No A/C

The powers-that-be on the base turned off the air-conditioning to all the townhouses, residential towers, and businesses. It's time to open the windows. From what I understand, they shut the A/C off after the first three consecutive cool days in fall. Problem is that today the thermometer reached 87 degrees. Too bad, they say. That's just the way it is. In the 19 years we lived in our home we never once opened the windows. Never. Look at us now. It's just like when I was a kid at the ranch. All that's missing are the yip yaps of the coyotes.

Walking around here in the evening is like strolling through a neighborhood from an earlier era. All the windows are open and family life is on display to the world. Almost every sound and kitchen smell is carried quite a ways in the still air. From the cries of a baby to someone sneezing, the sounds bounce off the towers like echoes in a canyon.

Melba and I went for a long walk tonight. The streets are clean and well lit, security patrols are ever present, no loose dogs to worry about, and there is almost no traffic to consider. There are some polished stone slabs along the bay front we sit on sometimes to watch the moving lights on the dark waters of Tokyo Bay. We sit there and look into the night to the east and think of home.