Displaced Beachbums

Aunt Fran has claimed the hammock for herself. Hint to her children: she’s been talking about getting one for the summer. Isn’t her birthday in March?!

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FM took his family to one of his favorite Guam restaurants ~ Fujiichiban. Personally, I think he just likes saying the name 😉 It wasn’t his mom’s favorite though so it’ll be on to another restaurant next time.

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I wondered why the geckos around our house were starting to get fat bellys. Now I know ~ they’ve got beer bellys.

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After spending a very tranquil Thanksgiving with FM and FG, I curled up to my book club novel “The Red Tent” at about 9:45 p.m.  FG had just gone to bed and FM was in the living room going through old files. About 5 minutes later, the bed started shaking. At first, it reminded me of when Bennett would lean up against the bed and, with all 100 lbs of him, it would give the bed a good shaking. I could see Sport across the room curled up on his dog bed and Maya was in her crate for the night.  That’s when it hit me ~ an earthquake!

As I made my way down the hallway to see if FM felt it, FG came out of her room. Her bed is elevated on stilts (you know, the IKEA special) so her bed really shook. FM, who was sitting on the floor, felt nothing. And so much for dogs have the sixth sense to predict an upcoming earthquake ~ both dogs were sound asleep.

FG was quite shaken (pun intended) and ended up sleeping with me that night. The local paper reported the magnitude of the quake was 4.6 and located 35 miles southeast of Guam’s capital, Hagåtña. After hearing about the earthquake on the Big Island in Hawaii the day before, it seems the Pacific Rim is a rockin’ place these days! Rocking in the New Year may have a whole different meaning for us this year…

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I went to a meeting the other night at a woman’s house here on base. The minute I walked in, I felt like I was transported into another world. The house was so beautifully decorated with teak furniture imported from the Philippines, Saipan and Bali. There were yummy smelling candles, elegant accessories, and beautiful sheer curtains she picked up on a trip to Bali. The house oozed of elegance and warmth. It felt so comfortable and inviting. Truly, Nate Berkus has nothing on this woman who I would guess is in her mid to late twenties.  Since I was the first to arrive, I watched the reaction of the other attendees as they came in the door and all had the exact reaction I did: AWE. 

In my mind, I kept thinking: What’s up with this? She has three dogs and is fostering a puppy, she works full time, and she volunteers every Sunday, all day, at the animal shelter. Where did she find the time to keep her home looking so beautiful.  Don’t get me wrong, I like my house just fine but I don’t expend a whole lot of energy keeping it looking spectacular but, there are times when I feel I should.  

Finally, the last attendee arrived and as I watched her face register how beautiful the house looked, she said “So, this is what a home can look like if you don’t have children.”  Ah, that was it 😉  

Since FG was with me and took exception to this comment, I assured her that the woman didn’t mean that she didn’t like children(she has three children she loves dearly), she was just justifying for the rest of us why we shouldn’t compare our homes to this “model” home.   One good thing, it’s inspired me to hang those curtains since my “we just moved in” excuse is fast becoming untrue. Hard to believe we’ve been here 6 months already! Now if only I could jet over to Bali for the weekend and pick up some of those gorgeous curtains 🙂

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It’s been awhile since I went to a “new” beach so I headed to Ritidian Point this morning with FG and friend. It took some convincing to get FG to go – she really wanted to be a homebody today but I dragged her anyway. Of course, once there, she didn’t want to leave.

Ritidian Point is part of the Guam National Wildlife Refuge and is easily accessible by car. The beach itself is gorgeous and the white sands seem to go on forever in either direction. Did you notice in the photos how deserted the beach is? It’s like having your own private beach. FM is off-island so he missed out on our adventure. We’ll probably return next weekend with him and we’ll hike along the beach, exploring the coastline. This beach has been added to the must see list for our upcoming visitors.

FG and her friend loved being “buried” in the sand. The sand is so cool and soothing ~ kinda like a spa treatment.

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Guam’s election season is at a fever pitch this weekend and the governor’s seat is up for grabs. According to the latest poll, the incumbent governor has a tough fight ahead.   Nothing new here regarding the way campaigns are handled except being on such a small island amplifies the intensity of it all and, personally, I’ll be happy not to watch one more  political ad on TV or see another billboard for a few years.  When I’m watching network TV, I’m so happy to see the cute Diet Pepsi guy strutting his stuff rather than another commercial for Prop B.  There is one positive to the TV ads. Since the people of Guam are so nice and courteous to begin with, even their negative ads aren’t bad. They come across as “disappointed” rather than mean. 

For those of you unfamiliar with the government of Guam: Guam is governed by a popularly elected governor and a unicameral 15 member legislature. Guam elects one non-voting delegate to the US House of Representatives, currently Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo. During U.S. Presidential elections, citizens in Guam vote in a straw poll for their choice of president but it doesn’t count toward the general election results. 

There are two propositions on the ballot here in Guam, both of which will result in big changes for Guam if passed.  Prop A will raise the current drinking age from 18 years old to 21 years old and Prop B will allow slot machines at the Greyhound Park.  There have been several lawsuits regarding the validity of the propositions. For now, they remain on the ballot but will no doubt be challenged after the elections.

Even though I’m not registered to vote here, I have an observer’s opinion: 

Prop A: I doubt this will pass.  On the positive side, it should galvanize lots of 18-21 year olds to get out and vote.  Unfortunately, when I read the weekly police blotter, there a lot of DUIs listed, the driver is usually OVER the age of 21 and they are almost always charged and released. I don’t think the drunk driving laws are strict enough and that should be addressed. In Germany, 16 year olds are allowed to drink beer and wine but with that comes the responsibility of not drinking and driving. The Germans don’t mess around: if you are caught drinking and driving then you DON’T drive anymore ~ period, no questions asked, no leniency!  That’s the way it should be everywhere.

Prop B: FM asked me how I would vote on Prop B if I was actually voting. I hadn’t given it much thought since I’m not a gambler and certainly will not be using the slot machines. I find them VERY boring. Give me a game of Texas Hold-em and I’m happy. After giving it some thought, I would probably vote yes ~ which surprised FM. The slot machines would generate a lot of revenue (ideally from the tourists who are already there gambling on the dog races) for the government which in turn is suppose to go toward education. There has been a lot of opposition by the churches and others who want to protect the person (s) who can’t control themselves and will gamble away all their money.  My problem with that argument is there’s already dog races and cock fights (legal) and dog fights (illegal) occurring. Are people gambling away all their money at these events?  Where is the outrage and protests from the churches regarding these two reprehensible practices? And really, much as we wish to regulate someone’s behavior, it will take other means to help an addictive personality.

I still surprise FM with some of my opinions ~ I’ve never been down the party line kind of voter.  Sometimes, I’m all over the ballot.

So that’s Guam’s politics in a very small nutshell.  Whatever happens, I wish the best for Guam’s economy and the people of Guam -they deserve a chance to continue making Guam a great place to live. It has SO much potential to be even more wonderful than it already is.    

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