A Walk to Kina Banjo

Up by 6:30 am and we have enough time to walk from Zakimi Forest to Kina Banjo before the scorching Okinawan sun burns our arms and necks.  It's a 30 minute walk, mostly uphill.  Once there we head right to Shiro Gusuku, a small local Mom and Pop grocery store that sells breakfast foods, cold drinks, and locally grown fruits and vegetables.  I'll get the locally made meat of the day sandwich, and Nan will usually get a bowl of soba and some tofu. Canned coffee, or tea, and maybe a mochi or two and we'll carry it across the street and sit in the park to have our morning meal and catch our breath.
The best part of our daily walk is keeping each other in mind as we pass by flowers that we love to comment on to one another, saying hello to children who are eager to speak English, or gently bowing to Okinawan farmers as they look up from working their fields.  As much as Okinawa is a major hub for American military presence, still Americans make up only about 1 percent of the population of the this tiny Ryukyuan archipelago..
Another half hour walk back to Zakimi and we start the real day.  A day of flip flops, beaches, island lunches, granddaughter hugs, being with family.  All wrapped up with a nice evening meal, a glass of shima and kisses.
What cannot you love about this place?  Flip flops in December.  This is paradise.

Crystal Blue Persuasion

Liftoff in 35 days.  Revisiting Okinawa in less than 5 weeks.  How can I say how wonderfully excited this makes me feel?  
With all the beauty the Island has to offer, the smells, the love, the tastes, and the Uchinanchu spirit I know I will receive, it is my family that brings me back.
The hugs of my daughter who has called Okinawa her home for a big part of her life, to my two granddaughters who have spent most of their entire life on Uchina call me back.
If you are from here or have visited, Shima life doesn't need to be explained. You just live it.  You just let go and live it.

Post 73.

   73 degrees.  That seems to be the high and low temperature of the day.  According to the weatherman at Kadena, AFB this will be the low for the next 10 days.  By the way, since I mentioned Kadena, AFB, let me say "thank you" to all the servicemen and women who have served.  I am grateful for your sacrifice.
   73 degrees Fahrenheit to most seems comfy nice.  Not too hot and not too cold.  Papa Bear would give this a two thumbs up.  I'm confused then when I see two Okinawan gentlemen come to the door and they are wearing light jackets.  I almost felt sorry for them and for a brief second wanted to invite them inside for a hot cup of cocoa.  I suppose living 365 on this Ryukyan archipelago would jade anyone to life outside the 90-80 F. subtropical climate most natives are accustomed.  
   My wife inherited my coryza a couple days ago.  That's the common cold for all you non medical personnel.  She is in the throws of the monster now.  Of course I am to blame.  Not covering my mouth properly, maybe drinking from her water glass.  Who knows, but I am the huckleberry.  I accept this surely, because I know it is futile to argue with her.  I learned to accept responsibility and likely punishment years ago in Naval Officer's Indoctrination School.  I also learned to not argue with my superior.  These doctrines paid off well in my military career as well as in my marriage.
   I decided to stay close by my wife today, and kick back in the house.  I dedicated myself to intermittent snacking today.  It began well with a breakfast of a bento box of Tonkatsu with a wonderful Japanese rice all topped with a pickled red plum 'Umeboshi'.  It was good purchase from a rodeside market for 350 Yen, which is about $3.00.  Snack time rolled around quickly and I had a few slices of 'Aragasa', which is a brown sugar steamed Okinawan sponge cake.    It's steamed rather than baked because ovens are not the norm in Okinawa.  At least not so in regards to the cake's history.  The only ingredients are water, flour, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt.  No eggs, oil, or milk required.  It's quite tasty.  My daughter has an old recipe passed down from a family in Itoman that she uses.  I bought my cake at the local Mom and Pop store for 175 Yen, around $1.50.  I should stop snacking soon.  My daughter has curry she prepared today on the table with this years new rice harvest from Hokkaido.
   Thanksgiving will be a bit different this year.  The entire household will be flying to Kyoto and spending Thanksgiving in the Gion district this year.  We have reserved a house for a few days while there, and we will be actively exploring temples and observing nature over the holidays.
   I'll try to keep this blog up as well as I can.  I just hope tomorrow breaks 75.  I need a beach day real soon.
   Mata ne!

Don't Flirt the Covers

I found a number 2B Mitsu-Bishi pencil while walking a trail with my wife yesterday. Most of the markings on the pencil are in Japanese, other than it does have some English writing on it that reads 'Matured '.  At least one of us is.
Turning 60 this past summer has had me working through the 5 stages of Kubler Ross' grief model.
I made it through the 1st three just fine, and then kind of got stuck on the 4th. Yeah, a bit of depression. Nothing dramatic, just moping,, smiling less.  It is what it is.  So my oldest granddaughter and I were having a discussion on aging. One that a 7 year old could comprehend.  I told her everyone ages if they are lucky, and I am considered old. Well Sophie told me I wasn't really old, I was just young old.    It's ironic that I had to travel to the 'Land of the rising sun' to get a bit of sunshine back in my life.
I'm not complaining.  I have a beautiful family, a loving wife, and we all keep each other entertained.
As most of my Facebook friends know, I've had a bad cold for a few days now and this morning my wife let me know how she felt about me keeping her awake with sniffling, clearing my throat, and so on.  She turned to me this morning and asked, "Just how many sounds can a human possibly make."
I didn't skip a beat and replied "I've got 3 more that I'm saving for the big finale tonight."  Forty years together and we still have fun.
Well that's about it.  This Japanese pencil is beginning to dull, and my Son in law just came through the door with a personal pizza just for me.
Goodnight from Okinawa, Japan.

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Eleven Days and a Wake Up

Each day I breathe a bit faster knowing that the time nears.  I try to keep myself busy readying the homestead for a three month absence.  It's getting near.  I see blue, I smell the ocean breeze, I can almost taste...no I can taste the food of the Island.  Warm handshakes and the sound of the Sanshin will soon engulf me.  As I step off the 777 I will do as I always have done for years.  I will kneel and kiss the tarmac and give a prayer of thanks that I am home.  Formalities done. Let the chase begin.