Originally printed in the Clear Lake Courier — May 31, 1995 It was Saturday evening, December 6, 1941. Most of the sailors at Naval Station Pearl Harbor were on liberty. The Bloch Recreation Center was filled to capacity for what was expected to be the first annual “Battle of Music.” Three 21-piece bands had made […]
Originally published in Clear Lake Courier — 12 May 1999 My last weeks in Japan arrived sooner than I expected–and found me with things still undone and places still unvisited. These included riding a bullet train and seeing the Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima. After I shipped my household goods and moved out of my […]
Kwai River Bridge at Kanchanaburi Originally published in the Clear Lake Courier — 17 March 1999 The Eastern & Oriental Express luxury train runs through Thailand and down the west coast of Malaysia. I recently achieved my goal of experiencing this journey. The train left Bangkok late one Wednesday morning in January.
Originally published in the Clear Lake Courier — May 20, 1998 On my way to visit USS Belleau Wood near Australia, I spent a night in Cairns, Queensland. Well-known as an entrance to the Great Barrier Reef, the town seemed to exist only for tourism and diving. A Marine Corps helicopter came to the Cairns […]
Originally published in the Clear Lake Courier — 26 November 1997 My one day to spend sightseeing in Hong Kong was hindered by a heavy overcast and steady drizzle. Although I rode the tram up Victoria Peak, the zero visibility at the top permitted no photographs. I was supposed to be able to see a […]
Horyu-ji (Temple of the Flourishing Law) Originally published in the Clear Lake Courier — 10 February 1999 I recently walked through the oldest wooden building in the world. It is the main hall of a Buddhist temple in Nara, Japan, and was built sometime prior to 730 A.D. Named Horyu-ji (Temple of the Flourishing Law), […]
Originally published in the Clear Lake Courier — June 17, 1998 Cherry blossom time in Japan (early April) means the coming of spring and the opportunity to socialize outdoors after a long winter. One common celebration is a Buddhist fertility festival, established in ancient times to welcome spring and pray for a good harvest. Today […]
Originally printed in the Clear Lake Courier — 1 April 1998 Since moving to Japan, I’ve been told one thing I need to do (in addition to climbing Mt. Fuji) is attend the Sapporo Snow Festival. So I took four days leave and paid my money for the February tour. Sapporo is the capital city […]
Originally printed in Clear Lake Courier — 28 October 1998 When I moved to Japan, one of my sailors told me I’d soon be a sumo fan. I couldn’t imagine getting excited about those excessively obese men pushing at each other, and I still can’t. However, when my boss acquired tickets to a performance of […]
Originally printed in the Clear Lake Courier — 11 March 1998 I spent my Christmas vacation touring Malaysia with sixteen other tourists–Americans from Japan, Australians, Italians, South Africans and British. We traveled 1400 miles on a bus in ten days, through ten of Malaysia’s thirteen states, and stayed in seven cities.