A Lesson in Dignity

In his post on "Keeping warm by hibachi," Abraham Lincoln describes the way some Japanese people recycled cigarettes shortly after the war's end. It reminded me of an occurrence while we were living in Okinawa.

My mother and I were shopping for fabric (see I come by it honestly!) in one of the small shops "in town." When we were there, "town" consisted of some tin-roofed shanties set up just outside the gates of Kadena AFB. They seemed to specialize in various things and I loved to wander through them. As my mother bargained with the shop keeper, I watched. Another customer entered the store while extracting a cigarette from her purse. The cigarette fell to the ground. She carefully picked it up, placed it on a stack of nearby stones, and announced to no one in general, "I am sure the shop owner will throw this away for me."

The shop keeper was silent, but the look in his eyes still haunts me. I believe he was hurt and offended by the woman's condescension. His cultural training would never have allowed him to say anything to her......a foreign woman....victorious from a war only 10 years ago.....publicly offering him a dirty cigarette.....but I wonder what he would like to have said. I wonder what he would say if he knew how much the episode has affected me over all these years. I wonder and I wonder.....

I'm "IT"?

ABW at Army Blogger Wife has tagged me. I am supposed to reveal seven things that most people don't know about me. I have an aversion to revealing personal information, especially over the internet, even though I don't have many, if any, deep, dark secrets. Well, there are some, but I don't tell those to anyone. Hmmmm, guess those could be points 1 & 2.

3. I have four children born on 3 different continents. Guess that information depends on where you were born. Son was born in South America and they are taught that North and South America are one continent, but in the U.S.A. we are taught they are two separate continents.

4. I wish I could just "sit & relax." I need to have busy hands...needlework, reading, crossword puzzle, writing.....don't seem to be able to just "sit."

5. I went to 3 different HS .....in my Senior year. Went to four in all, but really started moving in my Senior Year....Robert E. Lee HS in Baytown, Texas; Kubasaki American Dependent HS in Okinawa; Lompoc Union HS in California.

6. I went to 8 different colleges.....but I DID finally get that elusive degree.... from Texas Woman's University.

7. I love acting and was involved in theater in HS and in Little Theater for several years after HS. When I was a teen, I sent a letter asking to be considered for the role of Anne Frank in an upcoming movie about her life.



Okay, there are, more or less, seven things about me. Now I am supposed to "tag" someone. Since very few people I know blog, I will tag some of the blogs I enjoy....



Life With My Soldier

The Life and Times of a Butterfly Wife

The House Next Door

Sharing a culture (WW Photo)