Although I have not taken the Continental Micronesia flight to Guam a half dozen times, being on that flight was as comfortingly familiar as rolling our cars past Fritz Creek on the way home at night. There was nothing mysterious or surprising about it. The flight was only half full and I had a row to myself. It was over staffed. Carts were coming up and down the isle for what seemed like the entire trip to bring beverages or food. And then, like clockwork, an hour and a half prior to landing they came through the cabin with a vanilla ice cream with strawberry cup and a wooden stick. Beautiful.
In my first posting I mentioned that I had met a couple of cute young girls who let me use their laptop. They were Tom Petty’s song ’American Girl’ embodied, “raised on promises…she couldn’t help thinking that there, was a little more to life, somewhere else”. When I asked them they told me, “We had to get out of there, so we looked on the map and picked the farthest place we could go. We saved our money and rented an apartment for three months on Guam.” Both wearing black UGG boots. Both with tight low slung sweatpants. One with cool tattoo on the left hip, DD breasts in a tank and fabulous fake eyelashes. The other blond with her hair up on her head in a pony tail. Oh Yes…completely wonderful American Girls!
When we met again at the baggage pick up they told me they were hoping to find a couple of cute Navy men. I don’t think they will have a problem with that. They were such sweet and excited young women. I wish them such good luck!
Why do I bring all this up? Because all of us had wondered what would happen to me in customs. I have been very plain about my concerns about me and some big Chamorro guy and my suitcase. Well, wouldn’t you know… Who got through customs effortlessly? Who had their baggage searched from top to bottom and every panty was being spread out upon the table?
My poor friends…
Side note: I just saw my first pick up truck loaded with people drive by! Ah, home…
I walked through customs and who should be sitting there behind the glass peering in waiting for me but Stacey; my birthday twin and DeeJay and Willie’s sister. She is in 4th grade and she is beautiful. Coffee skin with a small mole by her eye. Lucy was behind her and Lucy looks good. She has lost weight and looks so much more relaxed than she did in Saipan. Manuel and Germaine pulled up in the car and they looked good too. Germaine is getting tall! He will be tall like DeeJay.
They took me to the “ranch” where they are living. This ranch is something I have not been able to figure out until now. Now, I have now seen it with my eyes and have been able to put the pieces together.
They stay there with their cousins and their landlord is a Chamorro. We pulled up and the main house is a well kept place sitting on that beautiful red island dirt. Plants are potted and growing around. There is a meeting place that Lucy told me that she built. It is in Yapese style, thatched roof, tables. We sat with her cousin who I remember from the old days in Saipan when they lived in CK. Someone’s grandma was there. A boy who I can vaguely remember from the CK days was there staring at this white mama. Everyone is enjoying betel nut.
After a few minutes Lucy said, “Well, lets get our stuff together” as this was our plan…that she and the kids stay with me at the hotel. She is so sweet because she would not let them pack their things to come with me right off. She said when she picked me up, “Alana you have traveled so far, you need to be alone tonight so you can relax. Then we come in the morning.” Totally leaving it up to me if I wanted to change my mind. The kids stood silently behind her. I said, “Are you kidding? You are coming tonight.” And the kids exploded with joy!
So we sat there, with the family, at the ranch, and then Lucy walked me back to what she referred to as “her house.” Valda, Mom, you know how Marina told Valda she could live in Vince’s shed? Lucy and the family would be overjoyed to live in that shed compared to the tin garden shack they are having to live in now. The place is maybe 10 by 12, tin walls, and the four of them are crammed in there with all of there clothes. They go to the bathroom in a jonny on the spot that gets filled to the rim and cleaned weekly. They shower in cold water that they collect from the rain and they have privacy because they have built a metal wall around it.
Outside the door of this so called house is a beautiful farm that Lucy is growing for the owner. Tidy rows of green onions, eggplant,…
She then told me about her plan to move. It is a good plan that is going to happen this week if I can help her. Because I now understand what is going on over there. The Paag family are like surfs to a Chamorro man who has this land for free from the Chamorro heritage land trust. He won’t let them expand their shack because there can only be so many houses on the land. I imagine he is supposed to be living on it, but he has a better place somewhere else. When the Paags have a day off from their day jobs and they go out to do other things, he gets very angry that they are not there farming. He doesn’t sound like an evil guy. Just a guy who knows how to get labor for nothing and wants to keep his land…
Um hum…
I thought the roaches at Resihna’s apartment were bad Lucy says the roaches crawl up and into their shack and crawl on the kids at night. . If any food gets left out in their kitchen (it is a huge communal kitchen and the other tenants of this farm are not as fastidious as Lucy) the next day, the food is full of maggots.”Alana,” she said, “The first time I saw it I really thought I was going to vomit”. The snakes…the snakes freak out all of them except for Manuel, who can kill them easily.
There are good things of course. Their garden is out of this world. They have pigs (and it disgusts Lucy how much of their food has to go to those pigs.) The owner took one to sell and then he split the profit with them (thoughtful, isn’t it?). She really is the farmer that DeeJay told us she was.
So, the Paag family is LOVING staying at the hotel. They are sleeping soundly while I watch the sun rise over Tumon Bay. It is cool this morning. A perfect temperature. Our room has a balcony looking out at the tourist strip and I have enjoyed two cups of coffee and this journaling while the sun made her un-dramatic rise in the sky. This is what I fantasize about as I sit by ‘My Precious’ each morning. The island breezes, the sun.
I am so grateful to be here. What a blessed life I’ve been granted.
In my first posting I mentioned that I had met a couple of cute young girls who let me use their laptop. They were Tom Petty’s song ’American Girl’ embodied, “raised on promises…she couldn’t help thinking that there, was a little more to life, somewhere else”. When I asked them they told me, “We had to get out of there, so we looked on the map and picked the farthest place we could go. We saved our money and rented an apartment for three months on Guam.” Both wearing black UGG boots. Both with tight low slung sweatpants. One with cool tattoo on the left hip, DD breasts in a tank and fabulous fake eyelashes. The other blond with her hair up on her head in a pony tail. Oh Yes…completely wonderful American Girls!
When we met again at the baggage pick up they told me they were hoping to find a couple of cute Navy men. I don’t think they will have a problem with that. They were such sweet and excited young women. I wish them such good luck!
Why do I bring all this up? Because all of us had wondered what would happen to me in customs. I have been very plain about my concerns about me and some big Chamorro guy and my suitcase. Well, wouldn’t you know… Who got through customs effortlessly? Who had their baggage searched from top to bottom and every panty was being spread out upon the table?
My poor friends…
Side note: I just saw my first pick up truck loaded with people drive by! Ah, home…
I walked through customs and who should be sitting there behind the glass peering in waiting for me but Stacey; my birthday twin and DeeJay and Willie’s sister. She is in 4th grade and she is beautiful. Coffee skin with a small mole by her eye. Lucy was behind her and Lucy looks good. She has lost weight and looks so much more relaxed than she did in Saipan. Manuel and Germaine pulled up in the car and they looked good too. Germaine is getting tall! He will be tall like DeeJay.
They took me to the “ranch” where they are living. This ranch is something I have not been able to figure out until now. Now, I have now seen it with my eyes and have been able to put the pieces together.
They stay there with their cousins and their landlord is a Chamorro. We pulled up and the main house is a well kept place sitting on that beautiful red island dirt. Plants are potted and growing around. There is a meeting place that Lucy told me that she built. It is in Yapese style, thatched roof, tables. We sat with her cousin who I remember from the old days in Saipan when they lived in CK. Someone’s grandma was there. A boy who I can vaguely remember from the CK days was there staring at this white mama. Everyone is enjoying betel nut.
After a few minutes Lucy said, “Well, lets get our stuff together” as this was our plan…that she and the kids stay with me at the hotel. She is so sweet because she would not let them pack their things to come with me right off. She said when she picked me up, “Alana you have traveled so far, you need to be alone tonight so you can relax. Then we come in the morning.” Totally leaving it up to me if I wanted to change my mind. The kids stood silently behind her. I said, “Are you kidding? You are coming tonight.” And the kids exploded with joy!So we sat there, with the family, at the ranch, and then Lucy walked me back to what she referred to as “her house.” Valda, Mom, you know how Marina told Valda she could live in Vince’s shed? Lucy and the family would be overjoyed to live in that shed compared to the tin garden shack they are having to live in now. The place is maybe 10 by 12, tin walls, and the four of them are crammed in there with all of there clothes. They go to the bathroom in a jonny on the spot that gets filled to the rim and cleaned weekly. They shower in cold water that they collect from the rain and they have privacy because they have built a metal wall around it.
Outside the door of this so called house is a beautiful farm that Lucy is growing for the owner. Tidy rows of green onions, eggplant,…
She then told me about her plan to move. It is a good plan that is going to happen this week if I can help her. Because I now understand what is going on over there. The Paag family are like surfs to a Chamorro man who has this land for free from the Chamorro heritage land trust. He won’t let them expand their shack because there can only be so many houses on the land. I imagine he is supposed to be living on it, but he has a better place somewhere else. When the Paags have a day off from their day jobs and they go out to do other things, he gets very angry that they are not there farming. He doesn’t sound like an evil guy. Just a guy who knows how to get labor for nothing and wants to keep his land…
Um hum…
I thought the roaches at Resihna’s apartment were bad Lucy says the roaches crawl up and into their shack and crawl on the kids at night. . If any food gets left out in their kitchen (it is a huge communal kitchen and the other tenants of this farm are not as fastidious as Lucy) the next day, the food is full of maggots.”Alana,” she said, “The first time I saw it I really thought I was going to vomit”. The snakes…the snakes freak out all of them except for Manuel, who can kill them easily.
There are good things of course. Their garden is out of this world. They have pigs (and it disgusts Lucy how much of their food has to go to those pigs.) The owner took one to sell and then he split the profit with them (thoughtful, isn’t it?). She really is the farmer that DeeJay told us she was.
So, the Paag family is LOVING staying at the hotel. They are sleeping soundly while I watch the sun rise over Tumon Bay. It is cool this morning. A perfect temperature. Our room has a balcony looking out at the tourist strip and I have enjoyed two cups of coffee and this journaling while the sun made her un-dramatic rise in the sky. This is what I fantasize about as I sit by ‘My Precious’ each morning. The island breezes, the sun.I am so grateful to be here. What a blessed life I’ve been granted.
1 comment:
Once again, you amaze me with your ability to sit with suffering. What a lovely family. I'm glad you could inject a little joy into their lives.
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