields showing brown. The comfort of sitting by a window drinking tea while the wind blows the rain around the corner of the house. That special deep blue of a spring sky and the awe of the first warm day in May, the first robin and the first crocus, the peepers filling the evening with their calls, and the fun of the late spring snow shower trying to extend winter just a few days longer.

Yeah, there are times when I miss all that.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Ebbie
Date: 25 May 04 - 11:43 AM

A troller fisherman friend of mine says that on some days on the ocean he can see as many as six rainbows resting on the water.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: SINSULL
Date: 25 May 04 - 10:25 AM

There is a semi-sad old song called "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows" with a line "Maybe I'll find a little bluebird. Maybe you've found one, Brett. Still don't miss Maine and snow and black flies?

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: freda underhill
Date: 25 May 04 - 09:56 AM

It's so good to hear how well things are going for you Brett, and great to read all the interesting details. You have chosen a very beautiful life there.

I have a very special memory of a full double rainbow over the Pacific Ocean, one day, which happened to coincide with a very special and happy event, after a period of tension and concern.

enjoy your rainbows, crabs, sand and snorkling! (we catters are!)

best wishes

freda

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 25 May 04 - 09:49 AM

And then dragging the crab boat beneath the waves and feasting on its crew! Chalk up another for the giant squigly.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Amos
Date: 25 May 04 - 08:15 AM

Now there's an image worthy of a song -- the groaning of the winch and the fighting spirit of the big Octo, and the old men on the freezing deck telling his mood by the sound of the equipment trying to wrassle him!

A

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 25 May 04 - 07:52 AM

Thanks Jenny. I have been enjoying life more this year than I have ever enjoyed it in the past. I have found the right combination of therapist, antidepressants, and living conditions. Each day is as good or better than the next. There is real adventure in the air and in the future. The trip to Palau is a big one but just seeing the canoe finally slide into the water will be a great adventure also.

Tonight I sat with Manny down by the canoe. While the rest of the gang talked about the latest Seafarers venture he and I talked about what was left to do and when we could get together to do it. His son came up with a small octopus he'd caught down by the sea. manny told him to throw it back and then started remembering octopi he'd caught at various times. He said that he would kill the smaller ones by biting them between the eyes. They are smart aniumals and do not stay still for that treatment. Instead they try to climb up and on to his back. Larger octopi are too dangerous to bite because they latch on to the head and face and could cause a drowning so he uses his knife on them.

He also told me of two cousins who went to Alaska to work on the big fishing boats catching the king crabs. He says they told him they could tell when they had an octopus on a trap because it was much harder to pull up, the winch made a deeper sound. He said those were big octopi and were difficult to get off the traps.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: JennyO
Date: 24 May 04 - 11:41 PM

Hi Brett.

Rainbows have had a special significance for me for some years now. To me they are a sign that good times are coming. No need to chase them - they will find you.

I hope your good times continue to come (I get the feeling they have already started). You sound pretty content where you are.

Jenny (on a bleak winter day in Earlwood)

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Amos
Date: 24 May 04 - 07:53 PM

You can still catch what you're chasing, Brett -- it just looks a little different when you do. But that is no reason not to pursue it!

A

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 24 May 04 - 06:25 PM

Driving into work this morning I drove through the outskirts of a rain shower. The sky was bright behind me with the rising sun. A rainbow, faded with a bright sky behind it, shimmered before me. As I came down the mountain it seemed to draw nearer. There is a long straight stretch at one point and the end of the ranbow seemed to touch the road in front of me. As I approached it drew away, slipping silently into the parking lot of the school. I was within 50 yards of it when it leaped the trees and fled down through the housing development on the other side. The road curved away then and I lost sight of my lovely companion. Then I turned to enter the base and it was there in front of me, in the distance still fleeing with the rainshower.

What a nice way to start the day.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 24 May 04 - 01:09 AM

Oh frabjous joy! I just bought the tickets for Wakana and me to go to Palau for the big festival! I hope she is prompt about paying me back for her ticket. I'll need the difference for pocket money while at the festival. I plan to make some wonderful purchases.

So we are scheduled for three and a half days at the festival. We'll split a hotel room with another member of the Seafarers and have all the days and most of of the nights to enjoy the activities. There may not be time to enjoy the rest of the country but I figure we can always go back.

I'm excited!

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 23 May 04 - 06:45 PM

LOL Charley! I often think about how these roads would be in winter. There are so many roads that are steep, tightly curved, or both. Just leaving my road and moving into the main road is a difficult proposition in the rain. I have seen people wait at the bottom of the rise before gunning up to the intersection.

The only problem here is the coral and limestone roads. In the rain they become very slick. There are several theories for this. One is that there is an algae that exists in powder form. When it gets wet it opens up into a jelly like mass. I have seen it in parking lots so I know it really exists. That stuff is as bad as black ice. Then there is the theory that it is the oil that contaminates the road surfaces. In the rain that forms a slick as well. And my own special theory is that the limestone itself gets slick when it rains. And remember, it rains a lot here in the wet season.

Add to all that the fact that my pickup no longer is carrying weight for traction and the rear wheels have a tendency to dance a bit on the wet roads. The (corrupt and unstable) government of Guam is making improvements. Many tight curves have been coated with asphalt which gives better traction. I guess the asphalt doesn't have the cracks and spaces the limestone does so the algae cannot collect on the roads in those places.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 23 May 04 - 02:32 PM

And the house should have a self-cleaning cycle!

Steep driveways are hell in the winter, Brett. Do you have a winch on your pick-up?

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 22 May 04 - 09:21 PM

Is it right for a supervisor to be envious of a subordinate's house? Yesterday we went to a housewarming at a coworker's house. What a place! It sits up on a ledge on the side of a hill and overlooks the whole neighborhood. There is a very steep driveway and not much of a yard but the kitchen is large and the other rooms are huge. Sigh, One thing I would like to have eventually is just the right house with just the right rooms.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 21 May 04 - 06:16 AM

Thanks, Roger, I'll check it out.

We are close to getting our plans together for going to the festival. We will fly down on July 24 and share a room with another of the Seafarers for four days. We only need a place to sleep and get cleaned up so the room can be pretty basic. I am curious about how that will turn out. I have great expectations about this festival.

Wakana has sequestered herself for the next few days. Her professor asked her to rewrite her Master's Thesis, consolidating it so he can get it published in one of the Japanese sociology journals. The due date is June 1 and she is hard at work. No more snorkeling until she gets that job done.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Roger the Skiffler
Date: 21 May 04 - 03:54 AM

Brett, when I went to the Cook Islands 10 years ago there were a couple of traditional vakas rotting away under a tarpaulin in the bush that had been built for a recent Pacific Islands festival where many of the delegations arrived under sail. When we went back 2 years later they had built a new one for a forthcoming event and we saw it being prepared for its trial voyage and chatted to the father of one of the crew. The navigation skills of the Polynesians were amazing and apparently relied as much on recognising wave patterns as knowing their stars. There is a large stone marking the spot where the 12 or so vakas left to colonise what became New Zealand, around the time William the Conqueror was landing in England. Former Prime Minister, author and Doctor Tom Davis, who I think is still alive as a Cook Islands rep. in NZ, was the patron of the traditional sailing society formed to keep these boat building and navigating skills alive. If you look at the Cook Islands website there's a good book list (though many others are out of print):http://www.ck/index.html and http://www.cookislandsnews.com/

RtS
( still wearing the T-shirt - and "Hawaiian" shirts!)

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 20 May 04 - 06:29 PM

Last night we had a meeting of the Traditional Seafarers at Frank's Father's house. We went there to view a couple of videotapes on the Hawaiian canoe programs and the traditional lifestyle of the people of Lamotrek. Larry has a book called The Song Of Saterwall (sp?) about the island of Saterwall and the people who live there. It is near the island of Puluwat and it mentions our navigator, Manny Sekau, and his grandfather. The book tells the history of the island and explains how the people were pirates and raiders until Germany claimed (or bought) the island and installed a legal code. That brought the piracy to a halt.

Apparently there has always been a strong rivalry among the islands here. The art of navigation had fallen into disuse until the legendary Hepower navigated his way to Guam from Puluwat in a modern sailboat. That spurred another island to determine that they would do it using a canoe. Then the Puluwatese had to build their own ancoe and make a legendary voyage. Young men became interested once more in the old ways and the old men were still there to teach them.

One canoe made the voyage to Saipan from Palau or maybe farther away (I apologise for not having the details). On arrival they could not leave the canoe because there was no chief to greet them in friendship. So they bought provisions and went home again.

The video on Lamotrek talked about the skills of "rong". These are the necessary skills needed by the people to survive and thrive on the island. One of those skills was weather forecasting. They showed Manny's uncle using chants, dance and consulted sacred objects to determine the oncoming weather. He is gone now and his skills have gone with him. The islanders depend on the radio for weather forecasts. I met the man who runs that radio system recently. Quite a character. He was the one with the very smooth tequila at Diane Strong's party.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: GUEST
Date: 20 May 04 - 04:38 PM

Refresh

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 19 May 04 - 10:44 PM

Brett-

I was reading C. Fox Smith today and she was musing about how when less than scrupulous captains were shipping contraband cargos they would typically state they were shipping out to Guam and then go somewhere else, Guam apparently was so far out that no one ever questioned what might be sent there. I thought you'd like to know.

Happy housecleaning! Whistle while you work!!
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Amos
Date: 19 May 04 - 09:53 PM

There ya go!! The spell is melting away already!! All it takes is a little well-aimed female principle and zapppp!!

A

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 19 May 04 - 09:27 PM

Sheer endeavor? Hmm, don't know the meaning of the phrase. Could you define it a little more clearly? Taking its meaning from context I would guess it means you have to, choke, work, ugh, at it.:( My God man! Do you realize what you are saying?

But then, Wakana was pleasantly surprised at how nice the house looked. Maybe I should keep at it just as a change of pace.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Amos
Date: 18 May 04 - 11:45 PM

There's a certain kind of profile that is always attracting the attention of the Grime Goblins and the Dirt Fairies; can't say what sort exactly, but it sounds like you qualify!! Sheer endeavor is the only way to break the pattern of it. :>))

A

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 18 May 04 - 11:31 PM

There is a new lecture series at one of the restaurants on base. The subject is the history and culture of Micronesia. The first one was an overview of the history and culture of Guam. Today we got lectures on the liberation of Saipan and Tinian. For once I saw a presentation on Tinian that did NOT feature a picture of a mushroom shaped cloud over Hiroshima or Nagasaki.

My attitude towards Pacific WWII history has changed since I met Wakana. The Japanese in WWII were always pretty much faceless and homogenous to me. But Wakana lost relatives in that war. Three people from her family "disappeared" in the Pacific islands. The written genealogy of her family was destroyed in the bombing of Tokyo. Now when I see war pictures of Japanese dead I actually have a reaction to the pictures I did not have before. Those have become people for me, not just a faceless enemy from a long time ago.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 17 May 04 - 11:21 PM

It was clean when I moved in but there must be a burglar who breaks into houses and makes them dirty. A friend used to talk about kitchen fairies who did the dishes while she was asleep. Maybe this is the antithesis, a dirty dog of a burglar.

The other day I cooked my PDA. I left it on the front seat of the truck in the direct sunlight. The thing still works but the screen is totally screwed. Now I have to live without my electronic brain. I'm already suffering from withdrawal symptoms.

I called home this morning. Dad has taken delivery of next winter's firewood and has started to stack it. He says he's still pretty weak so he can only stack a few wagon loads at a time. The wagon is a child's wagon with sideboards. He also went out to mow the lawn yesterday (riding mower). He reports the blackflies are numerous and hungry. He offered to send me a box full. I declined.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 17 May 04 - 09:03 PM

Brett-

Yes, one can live with shades of gray.

Why didn't you rent a clean house?

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 17 May 04 - 06:45 PM

I have been engaged in a seemingly endless round of house cleaning. I can't believe how grungy a house can get with only one occupant. I would try to hire a maid but then she/he'd have to work around the clutter and really wouldn't know what to clean anyway. I thought I had reduced the number of possessions to a minimum but I still have too much.

If my emotional bitterness wasn't enough to keep me out of a relationship I am surprised the need to clean doesn't do it for me. Ah well, life mistreats you now and again and if you look carefully enough you will see it is really self abuse.

This morning the skies were gray and overcast. As I topped the hill on my way to work I could see the horizon which has been rare lately with the hazy conditions. It made a straight line where the lighter shade of gray that was the sky abruptly became a dark shade that was the water. Shades of gray can be beautiful too.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 16 May 04 - 07:50 PM

Well, Judy, I have to confess that I did find something that looked suspiciously like a mosquito bite on my arm as I was showering this morning. Maybe there was one mosquito flying around down there. And Wakana woke with many small red marks on her that we could not identify. She's the only one who did not sleep in a hammock. She used an air mattress and slept on the outrigger of the canoe.

Wakana found the whole experience fascinating. Apparently in Japan men do not form friendships outside of their corporations and when they gather they only talk about work. That night she saw men who were long time friends from different walks of life talking of many things but not of their jobs. It was another illustration of how different our cultures are.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 16 May 04 - 01:23 PM

Brett-

Just so you knows, the black flies and ticks are finally out here in Maine. What joy!

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: JudyB
Date: 16 May 04 - 11:16 AM

No mosquitoes? No way! I maybe sort of believe you've found a place where it hardly ever snows - but no mosquitoes? You've stretched your tall tale just a little bit too tall, my friend!

Seriously, it sounds like a great adventure!

Keep us posted!
JudyB

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 16 May 04 - 08:02 AM

what a life. Sounds like you've found your ideal retirement climate & lifestyle.

sandra

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 16 May 04 - 07:01 AM

Last night I got my first taste of tropical camping. It wasn't much, not much more than sleeping out in the back yard. We spent the day with the canoe. She's really shaping up. We hope to get her in the water very soon. The guys are talking about getting the local dancers to help us with a launching ceremony. Manny is looking for a piece of pumice to make a cnaoe totem to keep the crew safe while at sea.

So, at about 6:00 we started the BBQ and ate and drank and talked into the evening. The wives went home at about 10:00, the hammocks were strung and we were preparing for bed when Bruce showed up at midnight. He settled on a chair, broke out the tequila, and they stayed up till 4:00 AM talking and drinking. It was one of those special moments between friends. I could tell from my hammock where I lay slipping in and out of sleep.

I had a rope hammock that I'd bought earlier that day. My weight is just over its design limit but it was comfortable. I set it up with a tarp overhead for rain protection. I had a sleeping bag but I didn't need it in the warm evening. There were no mosquitoes. Let me repeat that. There were no mosquitoes! Just let that sink in. This place gets no snow and "There were no mosquitoes". I like it here.

I slept quite peacefully and didn't even notice the little rain shower Gordon reported next morning. I woke after dawn and wandered off in search of a place to empty my bladder. The park restrooms were locked and there were too many joggers and walkers to think of kicking a bush. I finally found a secluded spot and headed back to camp. On the way I met Wakana out on the same errand. We jumped in my truck and headed out for bathroom, coffee and breakfast. When we got back we brought tea for the other survivors but they were too tired to drag themselves out of their hammocks. Eventually they rose like the living dead and stared balefully at the tea while they struggled to remember what they were supposed to do with it.

About noon I headed home to get some housework done. I started with a shower. Then I realized how comfortable the bed looked. Two hours later I awoke from my nap and lay there listening to the Prairie Home Companion.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 14 May 04 - 08:19 AM

definitely simple living! I suppose the water shortages you have been enduring will be good practice for beach life.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 13 May 04 - 10:59 PM

At last it's Friday! I know you don't hear things like that from me very often but this has been a difficult week and there is so much to look forward to on the weekend. We will be at the canoe all day Saturday and most of Sunday. We'll camp out at the site on Saturday night and Manny will give us star lessons. This is when our FesPac contingent will get their first experience of living with the canoe. That is where they will stay during their time in Palau.

My efforts to go to Palau have not panned out at all. I still have one or two avenues to follow but at this time I have no place to stay while down there. I am planning to buy a hammock and I will sleep in the trees by the beach at night. In the morning I will bathe in the ocean and find a freshwater hose to rinse off in. I can stash my stuff at the canoe while I wander the grounds. There may also be a chance that someone has a dome tent and I can stay at the canoe. Either way it promises to be an adventure like I used to read about when I was a kid. Beachcomber's paradise.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: bbc
Date: 12 May 04 - 07:02 AM

chuckle. keep trying! I remember trying to communicate in Korean.

love,

Barbara

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 11 May 04 - 09:12 PM

Today is a boondoggle day. The boss and I are cutting out early to go see a movie. Plus there is a history lecture at the local club at lunch time.

Tonight after the movie Wakana and I will be meeting for supper at the Chamorro Village. I called her and mustered up all my Japanese to say good morning and then screwed up her name (Konichiwa Wanaka-san). Sigh. She says my Japanese lessons start tonight.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 11 May 04 - 08:28 PM

A water, a water, anywheres,
Nor any a drops for drinks.

Verse from Ethiopia student in 1966, or maybe just wistful thinking on the part of his teacher.

We used a bucket shower in Emdeber, in Ethiopia in the 1960's. You know, you had to heat up on the fireplace two buckets of water, one for soaping, and the other for rinsing. We had an empty bucket with a shower head attached to the bottom hanging from the center post in our shinta-bet, which was used as a shower room. It was a small round hut, encased in bamboo like the main house, with a concrete floor, a throne for other functions, but also served nicely for showers. Never had any problem with water pressure.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 11 May 04 - 06:23 PM

I actually got to shower at home this morning! What a luxury. And with hot water too! Of course the pressure is nothing to write home to mother about. I could pee harder than that. Still, I shouldn't complain. At least I left the house clean for the first time in a while.

Now, will there still be water tomorrow? Tune in, ladies and gentlemen, to this station to find out the answer to this burning question!

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Amos
Date: 10 May 04 - 11:59 PM

Make literature out of it, dude!!! Or a "No water Blues".


A

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 10 May 04 - 11:51 PM

Woke up this morning to no water. Another cold shower in the men's bathroom downstairs. I was dressing myself when one of the downstairs people came in and I groused to him about cold water. He assured me that there was hot water hooked up to that shower. You could have fooled me! I'd just gotten out of it and it was pretty cold.

The water problem finally hit the front page of the newspaper. They say they are replacing a pump and will have water back on again "soon".

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Amos
Date: 10 May 04 - 10:16 AM

Hang in there, buddy. This too shall pass.

A

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 10 May 04 - 06:45 AM

I got home with refilled water jugs only to find I have water again! Only a trickle but it runs.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 09 May 04 - 08:29 PM

By the way, the Pago Bay Reefers are cutting a CD. If anyone is interested in the folk music I hear on the island please let me know and I'll help you buy a copy. This is not great folk music. It's kind of like the Kingston Trio singing folk standards (Big Rock Candy Mountain, Tim Finnegan, etc.), the Beatles and various other fun light rock standards. But they are a fun group and you can tell they are having fun. That's what counts to me.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 09 May 04 - 08:26 PM

Hmm, that reminds me. I need some duct tape for my reef boots. The zipper won't stay up and the boot gets loose when I swim.

The wait is not important. Wakana called her mother and asked her to mail out her snorkel gear. It will be a while before it gets here so I have no one to swim with until then.

Next weekend we are going to borrow a couple of kayaks and go up the Talafofo River. She and Akiko went up that river on the tourist jungle cruise but we can go farther on kayaks. That will be fun.

Not feeling well today. Funny I should feel unwell right after a physical. Woke at 3:00 this morning unable to breathe through my nose. The only thing in the house to clear it up was Nyquil. It did the job but then I couldn't wake up three hours later to go to work. Still feel crummy.

I forgot to mention I am once again without water. It came back on Wednesday. I managed to get a few days with hot showers but it was gone again on Saturday morning. Still not there today. Ironic that they were celebrating National Drinking Water Week last week, especially since you should not drink the water from the taps anyway.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 09 May 04 - 01:52 PM

Brett-

How about caulk? Or duct tape? Or red tape?

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 09 May 04 - 05:32 AM

The last few times I went snorkeling I have had trouble with my mask leaking. Today I tried shaving my cheeks down to line up with my mustache and I put on a really thick glop of vaseline. Still no luck. After 15 minutes I gave up in frustration. I went to the dive shop. Just before I went in I tried the mask in the usual mask test and noticed bubbles in the residual water in the bottom of the mask. It wasn't leaking at the skin but through the bottom of the lens!

So, now I need a mask that will fit my prescription lenses and there aren't any on the lisland right now...

Sigh, life is good, life is good, life is good....

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Amos
Date: 08 May 04 - 07:50 PM

Yeah, I know the routine: "I am SO in good shape -- pear is a good shape!!" Glad to hear you're healthy, pal!!

A

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 08 May 04 - 07:29 PM

We put up the new canopy over the canoe yesterday. After the old one this was like a new larger house. Work continues on the outrigger. There were four people tying it together with heavy line. They would thread it through, make their loop, wrap the line around a piece of wood and then lean their weight on it. The end result was a solid knot that could not be budged.

Last week I went in for a physical. Since we've had so many of our Mudcat brothers and sisters turn up sick I thought I would report that I appear to be in good shape for the condition I'm in.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Amos
Date: 07 May 04 - 10:01 AM

Keep on truckin', amigo. Tell Wanana I said she had to take good care of you. ;>)

A

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 07 May 04 - 08:42 AM

Well, Hell, you could'a knocked me down with a feather. The party was actually fun! And Wakana had a good time too. She met a number of the people I work with and learned that many have a smattering of Japanese. And when the captain came around doing his glad hand routine he had a long conversation with her in Japanese.

The food was good. We had a Mongolian barbeque. The food was in the house and the BBQ pits were outside. There was a long line waiting for the food to cook so we got to talk to our neighbors and pass the time. Wakana was amazed to hear the stories of the people I work with. One officer from New York is a Haitian born immigrant. He worked with our current captain back in 1995 on an assignment in Haiti. Another just came back from 6 months in the horn of Africa building schools, roads and hospitals for the Ethiopians. Apparently the Government believes that helping out poorer nations may reduce the number of people that hate us. I think it's a good plan. I hope they continue to expand it. There were Chamorros there too, including some from the canoe.

Speaking of the canoe, apparently someone has stolen our canopy. I don't know why they would want that ratty old thing but it is gone. We have a new larger canopy but we don't know if we want to put it up now. We'll talk about it tomorrow.