Speechless in Japan

June has been a bipolarish, agony/ecstasy month that's left me speechless (almost) (so far).  I've been basking in the blinding glow of seeing my three children together for the first time in nearly two years, doubling over in laughter at their hilarious wit, and finding them a welcome diversion from the inane antics of an outgoing Navy base regime which is drifting uncomfortably close to Totalitarianism.

This past weekend a tragic car accident in the Pacific Northwest resulted in the death of a special friend, Bob Goodwin, and the hospitalization of dear Bridget, Christopher (7), and Paul (2).  They were looking forward to returning to Japan this summer.  Bob was going to be the Senior Medical Officer on the USS Blue Ridge and Bridget and the boys were going to drag me to the Anpanman Museum at regular intervals.  It was Christopher who introduced me to Anpanman three years ago.  Need I say more?

If there is such a thing as crippling empathy, I have it.  In spades.

Ranchi-Pati: Lunch Bunch, Japanese-Style

There's some catching up to do before we head to Narita Airport this afternoon to pick up James, Emily, and Suzi.

Harumi (second from left) visited Japan last week. Two years ago she made a valiant effort to pound some basic Japanese language skills into me, Mike, and our neighbor Stu on Wednesday evenings. Then her husband retired from the Navy, they moved to Alabama, and I promptly forgot everything she taught me. This was painfully evident at the ranchi-pati in her honor when she and Hiroko had to take turns translating the conversation for me.

When Matt goes to college this fall, I am going to get serious about learning the Japanese language. That and plowing through Ulysses ought to keep me out of trouble.

Yuuko (far left, above) gets credit for discovering the wonderful subterranean restaurant, Romanee. Everyone but Hisayo ordered korukke (potato croquettes) which were garnished with an extremely refreshing Italian leaf. Hiroko bravely bit off a stem and broke out in a smile so - after waiting a couple of minutes to make sure she didn't die - I followed suit and was rewarded with an explosion of icy cold water in my mouth.

The menu was in Japanese and offered four different meals for 1,000 yen each. Two were fish, one was the croquette, and the fourth was a salad. Mike will definitely want to experience this restaurant so I'm pretty sure we will be taking Suzy and the kids there sometime in the next few days.

Wad a Great Packaging Idea!

Would you care for some gum? I can personally recommend the lemon and mango flavors.

Let's crack open the perforations on the back of the package to expose a little pocket. There's something inside. What can it be?

It's a packet of tiny Post-It notes!

Are you done chewing? Let's dispose of your gum by wrapping it in one of the little papers and tucking it inside the pocket.

Nifty.

They'll Always Have Tokyo

Matt took Jeanine to the prom Saturday night. This is for the three of you who haven't already seen 25 prom pictures on Mike's Facebook page.

Faithful readers will recognize the suit as one of the costumes Matt wore in last month's musical. The nice director loaned it to him for the prom so we squandered the tuxedo rental money on a room at the Shiba Park Hotel and taxi rides to the New Sanno Hotel where the prom was held.

"Be prepared to stand in front of the water fountain in the New Sanno courtyard," Matt warned Jeanine. "My mom gets extra flaky whenever a plume of water is combined with lights that change color. Cascades Falls is the major landmark in her hometown. I think it might be the only landmark in her hometown . . .".

The kids lined up around the courtyard and then marched into the ballroom like Hollywood stars at a World Premiere.

"Oh, look! Isn't that Penelope Cruz and Matthew Broderick?"

The Boys Are Back in Town (Version 2)

The Kinnick High boys took second place and our girls took first at the Far East track meeting in Okinawa. Matt earned a second place medal in the 4 x 800 relay and came in fourth in the individual 800.

The kid has come a long way since second grade when that misguided PE teacher would not let him compete in one single event at the regional sports day. I'm so proud of Matt for persevering.

He returned from Okinawa Wednesday night and the USS Blue Ridge pulled up to the pier Thursday morning so we are a family once again, for six or seven weeks at least. Now it's off to Tokyo for senior prom.

Look What the Tide Brought In

El (parodied at left) collects glass fishing floats.

It looks to me like she has cornered the market although I hear there are still a few caught in a current somewhere in the North Pacific Ocean.

Conversations in Nippon, Shi: Alone Again, Naturally

Where'd the man go?

Back to the ship, muttering something about Operation Terminal Fury. This must be when everyone on the USS Blue Ridge dances to a tune called "Hawaii Time" and then they frown in unison and throw all their computers in the Pacific Ocean.

That sounds fun! Did the boy go with him?

No. The boy qualified for the Far East track meet so he flew to Okinawa yesterday morning. He gets to miss three days of school plus the Senior-Parent Appreciation Dinner and the Scholarship Assembly.

So poor Peevish has to go the dinner and assembly all by herself?

Oh, she'll be too busy cleaning our litter box and negotiating a senior dues refund to squeeze those events into her schedule.

Don't be so catty. It's unbecoming.

Say! Why don't you grab that ball of yarn to distract her so I can stick my head through that magic loop thing and pull the socks off the knitting needles?

Great idea. Maybe then she'll quit with the counting and get back to reading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn so we can find out what happens to Francie Nolan.