(place) by Lometa Tue Mar 27 2001 at 18:02:51

Well it's been a while since I've noded a daylog. I try to keep them positive hoping that one day my sons or their children will read them and recall fond and happy times and come to know a little more about their family history

This week Dad invited me to lunch at the Gourmet of China. My Uncle Charlie and Aunt Day Alva were in town and we were all very entertained as the young Korean waiter flirted shamelessly with my eightysomething year old aunt! Aunt Day related that she never could tell her dad (as strict Southern Baptist) how she got her first teaching job by dancing with a school principal and whispering in his ear as to how much she would like that position ...he whispered back, The job is yours. She was a governess for a family at the time and her employers had decided to teach her how to dance. Dad too told of how a friend of his had to sneak him out to a bar (the devil's workshop according to Grandpa!) and teach him a dance called I put my foot out if I recall the name correctly /msg me if you know the right name T'would make an interesting node:)

I had worn a pearl necklace surrounded by a tear drop strand of gold. Dad had given it to me as a young girl but I couldn't recall when. He smiled when I showed it to him and told us this story;

When I was stationed in Vietnam remember I got R&R and I met you in Hawaii. The week before I flew into Bangkok and picked out a piece of jewelry to give you for each of the seven days we'd be there. I gave you a fire opal which you claimed to be your favorite! This pearl, a princess ring ...I can't remember the rest, but about the third day I heard you and your sister whispering in the corner wondering if I was going to give you jewelry every day!

He laughed and smiled fondly as he told us all. He's not one to retell the horrors of war. He has only one picture of a plane that had been shot down, it was a KC-135 and he had friends who perished on it....other than that his pictures and stories are all about the culture and wonderful people of Vietnam. He would take Mountainyards and Vietnamese out of the war zones and told of how when nervous the Vietnamese women (so scared because they had never flown in an airplane!) would put a bit of something that smelled like oil of wintergreen on their fingers and rub it gently on their necks ..... and how this wonderful smell would fill the airplane when the doors closed up and they took off.

Back to Hawaii.....most of you might have seen Hawaii Five-O and the hotel they show in the opening song was the Illikai. (I've heard since it's been torn down, but not too sure) THAT'S where I got to stay ! It was wondrous and because a lot of military went on R&R there from the ummm ahem the Vietnam Conflict there were many celeberties there to entertain them. The first thing my nine year old self did upon checking into this glamorous place was back up from the front desk.... and fall kettle over teacup leaving a jumble of luggage in my wake. Suddenly a well tanned brown arm reached down and helped me to my feet the man laughed amiably asking if I had been hurt. What a goof I felt like I had plowed over Mr. Don Ho's luggage . Barbara Eden was there along with Larry Hagman doing a two part episode for I Dream of Jeannie. (you can still catch it in reruns) I could see them filming in the pool from our room so my sister and I spent some of our time swimming in a second pool which was quite unique. At the deep end, much to out girlish delight was a portal under the water. Imagine our surprise when we swam down there and looked in to see a man making funny faces at us! Of course our curiosity was peaked so we wandered through the hotel and found our funny spy was a bartender in an underground bar! (Where Don Ho was appearing oh my the poor man!) I told him I loved to watch I Dream of Jeannie so he said, Here's a secret....Barbara Eden gets her hair and make up done at 4:30 in the morning at the hotel beauty salon....and I hear she's a adores little girls. So I was up and with autograph book in hand intrepidly making my way down to the salon before daybreak. Miss Eden was just so very kindly and approachable and I was delightfully starstruck I can't even begin to recall what we talked about.... for the 30 minutes or so it was just her and I! We ended our visit with Dad at a luau on the beach. He left at the end of seven days to go back to Cam Ran Bay to finish his tour of duty and I went home to wait.....
The LORD said, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.
Isaiah 40 :15-16

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