Thinking about Japan

I had a topic for today but it's forgotten now. In between laundry and other activities I keep checking the news online about the massive earthquake and tsunami in Japan. I first heard about the quake late last night on Twitter shortly after it happened. Twitter has become my go-to place for breaking news. The pictures and video I've seen today are heartbreaking, almost too surreal to believe. The Boston Globe's Big Picture has a stunning series of photos. With the quake's epicenter being off the coast of northern Japan I did a little Googling and found out that so far the military base where I spent two and a half years of my childhood is mostly okay and managed to escape the worst. I loved living there and so did my parents. They even lived in another part of Japan briefly after my dad retired from the Army. I've got nothing but love for Japan and her people and my thoughts and prayers go out to them.

Lake Mutsu

Chrysanthemum Festival

Tanabata Festival

The red horse in the middle is a representation of a Hachinohe horse, or Yawata Uma. They are traditional carved wooden horses from Hachinohe in northern Japan. I've still the got the ones I got as a child, along with some carved wooden dolls and other keepsakes I have treasured.

Hirosaki Castle

See that door there on the end - that was our front door. I took this at the baseball diamond across the street from our quarters. I got my first camera when we lived in Japan and loved taking pictures. Adjacent to the baseball field was the flight line. I got to watch jets fly overhead when I played outside.

Please consider donating to the Red Cross. The victims of this disaster are going to need the world's support in the coming days, weeks, and months.