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15 March 1999
Friends and Family,
Time once again for an update from Misawa. Though it may seem like just a couple of weeks since you received my last missive - it has indeed been a month. My goal is to send one of these every month - whether you like it or not. I figure that in my old age (which isn't that far off anymore) I'll be able to look at these old monthly letters from our time in Misawa and reminisce while drool spills down my chin.
Thursday night is adult's night out for Patti and me (babysitters are wonderful people)! So each Thursday we head out to discover a little about Misawa. Actually the first thing we do is discover what a beer tastes like by heading to the Misawa Enlisted Club - called the Tohoku Club. As anyone familiar with Air Force facilities will tell you - the enlisted clubs usually have better food, entertainment and facilities than the officer's club - and this is certainly true here. We also joined the Officer's Club - but have visited there only once. But I digress. As I was saying - every Thursday evening we start our evening with a quick visit to the Tohoku Club. The first week we visited, Patti won $30.00 at the slots; the second week she split a bar-bingo victory for $9.00; the third week I won the bar-bingo jackpot - a grand total of $500.00 (wait - this isn't all); the fourth week I won $26.00 at bar-bingo. Now - neither one of us ever remember winning anything other than a chance at ten million dollars from the publisher's clearing house. I'm not going to draw any quick conclusions from this unexplained streak of luck - but the only other person I knew who had this kind of luck at bingo and the slots was my Mother. Somehow I think Mom is enjoying our lucky streak just as much as we are.
Weather report : Mostly cloudy with a chance of rain or snow; freezing cold overnight with high winds and slippery road conditions in the morning... (this works for any day of the week)
We did have two major snow events this past month. We enjoyed 20 inches of snow President's day weekend and another 21 inches the last weekend of February. The last major snowfall also came with high winds which created blizzard conditions which completely shutdown the base (only the second time this winter for that). Notice the unfortunate timing of these major snow events - both weekends - meaning no government snow days to play hooky. Observing how this area of northern Japan handles snowfall is a fascinating contrast with how Baltimore and Washington D.C. handles snowfall. ANY snow (or threat of snow) in Baltimore/D.C. area will shutdown government operations, close schools and clean out the groceries stores of milk and toilet paper. Here, we routinely get 3-to-6 inch snowfalls which do not result in any delays in school openings and certainly do not result in a loss of operating hours for businesses. Thank God for four-wheel-drive vehicles.
Patti celebrated her 3*th birthday in February. Well - maybe celebrated is too strong a word. Lamented perhaps - or maybe sulked. Actually we did manage to dine-out to mark the event at a local favorite sushi restaurant (Kikezushi's). It was a traditional Japanese restaurant with tatami mats and cushions on the floor to sit on while dining. We had a great time and Patti had an opportunity to practice her Japanese. Yes - Patti did eat the raw fish.
Christopher remains the focus (and joy) of our lives. It seems he changes daily (even more when it comes to diapers). It is immediately clear when Christopher meets others in his age group that he is taller, broader, stronger, and more bald than any of the other kids (except for the height and strength the same could be said of Christopher's Dad). Christopher learned his first word (besides mama and dada) in February. HAT HAT HAT! Christopher finally learned the name of the round cloth items with bills that we placed on his head. He is certainly proud of this fact. With a little prodding he will retrieve one of his hats and parade around the house chanting "hat hat hat." Of course - he also parades around the house carrying the tray to his high-chair on top of his head while chanting "hat hat hat." Hey - at least he know a "hat" goes on top of the head. Now we have to focus on teaching him that not everything can go on top of his head. Some other words/phrases we've also heard - "what's that?" "right there" "dog" "duck" "bye (OK he actually says "die" but he waves his hand and says it at the appropriate time for "bye").
On to other ministrivia:
I traveled off the main island of Honshu to the northern island of Hokkaido on business in February. Although the trip was lasted only two days I enjoyed it immensely. For those of you running to a map - I flew into the Sapporo Airport (Sapporo was the home to a previous Winter Olympics - and is home to the world-famous annual ice-festival which recently concluded). No - I didn't have much time for sight-seeing - but I do intend to get the family back north during one of the next ice festivals to see those amazing ice sculptures.
We purchased a second vehicle this month - a Nissan Terrano (like a pathfinder). It is a no-nonsense four-wheel-drive vehicle which will come in handy during my trips to and from base.
Patti and I were guests of honor at two "hail-and-farewell" dinners in February - one hosted by the civilians - and one hosted by the Air Force unit here. We enjoyed both outings and feel we have made several new friends and acquaintances.
For those of you who haven't heard - it seems I'll be coming back to the U.S. of A. in May. I'm due to attend a couple of conferences on the East coast the last two weeks of May which is the impetus for the trip - but I am most enthused about being able to attend my 20th High School reunion in Dunlap, Iowa on Memorial Day weekend. I have been looking forward to this event for years - but when the Misawa assignment came up I figured there would be no way I could get back to the states so quickly. Unfortunately I won't be bringing Christopher and Patti with me this time. With the exception of a couple days in Iowa it will be strictly business - and I don't think Patti is yet ready to cross the Pacific with Christopher, a diaper bag, a child-seat, and stroller in tow.
More good news. We found out that our house in Maryland is finally rented. Actually it sat vacant for only a couple months - and considering the time of the year - we are fortunate it went so quickly. We are also fortunate that the tenants are match our best-hope criteria - a married couple - both Army Officers with young children who likely to stick around for a full three years (and hopefully not destroy the house in the process). Guess I'll do a drive-by when I visit Maryland this spring. I hope the tenants don't mind a beach front property - because I have been having a heck of a time getting grass to grow in the clay and sand that masquerades as soil on the east coast.
Oh yes - we updated our WEB page "http://members.aol.com/Terry94/" though it is still a work in progress. One of the newest features is a WEB page showing progressively greater detailed maps of northern Japan - right down to the streets in the neighborhood we live in - known as the New Town part of Rokunohe. This particular WEB page will take several minutes to load for those of us lacking direct cable hookup to the INTERNET - but be patient - they are excellent maps. I'm working to reduce the byte size of these maps to reduce downloading in the future. I also included pointers to several other Misawa-related web sites for those who are truly curious.
The big news on base this week is the pending arrival of "Hootie and the Blowfish," a very popular contemporary music group that is playing a free concert on Misawa Air Base this weekend. Tickets are limited - but will go to about 30% of the active duty personnel. I'm making sure my civilians get their fair share of tickets - but since getting a babysitter for that event will be IMPOSSIBLE - Patti and I will spend the evening at home.
Shall we call that a wrap? More in the next installment.
In the meantime Patti, Christopher and I hope you are all faring well and
enjoying life's little pleasures.
Terry, Patti, & Christopher
3/15/99
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