3. How I First Came Here To Okinawa

This started in the middle for me because with my father-in-law's passing away, sounds like a cliche I bet, but it was both an ending and a beginning for me in my life here in Okinawa.

I first came here to Okinawa back in the mid-1980's, I was a Marine, stationed on Camp Foster.  My first thoughts as I got off the chartered airplane, a flight which I really don't remember other than it was long, and that we had to spend a night in Anchorage, Alaska because the radar in the nose of the airplane was broken for some reason or another.

 Anyway, back to Kadena, which is the name of a US Air Force base, and where many military folks and their families fly into when coming to Okinawa.  I got here at around the end of May and it was the start of rainy season here in Okinawa.  I recall vividly that my first impression of Okinawa was it was green, muggy, hot, and smelled like something was dying.  Which isn't too far off the mark considering that the island is  semi-tropical and the "dead" smell that I noticed was all the dead and decaying foliage on the island.

 An overview shot of the northern end of the island and the "green" of Okinawa.  I've always thought that if someone didn't like the color green Okinawa was not the place for them to live.

So I guess you can see what I mean about foliage and the decaying smell.  Well that was my first impression.  The very first night I got onto the island my first thought after getting settled into the temporary room that I was assigned to was, get off the base, go see something out in that foreign land you just got to.

I walked out the gate, went across the main road and walked into a bar run by and frequented by American's.  The irony was not lost on me.  Heck it was my first night here so give me a break!