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Earthquake I was working a midight shift—dull and boring. Some time in the middle of the night, I leaned my chair back against the wall and apparently fell asleep. Next thing I knew, I was in total darkness, the chair was out from under me so I was sprawled on the floor, and there were sounds of crashing, crunching and rumbling all around. My first thought was that the Sarge had come in, caught me sleeping and kicked the chair out from under me-- but that didn't account for it being dark and there being no one else around. Plus, I realized, the building was shaking.  I found my way to the door. Dawn was just breaking, with that dim pre-dawn light that sometimes looks strange. And I saw the weirdest sight! Ever have two people hold a blanket stretched out and someone shakes it sending ripples across the blanket? Well, the whole island of Okino was doing that! As I stood there, I watched the barracks raise up and go down, as the radar domes raised up and went down. At one point, I swear, the barracks were the same height as the domes, moments later, the domes were again high as they should be. This was the most awesome earthquake I've ever been in. No one was hurt, buildings escaped with very minor damage— it was just a scary way to wake up. And, I never before realized how flexible the earth could be! Bathing—Okino style in 1959 The Summer days were very hot and humid on Okino. On a day off, we would go down from the radar-site mountain to swim at the beach. We would skindive for hours (they call it "free-diving" today—basically just a mask and fins, but no breathing apparatus.) After we got tired and the afternoon dwindled, we would go into a cave near the beach to wash the sticky salt off our bodies. The cave had a little waterfall in it, and at the bottom of the falls, a waist-deep pool about 30 feet in diameter. The pool was full of people of all ages, from the very old to youngsters—all of them naked! I remember my first time there. I was very embarrassed to remove my swimming suit and join the naked people! But, this very old mama-san smiled a motherly smile and warmly encouraged me to come in, as she extended her hand to me, holding a bar of soap. It was difficult to do that, with the pre-teen girls giggling and shyly trying to look away. However, I found that this was just an everyday thing for these villagers and I realized I should not make a big deal out of it. |
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