The man who would not utter Atari

Jun with go board, Okinawa August 2017

Jun is an institution in our Okinawa universe.  This amazing man is a retired attorney and a fluent speaker of English.  Richard has found a friend and a go opponent in Jun.

Gatton and Brisbane

CS1 Cantrell was our secret weapon

On Gatton

I struck gold with Phyllis Herberich and her family, and the Mt Sylvia State School.

I couldn't have done this without Phyllis Herberich!

Sydneymania

Sydney was a beautiful port call. I purchased a Montague folding bike at Velomania and cycled around the city with a colleague who also owns a folding bike.  I also saw my first Rugby game. Sydney is one of the finest world class cities I have ever experienced, it's more majestic than San Francisco.

Work humor

My colleague, who stands the Quebec* watch on the ship,  requested I write a song about him.  Be careful what you ask for.  It's the reactions of the guy that sits behind Quebec, that inspired me.

Post! Post! Post it to stage!**
Post! Post! It's all the rage!
If I've got a SITREP, or an adverse FITREP,***
Why not just post it to stage?

My name is Quebec,
And I say "what the heck!"
If I've got a morsel or tidbit or two,
Something of interest, what do I do?
I put it in chat, and then that's that,
but I just call it "stage".

Post! Post! Post it to stage!
Post! Post! It's all the rage!
If I've got a SITREP, or an adverse FITREP,
Why not just post it to stage?

"Who opened his lunch?"****

 I opened my lunch,

 To share with you

 all of the pleasures I dine

 Sandwiches, pastries

 and vittles divine.

 I put it in chat and

 then that's that,

 but I just call it stage.

Post! Post! Post it to stage!
Post! Post! It's all the rage!
If I've got a SITREP, or an adverse FITREP,
Why not just post it to stage?

* A watch stander representing the Command & Control Warfare Commander
**  "Stage" is jargon for chat software.
*** FITREP is a Fitness Report, a job performance report
****Australian slang: "Okay, who farted?"

The Valerie Cranmer Song

Valerie Cranmer. Non-stop glamour.

A little ditty for a colleague. Everything, and I mean everything, always goes her way. Phenomenon depicted below.

I wish I could be more like Valerie Cranmer
The life of a Marine is filled with such glamour
When I am with Valerie, all I do is stammer
I wish I could be more like Valerie Cranmer

One day I had to go on a deployment,
but Valerie got signed up for some enjoyment
"Valerie will you stay aboard the Dok Do?"
Where she was treated like an O-6, I do know.

Oh, I wish I could be more like Valerie Cranmer
The life of a Marine is filled with such glamour
When I am with Valerie, all I do is stammer
I wish I could be more like Valerie Cranmer

Hypnotic Blue

I admired the wind over the deep blue waters of the Western Pacific today. It is unlike any color I have seen. The sunlight's penetrations through the surface kept me in a trance. This is the last deployment of my tour attached to this Expeditionary Strike Group. When I return, I will take leave to travel to Angkor Wat and Chiang Mai.

Summer Holiday

Shanghai was a brief layover, but the hour drive from the airport to the hotel was a mind boggling forest of 30-story skyscrapers, mainly housing. I do not understand how humans can live there. Shanghai illustrates China's unbridled growth. A Hong Kong native would remark that Shanghai is known for its pollution. We stayed in the City Center, but had no time to walk the Bund, the nearby waterfront. We stayed in a very swank five star on the 30-something story.

Hong Kong is where our real vacation began. Our hotel was terrific. A four star teaching hotel and restaurant, the T-Hotel occupies the sixth floor of a six floor building, the remaining floors are school house. We stayed on the quiet side of Hong Kong island, a welcomed relief from the high rise development at the center of the city on the north side. The view was tranquil.

Highlights of Hong Kong included a sky tram to the giant Buddha; having a few bespoke suits, shirts, and pyjamas made by celebrity tailor and fellow Rotarian, Raja; a Portuguese lunch in old town Macau; and a sublime Canton opera. The Canton opera piece was such an interesting cultural experience, we were the only westerners there. Canton opera is perhaps a dying art form, as only the older generation patronize.

We will finish up our holiday enjoying Okinawa.

Not the Opera we saw, but this image is representative of Canton Opera.



Hong Kong Harbour

Old parts of Macau really do look like Lisbon, down to the pavement.

We were enchanted by this temple in Macau.

Bullfighting in Okinawa is not between toro and toreodor, but toro and toro.