Trying to get back

Started checking out the availability of flights this past Sunday. Heading back to a "lockdown" of personnel, both servicemen and U.S. civilian workers. Due to an alleged rape by a Marine on a young Okinawan girl. Plus a couple other incidents like counterfeiting and trespassing.

We are being only allowed to use our cars to go from our off-base residences to our base of work or go to other bases. We are not allowed to go to, stop at or purchase anything from off-base locations - dining, shopping, etc. I've heard some folks have been caught at off-base places like Starbucks, McDonald's and subsequently being ordered back to the U.S.

Haven't been doing much, fixing up around home. Kinda stuck cause my daughter uses my car a lot. A few times out. Will post some pictures after I get back.

Nostalgia...

This trip home I started thinking about the pineapple canneries that used to be here. They offered summer employment for students during the peak summer season when most of the pineapples ripened. But boy it was pretty tough work.

There were three canneries in my day - Hawaiian Pine (Dole), California Packing Corporation (Del Monte), and Libby's. All are gone now, victims of cheap overseas labor.

I worked as a "tray boy" at CPC for two summers, before my senior year in high school and the summer after. A "tray boy" would place cans on trays and place in front of the packing lines (mostly summer girl hires) and after the cans were filled, stack them up to ~6' high stacks. "Truckers" with large hand trucks would come to take the stacks away to the folks who then put it into the process of heating and sealing the cans.

Was good earning a first real paycheck, at $1.35/hour. Think minimum wage was $1.25. Shows you how old I am. One thing about the job, you ended up smelling like a pineapple. Of course you can't smell it yourself, but you smell like a pineapple. Still remember the looks of distain from people on the bus when going home after work. Plus being a "tray boy" with the constant fresh pineapple juice/acid on your forearms from carrying the trays, you develop a pretty mean case of hives or rash on them. Especially at the elbow joint, used to get some mean looking sores there. But a occupational hazzard. Sure looked like were suffering some sort of disease!

Sure wish there are pictures of the packing lines available.

Update



Found one picure on the web - showing a "forelady" checking the line of "packers" on the right. "Tray boys" worked in the middle of two lines facing each other. Can see the trays set before the "packers".

At the start of the line way in the background is the ginaca machine. It is a big machine that removes the skin of the pineapple and also cores them. Next is the "trimmers" whose job was to cut off any skin or eyes that were missed. Then came a contraption that sliced the pineapple followed by the "packers" who put the pineapple into the cans.

A favorite treat was the cores of sweet pine that the "foreladies" of the "trimmers" would intercept and slice up for treats for us. The really sweet cores had a orange tinge, and were ONO! Only pineapple I would eat during the summer. Must say I don't eat too much pineapple since.

Been cleaning...

Have been cleaning my little unit here at home. Amazing how much black dirt and grime is brought into the place by the tradewinds even though the windows (jalousies) are closed. Nobody uses it while I'm gone so the floor was just covered. Six months worth. And repairing some things.

But have been able to go eat some good Chinese noodle dishes - beef tendon stew noodles, roast duck noodles - eaten with 'wat mein' or soft noodles, gravy-style. Pictures will have to wait until I find a replacement download cable I forgot to bring. Or gottta wait until I get back to Okinawa.

Thoroughly enjoying myself though, with my granddaughter! A little motor mouth and an Energizer Bunny who just keeps on running and running!

Coincidence...

Just met alan of Mā'ona by chance this morning when I went to buy my favorite breakfast at Zippy's Kahala - corned beef hash, sunny-side eggs and rice with gravy over all. Recognized his dreadlocks!

Back in Hawai'i!!!

I'm home! Got on the flight (showtime Saturday 5:40 PM JST), left about 7:30 PM JST. Arrived at Hickam Saturday 10:15 AM HST. Two hour waiting time, 9 hour flight. Slept most of the way. Was a Hickam based C-17. Going up to the plane was excited to see the HH tailcode!

Great to be home! First thing was to take off all my warm clothing at Hickam. When left Kadena it was 61 degrees, windy and heavy rain. Really bone chilling. Was wearing a t-shirt, long sleeve shirt, sweater, pull over windbreaker and heavy jacket. Cold on plane too. After all it's cargo plane. So nice and comfy when got here. Sun was shining, mild breeze and blue skies! Had to wait about 30 minutes for my ride but enjoyed just sitting there, taking in Hawai'i's beauty!

Was told after landing that flew most of way on 3 engines. 1 had to be shut down. But still good time was made.

Only two passengers at showtime. They were going to take up to 20. But last minute an ambulance was brought up that had a preemie baby in an incubator, parents, doctor and nurse. Emergency transfer from Lester Naval Hospital to Tripler Army Hospital. But plane was basically empty.
Maybe that's why they didn't turn back. Could still fly even on two engines was told.

Blog is on Japanese time, but here it's Saturday 9 February, 2:00 PM.

But here now thinking of what to eat!

Interesting note...

http://starbulletin.com/2008/02/10/news/story03.html

Check out the Star Bulletin news about a Hawai'i-based C-17 delivering humanitarian supplies to China. The plane returning to Hawai'i from China was the one that I got on in Okinawa. Recognized crew members in the photos on the U.S. Pacific Command web site noted in the article. But I have to comment on the total professional attitude of our American warriors - both men and woman. SMSGT King who's pictured on the website was nice enough to give me a blanket to sleep on when I slept on the cold floor. She didn't have to do that. They make you grateful and proud!

A few pictures from my office...

Beautiful sunrise with beautiful clouds. Hawaiii would be 4,700 miles away in about that direction.



Different cloud formations at the same time. Anybody see what I see - blob on left looks like David Crosby of the Byrds, and blob in upper right looks like a cherub looking down.



Amazing photos with my cellphone camera.

Might be lucky tomorrow!

A bit of knock-on-wood, but there's a couple flights scheduled for tomorrow.

Signed up for Space A after work today and learned there's two flights tomorrow. One has a showtime of 0630 and the second at 1740. Planes then leave maybe 3 or 4 hours later.

Gonna go for the 1740 flight. Will get into Hickam at about noon Saturday Hawaii time. Getting all excited. But lots to do - laundry, pack, clean up my kitchen, pay some local bills (electric and gas) before I go cause due when I'm gone.

Hope I can get on the flight!

Kung Hee Fat Choy!

Happy New Year to all of you. I have to wait a little while more before I get to enjoy the food in Hawaii though. Hopefully just days away! All depends on the USAF.

This week after the shooters was just the usual - pork hash with ika, broiled lamb shoulder chops, my corned beef hash/eggs, pork chops/mushroom soup, grilled ham/cheese sandwiches & tomato soup.

Oyster Shooter

First oyster shooter! There's two oysters at the bottom, with vodka, cocktail sauce, horseradish and lemon wedge.



Last ones were like this - much less cocktail sauce. Worked way down with the sauce to be able to enjoy the oysters. I'm a chewer, gotta get the taste of the oysters! To me it's a waste to just swallow it! Got 4 shooters per container oysters (~2 oysters per shot). Pigged out, but the oysters were so OISHII!

Just had to...

Went go buy some more cuttlefish this morniing at San A and just couldn't resist buying the bento from yesterday again. Eating it a little slower this time, noticed it's seems to be just Gyudon with kinpira added in. Simple but what a great combination! Think I'm going try it some time.

As far as the cuttlefish, guess the supplier hasn't restocked yet so it was all gone. Still had the white but no dark. Gotta go back during the week some time. Did buy a couple packages of the whole dried ika though.

After thinking about it last night, I realize where I have eaten the dark cuttlefish. In the bars back home, they throw the whole small dried Korean ika over the gas stove burner for a few minutes to singe on both sides, then rip it into the small strips. Very good tasting!

Also stopped at the commissary for cocktail sauce and lemons for oyster shooters this afternoon. Hopefully I can get a picture of that.

Did look around for Hello Kitty stuff for my granddaughter. She asked me last night to bring her HK scotch tape and stickers. So cute!

Shopping today...

Went shopping at San A this morning to get cuttlefish to take home for omiyage. Of course had to get a couple more containers of oysters (¥358/pkg, ¥40 cheaper). Need cocktail sauce, horseradish (have already) and a lemon to make oyster shooters, with vodka of course. Tomorrow!

And I couldn't resist the bento at the bottom left. It's actually just kinpira, but with a lot of sauce cooked with beef slices and served over rice. Looked at it before I got the cuttlefish. But on the way out just HAD to stop and get it to try (¥398). Was real ONO! Too bad couldn't take a close up.

Think I wrote about it before that it's my camera not the battery. Something is wrong with it's recharge "thinking", and it doesn't recharge the battery fully. Only got 3 pictures this time before it quit.

Below is the close-up of the cuttlefish packages (¥398/pkg). All of us from Hawaii are familiar with the white stuff on the left. The darkened one is the tasty one. Cannot read the Japanese, but I'm assuming it has been cooked over charcoal or some kind of heat to darken and improve the flavor. As I think about it, I seem to remember having this once in a while at home. Oh so tasty!