Guest Writer Matt: Konichiwa Or Something Like That

This is from a friend of mine in Navy Intelligence. For security reasons, I have edited out a few details.

Hello all,

For those of you that don’t know, I’m now stationed on the USS XXXXXXX which is currently docked in Yokosuka, Japan. It’s 6:36 p.m. on Tuesday, here in Japan. For all of you in the eastern time zone it is 5:36a.m. on Tuesday. If you sleep on anything larger than a cot, you should fall to your knees in praise right now. My bed is roughly 6 ft long and 2 ft wide. If I make a 90 degree angle with my arm and put my tricep on my bed, my fingers touch the bed above me.

Steve Young doesn’t know anything about getting concussions until he spends one day on a ship. I hit my head on a variety of bars and pipes, which I believe are there for no other purpose than bodily harm, at least five times a day. You must be thinking, how hard can it be to dodge an object that doesn’t move. However, when you duck to avoid object A, object B cracks into the other side of you head. If you ever want to get me a gift, a helmet would be a wonderful idea. The weather is basically the same as it is in TN/MD right now. On a clear day I can see Mt. Fuji from the ship even though it’s three hours away. Traffic in Japan makes D.C. or Atlanta look like an open road. I’ve only been here since Satuday so I’ll spend my next few months doing qualifications and learning how to be a “real sailor”. I hope this email finds you in good health and good spirits. If any of you want to start a black market electronics underground railroad, just let me know. On a more serious note if there is anything Japanese under 100 bucks just say the word, and I’ll see what I can do. I’ve met a few people that are pretty cool, but most people aren’t exactly my “peers”.

I’d love to hear from you guys, at XXXXXX@hotmail.com. May God richly bless you all.