Memories of Okinawa

There weren’t any pilgrims, that is certain. There were, however, our Okinawan friends. We had invited Chieko, Kyomi, Ayako, and Yasuko to the house to feast. It was great, just another opportunity to gain the trust of our parents before all h*ll broke loose. I used to have pictures of the girls participating in our thanksgiving ritual, but, over the years and several more moves ….. you know. We had a spread, all or most of it was cooked in this microwave. Dad had bought this Amana Radarrange (he insisted it was the best) and that thing was our oven for 5 years. It had all these doo dads to set up and plug in order to cook. I only learned to put on a time and hit the start button to warm up dinner. I got really good at warming up the “magic plate” that was always waiting inside the radarrange when I got home at 10 or 11.

Mom and Dad stuck this turkey in the microwave, attached the temp probe and let ‘er rip for an hour or two and viola – Cooked Turkey. Mom made mashed potatoes and corn and whatever else we had that year. I know that the Okinawan girls were especially fond of the banana pudding and the deviled eggs.

Anyway, we all fixed our plates and had to wait in line to re-nuke the food for a minute to warm it back up, it got cold because you could only cook one piece at a time to begin with. We warmed our food up and sat down all over the house, on the couches and chairs in front of the TV of course. I think that the girls did like the food to a certain degree, but it was definitely a change from the normal Okinawan diet. We watched Japanese TV and listened to music and really had a good time just conversing and getting to know each other better. Mike, my brother, started falling for Ayako that day. She was way older than he was and it never did transpire into a relationship, but, dream he did.

I was just turning 16 at that time and the mandatory driving class at Kadena to get the cherished “on base only” drivers was a hot topic. We were all making plans of things to do once I got my license. Boy were we ready. We finished the day with a walk down to the seawall, where I asked Kyomi to be my girlfriend. She accepted and for the next year we were inseparable. We walked the girls about a mile up the hill to the bus stop and they caught that proverbial last bus going north. They lived past Koza and their trip home was about an hour.

Thanksgiving 1979 was very meaningful in many ways. The best Thanksgiving that I personally can remember (at least until I got married).