The Quiet Ripple Defines The Pond

Very early this morning I stride forth with Satoru-san, world-famous photographer, who is staying in the house. We go to check if the boat is OK. We hit the beach. Leading from the sea to my boat are the unmistakable tracks of the mighty turtle. She has hauled herself up to the boat, scrabbled around for a while and then hauled back to the sea. All this not long before we arrived.

Anytime you see a turtle up on top of a fence post, you know he had some help.

There are two possible explanations.  One, the turtle social media is abuzz with the news of a beautiful French flag boat that you have to see. Two, I  have placed my boat on a time-immemorable hatching site for turtles and unable to lay she returns to the sea, marking the end of turtle habitation around here. I obviously opt for the latter.

Guilt

After work people come to the steps to swim and watch the sunset.

Swim

The water is warm and full of squid.

Watch sunset

Catch squid

I hope the turtle is OK.

My Mother always enjoyed a good cemetery. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child and visited a lot of cemeteries. I like to wander around cemeteries and wonder how people end up where they do. San Francisco has a great cemetery from early days and some of the gold rush towns have burial grounds that illustrate the soci-economic influence of the 49 gold strike better than anything else. Basically loads of miners from Cornwall, Ireland, Poland, Italy, Scotland.

Naha has a foreigners’ graveyard near Tomari harbor.

Here lies Johnny Pidgeon,
What was his religion,
Whae-er desires to ken,
To some other warl
Maun follow the carl,
For here Johnny Pidgeon had nane.
Strong ale was ablution,
Small beer persecution,
A dram was memento mori;
But a full flowing bowl,
Was the saving his soul,
And Port was celestial glory.

Says it all really.

Several Perry dead people.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_C._Perry

Very famous ship
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Susquehanna_(1850)

Very famous ship
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Vincennes_(1826)

The Macedonia ended her career as a casino
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_C._Perry

Wonderful stories these ships havehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Vandalia_(1828)
Er RIP John Barnes

French bloke

The graveyard has been carefully designed to reflect that many of the incumbents died at sea.

Ca vaut le detour.

http://www.interment.net/column/feature/international/international_cemetery.htm

I want to paint my boat. I need yacht paint. Try miming that.

Ikeda san helps me and tracks down a paint shop in Naha that has such stuff. The shop is in a lost suburb of Naha and is er warehouse-ish. I interact with the front office.

The people are the greatest fun and very concerned with the nature of my painting. They even want to come to Onna son and look at my boat to make sure that the paint I buy will not react badly with the paint actually on the boat.

It comes out that I work at OIST whereupon there is great glee. They are great supporters and have been to our Open Campus events. They produce all kinds of OIST swag. They take photos of me, I take photos of them, it is a party. I love Okinawa.

Paint shop folks love OIST

I have to pick someone up from the airport which delays my paint on boat stuff. I finally get home around 5:30 and rush off to the beach to start the job.

I tell you folks, this is pretty good. It is 30 degrees, I am in an isolated cove with my boat, I have yacht paint and things to apply it with. I know that I can go and watch the deciding test between the Lions and Australia when I have finished.

Before

Dark blue yacht paint

I sand, I wipe clean, I drink Orion beer, I paint.

I paint objects as I think them, not as I see them.

First coat

I am very excited.