Before today, I did not know there was a car wash on Yokosuka Naval Base. The car got washed when it rained. On a day like today I'll just run out to it y le doy una lavadita with a wet cloth y en dos por tres she is good to go.
The common water sprinkler is not to be found sitting on any patch of grass in this part of Japan. There is no need for them. When the weather gods will it, and they've been inclined to do so every couple of weeks, the low dark clouds roll in from the Kanto Plain in the west or from the Pacific in the east and open up like a sieve. Soon we are all running around like wet cats. It is really the kind of climate ranchers have dreamed about in South Texas since the first cow was coaxed north of the Rio Grande.
My problem with this dream weather is that it is holding me captive on the base. Since Monday it's been wet and windy. Of course, the damp weather shouldn't be enough to hold me back. I could walk into town and explore, but then I'd be wrestling with my umbrella as if it were a mad dog at the end of a short leash. The wind gusts through the narrow streets as if they were wind tunnels. There are enough activities on base to occupy the time, but I am here on sabbatical and a quest of discovery. I need to be out there. My days in Japan are not infinite and they are falling from the calendar like the autumn leaves. This opportunity to explore the country will not last forever.
