Filed at 12:04 am under Island Life by glennstu
Well Christmas is almost upon us so I would like to thank all of my readers and wish everyone out there a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Most likely your next question is, what is Christmas like on Roi-Namur. That is a very good question but it is one I cannot answer. I spent almost 3 years on Roi but never a Christmas on Roi. My first year there, 2002, I skipped off to the Philippines to visit a friend there. It was my first Christmas in a different culture but the Philippines is a Christian nation so they celebrate on Christmas Eve. I spent Christmas Eve with my friend’s family and it was quite fun and there was a lot of celebrating going on around town. In sharp contrast, nothing at all was happening on Christmas day. Evidently they do not celebrate the actual day of Christmas in the Philippines. Read more »
Filed at 2:06 pm under Blogroll by glennstu
Posted 12/20/2007
The average Joe on Roi-Namur is not allowed to have a weapon. Nor is the average Eric, Matt, or Glenn. I mention those names because just about every man and maybe one or two women on Roi have one of those names. It makes it a little easier to remember names. There was one Glenn on Roi who was allowed a weapon, a Marshallese police officer known at the station as the “Real Glenn” as opposed to me who was generally known as 2NGlenn because of my neurotic insistence that my name be spelled correctly though I was also called “Off-road Glenn” by at least one guy for an incident on Pohnpei involving a chicken and a rent a car. But I digress, and for a good reason, the story I am about to tell you has virtually nothing to do with Roi-Namur other than the guy who told it to me once had a friend who lived on Roi (me).
My friend whom I will refer to as Russell told me over lunch today that his nephew recently passed the red neck test. Naturally, being a city born Yankee, I asked him how one passes a red neck test and Russell who is from east Texas related the following story. First he noted that one should always be concerned when a red neck asks you to hold his beer and you should be down right afraid, apprehensive, beside oneself, bothered, clutched, distracted, distraught, distressed, disturbed, fearful, fretful, frightened, hung up*, ill-at-ease, nervous, on edge*, overwrought, perturbed, solicitous, tense, tormented, troubled, uneasy, upset, uptight, worried stiff* if he follows that up with “watch this.” In his nephew’s case it turns out that at a recent routine doctor’s visit the doctor found a bee-bee lodged in his groin. This explained the very visible pain he was in but not how he entered that state. If I got the story right, the nephew had told his mother that he fell while out in the woods and a piece of metal had somehow broke off and stuck there. But it is difficult to explain the presence of a bee-bee. So he finally admitted the truth. His friends were using his belt buckle for target practice. I know cowboys wear large buckles but I can’t believe I could ever be comfortable with the idea of letting someone take pot shots at a belt I was wearing no matter how large the buckle. But I’m a Yankee and a bit of a coward and perfectly sober at the moment so perhaps all those factors make me look at it a bit differently. I am certain that if I did consent to allowing my belt to be used for target practice I would take it off first. Russell did not mention if his nephew had been drinking with Dick Cheney at the time.
Technorati Tags: target practice, red neck, Texas, Texan, gun, beer, belt, worried, Marshall Islands, Kwajalein, Roi, Roi-Namur, Micronesia, travel
Thanks to Thesaurus.com for the synonyms
Filed at 9:02 pm under Blogroll by glennstu
Posted 12/12/2007
Ask Mr. Rat
Most of my original stories of my life and adventures on Roi-Namur have already been published on this site so I decided to start a new feature. You the reader can ask me questions, preferably about life on Roi or there abouts, and I will answer them. I have already opened up my mail bag and here are some of my first questions.
Q: Mr. Rat, I am planning on retiring next year and am considering moving to Tucson. How can I find in-depth information on a variety of topics having to do with Tucson? - George W B of Washington, DC
A: I’m glad you asked me that George, if I want to know anything about Tucson, whether it would be golf courses, parks where I can walk my dog (if I had one), great restaurants, hiking or a variety of other subjects I go to www.tucsoncomplete.com.
Read more »
Filed at 10:56 pm under Island Life by glennstu
Roi Namur Survival Kit
Posted 12/7/07
OK, let’s say you’ve just landed what looks to be a challenging and highly rewarding job working on Roi-Namur and you’ve started going through all the usual steps of preparing to relocate there such as the thorough physical examinations that are required to insure you are in the prime of health. You’ve also put most of your household goods in storage, stored or sold your car and now you’re wondering what is it you should take with you to this island paradise. Here are a few tips. Read more »
