Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Trukese Auto Shop

This is MJ's, Kyle's, & Lana's Parents' auto shop in Truk. It's fairly new, maybe four years running now, and staying very busy, especially since the roads in Truk are seemingly hopeless.











The mechanics at the shop have to be inventive and creative because resources are limited. Sometimes, they have to fabricate their own parts!







And instead of security cameras, there is a big window that lets MJ's Mom see everything that goes on in the shop from  the office/store.





Sometimes, business is dealt in the privacy of the deeper niches of the shop.





Niches where little chickens were hatched by light bulb incubation.





Niches where green bananas are ripened by the heat of the machines.




This is a thread maker, and according to MJ's Dad, is currently not working. Hmph, so much for my theory about the banana ripening niche.



 But as talented and ingenious as MJ's Dad is, somehow he'll make the whole thing work again with the use of these gadgets... watchamacallits.



 
"Yeah," MJ's Mom said. "This old broken generator will rise from its steely death one day."


That's the kind of magic that MJ's Dad can do in his auto shop.

Friday, March 11, 2011

Tsunami Warning

First off, my prayers and good will to all who live in Japan, including my niece Akiko and her parents who live in Nagoya. I heard the news about the horrific 8.9 magnitude earthquake in Japan early this morning. No blog post can outweigh the impact of this catastrophe.

I haven't heard from any of my family in Micronesia or the Philippines, or the Mainland west coast. I did get a message from one of the shipping lines that I work with.






I have a container that just left Tacoma, WA last weekend, headed for Guam. I wish Horizon Lines would send updates too.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Lessons At a Carwash