News From Guam

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 26 Jul 03 - 01:57 AM

No new adventures to speak of. I spent this afternoon with the Traditional Seafarers Society as they worked on their canoe. It is slow going for each piece has to be shaped and fitted individually. Then they mentioned today that once they finish all the repairs the whole canoe will have to be disassembled and relashed with new caulking and lashings.

Dr. Cunningham was kind enough to show me pictures of some of his adventures in the islands. He told me of his trip to Pagan which was depopulated to escape from a volcanic eruption. He had pictures of some of the buildings in the village with aa lava halfway up their walls. He had also sent me a story from a woman whose father had been murdered in the clinic on the island. The local belief is that the spirit stays where the violent act was commited. She says the clinic is now full of lava and ash except for the spot where her father was killed. That spot is clean and free of ash.

I guess I'll go snorkelling once the sun comes back out. There is a rain squall passing overhead now and while I don't mind getting wet before getting into the water the clouds obscure the sun and make it hard to see.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 24 Jul 03 - 01:36 PM

Brett et al-

What joy! Judy and I will do our best to pull this trip together for the 4th Saturday of November, and maybe a week before and after. We'll probably have to fly round-trip to OZ and back without any stops in Guam. We can always agree to meet at a particular time at Circular Quay in front of one of the living statues. I particularly like the one that looks like a bronze wombat.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble, still in San Francisco

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: GUEST,MMario
Date: 24 Jul 03 - 08:24 AM

try The Selkie and the Fause Mermaid or DaniC's There I must Lie

or the Wolfhound

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 24 Jul 03 - 08:06 AM

see ya 24 November -

other stuff -
most Fridays we get together for a session so we will have to have one that weekend. I've got so much leave I'll try for some that week (I usually have some in Nov anyway!!) As I don't drive I can't offer to take you around, but I can guide you.

The Dog line up in Nov is the Shiny Bum Singers (co-founder Canberra Chris, author of the famous Toast Song) supported by Rhymin' Simon who met various English folkies when he & Jenny & the rest of the Solidarity Choir toured 2001. Floor spots will abound that night as the Bums are individually & in mass a talented lot. So too are Roll & Go members.

Hurry up November & Brett, keep writing amazing descriptions of life in Gaum.

sandra

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 24 Jul 03 - 07:24 AM

Hey Charlie, you remember shipping out another barrel of mail back on July 5? That package just arrived today.

Not much going on this week. It's been raining all week. I managed to get out on my bike this morning but by the time I was ready to go to work it was pouring rain. Actually it was quite strange. It was not a sun shower but a sun deluge. The sun shone brightly and the rain came down in sheets.

I have mentioned lunch time at the office. There is a conference table in the center of the office surrounded by cubicles and piles stuff. On one of the shelves next to the table is a paper shredder, a printer, and a microwave oven. At noon the Chamorros in the office gather for their lunch. And if I wander through there at any point they invite me to join them. It really is amazing. It's like a pot luck every day. They sit and talk and share dishes and laugh and tease and happily share their food with anyone who will sit with them. They have been very kind and accepting of my interest in their culture. We've agreed I will have a pot luck dinner as a house warming and they will all bring Chamorro foods and drink. I will finally get to drink tuba, and eat kelaguen made by Nando.

Today we had the great old fashioned dishes called leftovers. In this case there were chicken wings, a great spinach dish, bitter melon, bananas, some kind of soft sweet tortilla, and the ubiquitous rice. Then one of the women brought out a scissors like tool and began to cut up some betel nut. And so I had my first experience with betel nut. It was like carrying a pebble in my mouth and didn't do anything for me. They say I should get better betel nut. Time will tell.

And so my day comes to an end.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: JennyO
Date: 23 Jul 03 - 10:52 PM

Yaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 23 Jul 03 - 04:13 PM

OK, here we go Charlie, we are in like Flynn. Your original intent was good. My partner in crime here and his wife are going to Nebraska in Early November so we can go to Australia for the break between November and December. Plan on the 4th Saturday of November and North By Northwest in December.

Stand by, Australia, here we come!

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 23 Jul 03 - 02:44 PM

Sounds like it's still interesting where you are, Brett. Judy and I are fairly flexible for either October or November, but we do have a priority for the 4th Saturday of either month.

"Quey," "Quay," "Pier," "Peer," "M'in chiger'in!" as we used to say in Ethiopia back when I was there in the 1960's.

Oh, there's an update on our adventures in San Francisco on the Press Room thread for those interested.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble in San Francisco

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: katlaughing
Date: 23 Jul 03 - 02:57 AM

Yikes, that seems pricey, but the place sounds nice and I am glad for you that you will be able to give up your room at the base. I'll bet it will feel great to unpack your own stuff and set up house. It certainly continues to sound extremely interesting there!:-)

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 22 Jul 03 - 04:48 AM

Brenna Lorenz's article was one of those I found before coming here. She really tells it like it is. I love her comment on the cockroaches. When she killed a "bad" cockroach her son asked if there were any good cockroaches. She said yes and when he asked how you could tell the good ones from the bad ones she explained that the good ones were already dead.

Today I heard from the realtor. We have finished the negotiations. My rent will be $900 per month with the owner paying for the water and providing a new refrigerator. I take possession on the first of August. My household goods are supposed to arrive during the week of August 4. Soon I can give up the motel life. Hooray!

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: M.Ted
Date: 21 Jul 03 - 02:07 PM

I tend to be either late or very late with things. In this case, Brett, here is a link that I meant to dig out and post when you were thinking about moving to Guam--What's it like to live on Guam? It is part of a site that has lots more info on Guam, much of which you have already relayed to us, as well as the lyrics to a whole lot of great blues and jazz tunes--They moved to Pennsylvania(God Help them!) or they would have been interesting folks to look up--

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 21 Jul 03 - 07:41 AM

Today, Junly 21, is Liberation Day on the island. There has been a carnival down by the Chamorro Village all month. Families have been camped out along the parade route for the last week and a half at least. Driving home on Saturday I passed families gathered around TVs under canopies, the smoke and smell of barbequing meat, and kids sacked out on cots. Excitement grew to a fever pitch to culminate in the grand parade this morning.

At the base we were offered liberal leave to participate in the holiday. On the island it was very much a holiday atmosphere.

As you may recall I went to the hospital last week. The doctor set me up with a follow up visit to the Family Practice Clinic at the Naval Hospital. The appointment was for 9:20 AM and the parade started at 10:00 AM. I figured I would do the appointment and then skate on downtown to see the parade.

But I didn't figure on a few minor problems. I wasn't sure where I was going and had to ask for directions. Consequently I arrived five minutes late. And then I remembered what I had happily ignored for all those years in Maine. I encountered that special disdain and annoyance displayed so readily by those on the fringes of the medical profession. Being five minutes late I was too late to see the doctor. When I asked the receptionist to make sure of that she expressed her annoyance silently and stumped off down the hall.

She returned a few minutes later, confirmed that five minutes is indeed too late, and then she rescheduled my appointment, pecking at her keyboard for a long time. She announced that she could reschedule me for the same day. I figured that would be great. I could see the parade and then be back for the appointment. However, she rescheduled my appointment for 10:30 and then handed me a thick packet of forms to fill out, the same forms I had filled out in the emergency room, refused to believe I had already provided this information, and sent me back to the waiting room.

Eventually I was collected by a corpsman who took my vital signs and then escorted me to an examining room. There I met a doctor, a Lieutenant Commander, who confirmed that I was feeling better. Then he started to ask about my blood pressure and my medications. I mentioned that I was getting close to running out of my medication and would need to renew it soon. That stumped them. They couldn't figure out what it was and had to do extensive research through all their books and computer databases. Then they took my pill bottle and ran the name into the Google search engine and finally they had their answers. They set me up for my refills and for some other "normal" tests and sent me to the pharmacy.

The pharmacy was another experience in frustration and waiting. There were crowds surging back and forth, children clinging to their video games and cartoons on the TV. Old people coughed up phlegm and janitors rattled buckets. And I finally got my medication.

All that took a lot of time. In that time the weather broke and rained poured down in buckets. When I left the building I could hear, at the bottom of the hill, a band bravely playing along the parade route. I decided I wouldn't go stand in the rain to watch the end of the parade and I headed back to work.

As I made the turn at Marine Drive I looked north and saw the tail end of the parade, one float moving up the street with the rain dripping off it. I felt bad for all the people who had waited so long for the parade only to have the heavens open up on them.

So now I have my meds and I can get on with the positive side of the adventure. Today I got a long run of messages from Dr. Cunningham with pictures of his adventure on the canoe trip and scenes from the island of Pagan. I've asked him for more information. I also have several articles on building and navigating the outrigger canoe to read. I guess I'll stay busy for a while longer.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Lana
Date: 21 Jul 03 - 06:58 AM

yeah, i've been working on it, for some reason i can't get it to sound quite right, must be the lack of instruments. *shrug*

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 20 Jul 03 - 11:57 PM

You know, I am very open and willing to try new things. I had real sushi back in Maine, hand made and well praised by all who were "in the know" about eating bait and seaweed. I tried it. I didn't care for it and probably won't try it again. But part of that problem is that I do not really care for eating fish. Something about the flavor does not appeal.

Many years ago, when I was in college we had a Japanese exchange student at the school. I took him home to Houlton, Maine, because there were Japanese exchange students at Ricker College and he wanted to touch base with his fellow countrymen. One night me made us a Japanese meal, though I cannot now tell you what it was. I've always wondered what happened to him.

As for visiting Australia, is there enough to do and see to fill up 2 weeks? This question is asked with tongue very much in cheek. I figure to start in Sydney at the Loaded Dog and finish at North By Northwest. All the time in between will be spent looking at a land that has always been too far away to even consider the possibility that I would ever see it. What's the weather like then? If my calculations are correct you would be heading into your summer?

You know, Kell, another song to sing for these SCA members is Eileen McGann's The Knight And The Rose. You might prepare that one for the gathering too.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: GUEST
Date: 20 Jul 03 - 10:35 AM

The Sakura in Agana, if it's still there. Best tempura I ever had. Couple of REAL sushi bars on the island too, as I recall. The kind where you point at what critter you want and the obsessively-compulsively clean chef wipes the whole kitchen spotless before he cleavers the hell out of your selection and then serves it to you with a smile. There were a couple of Japanese restaurants, too, with the little stoves in the center of the table...where you cook your own foods. Look for the places were you have to sit on the floor. Warm sake is a treat too, if you drink. It sneaks up on you though. We watched a group of reserved Japanese businessmen in the Sakura once enter and take their places on their cushions around their long table, and as they ate they started knocking back little cups of sake. An hour later they were falling off their cushions and laughing at each other. Try wasabi mustard and pickled ginger root...standard Japanese condiments. Wasabi is the hottest thing I've ever tasted, but it has no oil base like jalapenos and such, so it doesn't stick to your tongue. Just gives you a feeling like an ice cream headache squared, and just as the pain is about to make you scream...it's gone. Great for the sinuses. And pickled ginger root may be the best tasting stuff on earth. Oh, and pick up a bag of dried cuttlefish sometime. Like beef jerky. makes a great snack. Look for the markets, too, where you can buy whole dried cuttlefish, then look around that market for some of the strangest foods you'll ever come across in your life.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: JennyO
Date: 20 Jul 03 - 09:50 AM

Just for your information, Charlie and Brett, The Loaded Dog in October is on Saturday the 25th, and North By Northwest in November is on Thursday the 6th, so 12 days between them.

Or, The Dog in November is on Saturday the 22nd, and North By Northwest in December is on Thursday the 4th, so again 12 days between them.

Hope that helps with your planning - I realize there are other factors here though that will help determine what you do.

Jenny

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 20 Jul 03 - 09:03 AM

Charley - Circular Quay might be pronouncd KEY but it is not spelt Quey (tut tut tut) If your relos can't cope with you for the entire trip Dog supporters might be able to offer you a bed (or room for you tent, or even a loan of a tent!!)

November would be great - so too would be October.

sandra

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Lana
Date: 20 Jul 03 - 08:20 AM

There's always The Witch of the Westmorland. I'm planning to sing that at the Gathering this fall. It's more modern, but sounds older. :-) Thomas the Rhymer would probably work too.
I hope you have fun with the SCA. :-) I went to an Irish festival yesterday and picked up a penny whistle.

love
lana

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: katlaughing
Date: 20 Jul 03 - 04:34 AM

Naes, this is so wonderful to read. You really have a way of bringing it all so to life; it really does feel as though we are there with you!

Glad you liked the sites. I loved the one about the grandfather and the instrument.

Re' songs and search criteria for SCA, is you put "medieval" in the box, there are quite a few threads which come up which look useful. Sounds like fun, whether you join up or not.

Thanks so much for sharing with us, please continue. I really look forward to reading of your next explorations!

kat

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 19 Jul 03 - 08:43 PM

After I left the canoe and her menders I headed out to find a used bookstore I'd heard about. I dreove around looking for it for a while and then gave up. It was well past lunch time so I decided on the Outback Steakhouse. It had been a while since I'd had a real steak dinner and I was hankering for slab o' meat. I got there to find it was closed and is only open at 5:00 every day. No lunches here.

This might be a good time to talk about the scarcity of restaurants. To start with there is no place within easy reach where I can find breakfast except the (shudder) McDonalds on the base. Outside the gate is a Taco Bell and a Pizza Hut. As you drive north along Marine Drive there is nothing that stands out as a restaurant until you get to Agana. Then you have to look hard for them because they are little dives tucked into groups of half demolished buildings. Farther up, in Tamuning, you can find places like the Lone Star Steak House and Marty's Mexican Food. Plus there is the food court at the GPO where I ate my supper last night. Also available are places like Shirley's Coffee Shop, a diner type franchis found around the islands, and Kings, some kind of burger joint. There are also places like Winchell's which is a doughnut shop and lots of Burger Kings, McDonalds, Pizza Huts, Taco Bells, and the like. What I'm trying to say is that this is no mecca for the gourmand. Even the Chamorro Village, for all that the name suggests, has three places that serve Chamorro food and the rest serve Italian, Indian, and Ice Cream.

So I had a sandwich at Blimpie's and a frappelatte from the Coffee Beanery. 'Nuff said.

I headed down to Ypao Beach Park. It was about 3:00 in the afternoon by then and I had seen something in the paper the day before that I had to check out. I settled myself in a chair and tried to read some of the research Dr. Larry had given me but I was distracted by the life being lived all around me. The park has covered pavilions for people to picnic and a few large trees. Down by the beach is a line of palms.

It wasn't full of people but there were plenty of people around. I am used to seeing people go to the beach to lie in the sun. In my experience a few hardy souls, the young and the foolish, go into the water. Here on Guam people go to the beach but they mostly stay out of the sun. There were a few people in the water but most were in under cover. There was some kind of party going on at the largest pavilion for it was full of people and had a DJ spinning tunes on a sound system that filled the park with reggae, rap, rock, and soft romantic tunes. It was quite an eclectic mix. There were parties and gatherings at other pavilions too but there were a few that were empty. There are two sand volleyball courts and they were busy as well. Down the beach I spied a white arch garlanded with flowers and realized a wedding was happening. It obviously wasn't connected with the party in the big pavilion and I wondered how the overflow of music might be impacting that happy event. Everywhere I looked children in swimsuits ran and splashed and screamed. Over the food tables people waved fans of paper plates to keep the flies at bay. The smell of barbeque fires mingled with the smell of cooking fish and meat.

It was very hard to concentrate on the article on canoes.

After a while I headed for one of the empty pavilions to wait for the 4:00 hour. I didn't know what to expect or what I'd do about it. It has been nearly 20 years since I associated with that group. I don't know what to do about it even now. But then I spotted them and wandered over to talk. The SCA had arrived with all the splash and color that they bring with them wherever they go.

Twenty years ago in Georgia I had been part of the Shire Of The Crystal Keep. Now I was looking at re-entering that world. I'm not sure I want to. But I gave it my best scrutiny. They are nice people but they are all military so that leaves us unable to talk politics. Plus they are young and boisterous and swagger a lot. Were we ever like that, I wonder? If we were it sure is annoying to those of us who are older and supposedly more mature. Be that as it may be they are nice kids and welcoming. I may visit now and again and try to learn some period stuff to bring to their gatherings. I think Fred and Julia do it right. They aren't members but they do like those people and help out when they can. I could do a lot worse than to emulate them.

So I guess I need to find some period music pieces to learn. I am looking for anything that comes from or sounds like it came from the period between 600 BC and 1600 AD. Any suggestions? I'm not sure what search criteria to use in the database.

After the park I went to supper, Chinese again, and a movie. Then it was home to write up my adventure and collapse into bed.

Thus ended another day in Paradise.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 19 Jul 03 - 06:31 PM

Calling Brett-

A careful review of what we posted above about flying to Sydney specifies that the Loaded Dog takes place on the 4th Saturday of the month. Therefore we are planning to fly out "late in November," not early. Now if your buddies need to go out early we do have a conflict. However, at this point we could go a week early from the 4th Saturday or stay a week later, or maybe do both if folks are as hospitable as they were last time around. We do want to visit with our nephew's new family, and we might want to dash off somewhere else as well.

Off to San Francisco for the next week or so, but I'll check in and see what you're been up to.

Roll & Go had a blast today at the WoodenBoat Show in Rockland.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Brían
Date: 19 Jul 03 - 11:15 AM

This is great stuff, Naemanson. Keep it coming.
Brían

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 19 Jul 03 - 09:06 AM

But Charley, what are you going to do if my co-worker and his family need to take their vacation late in November instead of early. I left it up to him because he has to plan for family travel. He and his wife are a little distracted right now because she is about to give birth to their third child. It may be a week or two before they are able to plan for their vacation. And we both cannot be out of the office at the same time.

What a day I have had. My family have always complained that I have the weirdest friends. But then they've said that since the year I brought home the prison inmate who was out for the holiday. In the years since I have been perfectly at home with people in the SCA, muzzleloading buckskinners, and even, God forbid, folk musicians. Today I went forth into the coutryside to extend my record and I came up with aces.

Last Tuesday I had been invited to visit the deep sea canoe that group is repairing. I found it in the front yard of a house in a little neighborhood high up on the side of the hills overlooking Agana Bay. It was under a canopy and covered with a tan tarp. Dr. Cunningham greeted me and introduced me to the sweetest looking 22 foot red and black outrigger canoe. She is gorgeous. While we were looking her over Manny showed up. He was wearing a Budweiser T-shirt and blue Hawaiian print shorts. I could see a ritual tatoo on his leg, three parallel symbols on his calf. These tatoos were no casual decoration. There was meaning there, written in their simplicity and position. Here was The Navigator. This man learned to navigate by the stars from his grandfather, one of the last of the old time navigators. He had been through the rituals and ceremonies and carried within himself the magic passed down through the generations.

The canoe was beautiful. She is 22 feet long and very narrow. Her hull is asymetrical, mor curved on the outrigger side than on the other. Dr. Cunningham explained to me that the hull acts in the water like an aerofoil. The shape of the hull offsets the pressure of the wind on the sails. In other words the Micronesians figured out how to counteract leeway using fluid dynamics instead of a keel. These canoes are sailed with the wind always on the outrigger side of the boat. To tack the merely shft the mast, swing the sail end for end and the bow becomes the stern and off they go in the other direction. The outrigger is not intended to be used as a float. It is intended to the a counter weight for the wind pressure on the sail.

The canoe is built of seeded breadfruit tree. The seeded breadfruit is called dokdok while the seedless is called lemmai. The lemmai is worthless for building canoes, and from what I gathered, pretty much anything else. The bottow of the canoe is carved from the trunk of the dokdok and then the bow and stern are lashed on afterwards as well as the planks that make up the rest of the hull. The boat is calked with coconut fiber and hot breadfruit sap. With the hull and outrigger in place a little house of cocnit frond and sticks is built on top.

While we talked Manny worked on the canoe. He was carving a new thwart piece for the end. When he is done the piece will carry the weight of the rudder and will act as chainplate for the stays. He worked with adze and chisel.

The canoe was used cruelly by the typhoon. Ponsongwa was supposed to miss the island but instead it nailed them hard. The canoe still needs a lot of work but they hope to get it into the water soon, Their big handicap is getting the wood they need to make certain parts. Much of the trees they need to harvest were destroyed by Pongsonwa and Chata'an, the last two typhoons.

There is more about this day but I am very tired. I will add more in the morning.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 17 Jul 03 - 09:05 PM

Brett-

Well, here's your challenge. Judy and I are checking out flights to Sydney so we can be there in reasonable shape by the 4th Saturday of Novbember for whatever takes place at The Loaded Dog. We'll certainly do the full version of "Dead Dog Cider."

Alert, Sandra N., Bob B. and Margaret W. and The Roarin' Forties, this is a serious proposal.

We'll probably be staying with our old friends the Horvaths, assuming they're resident in Sydney at the time. Otherwise we'll just pitch a tent at Circular Quey.

Must go to that incredible Sicilian restaurant in Bob's neighborhood again, if I could only recall its name...

So get your schedule together and we'll have some great fun!

Cheerily,
Charles Noble

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: curmudgeon
Date: 17 Jul 03 - 08:37 PM

I assume, based on your most recent post, that the abdominal affliction is gone or under control. If not, do correct this situation immediately; no good in being afflicted in paradise.

Your posts are magical. You have a way with the language that brings us there with you. I look forward to reading the book.

In an earlier post you expressed delight in recieving mail. Put your snail mail address up and you might get some more; like session tapes.

Be well and keep up the thread -- Tom

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: GUEST
Date: 17 Jul 03 - 07:05 PM

Same-time post. Check out Star Fruit if you get the chance.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: GUEST
Date: 17 Jul 03 - 07:03 PM

Hey! That's it! The beach where Magellan landed.

Inarajan

The rock structure I was talking about is at the end of that spit of land in the upper right of the photo. You can walk up there and look down on the whole little bay. As I remember, that was a silt, black sand bay. The gleaming line at the right is from a small stream feeding into the bay, and where the rivers and streams feed the ocean the silt often washes back in and darkens the beaches. But then some of the beaches are so white they hurt the eyes. An old couple used to waylay people walking up to the overlook there at Inarajan. Had a carabao with flowers woven in its horns and sold fruit. Star fruit? Yeah...the cross section looked like a star. Nice folks.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 17 Jul 03 - 07:02 PM

Those are couple of great sites, Kat. I never saw them when I was researching coming here.

Guest, the bay that has the reputation of being Magellan's landing place is Umatak. According to the local historian I talked to it is likely that is just myth. Magellan's crew was in sad shape when they rounded the north end of the island. Umatak is on the southern end. It is unlikely they traveled the whole length of the island before coming to anchor. Agana Bay was more likely their landing place.

The picture in Kat's first website above is Umatak. It is a lovely place but you have to frame your picture very carefully if you want to see something like that. The bay is surrounded by houses and a church.

I haven't mentioned it before but there are beaches here with black sand. The island is a combination of volcanic rock and coral. Where the coral has been reduced to sand the beaches are white. Where the volcanic rock has been reduced to sand the beaches are black. I wonder if there is a beach with both...

As for the Australian trip, my co-worker and fellow department head is also planning a vacation in that time frame so he and I need to coordinate our vacations. That means it may be a few days before I can definitely say I will be going at the break between October/November or the break between November/December. However, I am definitely planning on going. I am figuring on 2 weeks for my trip. As we get closer I'll start a Here-I-Come-Who-Can-I-Visit thread.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: katlaughing
Date: 17 Jul 03 - 01:30 PM

Brett, that seems like such a neat place, so much to learn about and explore. I was just looking around on the website I linked to in my previous posting and found this wonderful and charming story about the last Chamorro who knew how to make and play an ancient instrument called the belembaotuyan. Be sure to read the last bit, esp. there are some recordings of him somewhere out there! Very kewl!

Can you tell I am turning slightly green with envy?**bg**

kat

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: katlaughing
Date: 17 Jul 03 - 12:08 PM

There are some interesting photos and comments about Magellan and the Chamorros on this page.

kat

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: GUEST
Date: 17 Jul 03 - 12:03 PM

Oh, and have you checked out the beaches yet where the Americans landed when they re-took the island? White shelves of coral extending out to the drop off to turquoise water and round blue pockmarks made by incoming shells hitting the coral? Those are great places to snorkel. Scuba classes train in the holes...not much clutter...easy to go up and down to get used to the gear. Cool photos, too, of the blue bomb craters.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: GUEST
Date: 17 Jul 03 - 11:54 AM

Discovery Day is another big holiday, I recall. The day when Magellan 'discovered' the island in 1521. April something or other. Can't recall the name of the really cool little cove where Magellan weighed anchor...the one with the rock lookout thing built on the hook of land at its high point. Worth checking out and getting some pictures of. You can photograph the whole bay where Magellan anchored in one frame. Postcard photo.

I had to do some radio work when I was there, and FCC rules applied...only English could be spoken on certain frequencies. One guy I worked with would go ballistic when he'd hear Chamorro being spoken, and one time he jumped on the radio and told the sender to speak English. Told him in Chamorro. lol.

When I related this story to an old-timer on the island he said as a boy he watched how the Japanese dealt with such issues. If you spoke English during they Jap occupation, they cut your head off on the spot. Yes, they were rather happy when the Americans returned.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 17 Jul 03 - 09:16 AM

Brett, I hope you're feeling better now.

The fact that I have been waiting 2 years for Charley to get to the Dog doesn't mean he can get away with just a song - 2 members of Roll & Go will be twice the value! We might even be able to round up all the members of our (almost) resident shanty singers The Roaring Forties, and naturally the famous singing Dog audience will join in.

sandra

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Lana
Date: 17 Jul 03 - 06:53 AM

hey dad, i hope you feel better soon.

i finally solved one of my durham university problems and got an answer about going full time. according to the woman who has been helping, everyone will know who i am when i get there cause of all the administrational headaches i'm causing. now i just have to get the loans sorted, but that office still won't let me talk to the woman i want to talk to or answer my phone calls. it's really annoying.

love you,
kelli

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 17 Jul 03 - 12:36 AM

Edmund, any proper rifle is loaded through the Mouth (muzzle). When you jam a shell (suppository) up the other end you have a suppository gun.

Let me see if I have this straight. We should plan to be in Sydney on the fourth Saturday of November and the first Thursday. That will help in planning this trip. You with me on this, Charley? Looks like we'll have to plan on either the end of October and the first of November or the end of November and the first of December. Please note, neither one is a problem for me. Sydney is an easy reach from where I am. You are the one who will have to do the difficult planning.

This morning the pain in my gut woke me. I decided to avoid the rush and get to the hospital early so I arrived at 5:00 AM. After the usual round of paperwork and other standard measurements I finally saw a doctor. Looking at him I wondered if his mother knew he was awake so early in the morning. He felt around and probed and prodded. He couldn't figure out what it was but he was pretty sure what it wasn't. He gave me some painkillers and valium and sent me home. When I got back to my room I took some pills, ate breakfast and lay down for a bit. I woke up around 10:30! Good pills. I have a follow up appointment on Tuesday. In the meantime the painkillers help but I am high as a kite.

As I write this there is a lovely storm raging outside my office window. The wind is tossing the palm frond and tre branches and the rain is pouring down obscuring most of the moutain views I have. I can hear the wind howling past my windows. I feel bad for the security guards out there on the base entrance.

Next Monday is Liberation Day. We have been offered liberal leave in order to participate. The holiday celebrates the liberation of the island from the Japanese towards the end of WWII. Apparently this is an all out holiday. It is one of the biggest events of the year. Some people have been camped out next to Route 1 for a week now, preserving their place for the parade. I may have to take the afternoon off to go downtown and see what all the bruhaha is all about.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: CET
Date: 16 Jul 03 - 06:47 PM

Brett:

What I want to know is, what's a suppository gun?

Edmund

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: M.Ted
Date: 16 Jul 03 - 03:08 PM

Brett,

The thread just keeps getting better and better. Please keep it up. And I hope you're feeling better--

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Amos
Date: 16 Jul 03 - 03:06 PM

ANd BRett is kind enough to absorb the digestive problems for us as well. Hope he turns up okay! Sure makes travel easier!

A

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: KateG
Date: 16 Jul 03 - 02:14 PM

A magical thread....round the world without leaving my desk (yet). Please keep posting.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: JennyO
Date: 16 Jul 03 - 09:28 AM

Yes, and if you happen to be in Sydney on the first Thursday of any month, my folk club North By Northwest is on. Sandra is always there, too, probably on the door. We help each other out a lot. Look forward to seeing you.

Jenny

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 16 Jul 03 - 08:58 AM

Brett & Charley - make sure you're in Sydney for the 4th Saturday. Charley has had a floor spot at my club waiting for him for almost 2 years.

You'd be among friends - Bob is our photographer & Canberra Chris will be part of the entertainment in Nov & JennyO might be on the door. Seems like most Sydney Mudcatters are Dog supporters - Chickie is webmaster & she sings with Callie. And JennyG & Roo have been known to visit and Alison will be encouraged to visit that night, too.

sandra

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Roger the Skiffler
Date: 16 Jul 03 - 06:48 AM

Brett, re: taro.
I've eaten it in many forms during two magical holidays in the Cook Islands. I can't say it made me want to seek it out elsewhere but the nicest way IMHO was taro chips (what we Old Worlders would call crisps). Very tasty.
Keep the stories coming!

RtS

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 16 Jul 03 - 04:50 AM

I didn't get to the Novena. I woke early this morning with a pain in my gut and it got worse through the morning. I finally left work and spent the afternoon asleep. It still hurts some so I am staying in tonight. It must be something I ate. Maybe the sausage pizza I had for dinner.

Charley, you can depend that I will let you know when I head for Australia. If you need two months to plan for that then figure on heading out there in November. I need to see how my home situation works out before I can commit. In the meantime let's start the prliminaries and target the middle of November. How does Thanksgiving in Australia sound?

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Charley Noble
Date: 15 Jul 03 - 08:31 PM

Brett-

You'll just have to point out what fun it will be if the open-mike thing becomes a regular monthly event. Sounds like a great way to get to know people.

And when you start planning that Oz foray, give Judy and I about two months notice and maybe we can join you in Sydney. November/December works best for Judy in terms of her work schedule. Sandra N. is a fine contact, along with Bob B.

Oh, the lobsters at the Five Islands wharf were just great! The fog melted away in the harbor while we were eating, revealing the usual fleet of lobster boats, Boston Whalers, sailboats, ducks and sea gulls.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 15 Jul 03 - 08:02 PM

Is this a blog? I had no idea!

I have been invited to a Novena dinner at a co-worker's home. I'll be going up there tonight. Sounds like fun.

By the way, I am working on converting this thread to a Word document with pictures. If you are interested in getting a copy send me your email address by PM.

I do not yet have a decent digital camera.. the one I am using so far is on the back of my PDA, a Palm Zire71. It's all right for snapshots but the resolution isn't very good.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: katlaughing
Date: 15 Jul 03 - 05:48 PM

There's a book in this Naes...hope you got the new camera and are taking lots of piccies to go along with your wonderful narrative! Thanks so much for sharing with us. It is just like being there...fascinating!!

luvyakat

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Amos
Date: 15 Jul 03 - 05:09 PM

Fascinating blog you got here, Brett!! Love it. Keep up the good work!

A

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 15 Jul 03 - 04:59 PM

By the by, thanks for the comments. I was beginning to wonder if people were getting tired of this thread.

Sandra in Sydney, you may get your wish. I am hoping to get down to your neck of the woods before the year is out. My daughter's best friend is attending college in your town and I've always wanted to get to Australia.

MMario, I just don't know how I'll handle that house. As I see it there is a room for my library, one for my woodshop, one for my daughter and one for me. Each of the upstairs bedrooms has a sliding glass door that opens on to the balcony. There are very few houses in the neighborhood so there is a nice view, though it is only open ground and not the ocean or any of the deep valeys of the interior.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: Naemanson
Date: 15 Jul 03 - 04:53 PM

Well, that was an interesting evening. When I arrived I found chairs set up and some people playing around with a slide projector. I introduced myself and that began what I hope will be a long and interesting relationship. Larry, a retired teacher and part time instructor at the UOG is studying ancient Chamorro chants and song. The tiny woman working with him on the projector is one of the other professors but I didn't catch her name. She is Japanese and my ear isn't trained to catch the syllables yet. However, she was the featured poet and was preparing an illustrated recitation of her Tanka poetry. Larry introduced me to Leslie, one of his former students and the young woman who was the driving force behind the Sotta. By the way, I don't have a working definition of Sotta yet but I believe it's a Chamorro word.

Anyway, Larry, in his spare time is working on a traditional Polynesian canoe that he and a group of his friends and a traditional Chamorro navigator want to sail to the other islands in the chain. They made one voyage, from Palau, but the canoe was badly damaged in the last typhoon and they are trying to get it repaired. I've been invited to join them on Saturday as they work on it.

As we got closer to the kick off more and more people showed up. They were mostly younger people but there were a smattering of those who were closer to my age. Once things got rolling and performer followed performer I realized I was involved in a poetry open mike. The performers ranged from a little girl preparing for first grade to a woman who commented on how menopause was affecting her memory. The little girl recited a Chamorro chant which the MC translated after she finished. What followed included a Korean-American boy who read his school essay on finding peace between North and South Korea, his sisters who performed a series of little skits THEY thought were hilarious, a young man, definitely Chamorro, who read his angry poem on the loss of his cultural background, and the usual run of kids for whom life has turned out to be more complex than they liked. One of the first presenters stepped up to the mike dressed in a bright red dress and long brown hair draped over her shoulders. She was hot. If I was 30 years younger I'd have been tracing after her myself. She recited a poem about meeting a man. She started with a soft breathy voice that she worked up to the excitement of sex and then ended with the words, "Hey! You gotta pay!" Very funny.

When I set out for the event the sky was cloudy. When I stopped for supper it rained a little but that's not unusual. After I got there it started to rain with a little more serious intent. The venue was an open area in the middle of a small covered outdoor shopping mall. The performance area was at the intersection of two "halls" of shops. High overhead was an arched roof. As the rain increased we found that the roof not only leaked but that the wind blew the rain into where we were sitting. That delayed the beginning and then later on it interrupted the proceedings. So there we were, sitting in wet chairs and getting dripped on. But the people hung on. I met more interesting people including a DJ from the local NPR station who invited me to play on the station and a former writer for the Pacific Daily News, the local paper.

When my turn came along I felt a little out of place. This was, after all, a poetry open mike though it had been advertised as being open to any performers at all. Still, I felt like a cat in a dog kennel. But inspiration had struck moments before and I had written this:

Poets in the rain,
Speaking of life and love,
With lightning in their words,
And thunder in their hearts,
These are the poets with wet butts.

That was greeted with enthusiasm so I went on to do Henery The 8th and Mary Mac. My performance was well received. I had taken my guitar but didn't want to get it out of the case in those conditions.

I stuck around for a while longer to hear several more poets and then around 9:30 I bugged out. It was a great evening. Unfortunately there is no next one to look forward to.

Subject: RE: News From Guam
From: GUEST,MMario
Date: 15 Jul 03 - 12:56 PM

Only four bedrooms and three bathrooms? My GAWD! I know Guam is primitive, but how are you suppossed to live in such a hovel! ;)