The Quiet Ripple Defines The Pond

The whole Calder clan unites in Scotland to sprinkle our Mother’s ashes.

After a very long trip, Okinawa,Tokyo, Istanbul, Dublin, Glasgow, I find myself in a grubby Portacabin on a filthy potholed yard somewhere in Paisley. I am there to pick up a rental car. The guy is very aggressive throughout and there is a random drunken Irishman who keeps interrupting. 

I say “How can I get to Bishopton?

He says,”Take the M8.”

I say, “How can I get to the M8 from here?”

He says, “You read the fucking signs.”

Ah Caledonia!

There are about 20 of us and we hole up in a palace overlooking the Kilbrannan Sound that has fantastic views across to Arran. 

Obeying our Mother’s request, we scatter on top of Dun Skeig https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dun_Skeig and also bury in the family grave.

The rest of the time we walk a bit but principally eat and drink.

It is so good to see all the family. 

Massive kudos to sister Rosy and brother in law Barry for impeccable organization.

Sorry, Scottish birds.

The weather was perfect throughout, the woods are carpeted with bluebells, there are rhododendrons and azaleas flowering everywhere.

The gorse or whins, if you prefer, is in full flower. So beautiful;

Such a feeling of ancientness.

I am definitely moving back to Scotland.

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 a year.

Anyway, we had an amazing weekend.

It started with a concert on Saturday night. Super duper violinist Eiko Kano played The Four Seasons with an orchestra of friends.

Lying on table in front of the stage are 4 violins, I go to have a look. They are guarded by an OIST colleague who tells me there are 3 Stradavarii and a Guarneri and I should be careful not to trip. Good advice. Wow!

The concert was too good for language. For each movement of the Four Seasons she used a different violin. Nuts. As an encore, Eiko playing The Red Diamond, her teacher playing the Del Gesu, which is what cool people call Guarneri violins, accompanied on a 1930s Steinway just donated to the university, play some Shoshtakovich. All of this in a tiny village on the west coast of Okinawa! There was very little here when I arrived in 2011. Look at it now. https://vimeo.com/705215336

A unique experience. Eiko does not think that 4 violins of that distinction have been played in one concert before.

Super VIP dinner afterwards and I am seated next to Eiko, presumably because I can play the tin whistle.

Eiko, who is so much fun, and I discuss the salient features of the four violins and she clearly appreciates my input. Wonderful evening with much speechifying and so many old friends.

Lunch next day with Jonathan, Renee John san and the architects of the university buildings, Ken and Okomoto san. What great people, what memories. On to the big ceremony.

Great event! My name was mentioned to wild acclaim. Incredible really – what a great adventure! I was so lucky to have been involved.

Congratulations and thanks to the organizers. I am so pleased I do not have to organize this kind of stuff anymore.

This is the sort of thing I do now.

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 intimidated as if I blow this, they will take my license away and it is impossible to live in Okinawa without a car. My future on this magic island depends on my performance.

Everything is in Japanese and I enlist the help of the wonderful Nicole san.

Nicole is a freelance interpretor/translator. Hire her!
https://www.facebook.com/Nicoles-Translating-Service-106495788421639/

We go through a very strict eyesight test.  I worry as I don’t, despite Nicole’s best efforts, know really what I am supposed to do on some of the exercises. We troop out to pay for the training.

We are shown movies that are admirable. They underline the dangers of driving a car but in particular the dangers of old people driving a car. Much statistical evidence of the sharp drop off after 70 of vision, reaction speed and decision making. Help!

It is pouring with rain as we drive around the special test course. Fairly anxious as there are many Japanese driving protocols that are new to me. Many thanks to Danielle Ellerby from OIST who coached me beforehand. Anyway congratulations Okinawan Police on the training – thought provoking.

I pass!

Now to get my new license, more vision tests, a photo, my name is called and I am presented with a new license! Hooray! I am good until 2027 and God knows where I will be then.

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 recovering from the awfulness of the Battle of Okinawa, became increasingly angry at the US occupation.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koza_riot

Huge bases were established on the island and most remain today.  The prefecture is home to 70% of the total acreage exclusively used by U.S. military installations in Japan despite being only about 0.6% of the country’s total area. 

Anyway, today there is a ceremony to mark the 50th anniversary of the reversion to Japan. Kishida san, Prime Minister, and a slew of notables will attend. It takes place in the Convention Center, which is a skip and a hop from my place. I drive down to check on the boat as it has been raining ferociously, as usual. There are security people everywhere.

I believe that Okinawa is hoping for some announcement on base reduction. I doubt it.

God bless Okinawa.

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 problem one by one. There is no rush as the weather is awful.

I do little jobs.

One of the good things about the rainy season is the sudden explosion of blooms on the I-Ju trees.

I pick up a friend from the airport and swing by the stinking pond so beloved by birds.

After the excitement of the Mexico adventure, life seems very slow.

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 of Covid boosters, flu shots, colon cancer fun and a lung injection that I do not understand but Arisa says I should get.

Most important, is an offer of 100,000 yen from the the Ginowan Town Hall. This is because I must be very poor as I do not have an income that enters into a tax category. I feel guilty. I have plenty of money and go to the Town Hall to suggest they give it to folks who do not.

They say,”Take the money and run!” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rt4pX6TnLJA

OK.

In deepest Mexico, it became clear that my creaking Nikon d300 is not up to the job. She has been a wonderful camera but you know.

With a big lens, auto focus is very important and my dear old, old d300 is very slow and has a great affinity to branch rather than bird. She is also falling apart.

I buy a second hand d500, the best birding camera in the world, from EBay for almost the same price as the gift from Ginowan. This cannot be ethical but take the money and run.

It is a wonderful camera and I spend hours on YouTube trying to work out how to use it. It has abilities beyond my comprehension.

I take my first bird photo today.

Diego, Okinawa Prefectural Flower, is in bloom.There is tons of it; apparently bad news.

https://okinawaclip.com/en/detail/688

I am gently oiling the teak trim on the boat.

I have plenty of time as the engine will not start.

Kiyuna san reckons that there is a compression problem. He has ordered the parts needed so I might finally get out in the boat next week.

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 allowed into Japan.

It is awful. We pass from desk to desk to have various forms stamped. We wait and then shuffle off to the next desk. We finally have PCR tests and wait for a long time for results. Everything is in Japanese as only Japanese are allowed in anyway. I am everlasting grateful to Taki san, who runs a diving business in Tokyo. He explains what is going on and generally holds my hand.

By the time I get through it all, I have missed my connecting flight to Okinawa from Haneda, another airport the other side of Tokyo and after much difficulty find a very expensive airport hotel. I am asleep about 3 minutes after I get into the room.

However, all bad things come to an end and the next morning I get an early bus across Tokyo to Haneda.

ANA, the world’s best airline, are wonderful and put me on the first flight to Okinawa.

Things immediately revert to Okinawa bliss. I phone the car rental guy,” Neil san, welcome back! Car ready in 30 minutes!”

Such a great car!

I drive to Ginowan Town Hall because my health insurance card is no longer valid.

A young lady employee sees me looking helpless, sits me down and 5 minutes later returns with card that gives me another year of free healthcare. Thank you. 15 minutes.

Straight to my local clinic. 15 minutes wait and then I get chest Xray, ECG. blood test, urine test, examination by Nagasaki sensei. Next day I return for results. He tells me that I am as fit as dog apart from high uric acid because I drink too much. I have lost 18 kilos since my check up last year! God bless America.

I get pills to lower uric acid level. The whole deal costs me 2,600 Yen. Incredible!

I check on the boat.

I bump into Kiyuna san. The Harley is back in business and he now has a puppy that lives in a bag slung over his chest.

“10:00 tomorrow Neil san we will check engine and everything is working!” He is a good friend.

I have wonderful lunch with two dear friends and then go to the specs shop. I noticed on the long drive that my vision was blurred. They immediately organize for an English speaker to give me an eye test by video link to Tokyo.

Japan is incredible. Every thing is so easy even though I do not speak the language. All the above and much more took place during a 3 day span. Thank you.

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 and I will be 70 in a month. 11,000 miles, 3 and a bit months living in a camper.

The Gods did not give in easily and the last day was probably the toughest, blizzard coming over the Sierras and very high winds. I was also sick with extreme stomach upset and had to stop several times to join the bears in the woods. Not fun.

Anyway, I spend a few more days in Utah. So much scenery!

There are some old mining towns that are sort of hanging on.

I visit Bodie, a ghost town 8,000 ft up in the Sierras. Once upon a time, 10,000 people lived here, there were 60 saloons!

So I am back in San Francisco but, like many others, homeless. The renovations to the apartment are far from finished. I guess I will light out to Japan.

What a trip!

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, and many more. I mean this is before we had been formally introduced. I loved it! Thank you women of the South and Mid West.

After Mesa Verde, where I was stuck for a couple of days because of snow, I bumble around the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument.

I head off to The Needles NP. Is it necessary to go into the parks as the scenery everywhere is sensational?

Needles National Park is sensational but suffers from the same dilemma as most parks in the USA. Better, cheaper, transport, more affluent people, Covid stimulated desire to get out of the house has provoked a massive increase in the number of visitors.

I get there at about 09:00 but the campsites are already full. Luckily I collide with Wendy, who is a Park Ranger. One of the park hosts has left for a couple of days and she gives me their site. Thank you Wendy!

I have mentioned a few reasons for the increasingly popularity of National Parks but in addition, the parks are incredibly well run and the staff have the mixture of enthusiasm, helpfulness and evident enjoyment of their jobs, devoid of any sort of cynicism that other nations are unable to replicate.

Wendy makes sure that I am comfortably installed and takes so much time to suggest the best places and activities. There is no shortage.

Anyway, Needles NP is an absolutely astonishing place and the people who work there are stars. Thank you.

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 signs encourage you to have sex with him.

After so much country I am now in the back in the West!

My great problem is the furnace in the camper. It does not work. It annoys me as it is massively over engineered. It has a circuit board that could control a particle accelerator. Luckily I have a Mr Buddy heater, which always works. Light pilot light, turn on gas, boom it works.

It is the way we are going, lots of electronic stuff that does not work.

I visit Mesa Verde.