On Zama By Train and Other Good Things

Three trains brought me within four blocks of the back entrance to Camp Zama less than ninety minutes after I left Yokosuka this morning. Since Camp Zama is a U.S. Army Base, and the U.S. Army can give the U.S. Air Force a run for your money when it comes to sprawl, I spent another thirty minutes hiking from the gate to the field where the track meet was being held. This was a good thing. That brisk hike helped me rationalize the sack of bakery products I'd picked up on my way through the train station.

There was ample time to admire the scenery (above), polish off 150 pages in my book, and add another foot to the scarf I'm knitting between Matt's three events: a relay at 9:30 am, the 800 at noon, and the 1500 just before the meet ended at 3:00 pm. I don't know his times but there were more kids behind him on the final stretch than there were at the beginning of each race. This is a good thing.



We don't have a track here in Yokosuka so we have to travel to all the meets. Camp Zama is the closest place Matt's team will compete but that still meant being on the team bus at 5:30 am and not getting home until at 8:00 pm. I can't say I blame him for not wanting to spend Sunday riding a tour bus to experience the Takao-san Fire Walking Ceremony with his mother.