Saturday, March 19, 2011

No nukes is good nukes

Have you seen tee shirt that says "I'm with the bomb squad. If you see me running, try to keep up"?

We've had loads of e-mails and phone calls over the last 10 days. People here and in the states are worried, especially about radiation coming off the Fukushima power plant. My husband is a public health expert. When I see him running, I'll keep up.

Here's a map of Japan (sans Okinawa) that shows all the U.S. facilities and the epicenter of the quake. Yokosuka is south of Tokyo and 176 miles from Fukushima.

Today, we heard the first stories of food contamination. I know the military can easily arrange food shipments from the states, so still, I'm not concerned. However, I am staying prepared for evacuation, as instructed. I am doing laundry daily, we are not buying perishables or any other foods, since our freezer is fully stocked, and our bags are packed.

Word from Fukushima is encouraging, but in the long term, I suppose it's anyone's guess. Our friends are leaving or sending their children stateside. Word has gone out that the school year would continue, but more than one of our friends have already gone because school was closed until further notice.

While I was sweating in the cardio room this morning at 7:20, an attendant came in to announce that the gym would be secured in 10 minutes. I had that much time to shower, dress, pack up my clothes and get out. Speculation around Allan's office was that it may be used for processing the hordes who would be evacuating.

According to Stars 'n' Stripes, 4083 dependents have signed up for travel assistance. That doesn't include people who took commercial flights. Over in the building where I teach English on Monday, it's business as usual. But the base population has diminished.

Tonight we had dinner with friends. It's a department custom to celebrate the completion of a large project with a beer after work. Allan finished the Ship Repair Facility report. He did the survey last June and finished the report Friday. A beer just wouldn't do, so we went to Watami, our favorite restaurant.

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