Chapter 1

Round and around and

Up and down we go

To me, Yoshino Kaigan, is the best beach on Miyako, one of Okinawa’s many islands. Note: Okinawa, and its nearby Islands though are part of Japan now, they are islands so distinct that they maintain an identity all its own, and protects its culture from outside influences, it’s had little trouble before the War. It’s been part of Japan for “only” 135 years, (not counting US after WWII) so it’s not surprising that Okinawan’s are less attuned to the Japanese customs of the north; they have their own.

It took some time, like 70 years before the US finally admitted they had made a mistake and had no right to seize our houses and land there. My Great, Great, Grandfather was Swiss and was, in-fact Ambassador to Japan. They took a diplomatic residence for some damn general to screw in.

Enough of that, for now anyway. What I was saying, Okinawa Prefecture still had the deed and title that showed our family bought outright and paid for some 44.3 acres, much of it beach well before the war. Even after they relented and said they had no claim to it; it took another 3 years of my time and a bit of legal work before we got the Bastards all out after the final decision by the World Court.

Try as they might to trash the place, with film, pictures and interior photos whatever improvements had been done had to stay. It would have been more difficult had not the US Government laid claim since WW II. The reparations due me now were sizable too, in the $ Millions. The claims were done in the Family name, as it was for a private Residence of an ambassador, not the embassy itself.

But that first day it was re-deeded as leased to me, I kissed the sand anyhow. For a ‘Gaijin’ to own some property in Japan was another matter these days. The ‘Temporary’ solution was, they thought, to treat it as they did the Marine’s base. A lease with unlimited renewals. It was something like fighting ‘City Hall’ in the USA or Parliament in the UK to get it fixed. The fight would go on; we had already owned the property but you know how that will end up, right?

The estate, I guess you would call it a Compound might better describe my home now. It was South-East on the tip of Miyako Island.

There was a very small island just further on but my land was as far away from the tourists and attractions as it could be. The closest hotel if you want to visit is, well ... it is pretty bad. A good hotel is The Shigira, but it comes at a price, like a couple grand a night. But they have a pool and you get a ‘free’ breakfast. Nothing on the island is cheap gang.

Try the Agoda, for a grand more a night ($3,100 or so) and you can have a butler feed you. Call now; 906.0202 tell them J D (Jon David Dupre’)sent you and I get a ‘free’ melon puff thing. Anyhow!

I live here now, loads to do, right, sun, swim with the jellyfish, scrap yourself on the Coral reef and, OH yeah have a warm Orange Nehi after 6 pm to wash down the salted squid. One good thing, NO HABU Snakes here folks, just the damn jellyfish.

I keep most of the houses closed up now. Remember nothing is cheap on the Island especially help. It’s not all bad though, my beach is CO. That means clothing optional and I’ll fight to protect my hard fought independence. Actually, not a problem, even for a few young, single and attractive female tourists who pass inspection, even a couple female Jarheads on R&R.

One, Eve, keeps coming back, a lot, like all the time really. Being the sweet, kind, considerate host I can be, we have, sort of, established a regular thing. She swims in the pool and ocean naked, I only watch out for her, sort of really. I carefully apply SPF 50 to her smooth, naked skin, she cooks a ‘BBQ’, I eat it. She shops at the ‘NEX’ (Navy Exchange, like the Army PX)for me, I pay for it. We both think of this as a good deal.

Okinawa natives are, well strange. There is no Cancer, no high blood pressure, any debilitating or any epidemic diseases either. The people are by far, the oldest living in the world and not just a few of them. Some are like 127 and 129 years-old. A woman who was 82 just gave birth to a healthy girl.

I went to the city with Eve one day, to pay of course, what else? She carried a large package. At one stall, she handed it to a lady who then handed her a small bag. They bowed, a lot of bows in Japan folks. Not a word was spoken. I asked her if she spoke Japanese?

“They really use a ‘special’ dialect here, (Uchinaaguchi native speak on Ryukyu Islands) not regular Japanese.”

Somehow, someway a week or two later, some god-awful thing happened when ‘SHE’ thought ‘We’ were ‘FRIENDS’. Can you imagine? 70 years plus fighting with the Bastard Marines to get back our property and SHE thinks everything is OK now?

That tirade lasted only in my mind. Like I might ever say anything about that thought to her? No Sir Re. Mama done not raised some fool. I might tell you she was cute and that smile of hers was adorable. I tell you!

She was smart as well as gorgeous. Her Pappy had obviously trained her well. There might not be any Habu snakes on the Island but something of mine slithered when she was about. I remembered a story about an Eve and snakes or was that snakes and an apple? Where was I.

Yep, she only wears SPF 50 lotion to sun, which I just have to well apply and rub in on her bare, suntanned skin; then she struck. Lightning fast, faster than a coral snake coursing through the sea.

“Could my friends stay here ‘IF’ (meaning she already told them yes) they come to visit?”

Damn!

“They still have to pass my lengthy qualification assessment, you know?”

“Oh, I know, but Amy and Beth can’t stay in the BOQ on Base, Daddy even tried and they can’t afford the good hotels here. They need to relax and work on their all-over tans. They have shoots in Osaka in 3 or 4 weeks but no one will pay for here before then. I would do ‘ANYTHING’ to see them again. Really”

“Now, now, whatever are ‘Friends’ for if not to help out close personal friends in their weeks of need?

I said she was good, didn’t I?

“What flight are they on and what time do I have to pick them up?”

They’ll call ‘us’ from Narita, so about 3-4 hours from then. That means they should be here about 4 or 5 or so tomorrow morning. Can I stay here so ‘we’ can get an early start to get them? I need time to get ready, pick out clothes, have a bath, do my hair, nails, eat something light and...”

“If you snore I’m putting you outside with the cat.”

“But, you don’t have a cat!”

“IF I had a cat it would be outside!”

“I forgot to mention, Daddy has to meet you before I stay over, (Translated from Marine-speak to mean WITH THEM, not me she already had me. Apparently Eve would need to start tonight on her Must Do list).

“Daddy’s a Marine. Huh?”

“General. He’s my Daddy!”

“He knows who I am?”

“Oh yes, he has a whole stack of papers about you. He must think you’re some kind of church person, he keeps saying, ‘Jesus Christ’ whenever I bring up your name.”

“You and he did not used to live here, no, did you? Tell me you didn’t!”

“Ah Huh!”

“Jesus Christ. Hurry up, get some clothes on. He’s going to use me for target practice!”

“No he’s not! He said something about taking you ‘OUT’, on a ship I think!”

As we were heading out to the Base. “You have any ID or passport, bring it along”

“Easier to identify my body, right?”

“Silly, Daddy wasn’t that way!” (What she did not say was he knew ways no body would ever be found)

I guess meeting Daddy was one of those things destined to happen. When it did I was pleasantly surprised, I was still alive with most of my body parts, well all of them really but for a while I had my doubts.

She said, “I’ll leave my jeep here, we need to get somethings at the NEX for food and things, girl things. Can you drive and can we go into the city for more drink after we get home? I need to drop off some things there too?”

“Sure, you shop, I pay, seems fair doesn’t it?

“I think it’s good training, plus you stole our summer house! Daddy said so.”

She said it with a cute smile on her face though.

“Keep shopping and make me pay and in 300 years or so you’ll get enough back to buy it from me!”

“Promise?”

On the menu were steaks, ground beef burgers with cheese and mushrooms, salad and fixings, fruit, bread, bacon, eggs, milk and coffee all were put away before we left again.

“I got a lot of the other stuff we will need the last couple of trips, ‘OH’, here!”

She handed me 8 bottles of suntan screen. I like a girl who prepares, always is prepared. I wondered if that was a Marine or Boy Scout thing?

“You left another big bag in the car, is that the girl things?”

“No, here, put these in the bathroom please!”

“Yes Dear!” I began to consider if this was a training op for married life?

“The bag in the car we need to drop off in town for Koneko’s party, she is getting married. It’s some beef and ground meat from the NEX. Beef here is like 10 times the cost of the NEX so I wanted them to have enough. Her Mom gives us that special drink you like. No one even sells it.”

“You’ve lived here a while I take it. They treat you more like a native than a ‘Gaijin’.”

“I was born here. Mom was born here; she is Koneko’s older sister, Dad was a Lt. when they got married. I sort of belong here, you know?”

“Yeah, me too, we got here like 80 years ago, no other place like it. I live here now since we finally got our places back! Sorry! Been a long fight.”

“Dad said that too, your family got a raw deal.”

“Thanks.”

She meant that. I had to think on something. We got to town, she ‘let’ me carry the huge bag into the Market, then into a stall. The bag was getting heavy. People were stopping to bow. She bowed low and I just bent my head. They did treat her differently.

She held the flap for me to enter. More bowing, some words were exchanged which I did not understand. I spoke some Japanese but as Eve had said this was different.

A girl approached. She hugged Eve, then bowed to me before she took the bag.

“Thank you very much Simon-Chan!”

She looked at me. “Is he another gift for me Simon-Chan?”

“You got all the gift your going to get Tanaka-Chan. He’s mine!”

Eve turned to me. “Mighty uppity they get, learn a little English and Wham, they think like a Marine.”

An older lady handed Eve a big bag, must be the tea I figured. They bowed. “Thank you, Tanaka-Fujin.”

“Ha ha (Mom) must like you, no one but family gets that to drink.”

“Well, almost Sis, after 20 years here MY Auntie ought to consider ME family by now. Besides, Dupre-Kun drinks it like, like TEA.” She laughed.

On the way back I had made up my mind some. “You know Eve, it’s no trouble to open up a house near the beach if you and your Dad want a place to stay. Even for Amy and Beth I can have one cleaned out and readied. Them ‘Previous’ Squatters left a few modern things around.”

That got me a look but she didn’t say anything.

We got back to the house. She took the big bag out to the kitchen then came back with it and took out a bowl with some sand in it and several incense sticks.

“We need to be certain the house is truly yours now and the Spirits at rest. Pray for wisdom and guidance on what to do with ‘it’ next, if anything.”

‘It’, what the house. the land. the tea. what did she mean? She stuck a stick in the sand and placed the bowl on a table in the corner of the room; then lit the incense. She knelt down and bowed her head. What’s a guy to do, in his own house when a beautiful girl kneels down, I knelt too.

She took my hand in hers turning to me. Then said.

“When Amy and Beth leave, I need to tell you a story, no, Koneno’s Mom and I need to tell you things. Nothing bad really, yet, maybe a bit of a problem. Show me where I can put my things to get ready; OK?”