Saturday, February 7, 2009

MT FUJI

When we lived in Base Housing on Tachikawa Air Force Base we could see Mt Fujiyama from our front yard. Since "yama" means mountain in Japanese, Mount Fujiyama was redundant and Mt Fuji was how she was known to all. We became aware of the adage about Fuji after a while: A man who travels to Japan and does not climb Fujiyama is a fool. A man who climbs her twice is a bigger fool..

My parents climbed the mountain in 1956 as I have the climbing poles they used in my closet. The mountain is climbed by passing through various stations and at every station your climbing stick received a brand, showing that you had arrived there, and at the summit you received a final brand and a pennant to attach to the stick.

My father died in Vietnam in 1967 and my mother, who is 81, now lives in a nursing home.

Memories memories.

3 comments:

allan said...

Bill,

If you recall my first post to this blog, I said that you had really touched me. There is such a wonderful reality to your writing. You keep it short, but always find the right words.

JannieB said...

Bill,

Happy to see you are posting again. Our lives have taken a few similar paths. My husband (unknown to me until several years later) was stationed at the Minot AFB in the '60's. And my father's family is from Dover, DE.

Your posts are always so interesting and heartfelt. I have two friends and several acquaintances with MS and am fascinated, if that's the right word, with how this insidious diseases affects everyone so differently. One friend has relapsing/remitting episodes. The other has been on a steady, downhill spiral for the 16 years I've known her.

Every day is a challenge for all of you. I admire your courage.

JAN

PS - Thanks for mentioning Greene's blog on Rex's site. I became an instant fan. What an amazing community he has created!

Anonymous said...

I'll never forget Tachikawa AFB (1966-1969) they were the best part of my childhood. Glad to have found your post. Vi M.