I've gone to a few end-of-year get-togethers the last few days -- you couldn't really call them parties, everyone is so subdued. The events of this year have been so dismaying that no one is in a party mood. What's to celebrate?
I've hosted or helped host these events and my contribution is to focus on what our country used to be, showing old movies and old TV shows, playing old pop tunes, especially those sweet romantic songs that I am a sucker for. One of my all-time favorite movies is the 1948 Portrait of Jenny and I showed it with some trepidation at one of our gatherings, filled as it was with mostly Macho McStudly types, many combat vets who are cynical about everything, but they all watched it with intense interest. I even noticed a tear in the eye of one or two of these gentlemen. I really do think that a lot of guys are very romantic at heart, but they've learned to keep such feelings well hidden. One person, watching the scenes of New York City life at mid-20th century, remarked on how wonderful it must have been to have a life in that city in those days. He said he wished the present would just go away and heads nodded and some sighs were heard. If only there was some button to push, some magic word or phrase to say, to make the last 60 or so years to never have been.... And let me emphasize that all those present are millennials, not old-timers. All of us yearn for a past we never knew, one that even our parents knew scarcely, if at all. In Nabokov's words, we weep for the impossible past.
The music I play has a similar effect as I select mainly sentimental slow dances, romantic songs from an era when love and romance were paramount in popular culture. Even the clumsy, suddenly shy guys discover just how great it is to dance cheek-to-cheek with your girl. Then settle down together by the fireside and have a hot toddy as the wind sings around the eaves and the rain and sleet beat against the windows and snow flurries dance in the porch light. Life would be so good if only the present would just go away!
Based on the results of this test, it is highly likely that: You
prefer your romance and love to be traditional rather than daring or
out-of-the-ordinary, you would rather be pursued than do the pursuing
and, when it comes to physical love, your satisfaction comes more from
providing a wonderful time to your partner than simply seeking your own. This places you in the lover style of the Devoted Lover. The
Devoted Lover is a wonderful style, and is perhaps the best when it comes to developing a long-term, caring and rewarding
relationship. The Devoted Lover is a treasure to find, though it is
sometimes difficult to establish a relationship with one.
Your result for The Would You Have Been a Nazi Test
The Expatriate
Achtung! You are 38% brainwashworthy, 27% antitolerant, and 24% blindly patrioticCongratulations!
You are not susceptible to brainwashing, your values and cares extend
beyond the borders of your own country, and your blind patriotism does
not reach unhealthy levels. If you had been German in the 1930s, you would've left the country. One
possible bad scenario is that you just wouldn't have cared one way or
the other about Nazism. Maybe politics don't interest you enough. Did
you know that many of the smartest Germans departed prior to the
beginning of World War II because they knew something evil was brewing?
Brain Drain. Many of them were scientists. It is very possible you could
have been one of them. Conclusion: born and raised in Germany in the early 1930s, you would not have been a Nazi.
Your result for The Mythological Goddess Test
Minerva
You are 71% erudite, 63% sensual, 38% martial, and 21% saturnine.
Minervawas, just like her Greek counterpart Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom and Freedom as well as an all powerful Goddess of War, which made her a most formidable opponent indeed. Among
the many disciplines that fell under her control were: writing, the
sciences, architecture, embroidery, and just about anything else dealing
with artistic skills, wise counsel, and of course battle and warfare. Like Athena, owls were considered sacred to Minerva, representing wisdom. She was a very wise warrior, respected by the Roman legions. She was also the Goddess of Women's Rights and patroness of career women.
Above the marge of night a star still shines, And on the frosty hills the sombre pines Harbor an eerie wind that crooneth low Over the glimmering wastes of virgin snow. ~ Lucy Maud Montgomery
Abitter cold day, with a raw north wind and relentless rain and sleet mixed with snow. It began last night and, except for brief teasing interludes -- once even with a burst of brilliant sunshine -- it hasn't stopped. It didn't rise out of the thirties all day. The mountain tops are covered with snow and the ocean is a constant rumbling roar with occasional ominous thuds...I guess big sleeper waves crashing ashore.
The weather matches my mood, dark and gloomy and full of sad resignation. My heart trapped in muddy slush.
Oh, well. Not the first time. Could be the last. Who knows? It was just over a year ago my dear friend lost his battle and went on ahead. How fast a year passes! His grave is now covered with dead needles of cypress and pines and a few blown down twigs. I brush them away chatting with him about the weather, hoping he is warm and safe. Safe! Why not pretend he is still with me? Why not delude myself? Or is it delusion? And what does it matter?
Twice I decided to go outside and walk to break my mood and remind myself of the great, wide world out there that doesn't care about me and my questioning gloom. The first time, around midday, I put on a heavy, rain-resistant coat and a rain hat and sallied forth, but I didn't get very far before I concluded I really didn't want to go for a walk. Just as I was deciding to turn back I almost collided with a big black cat who was making his way along the same path I was, but coming towards me. His head was down against the weather and he didn't even notice me. I saw him first and stopped, but he kept coming until he was almost upon me. Then suddenly he became aware of me and halted short, staring in surprise. Clearly, he did not expect to see a human out in such weather.
We eyed each other for a bit, then I decided to backtrack and turn off the trail. I expected him to resume his journey, but he just kept watching me without moving. I thought about having a contest of wills with him, to see who would move first, but then decided I really didn't care and retraced my footsteps.
My coat and hat were dripping water and my boots were soaked when I got back, and I was chilled. I made some tea and put a dollop of cream in it to go along with the sugar.
The second time I tried for a walk it was just before dark and I hiked up a ridge on a trail through the forest. The trees broke the wind and provided some shelter from the rain and sleet. About halfway up the ridge, snow began falling more than rain, and it collected wetly on the cold ground. The trail grew slippery and I skidded a few times, almost falling. Then it was all snow, swirling down so thickly it was hard to see ahead. I was thinking to myself how dumb I was to be out in this weather as darkness was about to fall, but also how smart I was because my mind was wholly concentrated on the now and I had no room to dwell on my grief. It was forgotten in the struggle to make my way forward.
Just as these thoughts were half-forming in my mind, I encountered deer. As cold as it was, they had no warm, waterproof coats to put on. They had no buildings to retreat into. As with all wild creatures, they had to endure. What troubles did they have? They fed and mated and avoided predators, gave birth to young and spent their lives with their birth herd, which was really their family, three or four generations deep, living on the same land as their ancestors had for...how long? Thousands of years maybe. Who could tell?
I watched them for a while, as they watched me. Like the cat, they stood still and waited me out. After a while, as the sky grew gloomy with the setting of the invisible sun, I turned back on my footsteps and made my way home descending into a darkness that was somehow comforting.
It was all right. I would get over this. The storm would pass, as all storms do, and the sun would shine again and day after day would be warm, dry and pleasant. I would even see the deer again. Maybe even the cat.
I was browsing the comments to some on-line columnist and blundered into one of those squabbles between two disagreeable persons. The male complained that women "won’t give us skirts, dresses, nice hairstyles, nylons or pumps" and the female responded: "I’m not going to spend fifteen minutes of my day squeezing into a pair of panty hose, nor am I going to stand in front of a mirror primping for God knows how long. Most of all, I’m not going to torture myself in a pair of 'pumps.'” My reaction to that, aside from considering the commenters people I would cross the street to avoid saying hello to, is that the male complaint is reasonable although men love to grumble about women spending too much time getting ready to go out and notoriously don't notice when a women has her hair done or anything else to enhance her appearance.
But I don't care about that. I enjoy making myself look good. I like messing around with make-up and adjusting this and that, trying different shades and combinations, changing my hair style, etc. I'll try on this outfit with those shoes and then those other ones, then try on that outfit...endlessly. I can spend an afternoon doing that, even when I'm not going anywhere. It's kind of a hobby, I guess. When we go out, I see to my hair and make-up, wear something chic and appropriate, with heels and stockings and matching accessories. I have no interest in being a frump. About putting on pantyhose, I think the woman was exaggerating or is incredibly fat. I wear pantyhose in the winter or when it's chilly out because they are warm and it takes me maybe 30 seconds to put them on. It's not a big deal. Otherwise I wear thigh-highs. Depending on my outfit, I might wear knee-high socks, especially with Mary-Janes. If it's warm out and I wear a sundress or the like I will go bare-legged. Of course I wear socks with jeans and am bare-legged in shorts or cut-offs. I have all kinds of high-heel shoes, mules and sandals and pumps and.... I love wearing them. I love the way they make me look and how they give a swivel to my walk.
I've spent a lot of time in East Asia and it's my observation that the number of really good-looking women is about the same there as everywhere else, but a big difference, one often remarked on, is the much lower rate of obesity, so more seem attractive. But another thing I noticed that helps them look good is that they dress well, really paying attention to looking stylish. A lot of American women dress like slobs. To be fair, so do American men. If you are fat and slouch around (good posture is another point in favor of the Oriental woman) in an old sweatshirt and yoga pants one size too small for your fast-food-enhanced butt, well.... But looked at objectively, a lot of Oriental women have what my dad calls stump-puller legs -- thick calves and ankles. Combine that with a general lack of curves, hair you can't really do anything with, and small eyes, and Oriental women shouldn't be considered all that attractive. But if you combine height-weight proportionality, good use of make-up and attention to dressing to enhance your natural assets, standing up straight, you've got something. Add in paying attention to your demeanor (act feminine, enjoy being attractive, don't be pushily aggressive or overtly competitive, don't nag), and your voice (you don't have to screech or yowl or talk through your nose), and you end up with an attractive package that men will take a second look at.
And -- admit it -- isn't having men take a second look at you one of the pleasures of life? Doesn't it brighten your day, boost your self-esteem? It seems to me all those what I call "public women" who write and speak about things like the male gaze and all sex being rape have some serious emotional issues. Those things are so stupid. Sure, you can get unwanted male attention, and, yes, rape is real and something to be wary of, but those are part of life and you have to learn how to deal with them like all the other slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, to coin a phrase. If men aren't attracted to you, how are you ever going to get a boyfriend, and without a boyfriend how are you ever going to have a husband? And without sex how are you going to have children? A family? Isn't having your very own family what it's all about, what makes this world worth living in?
Maybe it's because in so much of my working life I have had to wear NWUs or combat uniforms and boots, my hair cut short and tied in a granny bun and in every way dressed to de-emphasize my femaleness, but I enjoy dressing to let the world know I am a woman. I enjoy enhancing my sex appeal when the occasion is appropriate. I wear tight skirts and form-fitting dresses slit up to here and underwire push-up bras that enhance my cleavage and four-inch heels that give a swing to my sway. I do my nails and take care of my hands and feet. I use make-up. I wear perfume. I wear a bikini when I go swimming. I wear Victoria's Secret lingerie to bed. Ain't I terrible?
This poem used to be broadcast over Armed Forces radio, in olden times called FEN (Far East Network) and now called by the seriously lame name AFN Eagle 810. Well, anyway, this was the most requested Christmas song on the station up to the 1990s, by which time conditions in Japan for SOFA personnel had changed so much that it didn't have much relevance anymore. When it was first written, probably in the 1950s but no one knows for sure, most dependent housing was off-base. The houses had no insulation and the only heating was supplied by kerosene-burning space heaters and electric blankets. So houses in winter were cold!
Anyway, here are the lyrics. They were sung to "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town," the instrumental version by Booker T and the MGs when I first heard it. In earlier years it was doubtless sung to some then-popular version of the song.I don't know who the singer was, probably some enlisted journalist serving in Japan ages ago.
‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, The cold would awaken the sleepiest mouse. The stockings were hung by the space heater with care In the hopes that St. Nick-san would soon be there. And I in my blanket, with the heat turned on high Had just settled down–oyasumi nasai. When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter, Mom was checking the oil drums and as mad as a hatter. I threw open the window and peered through the plastic. Gomen nasai darling, don’t do anything drastic. I had forgotten to order some more of the stuff, And it looked as if Christmas would be kind of rough.
The moon on the breast of the gravel and snow Gave the luster of midday to the compound below. When what to my wondering eyes should appear But a chisai sleigh and eight tiny reindeer. A little ol’ honcho, so lively and quick. I could tell by his accent, he must be St. Nick. More rapid than jet forces he came And he whistled and shouted and called them by name: Now Dozo, now Daijobu, now Chotto and Matte, On Soba, on Sushi, on Ah So Desuka. (Because of the unions I suppose over here, He probably employs Japanese reindeer). As fast as lightening, he entered the door And opened his furoshiki and dumped on the floor Dozens of packages and gifts of all sizes, Just what the kids wanted plus extra surprises. I was so happy I wanted to squeeze ‘im Christmas would be merry, even though we were freezin’… Thank you, I said, You’re such an old dear, Domo arigato, as they say over here.
But how did you ever find this place? We worried that maybe you just went on base. His eyes, how they twinkled; “Now don’t ever tell, But I don’t go by rank or key personnel…” What did you bring me? I wanted to know. He shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of tofu. “Well, you private renters sure need a lot, But for you, it’s something special I got; It’s much too big to go under the tree, So look out in the yard and you will see, To keep peace in the family, you know what I mean, Your gift is a drumful of kerosene. And now I’d better be off, for I’m on TDY And it’s quite a trip back to the good ol’ ZI” He sprang from his sleigh and to his team gave a whistle And away they all flew like the thrust of a missile. But I heard him exclaim as they drove out of sight, “Christmas Omedeto and to all a good night!”
And here's a version for Marines. It was written by Lance Corporal James Schmidt.
Twas the night before Christmas, he lived all alone In a one bedroom house made of plaster and stone. I had come down the chimney, with presents to give And to see just who in this home did live.
As I looked all about, a strange sight I did see: No tinsel, no presents, not even a tree. No stocking by the fire, just boots filled with sand. On the wall hung pictures of a far distant land.
With medals and badges, awards of all kind A sobering thought soon came to my mind For this house was different, unlike any I’d seen. This was the home of a U.S. Marine.
I’d heard stories about them, I had to see more So I walked down the hall and pushed open the door And there he lay sleeping, silent, alone Curled up on the floor in his one-bedroom home.
He seemed so gentle, his face so serene Not how I pictured a U.S. Marine. Was this the hero, of whom I’d just read Curled up in his poncho, a floor for his bed?
His face was clean-shaven, his weathered face tan. I soon understood, this was more than a man For I realized the families that I saw that night Owed their lives to these men, who were willing to fight.
Soon around the nation, the children would play And grown-ups would celebrate on a bright Christmas day They all enjoyed freedom, each month and all year Because of Marines like this one lying here.
I couldn’t help wonder how many lay alone On a cold Christmas Eve, in a land far from home. Just the very thought brought a tear to my eye I dropped to my knees and I started to cry.
He must have awoken, for I heard a rough voice “Santa, don’t cry, this life is my choice. I fight for freedom, I don’t ask for more. My life is my God, my country, my Corps.”
With that he rolled over, drifted off into sleep. I couldn’t control it, I continued to weep. I watched him for hours, so silent and still. I noticed he shivered from the cold night’s chill.
So I took off my jacket, the one made of red, And covered this Marine from his toes to his head. Then I put on his T-shirt of scarlet and gold With an eagle, globe and anchor emblazoned so bold.
And although it barely fit me, I began to swell with pride And for one shining moment, I was Marine Corps deep inside. I didn’t want to leave him so quiet in the night, This guardian of honor so willing to fight.
But half asleep he rolled over, and in a voice clean and pure Said “Carry on, Santa, it’s Christmas Day, all is secure.” One look at my watch and I knew he was right. Merry Christmas my friend, Semper Fi and goodnight!
When I was in college I never went to one of those spring break hot spots. The first year, I was homesick and went home. The second year, I spent sailing and kayaking around the Channel Islands with my boyfriend. The third year I crewed a trimaran that sailed from Port Hueneme, California, to Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii. The fourth year I went off-trail backpacking into the high Sierras with my dad, both of us figuring that would be the last chance for us to ever do that again, which has proven true.
“Luxury has never appealed to me, I like simple things, books, being alone, or with somebody who understands.” ― Daphne du Maurier
I was not born in the continental United States. Several times when I have mentioned this to someone, the person has remarked on how good my English is.
“No political party ought to exist when one of its
corner-stones is opposition to freedom of thought.”
―
Ulysses S. Grant
I know a Mexican-American who is utterly disdainful of Mexico and its
people. "I know I have relatives in Mexico," he says, "but I don't know
who they are and I don't want to know."
“The streets were dark with something more than night.”
―
Raymond Chandler
I was offered a full scholarship to a hoity-toity university back east but when I went to visit it I felt like I was in a sinister foreign country. Everything looked strange -- too green, too humid, the landscape too closed in. All those red brick buildings seemed weird to me. The air smelled of something unpleasant. And the people looked like menacing foreigners and talked with odd accents. The interviewers asked what I thought were irrelevant questions and eyed me with a sort of knowing expectation, as if they had caught a fish they would soon be feasting on. I turned down the scholarship. When I did, I was told that I was passing up on great things for myself. Maybe, but the only great thing I wanted was to get away from there.
“Once they have you asking the wrong questions they don't have to worry about the answers.”
―
Thomas Pynchon
When I was in high school, Clint Eastwood, accompanied by a woman who looked uneasy and was wearing a really nice Chopard watch, once asked me for directions
outside of Barney’s Beanery on Santa Monica Blvd. He wanted to know which bus to take to get someplace. I did not know. I was not pleased that he thought I looked like someone who rode the bus.
“You can't test courage cautiously, so I ran hard and waved my arms hard, happy.” ― Annie Dillard
When I was a seven-year-old SOFA kid in Japan my mother took me to a tea ceremony party at the Nezu Museum in Tokyo. Afterwards one of the ladies who had conducted the ceremony complimented me on my Japanese and for some reason instead of just thanking her, I stood up and sang the Kimigayo (君が代), the Japanese national anthem. I learned it by hearing it on the radio and on TV. It's a lovely song to my mind, easy to sing and the lyrics are short and simple, too:
君が代は 千代に八千代に 細石の 巌と為りて 苔の生すまで
All the Japanese looked stunned and my mother cringed. I still don't know why the Japanese reacted the way they did but my mother says they probably thought I was showing off and possibly insulting them. I wasn't.
“One must pray first, but afterwards one must help oneself. God does not care for cowards.” ― Ouida
One time when I was walking along the beach near Malibu an older man came out of one of the beach houses and approached me. I thought he was going to tell me the beach was private above the tide line where I was walking and to move away, but instead he invited me to a party inside the house. I decided why not? and went up to the house with him. As we walked, he introduced himself as Telly Savalas. I knew that couldn't be true because my parents knew Savalas and this guy wasn't him. And also he had been dead for a number of years. I should have taken that as a warning sign and excused myself, but I didn't. I just wondered why he would tell me that. Inside, the party was more like a bacchanal. I looked around amazed. Naked people were having sex on couches and chairs, standing up, lying on the floor. Others appeared to be passed out, sprawled wherever they collapsed. There were bowls of pills of various colors, other things that looked like drugs, and, of course, alcohol. The man who had invited me had disappeared while I was staring at what was going on. Another man walked over to me and stood beside me watching the action. After a minute he said, "Pretty wild, isn't it? Let's join in." I wasn't in the least bit tempted. In fact, I was getting scared and wondering how I was going to get out of there. I was silent for a minute, then I said, "How do you know I'm not an undercover cop?" He faded away. I walked back outside and when I stepped onto the sand I broke into a run.
“I am glad that I paid so little attention to good advice; had I abided
by it I might have been saved from some of my most valuable mistakes.” ― Edna St. Vincent Millay
I know an old Japanese lady who emigrated to the US around 20
years ago. I never asked about the circumstances. All that time she
lived in Los Angeles, but recently her neighborhood has become too
dangerous, with homeless types breaking into her apartment building lobby and
camping out -- not just sleeping but moving in. They watch when people
leave to go to work and then break into their apartments and trash them,
apparently just for the hell of it. Of course, they steal anything
valuable. The cops have been called multiple times but they never show
up. The last straw for her was hearing gunshots seemingly right outside her
window late one night. She moved a thousand miles away to a small
Whiteopia. She is delighted, repeatedly saying how pleasant, helpful
and kind the people are. "It's just like being in Japan!" she exclaims.
“God does not need your good works, but your neighbor does.”
―
Martin Luther
I once knew a married couple with children who seemed like a typical normal family except that one of the kids had been fathered by the husband's best friend. They had been in the same Marine fire team in Iraq and were close enough to share wives, something that is more common than you might think among those kinds of people. About the arrangement, the husband said, "As long as he's not in there when I want in, I don't care."
I read a semi-biographical novel of 1950s-era SAC by a former pilot of a B-47, Wings of Fire by Henry Zeybel, that contains this line: “When you’re a lieutenant, you’re allowed to do anything you want, short of raping the wing commander’s wife. She might not complain, but he’d probably get jealous.” But among those of similar rank, key parties and etc. were part of the way of life. I suppose that's because the men at the pointed end of the war-fighting professions lead such dangerous lives, depend on each other implicitly in the face of death and may be killed at any time, that having sex with each others' girlfriends and wives is, besides probably being a male bonding ritual, a way for them to enhance their enjoyment of their leisure. Incidentally, the author of the novel later flew AC-130 gunships during the Viet Nam War and was awarded the Silver Star for actions over Tcehpone, Laos, during Operation Lam Son 719.
I recently looked for one of Edna St. Vincent Millay's books -- "Make Bright the Arrows," her pro-war poetry collection --at the local library. They didn't have it; in fact, they had no books of her poetry at all. But they did have a biography of her, "Savage Beauty." I then checked to see if they had Robinson Jeffers' anti-war poetry collection, "The Double Axe." No; in fact, they had nothing at all by or about Jeffers.
Then, for the heck of it, I checked to see if they had any poetry by Elinor Wylie, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Kenneth Rexroth, Randall Jarrell, George Sterling... No, no, no, no, no. But they did have stuff by Maya Angelou. So I thought, well, then, they will have Langston Hughes. But no. So what value the library? It should be where you can find what is not at the bookstores -- but then, bookstores, even the musty used ones in low-rent blocks, are vanishing. I drove to a nearby town that has a lovely old Carnegie Library, heavy with dark woodwork, streaming sunlight, and stolid rows of shelves that smell of ancient books and furniture polish, but it was closed, having very limited hours these days. I remembered a two-story used-book store in the same town where I first discovered Nora Waln, up the creaking staircase to the second floor and far in the back amid old books on foreign travel, so I went there. But it was out of business, as was the bakery/luncheonette next to it where I used to have coffee and a snack while I flipped through the treasures I'd just bought as I half-listened to other diners and the staff chatting and gossiping. Well, everything can be ordered on-line now, or digitally downloaded, in the bum- and derelict-free comfort of your own home, so it's all good, right? Right?
It amuses me how intensely interested males are in the female form. They could be 10 or 100, it doesn't matter. Some cleavage, a glimpse of a bare thigh or the swaying hindquarters of a fit woman strolling down the street mesmerizes them. Girl-watching never gets old for them. I contrast that with the routine put-downs of women men indulge in, the belittling snark, nasty cracks, sneering contempt and crude insults. The reverse side of the urge-to-merge coin, I guess. I've often thought that maybe the hostility to women is a reaction to or a resistance to the intense, relentless desire for women that men seem to never be free from. I once sat next to an elderly man, in his mid-seventies I'd guess, on a delayed airline flight. We got to talking to kill the time, and, as passing strangers often do, talked of many personal things. At one point he said that his sexual urge was still strong and he patronized what he termed call-girls twice a week to satisfy himself. He volunteered that he did not need Viagra and would like to enjoy female charms much more often but his budget wouldn't allow it. "I do have to eat," he said, "even though my digestion won't allow me the foods I like. But I can still enjoy sex as much as when I was a teenager!" The man sitting across the aisle began listening in on our conversation and kept glancing at me as if he wanted to say something so I smiled at him and he burst out, "I just wanted to say I hope I can talk so freely and enjoy my sex life as much as your grandfather when I'm his age!" I started to say that the old guy was not my grandfather and was probably just telling sea stories, but instead said "Gramps and I have a very special relationship," and winked at him.
“To sing you must first open your mouth. You must have a pair of lungs, and a little knowledge of music. It is not necessary to have an accordion, or a guitar. The essential thing is to want to sing. This then is a song. I am singing.” ― Henry Miller
My grandfather was serving aboard the USS Lexington (CV-2), flying Brewster F2As (his squadron referred to it as "the Peanut Special"), when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. The Lex was at sea at the time, having sailed on Dec. 5 on a plane-delivery mission to Midway Island, but was diverted to try to locate the Japanese fleet, which she did not find.
Towards the end of December, his VF was converted to Grumman F4F-3s, the famous "Wildcat" that bore the burden of the earliest and most severe fighting of the Pacific War.
The photo at left shows the Lexington berthed at the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard on April 11, 1942. By that time she had seen a lot of action and her aviation complement had handed the Japanese some rough payback for the Pearl attack.
In February, less that two-and-a-half months after Pearl Harbor, the Lex, as part of Task Force II, sailed into Japanese controlled waters off New Britain to strike at the main Japanese naval base at Rabaul, where was based the legendary 22nd Air Flotilla, veteran of the China war, bombing Chunking, blasting the British out of Malaya and the Dutch out of the East Indies and, most recently, bombing Darwin, Australia.
The 22nd's big H6K flying boats spotted the Lexington and radioed her position before being shot down by the ship's air patrol. The 4th Squadron, flying 18 of the the new G4M bomber, equipped with 20mm cannon defensive armament, was launched to deal with the Lex. One bomber had to abort but 17 flew on and attacked the carrier. But her intercepting F4Fs shot down 15 of the G4Ms and none achieved any hits on the ship. The two remaining G4Ms made it back to Rabaul with half their crewmen dead, the the planes so badly damaged that they were junked.
This was the first time in the history of Japanese naval aviation that it had suffered such a total defeat. It had always enjoyed, and become used to, victory after victory. The Japanese were shocked by the capability of US naval aviation operating on its own terms. The Japanese had crushed the Chinese, humiliated the British, walked all over the Dutch and battered the Australians and none had the ability to deal counterblows. But the US Navy was demonstrating it was a different foe entirely, and far more formidable.
The Lexington at sea.
In addition to the G4Ms shot down, the US Navy fliers also shot down three H6K flying boats and an E13A floatplane. In all 88 Japanese aircrew were killed, including the squadron commander of the 4th. The cost to us: two F4Fs shot down and one pilot killed.
Less than three weeks later, the Lexington attacked the Japanese naval base at Salamaua, New Guinea, taking the the defenders by surprise. The Lex's dive bombers and torpedo planes virtually annihilated the fleet in the harbor, some 15 ships, sinking five cargo vessels and four warships plus setting afire and and stopping dead in the water four more warships. Two other warships were damaged slightly. One of the Lexington's SBDs was shot down by anti-aircraft artillery and the crew lost.
Among the ships the Japanese lost were the Kongo Maru, Tenyo Maru and Yokohama Maru. The Kokai Maru was beached to save it from sinking, as was the seaplane tender Kiyokawa Maru and the minelayer Tsugaru. The destroyers Asanagi and Yunagi were so severely damaged that they had to return to the main Japanese fleet base at Truk for repairs. The light cruiser Yubari, flagship of the Wake Island invasion fleet, was also damaged and her executive officer killed. Altogether, 130 Japanese sailors were killed and 245 wounded in the attack.
These were the heaviest losses the Japanese Navy had suffered since the outbreak of the war and seriously harmed the ability of that Navy's South Sea Force to carry out offensive operations as well as alarming Japanese naval high command in Tokyo. Vice Admiral Shigeyoshi Inoue, commander of the Fourth Fleet and aboard the Yubari when it was attacked, had to order the postponement (later abandonment) of the planned invasion of Port Moresby as a result of these losses. He also called for Japanese carrier back-up to counter the US Navy carrier force, thus setting the stage for the Battle of the Coral Sea.
An incident of this episode: While heading toward Salamaua a patroling SOC floatplane had failed to return. A large-scale search was not conducted as the carrier was readying its attack. But on the return, the Lexington, calculating the effects of wind and currents on the probably position of the SOC, sailed to where the crew, if they survived, might be found. Seven days after the SOC failed to return, it was spotted floating on the calm sea. As the carrier hove into sight, the SOC started its engine and took off and flew back to the ship, landing as if nothing had happened. The two crew members were hungry and thirsty but otherwise healthy, having survived on their emergency rations. They had gotten lost and landed while the plane still had some fuel left.
The Lexington arrived back in Pearl a couple of weeks later for resupply and maintenance, which is when the top photo was snapped. Shortly after, it would sail again for New Guinea waters and clash again with the Japanese, but this time not being so lucky, being sunk at the Battle of the Coral Sea less than a month after the picture was taken. The Japanese still had plenty of fighting capability and it would take months of hard fighting between two navies, the likes of which had never been seen before in history, for a winner to begin to emerge.
My mom taught me how to read and write, including
cursive, before I started kindergarten. She did that by giving me
alphabet blocks and playing with me, teaching the letters, singing the
ABC song with me as she lifted each block, making a game of forming
words with the blocks, and reading to me. I sat by her side as she
read. She ran her finger under the words as she read so I could follow
along. And one day I picked up my favorite book and just naturally began reading it. All by myself. From then on, my mother's role shifted to directing my reading and helping me understand what I read.
She taught me block letter writing at the same time I was learning the alphabet by making it a game to draw the letters and then form them into words, then sentences. Doing so was never boring or hard for me. It was fun time with my mom and I looked forward to it. She used the Palmer method to teach me cursive, using the same books her mother had taught her from. I loved the capital "G." The capital "L" was okay, but I did not like the capital "B." It looked bossy and mean to me. I didn't like "M" or "N" either, but I liked "D" and "H" was okay. Each letter had a personality to me and it wasn't till I began forming them into words and then sentences that they lost their individuality, subsumed into the meaning of the word and sentence.
I learned to read sheet music and play the piano essentially the same way, first singing simple songs together with my mother, which was fun and came naturally, then singing the scale while she showed me the notes on paper. To me they looked like little balloons floating up and down on a fence. Then I sat beside her at the piano and watched and learned, connecting keys to notes -- or balloons! -- and singing. It was so much fun. I'm sure my mother corrected me when I made mistakes, but I don't remember that. I only remember her smile when I did things right. To this day, I can't play Ma mère l'Oye without remembering those happy days. Sitting at the piano in the conservatory on a sunny winter Sunday with the north wind swaying the trees, the notes flowing without thinking from my fingers, I could be five years old again, sitting next to my mother together playing the four-hand arrangement, she smiling down at me, encouraging me when my little fingers couldn't quite reach. Then, after, hot chocolate and a nap hugging my panda bear. To this day, if I am feeling down or melancholy and sit at the piano I automatically begin playing Pavane de la Belle au bois dormant and it seems as if my mother is right there with me, comforting me as only a mother can her child.
My dad taught me how to ride a bicycle, running along beside me as I pedaled, instructing and encouraging me, catching me when I lost courage and slowed down then started to fall over. He guided me through turning a circle, then a figure eight, taught me how to come to a full stop with both feet still on the pedals, only setting one foot down as I released the brakes. I felt completely safe and grew in confidence easily because I knew dad was right there jogging along beside me. Gradually, he would take his hands away from the bike as he ran along side. I never noticed that I was actually balancing and riding, turning and braking unassisted. He was still there beside me, giving tips, praising, correcting, ready to put out a hand to steady me should I wobble. But then one day as I pedaled along I asked him a question and he didn't answer. He wasn't beside me! I looked around and saw him far back, standing watching me. I circled back to him, stopped and asked why he wasn't running beside me. He laughed and pointed out that I had ridden all by myself far ahead, turned around, rode back and stopped without any assistance from him. I hadn't realized. I knew how to ride a bicycle! And it just happened. Thanks to my dad. To this day, when I'm facing a difficult challenge or have to deal with scary things, I imagine my dad running along beside me, ready to catch me if I fail, reminding me I can do it, I can, I can.
Dad also taught me how to ride a motorcycle, dirt and street, how to drive a car, how to shoot (not that I really wanted to learn that, but he thought it was a skill I should master), how to care for and train dogs to be obedient and useful, how to behave around livestock, ride a horse. He even taught me how to use a bow and arrow! And a slingshot! He taught me so many practical and useful things. But maybe the most useful was, especially when anxious or upset, to slow down and examine what you are anxious or upset about and why. Break it down, tease out the specifics. Then you can do something about them, or at least manage your emotions regarding them. He also taught me a similar way of dealing with recalcitrant machines and various mechanical objects. Don't become frustrated and agitated if something doesn't work. Examine it. Determine how it is supposed to work, then see if you can discover why it is not working. Once you've done that, you often have a good chance of getting it working again.
My mother taught me how to cook, how to plan and produce a meal for two or twenty, how to sew and mend, how to design and measure to create a pattern to sew from so I could make my own custom clothes then and later for my family. She taught me first aid and the care and treatment of the injured and sick. When our cat had kittens she explained what was happening and answered all my questions. She taught me how to dress to bring out my best, and use make-up to conceal (a very useful skill come puberty and zits) as well as to enhance and highlight. She even taught me how to stand and walk properly. Don't slouch! Glide don't shamble!
She also taught me about boys and love and sex and how I, as a girl, had so much more invested in both than boys did. She told me that as much as I might like sex and consider it important, boys liked it orders of magnitude more and considered it so important that as men, they would risk any humiliation and loss of public stature and family to get it, with no limit to how much they desired. She also taught me how to be a good companion to a man and how to know a good one when you find him. Of course, a lot of what she tried to teach me I didn't really believe until I learned it the hard way...so to speak. My mother also taught me about pregnancy, what to expect and how to deal with it, and the difficult days immediately after pregnancy and then the first, trying months of being a mother. And most especially she reminded me that she had made it through it all and so could I.
Thinking about the old America my parents grew up in. It seems like a dream now. It must have been so much fun to have been alive then. Oh, sure, doubtless there were all sorts of bad things going on back in those days. There always are. But compared to today? I'd take my chances with...what? Polio? The vaccine came out in the mid-Fifties and most people didn't catch it anyway. World War III? They worried about it, but it didn't happen. The bad stuff that has led to now really got going with the assassination of Kennedy and the Viet Nam War. So cycle me repeatedly through the decade from the end of the Korean War to the killing of Kennedy, basically the Nifty Fifties and Camelot.
