So the word ‘base’ has loads of definitions. Look it up in the dictionary. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/base But around these parts the significance of ‘base’ is very clear. It is where the US military are and it is a different world. You don’t get into this club unless you are a member. Luckily I have a friend who is a member and he and his wife organized access for me – many thanks Harry and Teresa.

So I went there last night. The guards at the gate are the usual impeccably courteous young Americans.

” Could I see a picture ID please Sir.”

“Whoa you gotta Californian license.”

“My brother lives in Bakersfield.”

“You have a great evening Sir.”

We drive past the football stadium, the pools, the cinema, the post office to arrive before the biggest shopping emporium in the world – around here.  I cannot remember the correct terminology but I think it is PX. Essentially it is a mega Walmart with no signage in the middle of Okinawa. It is really, really big. I have been in some uber shops in the States and this one is right up there with the biggest.  The parking lot is the size of Luxembourg. Inside it is an Aladdin’s Cave of clothes, meat, bedding, camping equipment, washing machines, lawnmowers, Head and Shoulders, towels, shoes, computers, fertilizers. It is like wandering around a Botanical Gardens. Plants and shrubs of so many species; you wander up a path and absorb the color and  smell and shape of the exotic stuff. Yet you never wander up all the paths, there is always a reason to come back.

As I slouch up one path, I turn a corner and there in front of me is the Grail. A heavy bag.

Those who read the San Francisco blog will understand. Here is a hint.

http://spikekalashnikov.wordpress.com/2010/12/11/thanks-roxie/

I bought it. I am equipped.

Hi Roxie!

This store  is not  Japanese but it is part of Okinawa.

At last.