Our Hometown
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Greetings from Guam We owe a lot to people who are too easy to forget about, because we are busy trying to satisfy our own contemporary lives. If it weren't for those veterans (WWII), none of us would have the kind lives we have today. - Steven Spielberg I have a great life and always have, and I live in the greatest country in the world - thank you Dad, and Uncle Bob, and all the other veterans of all our wars and conflicts. You all know that I could go on forever regarding veterans and especially WWII veterans. I went out and bought Saving Private Ryan on Veterans Day and have watched it a 'few' times since (on top of the four times I saw it in the theater). The movie leaves me emotionally drained for days. If I were to go off on this topic, things would rapidly spiral out of control, and I would probably end up going off on some tangent about snakes or something. On to the latest news here on the 'rock.' Big news from Sella Bay. I saw my first Brown Tree Snake two weeks ago. As I'm sure most of you have heard, Guam has a reputation of being littered with Brown Tree Snakes. Well, I have been here for about two and a half years, and I have been hiking in the jungle, valleys, and mountains ever since I got here, and this is the first snake I have seen. And it was a dud of a snake at that, probably a foot and a half ... maybe. You have to figure in the exaggeration factor of anyone who tells a story about a wild animal encounter. So basically, if I am saying it was a foot and a half long snake, it was probably a six to eight inch earthworm or a stick. But let's pretend that I'm not exaggerating. I have gotten into this incredible routine. Every Saturday for the past month, I take my dogs Tasi and Nu Nu on an overnight camp out at Sella Bay. This is a great little hideaway in the southern part of our fair island. You either have to hike down to it (a rugged and physically pressing 30-minute hike when loaded up for an overnighter) or come by boat in as my brother John does (sailboat). The hike down dumps you out at the old Spanish Bridge (late 1600's) on the beach. From there we hang a left (north) and cruise up the beach a spell (oh say half a mile - with the exaggeration factor it comes out to about 250 to 300 yards) to a section of the beach that has a clump of coconut trees that jut out over the beach and provide a nice canopy. I throw up my hammock and tarp and then go about collecting wood for the fire. The dogs busy themselves by hunting for crabs, fish and coconuts. Yes, coconuts. They spend hours trying to get into coconuts and when they do, they act as though they have just figured out the true identity of Deep Throat or the guy on the grassy knoll. So we camp out, always watching for boatloads of illegal Chinese immigrants, and we go for walks along the deserted beach and search for the 'famous' Brown Tree Snakes. Regardless, Sella Bay is the most beautiful, peaceful and relaxing place on earth. I know any description I attempt will be a massive failure. One really has to be there to appreciate it, lying in a hammock - in just shorts, at midnight, on this dark, deserted alcove beach, with the ocean breeze and the roar of crashing waves on the reef, and the glitter of a million stars prancing above. Then there is the constant barking of the dogs all night long as they do battle with the thousands of crabs that come out. There is also the occasional tropical squall that roars through and destroys your tarp and campfire. Oh yeah, if you do decide to lie there in just shorts, make sure you have fully coated every inch of exposed skin with about 12 layers of mosquito repellent (ears ... inner canal and eye lids)... and sleep with your mouth shut. Then the next day, you got a wicked uphill trek out in the intense heat. Then you drive home, unpack and clean out the hundreds of ants that have infested your backpack. Then you go inside and take a shower and scrub off the layers of mosquito repellent with a Brillo pad. Then you collapse on the couch utterly exhausted. Now doesn't that sound relaxing? I think there's something wrong with me. Hafa Adai Copyright © 1999 |
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