Author Archives: spikekalashnikov

Last weekend we celebrated the 10th Anniversary of OIST. Well actually 11th; OIST was accredited in 2011. I know, I was there. As with so much else, Covid got in the way and the ceremonial had to be pushed back … Continue reading →

My driving license validity runs out at the beginning of June. Since I am now over 70, I have to go through geriatric driving training, vision testing and a supervised drive before they will re-issue my license. I am fairly … Continue reading →

50 years ago today Okinawa reverted, strange term meaning became part of again, to Japan. Since the 2nd World War Okinawa had been an US colony. The dollar was the currency and cars drove on the right. The Okinawans, after … Continue reading →

It is the rainy season in Okinawa. The weather has been very dull. I bumble around. The boat engine still will not start despite Kiyuna san efforts. He is in no way downhearted, gently eliminating each possible cause of the … Continue reading →

So, back in Okinawa I go through the backlog of mail that arrived during my 6 month hiatus. With invaluable help from friends, I understand that the majority of the mail offers free old people health help. There are offers … Continue reading →

12 hour flight from San Francisco to Narita, Tokyo. That’s where the trouble starts. Exhausted and hung over, we then spend 5 hours going through Covid procedures. We being Japanese citizens and permanent residents, no tourists nor strolling foreigners are … Continue reading →

So we did it! I set off in early January with great trepidation; was the truck up to such an ambitious trip, was I up to it or were we both too shagged out? The truck has done 180,000 miles … Continue reading →

I am now very much west-side but before I forget, here are some of the ways that the womenfolk of the South and the Mid West addressed me. Sugar Pie, Sugar, Sweetie, Honey, Honey Child, Baby, Sweetheart, My Lovely, Darlin, … Continue reading →

I have come through California, Arizona, New Mexico, lots of Mexico,Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama,Tennessee, North Carolina, Kentucky, Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas, a little bit of Oklahoma and Colorado. I have seen hundreds of pro Trump posters and signs. The only Biden … Continue reading →

How can those title words be pronounced so differently yet contain the same ae vowel core? English spelling is hard to follow. Instead, I follow Highway 160 across the plains and finally into the Rockies. The plains are wonderful! Big. … Continue reading →