Mac has not been very well, but is still e-mailing strong. In this edition of the Globetrotter e-newsletter, Mac sympathises with the Beetle for being given a hard time in Sydney and talks about some of his time in Japan whilst based there shortly after WW2.
A few years back I took a train to Montréal. The train on this route only went to the border and you had to get on a bus to go thorough Canadian customs and the rest of the way to Montréal. I was the oldest person on bus full of hippies. Some looked like terrorists. None of them were detained except me who was called aside into a room and questioned. I always carry not an excessive amount but enough travellers’ checks in case I get sick and have to come back by air. I had declared this on customs form. They kept asking me why I was taking so many travellers checks into Canada. I said To spend in Canada and also to have in case I need to fly back etc. I was polite and maybe even bowed although I was not in China now and I tried to be gracious but I was annoyed that I was selected for grilling although I showed them all kinds of ID, passport, military retired card, McDonalds hamburger card etc. I too got suspicious looks from fellow passengers who had been delayed because of me. I wrote the Canadian Tourist Bureau telling them I was curious as to why I had been selected for the grilling but got no answer. I have not been back to Canada since but not because of this slight inconvenience (or maybe subconsciously it has played a part.) Montreal is one of the most interesting cities in the world so I should try it again and this time I will try to look like a hippie terrorist that can hardly speak English.
If I had my life to live over I would do even more travelling than I have. I have never regretted any trips I took and relive them when looking over my travel and journal notes. I seem to have taken down more notes in Japan where I was stationed for five and one half years than anywhere else. Here are some notes from my odd travel and journals.
A German diplomat in Japan tells me that Wilfred (my name) is a German name and means “I want peace” or “I want a piece.”
Off to a bad start this morning. Someone dropped the Majors’ suitcase all the way from the plane door to the cement runway. This prompted one of the guys to say “There will be turbulence this morning.” (Weather squadron.)
I arrived in Hong Kong dirty and tired and found we could not have water in hotel except between seven and seven thirty at night as they still have water shortages. Lt Culler could not wear his orange flight suit into Bangkok as it is the same colour as the Buddhist robes. (If he had a bowl maybe he could have gotten some food offerings. Ha.)
Capt S’s little three year old boy (his wife is Swedish) goes to a Japanese school. They want him to learn Japanese, (the family has gone all out Japanese). The wife is learning Japanese dancing and she is a tall woman who even when dressed in kimono and Japanese wig etc still does not look Japanese. Sgt K in our outfit is kept busy writing notes in Japanese back and forth to the Japanese teacher - how do I say I want to go to the toilet? Say Benjo which is Japanese word for toilet. Does not apply to song I have a banjo on my knee.
The Japanese are so polite. I have in my notes a Japanese word that means Thank you for insulting me. The Japanese girl at the travel bureau phoning for reservations for me used the following phonetic system to spell my name. M Mike, C China, c Small China, A American, R Room, T Tokyo, Y Yamagata: McCarty.
The Japanese nuns teaching American community had a bazaar to raise money. Each foreign Embassy had a booth. The Columbia one had a sign “Cleopatra and Mark Anthony went for coffee. Romeo and Juliet went for coffee. Now lets all go for coffee”. I asked one of the nuns if she was going to buy one of the $100 high style dresses donated to the bazaar. (I am always hard up for conversation) She with a grin Oh yes, two of them. Not for myself of course.
They had a little farewell party for the Chaplains wife (Protestant) who is returning to the States. A Japanese employee wrote a farewell poem to her in tribute in Japanese They asked another Japanese to translate the tribute. She read “Homeward the old goose goes.” The wife laughed the hardest of all.
Nov 10 was the Shiri-taume festival or pinching buttocks festival at Atenashi Shrine kin Usami, Ite Shizucka Prefecture. Sunday I was at Wedding Centre, Nihaenkaku. 1760 couples were married in two months, Oct and Nov being the months for weddings. On one day alone, 145 couples were married - this was before Rev Moon in Korea started mass weddings. The reason why so many people get married on same day is that they are lucky days. There are also unlucky days to get married, some claim they are all unlucky days.
At the Miyako Hotel in Kyoto they have a “right away” button for urgent service. They also have another button to be used for routine service. In our mess hall at Hickam, they seem to have stew every day but under different names.
If you would like to get in touch with Mac, he is happy to correspond by e-mail when he is well. His e-mail address is: macsan400@yahoo.com
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