Live…from the island of Yap in the Federated States of Micronesia! It’s Bar Chat! [Can’t believe this worked]
College Football Quiz: Outland Trophy (top interior lineman). 1) Who was the two-time winner, 1981-82, who then was not an NFL Pro Bowler, a center? 2) 1984 winner, initials B.S., 11-time Pro-Bowler. 3) Who am I? 1969 Outland winner, two-time Pro-Bowler, but walked away from the game after just five years to try a career in music. Answers below.
I won’t bore you with details I’ll be rehashing in that other column I do, but this is my fourth trip to Yap, where years ago, mid-90s, I walked into the Jesuit Mission Bureau in New York, said I wanted to do something, and Father Bill said ‘Let’s build a church on Yap.’ And that’s how I came to find the place, Charlie Brown.
I’ve made some friends here over the years, including Margaret Gootinag who writes the most beautiful letters. [Poor Margaret…she met me at the airport and I learned later her brother died just two days ago, age 52…my age…but there she was to greet me.] And Sister Joanne McMahon is my best buddy. We share a love of beer and Joanne and I just had lunch at a cool place.
Anyway, on Monday I left Honolulu on the 2:00 pm Continental flight (No. 01) to Guam, which is 7 ½ hours, and then I had a six-hour layover before flying on to Yap. Since I had crossed the dateline, and there is a four-hour time difference with Honolulu, I arrived in Yap at 1:30 AM, Wednesday, to be met not only by Margaret, but also something I’ve never seen before here; a very fetching young girl who gave all the visitors a lei; only one thing that made this different. All the girl had on above the waist was a tiny lei of her own. I felt like Fletcher Christian… granted, I’m old and washed up compared to him when he was doing his different movie versions, but throw in the girl and I think some of you catch my drift.
Well, I didn’t get to sleep ‘til 3:00 AM, 7:00 AM Honolulu time, and that’s kind of the way the trip has gone thus far…my body clock is very screwed up. [Yap is 14 hours ahead of New York.]
I’m here for over 4 days, when two of my past three trips were for only 10 hours because that’s all the time I needed to see everything and catch up. But Continental Micronesia has been playing with the schedule here (they used to fly from Guam six days a week and now it’s down to two it seems), called me months after I had booked this entire trip around this particular segment, and said, you need to stay on Yap a few more days.
I love the people here, but 4 days! What would I do, especially if the Net didn’t work?
Ah, but it does, and I have this gorgeous room at the Manta Ray Bay Resort (known for catering to divers, which is big here), overlooking the water and the main road. There are fish occasionally jumping, I’ve seen manta rays in this spot before but none yet, and across the road is a lush hill where these beautiful white birds are frolicking about. In other words, I have zero to complain about.
[And now school is out and these cute kids with their backpacks are walking home just like they do everywhere else in the world…except America, because back where I live, Mom has to pick the kid up even if they live two blocks from the school! Yeesh. I grew up about a 7-minute walk from my elementary school, everyone walked to it, no matter how far away, but today, I bet 80% of the kids are picked up. And it’s not like kidnappings are rampant, guys. I mean the crime rate for this kind of stuff is no different than when Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson were walking home from their schools, I tell ya.]
Now where was I? Oh yeah, when I get my work done, the Manta Ray’s restaurant and bar is on a miniature HMS Bounty wooden ship that is attached to the hotel dock. Very cool. From the hotel directory:
“Happy Hour at the Manta Ray Bay Resort lasts from 4:30-5:30 every day. When you hear the cannon fire, that’s the start of Happy Hour. If you wish to fire the cannon, please let one of our staff know and we shall arrange it for you.”
I’m an adventurer, but I’m not asking to fire the cannon, sports fans. I’d hate to accidentally start a war with the people across the water.
“Beer Tower: We sell beer towers on board the S/V Mnuw. It’s a great way to share beer with your friends. A beer tower contains eleven 12 oz. beers, we’ll give you one for free.”
You see, kids, the Manta Ray has their own in-house micro-brewery called the Stone Money Brewing Company. [Yap is known for being the land of stone money, in case you didn’t know. Yes, you can still find examples of it on the island. Yap is actually four islands, three connected by causeway, and the fourth, Rumung, is where my church is. You need permission from the chief to get on. I’ve received it, but never met the chief!]
“We sell a 16 oz. souvenir beer mug. If you buy the mug, you will save 50 cents on each beer you buy! We will put a tag on the mug for you so you can hang it up in the Crow’s Nest Bar so it will be ready each time you come up.”
Well, that’s enough about Yap because I’m just getting started, though truth be told, I do need to get cracking on work because I have had had a ton of lost time on all these flights the past few days.
Gee, ya think FOX is having a fit over prospects for a Texas-San Francisco World Series?
Goodness gracious. Who wudda thunk the Giants would be up 2-1 after Matt Cain’s combined 3-hitter on Tuesday, let alone the Rangers up 3-1 vs. the mighty Yankees following their 10-3 drubbing of New York? One thing I love is how Josh Hamilton is slamming home runs. You can’t help but be a huge fan of this guy. Can you imagine him in New York, for either team? He’d sell a couple million jerseys, for starters.
College Football
3:30 ET…No. 6 (BCS) LSU at No. 4 Auburn…huge…but Auburn should roll
3:30…No. 16 Nebraska at No. 14 Oklahoma State…are Cowboys for real?
8:00…Ditto No. 11 Missouri, at home against No. 1 Oklahoma
There’s another intriguing game. Air Force at No. 5 TCU, also 8:00, the reason being despite Air Force’s upset loss at the hands of San Diego State last week, this is an Air Force squad that lost to Oklahoma by only 27-24 in Week 3. TCU needs to win big for the BCS ranking if they are to maintain their slim hopes of slipping into the top two by year end. A 24-21 win doesn’t help it much by my way of thinking. [BCS computer rankings don’t look at final scores, but the coaches and Harris polls do, they being two components of the BCS survey, and TCU needs to get ahead of Boise State, among others.]
My Oregon Ducks, No. 2 BCS, host UCLA on Thursday night, which means knowing the Oregon students like I do, they will not be going to class on Friday.
–I see the Mets reached a settlement with Francisco Rodriguez following his domestic violence dispute with his ex-girlfriend. He will forfeit the $3.1 million the Mets had withheld in return for the Mets keeping the existing guarantees for 2011, $11.5 million, plus, if he finishes 55 games, and stays healthy, he earns an option of $17.5 million for 2012. If he doesn’t meet those conditions, he gets a $3.5 million buyout. All of which means the Mets are committed to K-Rod as their closer next year and all of us will be scratching out 55 somewhere a la Papillon.
–This week in history…Oct. 20, 1944…from Army Times:
“In one of the most iconic moments of World War II, Gen. Douglas MacArthur waded triumphantly to the shores of Leyte Island in the Philippines and declared, ‘I have returned.’
“MacArthur landed on the coast of the occupied territory after leaving in defeat more than two years earlier. In a speech, MacArthur told the Filipino people that the ‘hour of your redemption’ was near and challenged them to fight valiantly against the enemy.
“Japan fought the Allies mightily in the Philippines from the beginning of the war, driving MacArthur’s troops into the Bataan Peninsula less than a month after fighting began.
“President Franklin D. Roosevelt feared losing MacArthur to the Japanese forces and ordered him to leave the Philippines. The general obeyed his commander in chief, though he was dismayed about leaving his troops. He reluctantly left with his staff March 11, 1942, uttering the famous words, ‘I shall return,’ before boarding his boat.
“When MacArthur returned, he found Allied troops in a difficult position. The Japanese had seized the Philippines several months after his departure, although taking control of the island nation had slowed their fighting elsewhere in the Pacific, according to an essay by Stephen Bye of the Army Military History Institute.
“After months of battle against the Japanese, MacArthur declared the Philippines had been officially liberated in July 1945.”
–The day I left Honolulu (I shall return!…on the way back home), there was a story in the Star-Advertiser (decent paper) on how Ford Isle tower is getting some federal funds to fix it, the tower being in great disrepair.
Of course Ford Tower is part of Pearl Harbor. It was on Dec. 7, 1941, one of the first radio broadcasts of the Pearl Harbor attack was made from the tower; Vice Adm. Patrick Bellinger.
“The price of a flight can fluctuate daily, or even hourly. Airline ticket prices – like all prices – are based on demand, not value. To get the best deals you just need to buy your tickets when no one else is buying theirs – that’s when demand is lowest….
“The search traffic at www.lastminute.com peaks every week at lunchtime on Tuesday, but flight prices don’t peak until after dinner the same day. All the office workers who were searching during their lunch break have come home, checked their travel plans with their partners over dinner and then started booking, not realizing that the very next day prices will drop again.
“For example, a flight from London to New York was $650 on Tuesday at lunchtime, when everyone was busily pushing the price up as they searched for flights on their computers. But by late Wednesday night, the same flight had dropped to $455 – a savings of $195.
“On Fridays, when people start to lose focus on their work, flight purchases increase. In the wake of the weekend, Monday and Tuesday are the busiest days for travel websites – and prices increase.
“But by Wednesday, prices fall again. And I’m not talking about small changes here. You can save big bucks.”
So there you have it. You may think your $295 a year subscription to Bar Chat is expensive, but I may have helped you save that amount with just a few flights!
–Shark Director (and head of Human Resources for Bar Chat), Bob S., relayed some truly scary stuff out of Russia where wolves have been on the attack, including a pack of 10 that chased a highway police officer, plus the tale of an actual assault on patrons of a Moscow shopping center where the wolves went after the grocery bags! Wolves in metro Moscow! One more story like this and I’m raising the Bar Chat Threat Meter to Level 8 (of 9). Level 8 means it is not recommended you go anywhere without an Uzi. Level 9 means you can’t go outside, period, and you rot to death watching Mets games.
–Almost forgot…I’ve already heard from two different sources that an American diver died here in Yap just a few weeks ago. This happens more often than you realize.
Top 3 songs for the week 10/19/68: #1 “Hey Jude” (The Beatles) #2 “Fire” (The Crazy World of Arthur Brown…this was far-out back in the day…very cool tune) #3 “Little Green Apples” (O.C. Smith…and this is just a classic)…and…#4 “Harper Valley P.T.A.” (Jeannie C. Riley…huge tune for its time…but not sure it has held up real well…may have to think about this over a few brews tonight in the Crow’s Nest) #5 “Girl Watcher” (The O’Kaysions…has held up OK) #6 “Midnight Confessions” (The Grass Roots…underrated group) #7 “My Special Angel” (The Vogues..schmaltz kings score another…not that there is anything wrong with this) #8 “I’ve Gotta Get A Message To You” (The Bee Gees…this is the Bee Gees I liked) #9 “Over You” (Gary Puckett And The Union Gap…awesome voice) #10 “Say It Loud – I’m Black And I’m Proud” (James Brown…you tell ‘em, James!)
College Football Quiz Answers: Outland Trophy winners. 1) Dave Rimington, C, Nebraska, was two-time winner, 1981-82, and then flopped with Cincinnati and Philadelphia. 2) Bruce Smith was the 1984 winner out of Virginia Tech. 3) Mike Reid was a great defensive tackle from Penn State who won the Outland in 1969, then walked away from the game to become a country music singer/songwriter…composed Ronnie Milsap’s 1984 Grammy-winning tune “Stranger In My House,” which is a great one, given that the era didn’t have many as this was right before Randy Travis burst on the scene and changed country for the next 25 years (at least the next 15) with “Forever and Ever Amen.”
I’m gonna love you forever
Forever and ever amen
As long as old men, sit and talk about the weather
As long as old women, sit and talk about old men…
I know I’ve only mentioned this like ten times before but I can still picture the first time I was cruising around the Carolinas, where I had just been transferred, and heard this for the first time. Easily one of the ten era-changing songs for all genres that century. I also told you how I saw him in concert last year and if you have the chance, catch him. No one cooler on the planet than Randy Travis.
Next Bar Chat, Monday…I think…from Cairns, Australia, if all goes well.
