I've quit drinkin, but me brother had a few

Well I went to drifters and we all had a few rounds and toasted Jim's 50th and his upcoming trip to Bangkok. I was given several suggestions as to how you should spend your time there but this is a family channel. I also smoked a cigar in your honor. It was an interesting night; as I walked out the door to head to the bar it started pouring, but from where I stood the full moon was shining clear in the sky. Weird.
Phol tells me that he imports the root for the wasabi and it is variable in potency. If the stuff I experienced was low potency I don't want to get near the good stuff.
I talked to one of the environmental guys tonight and he said that they burned most of the stuff from the beach clean-up. I saw the pick up truck of one of the archaeologists at lunch and there were pieces of aluminum that were clearly aluminum from an aircraft- from the size I would guess from an empennage. The rest just remains piled up. And I can't get voted off. The Air Force says they have to have a doctor here, though god knows why.
Well I have to get to bed; tomorrow is Friday,, not that that means much - our work week is Tuesday to Saturday.
Lagorn

Happy 50th to Jim Martin and belated BD to Dan

Well I actually did remember Jim's birthday today even before being prompted by the matriarch. I still say I was the first since my email was relatively early this am, at least a few hours before the Thai working day. I guess I'll just have to sit in the back of drifters with two bottles of killians, having a beer with me brother back in the old country. (an old joke; maybe you've heard it)
The mailing address they told me is actually PO Box 8, Wake Island. HI 96898. I was down at the air field terminal today for a meeting and for a moment thought I should go check if I had any mail. Then I remembered that the last mail delivered here was when I arrived.
Chugach is the corporation that runs the island, and if anyone is looking for a job in an out of the way place, they're the ones to talk to. Seems like half the Americans who work here knew someone else who worked here first.
I have been trying to learn at least a few phrases in Thai; my spelling was a guess; interestingly the phrase list I was given spelled it sawasdee khrap. The hardest part that I haven't got a handle on at all is that the inflection can change the meaning of things according to what I am reading. I don't think I'm going to learn a lot of this language. So I'll settle for sawasdee khrap. AlsoI know that the food is phet maak.
There was some discussion about the disposal of the beach garbage but I think most of it is going to be piled up in the dump so that it will be there to be spread back around the next time a typhoon shows up.
I got up early this am and watched the moon set as the dawn was just breaking; really cool light and scenes and did get some photos, but, same problem. It would take a week to upload 2 or 3.
I forgot to mention the chickens. The thais have been raising chickens here for a long time, and of course when the typhoon came they go left behind. They survived and so every morning you can hear the roosters crowing. Phol (Po) goes over to Peale (the northeasterly most part of the wake atoll where the pan am terminal once was) and collects his eggs about once a week. So at least we know they are heterosexual. I was looking at the list of all the people here and noticed Lhongdoong and Phatdeek (or something very similar) .I had to check and make sure I hadn't mixed some weirdo spam with the list.
Well I'd better get going if I'm going to make it to have that beer with Jim.

Wake Island Info

Just checked the web for Wake Island information. Not sure if any of this accurate.

Address info:
The atoll's mailing address is Wake Atoll 96898 or Army Post Office San Francisco, California96501. If one uses the Army Post Office address in sending mail to Wake Atoll, one must not write Wake Atoll anywhere whatsoever on the envelope!

A Job listing on CareerBuilder.com:
Heavy Equipment and Maintenance Supervisor for the Chugach Alaska Corporation

CarMax.com:
No used cars for sale.

Matchmaker.com
No heterosexuals listed. Probably a good idea not to visit Pravat (the rhino) Metharo's beach house after dark.

The beach house

Well last night I went to the Ioke beach house and had a sampling of various things, some made with the fish we caught. I think I have discovered that my disdain for lemon grass has been because I have never had it in the proper mixture; when it is mixed with the hot chili that they use it is very tasty. Po made a Barracuda soup that was fantastic, although they served me a bowl that was mild, then brought out the high octane stuff, saying they thought it might be too hot for me. I have to admit it was right at the edge of what I can handle but it was really good.
They just kept bringing out food; also insisted on refilling the wine glass every time it got low. I think you have to stop eating and drinking with something left over or they feel they have to keep serving.
Po also made some sashimi from the tuna tonight and brought it to the bar (Drifter's Reef, known as drifters) along with some of the hottest wasabi I have ever experienced.The moon is full tonight and it is very calm and quiet, until it starts to shower, and then it pours like crazy for a few minutes and clears up again. I got up early this am (around 5am) and it was still dark and the moon had set. The stars were great. Tonight I went for a swim in the lagoon behind the bar and then just hung out with one of the thais who was fishing.He only caught one little thing but it was so peaceful and pleasant out we just stood there for a while. Several times we saw small morays (about 18-24 inches, about the size of a small black snake, come right up to the edge of the water, actually partially out of the water, and then wait there for smaller fish to swim by and then they lunged out to grab their dinner. Not something I expected.
Well I am pooped after getting up so early. I'm trying to get in the habit of joining the early morning workout at the gym and maybe watch what I eat a little. Sowatti Khrap

The Animals of Wake

One of the interesting side stories this weekend was the arrival of several other "expert" teams beside the blowing things up guys. One was the archaeologist who came to inspect and collect the human bones that were found here a few months ago. He was looking around where they were found to see if there were anymore. He didn't find any.
The other group was the "rat team".There are lots of rats on the island, rather small brown critters that actually look more like large mice than rats. The thais tell me there was no rat problem until the environmental people came in and said that they had to get rid of the feral cats on the island because they might harm the birds. Now there are no cats and lots of rats. Actually it turns that though officially there are no cats or other pets on the island, the thais are well aware that there are 2 cats, one a pet and one feral.
There is also one dog, named Toro, who I met tonight and who has a very interesting story of his own. Toro's owner has been here for over 10 years. In the past when this base was controlled by the army, the personnell were allowed to have pets. When the AirForce came in and ultimately decreed that no pets were allowed, the dog could not leave because of hawaii's strict laws requiring a cert by a veterinarian prior to entry; no vet on the island, no entry to HI. Then when the typhoon came last year and they evacuated everyone, they refused to allow the dog to come, so the owner locked him in one of the housing buildings with a bunch of food and water. When they came back to check on things on the island in one month, he was fine and has been so ever since. He is a definite heinz 57, stubby legged lik a dachshund, and has a Michael Jordan thing going with about a half inch of his tongue sticking out all the time.
The other animals are the birds, some kind of albatross that is all dark brown, and a shore that is all white with fake looking black eyes and a long pointy beak. It's larger than a cardinal but smaller than a sea gull. It is very good at hovering into the wind, looks almost like a hummingbird in slow motion.And of course the ubiquitous hermit crabs.
So the non-male population is: 3 WOMEN, 2 CATS, 1 DOG. I think we need more dogs.

The echoes are comatose

I had thought of Bill's recommendation and tried it but on a computer that ultimately simply could not get on the blog, or at this point on the internet at all. Now I'm able to connect my own laptop from my room and that is a much better solution.
I did finally go snorkelling in the lagoon right behind my quarters and there are a lot of fish in there. There are 2 old bridges, one built on pilings that burned about 7 years ago, and one that was originally built back pre WW2 of concrete. That one is under water completely at high tide and only partially exposed at low tide. I was swimming along the edge of that bridge when I saw a spot that I thought was a likely place for a moray, lots of rocks piled up, so I took a breath and dove down to look. Just as I headed down about a 5 foot moray came from behind and swam right under me and into the spot that I had thought looked good. So I guess I think like a moray. He was big; at first he was so wide I wasn't sure what I was looking at.
The next morning we headed out for the annual beach clean-up; everybody on the island got together, split up and went to opposite ends of the ocean beach and then walked along picking up junk.It was very hot and intensely sunny; you could hear everyone sigh when the sun went behind a cloud for a moment. It was about 1.5 miles for each group, and we picked up 10 large dumptrucks full of stuff.Think of how small this island is and how big the pacific is, then think how much junk is floating around out there.
I was pretty exhausted so I had lunch, drank alot of water then took a nap, but was woken up by a big BOOM. I forgot about those EOD guys. There was a 100 pound bomb not far from my quarters that was quite live thank you and we are glad to have it gone. I can't imagine what it would be like to be on this island being bombarded with hundreds of those.
This am I went out fishing with a couple of guys and the island fishing captain. I really thought they were pulling my leg about having to get your fish in real fast or the sharks would get em, until we pulled in something that is locally called a rainbow runner, (it actually has rainbow stripes on the sides) that would have been about 2 feet long except the last 8 or 9 inches were bitten clean off. Then we caught a small tuna and watched as a really big shark came up and just took it and the hook and leader. I think he was just following us around. That happened altogether 5 or six times; I kept imagining the shark out there saying "please sir, I want more".We did come back with 3 roughly 15 pound tuna, a three foot barracuda, a similar size Ono, which is one of the most popular eating fish out here, and that 2/3 of a rainbow runner. Oh, and I hooked an albatross, but he wasn't a keeper. That was pretty weird getting the hook out of the bird and setting him loose.
The captain cleaned the fish and we brought it down to a fellow named Po - I'm not sure of the speilling - who is the proprietor of the Ioke beach house. He has fairly elaborate kitchen, a vegetable and herb garden, and the beach house itself which is like a large open gazebo, right at the shore overlooking the lagoon. It is a beautiful spot. Apparrently there is some form of traditional pecking order among the Thais as to who is allowed to have a beach house. There are a limited number of spots that the government will allow to be used and they are controlled by the folks who have been here the longest. Po and the 2 others who have the Ioke beach house are known as the elders. They hang out at the beach houses in the eves and days off, but don't sleep there.
Po served us a beef dish - lap moo - for lunch and warned us that it would be spicy hot; it really was. Then he deep fried some of the tuna as a snack and it was great. Tonight he is cooking a lot of fish. In fact I should be heading down there shortly.
I have been taking pictures and I hope I can figure out a way to get a few of them on line before I come home but I'm not sure.The lagoon is the most beautiful turquoise, and the sky is an intense blue. The sunsets are amazing. The stars have been pretty good considering the moon has been pretty bright so far. I'm really looking forward to seeing the stars on a moonless night.
Travel here took essentially 12 hours from BWI to HON, then an overnight there and a 6 hour flight from hawaii. People do a lot of fishing diving kayaking bicycling, and night time is poker and drinking. What else can you do on an island 2000 miles from anywhere and no women?
I really can't think of anything that I desperately need. I keep meaning to get the mailing address but I 'm still not sure. Someone told me that it's just a generaly delivery adress with a zip code, but I don't remember the zip. I'll try to remember to get it tomorrow. And no, I don't want to talk about the ND game. Maybe I can just stay here until the season is over.

Dinner on Wake

Well sometimes in a place like you just have to subsist on what you can obtain locally, even if that means having to put up with fresh lobster tail for dinner. Unfortunately I didn't get to go snorkeling after dinner since I locked myself out of my room and had to round up someone to let me in, and by that time it was dark. I think I'll go look for the 6 foot morays in the daylight.
Bruce - it is essentially all men; only 3 women in the place that I know of. The media availability is pretty slim. Internet as I have mentioned is slow, slow, slow. TV is 3 channels of Armed Forces Network, which shows a potpouri of different news and sports offerings. The commercials are somewhat different, all by and for the millitary, and they get somewhat nauseating after a while. You would go nuts.
Many of the Thais have built beach huts along the shore from whatever materials they can scrounge or beachcomb, and they usually spend the weekend evenings out there and that apparrently is the best place to bring your caught fish to be cooked. I plan to check that out this weekend, although by tradition you must be invited to the beach house by it's owner; hopefully I've gotten on somebody's good side.

Lies the HR person told me

I'm pretty sure the hr person (the one from colebrook) told me it hardly ever rains here and then only briefly. Then someone told me yesterday that the rainy season is just just starting. It rained &/or was overcast most of yesterday and last night. This afternoon it's beautiful again. I think I'm going to go snorkeling after dinner in just a little while. I'm told there are 2 huge morays near the old bridge foundation right behind the chow hall.
I've been warned to be on call on Sunday for the EOD team which is coming on a C17 from Honolulu to remove a number of UXO's found all around the Island.(EOD =Explosive Ordinance Device; UXO =unexploded ordinance). Since the Typhoon last year people have found a lot of stuff that had been buried for a long time. I jsut hope they don't start until after I get back from fishing in the morning. The boat goes out about 8am and the line is they always catch a bunch. They say though that you have to pull your fish in really quick or the sharks will get 'em.
For some reason I am still unable to send email from here (spent about two hours trying to figure that out yesterday), but I am receiving, so send to me and then look here for any reply.
Speaking of which, Jeanne, you can see that I am not a good person for a recipe chain letter (unless you want the "recipe" for Mexican Cheese Chicken!!!) so you better ask someone else.
Well it's chow time, so I'm off to try something spicey and unpronounceable, or maybe turkey a la king, depending my level of boldness. Aloha
ps Bill you're invited.

Wake is awake but the echoes are sleeping

Well, yes I am alive and on Wake Island. I've had all kinds of problems getting on the net, and then even more getting onto the blog. For some reason I just couldn't sign on from the computer in the clinic so had to wait until I could get set up to use my own computer. I think I can get it to work now, but we'll see.
The flight here was fine, two days travelliing but I arrived not too messed up. The island looks just like the pictures but is actually bigger than you'd think. I went diving the next morning on the wreck of a Japanese freighter sunk during WWll; didn't look much like a ship though. Lots of fish, some interesting shellfish and a couple of large seastars. I'm going to try to upload some pictures but I don't know how that'll go with the slow connection.
I've seen one patient so far. The food is pretty decent, dining hall style; some of the Thai dishes are very spicy.
It's interesting to walk around and not have to worry at all about biting insects - there aren't any. You do have to wear shoes all the time because the beach (and everything else) is coral and will tear you feet up. You also have to watch out for the hermit crabs crawling all over the place. They're just like the ones they sell down in Rehoboth, but some of them are the size of baseballs. It takes a little getting used to,especially at night when you see something that looks like a rock sort of rolling itself along the beach. And when you hear noise from the water that sounds like waves lapping, there aren't any waves in the lagoon so what you're hearing is fish - lots of them - jumping all around. I was walking at the edge of the lagoon and just about stepped on about a 14 inch flounder.
Unfortunately I was able to watch the game last weekend. I may have to stay here for a long time.And as slow as this connection is it may take the whole 6 weeks to get an entry in. Photos maybe by next year.

Hey Frank, Bev & I are watching the game but we really miss you being here with us. Both our seasons are shot of course, so I'll not be gloating or even ribbing you a little. Its too bad. I like it better when we are both going for the national title. Oh well, maybe next year. I hope you are getting along ok and enjoying a pacific paradise. Your pal, Larry.

Finally (I think)

I have flight times and numbers, finally, leaving out of BWI on Thursday am the 13th and arriving in Honolulu at around 4:30 pm. I stay overnight at the airport hotel and then get picked up at 0545 for the ride to Hickam AFB where I will board the once every 2 weeks flight to Wake, departing Hawaii on the morning of the 14th and arriving on the the afternoon of the 15th. The flight leaves again for HI in 2 hours giving me lots of time to get oriented by Dr Osman who will I'm sure be in no rush to leave after being on the island for a year. Besides, after the flight leaves Wake on the afternoon of the 15th it arrives back in HI on the evening of the 14th!

I think I have everything I will need, except I need to buy a lot of sunscreen tomorrow.

Next post should be from somewhere in the Pacific.