Saturday, May 31, 2008

Misc goings on

This house has been partially completed for years. Now it is finally being completed. The upper room is being completed for new tenants.


Many of the parking areas are getting new stripes.


A new duplex is being built close to where we live.


Taga beach...hard to believe the color is real!



There continues to be additional projects on Tinian-- construction, painting, sprucing-up, etc.


On Saturday we went to Taga beach with a few of the young kids living on Tinian. They enjoy the water like most kids, and put me to shame as they do flips off the rocks!


Today the color of the water was unusually brilliant.

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Construction Update

Road work on Broadway continues.


Flames trees are out!



A new adobe style house being built...no overhangs for the monsoon seasons...



This house is almost ready to move-in--just a few more odds and ends!




This small two bedroom house is also almost ready.




A new house started since I left for Utah.





A lot has been done while I was away in Utah! It is the time of year when the flame trees bloom (I missed the Flame Tree Festival while I was gone), although they don't seem to be quite as fully bloomed as last year.

None of the homes are completed yet--it always goes slower than one would think--but two are getting close to move-in status.

Another section of bricks are about to be laid on Broadway, and the new park and amphitheater are well on their way. The paper made an announcement that the main road through town would finally be reworked (it has been many years in getting to this point). This will be a real mess! They are putting new drainage lines, new roads, sidewalks, etc., right past all the government offices, the medical clinic, the schools and library, and several stores. They say that the work will take 260 days... It should be a long year...

Monday, May 26, 2008

Memorial day's end




A perfect end to a perfect day...

Memorial Day

The view east of the north lookout site.


View south from the north lookout site.


View to the north, the island of Saipan, fromt the north lookout site.

Turtle Cove, where the new casino will be built.



Terri and I at the north lookout point.

On one of our morning walks, we came across this procession from the local Catholic church. We have no idea what it was for...







Our friend Ramon (a chef at the Dynasty) told us about a new website that shows one of the new casinos that will be built on Tinian--not the one just started by Bridge Corp, but a second, larger casino that will be built right next to Turtle Cove, and right above what we call Spider Beach. It is a gigantic project with an 18-hole golf course. They will use Tinian Beach and Spider Beach for their guests. For those interested in seeing a fantastic video of the new project, go to:

http://thepulan.com/ (pulan is 'moon' in Chamorro).

With the Bridge Casino (the Tinian Ocean View Resort and Condominiums), that has already started building, and the Pulan, which will start in a year or so (the Bridge casino will be open in 2010, the Pulan, which is much larger, is supposed to open in 2011, a year later). The Dyansty has about 800 workers (it would have about 1200 if it were running at capacity). The Bridge Casino would have about the same. The Pulan would have to have almost double due to its size--perhaps 2,000 workers. This means that within three years the population would go from about 3,500 to about 8,000 people! This does not include the tourists visiting the island, or the ancillary businesses and their workers that will grow up around these casinos to support them! Then, there are still reports that the Marines will be invading the island--from 1,500 to 5,000 men and support personnel that will be on the north end of the island. This might take the population to over 10,000 people...all within 3 to 5 years! Wow! With all the construction, Terri will probably be very busy in the hospital...

Terri and I took a trip to the area to see where the new casino would go--it will really take up a huge area on the southwest part of the island, right next to the airport. Then I took Terri to a couple of places Liz and I had discovered but she had not seen: the Japanese village and the mountain overlook north of the airport. On the way my entire muffler system fell off! Fortunately, I had some bungee cords that I used to hold the muffler on while we came back. We had to put our rain gear on, as we went through a couple of local downpours: two large green monsters on bikes...

Tonight we will celebrate Memorial day by going for pizza!

In closing, we send our love and prayers to any and all military that might read this (including our son serving in Germany...). Your sacrifice and service does honor to you and your families. As we live on an island that was liberated through the deaths of thousands of men (Saipan and Tinian cost more lives than almost any other islands during the war), it is hard not to ponder the selfless sacrifices that have been given by men to bring freedom and liberty to the world.
The US has been receiving a lot of bad press lately, but anyone who knows history at all must recognise the unique and honorable position that the United States holds in the history of the world. It is the only major world power that has ever gone to war to liberate rather than conquer.

Think of the Babylonians, the Assyrians, Greece, Rome, etc. They conquered the world, subdued, and taxed the lands conquered. Even liberated England, in its heyday as a world power, used its influence to subjugate the people it ruled--South Africa, India, Asia, etc., were all under its power. Look at Russia after WWII--did they liberate Europe? Of course not! Like all superpowers before them, they subjugated the people.
If anyone questions the honor the United States holds in history, just compare what Russia did after WWII and what the US did...

The United States, had it followed the pattern of these world powers, would have control over most of Europe, Japan, the Philippines, etc. We have been in devastating wars and lost thousands of our sons, and in the end, we rebuilt those lands, established democracy, and then left them to rule themselves. This history is not in dispute! Now these same countries may rail against the US policies and government decisions, but they do so using the very freedom given them by the blood of the sons of America!

Now, I don't say this to presume that the US is always right, or that we do not or have not made mistakes over the years in dealing with people and countries. But taken as a whole, and viewing the course of human events in a little wider view than that of just a few years, the United States of American stands alone among the nations of history as a beacon of justice, liberty, and freedom of the human spirit. I honor those men who died to make this legacy possible, and those men who currently serve to preserve this freedom for us, and in very fact, for the world.

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Back home on Tinian

Our home in Utah



The view from the front door into the living room


The dining room


The kitchen



The new amphitheater being built


Joselito C. Lenteja and Hazel F. Lenteja and the new and improved Adriel Roy F. Lenteja!


I finally made it back home to Tinian. It is good to be back! So much has happened while I was in Utah working on 'the house Terri built' (I have provided pictures of the 'house Terri built' for those who wonder what it looks like...keep in mind that Terri built the entire house, with the exception of the concrete foundation and the brick/stucco work. Every piece of wood, every wire in the electrical system, every copper pipe for the water and heating system, etc., was put there by Terri, with some help from her family, of course!). Even though I saw her do it, it is hard to believe when you look at it...

The trip was mostly a success. We fixed and upgraded the home, and got new renters, as well as a new management company (that will hopefully do a better job 'maintaining' the house than the last company did). And I got to spend time with my father (now in his 80's), and my daughter Elizabeth (the one who visited Tinian and took pictures--more on that later); and time with my son Seth, his wife Meg, and my new grandson Joshua. Seth help me fix up the house--thank heaven he was there to help, as I would never have made it!

My apologies to many in Utah that I was not able to visit while I was there! I had planned to see a number of people while in Utah, but the work on the house took way longer than I had expected, and so I was not able to see very many people.


While I was gone, Terri and I became Godparents! Adriel Roy F. Lenteja was christened May 7th, and Terri and I were chosen to be among the 'secondary Godparents'. Quite an honor for the both of us!


Terri also received the honor of becoming an 'Adjunct Clinical Instructor' in Family/Emergency Medicine for Touro University of Nevada. They are thinking of sending some of their PA students to Tinian as part of their clinical rotations. Just another feather in Terri's hat--to add to all the other feathers she has obtained over the years!


I brought back to Tinian many of the pictures Liz took while visiting the island. We plan to make up some postcards and also put together a 'picture tour' book of Tinian. Many of the pictures will soon be on display at the medical clinic for people to see while there. I promise that you will be amazed by what you see--you will see your island Paradise as you have never seen it before! Liz has a way of looking at people and places, and can somehow capture the essence of them in her pictures. It is truly a gift!


Terri has been off call and off work the past few days (good timing for my return!), and we spent time swimming and took a long ride to the north side of the island. There are many changes that are happening here--the second casino has begun, a new amphitheater is being built, new businesses are opening, etc. It is a busy time for many here.


Now perhaps I can get back to writing...however, my computer seems to be destined for the trash heap, as Saipan could not fix it (they claim they could not even get it to malfunction, but of course, as soon as we turned it on, it crashed...). So I will be getting a new computer as soon as I can get one, and if this one ever gets fixed, we will donate it to someone here on Tinian.


I am patiently waiting for the final 'proof' of my new book to reach me here on Tinian (it was sent 2-day mail two weeks ago...), which, if I ever get, I can sign-off on and finally get books in hand! Another 'baby' is about to be born, after three years of work. Writing is a labor of love, but publishing is a trial of faith and patience!


That's it for now. More updates to come as I reconnect with Tinian...

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Nigh on Eventide

'Tis Sunday evening and the final week of separation for Kevan and me. I know that there are soldiers who read this blog and are separated from their loved ones for long periods of time. Not only do I salute you for your heroic and patriotic service, but I salute your families who are separated from you. I have lived with Kevan a long time - 32 years. A month has just about done me in.

The report is good I suppose. Most of the work at the house has been completed and we have renters for another year. And I survived. I did my own laundry, cooked for myself, paid a few bills, and still was able to get my work done as well.

I have learned, though, that is much easier to be part of a pair of yoked oxen rather than a single ox. I appreciate Kevan for all that he does for me and our children. He has wholeheartedly supported me in my return to school and my embarkation on this new career. Not only a new career - but a move to this paradise on the edge of the Pacific! I know that when we initially announced to our neighbors my return to school years ago, the response was always how wonderful Kevan was to support me in such an endeavor. Now, I must admit that I did take some offense at that reaction - after all, Kevan only had to accompany me on the move to school - I'm the one who had to do all the work. But in all fairness, I pulled him from a job that he loved and into one that was distinctly different with its own challenges. It was a lovely experience for the two of us. I had moved to support Kevan's job changes many times and I have to admit it was a fantastic feeling to have him do the same for me.

But all in all, Kevan's trip has reinforced my love for him and how much I enjoy being his friend. We have a lovely time together - a perfect match I suspect. I have 4 more days. Oh, they turned off the power on the island for 3 hours today, so he may just be coming back to a lack of power. Hope he's up for it!

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Finding joy in a material world

I am still in Utah, dealing with fixing-up and renting our home. Although we have a beautiful home in Utah, and although it served us well as Terri and I raised our children, now it seems as though it is just a burden--just something that is keeping me from being with Terri and away from Tinian.

I have always found material things to be as much a burden as a blessing--a necessary evil. Perhaps because I am a child of the sixties, when there was a great movement and rebellion against materialism... But then again, I have never felt as though I wanted to be a monk either: the blessings of having enough money to own a home and raise a family outweighed the problems that came with those things. Perhaps it all comes back to a moderation in all things, even in the material things of life.

There is a woman living on Tinian who has dedicated her life to serving others--a very noble and honored ideal. However, she, as well as the monks who have dedicated their lives to prayer, or anyone who has given up 'material' things to serve God or man still have to live. They still have to eat, have shelter, be healed when sick, etc. Who pays for those material gifts? If the person doesn't have the means, they must be given the means by others--others must work and concern themselves with 'material' things in order to give them the means by which they can serve others... Which is why there needs to be a ballance.

I have always admired and loved the doctrine taught by Buddha. It is a gentle and soul-satisfying doctrine. However, I believe he erred when he insisted that monks do no work and beg for their living--this did not solve the problems of dealing with material things, it simply passed the problem to others. If everyone was like the monks and begged for their food instead of working, who would grow the food to eat? You can see the problem.

That is why, in spite of how we might feel about the nobility of monks and those who give up their lives in service, that nobility needs to extend to all who aid them! They couldn't live and serve as they do without someone meeting their earthly needs. It is also why, in spite of how often money and material things bring problems into our lives, there is a nobility given to all who work (God commanded men to earn a living by the sweat of their brow). By working and becoming independent, and eventually earning enough to raise families and help others, we receive great blessings. Our independence gives us confidence and self-worth, our work blesses our family and others, and instead of being a burden to others, we are in a possition to lift and bless others.

So which is more noble? The monk who does good works, but must be fed and clothed by others; or the working man who supports the monk? Interesting...

Meanwhile... I continue to slave away in Utah, wishing I was back on Tinian with Terri. Such is life...

Sunday, May 4, 2008

Taking time to smell the roses

I wonder how many of the people living on Tinian take the time to stop and take in the beauty of the island, and to recognize how blessed they are to live where they do...

There is something transcendental about the quiet beauty of Tinian--it can bring peace to the soul and joy into the heart, if a person chooses to let it. Problems arise when the glamor of the 'outside world' creates a false sense of what is needed to be happy. Everyone wants to have enough money to live well and raise a family. And for some, living in the CNMI makes that difficult--which is why so many leave the islands to gain a better education and work opportunities. But everything we do has a cost, every act and decision we make has a consequence. The question becomes, is it worth it? By leaving the islands, or perhaps, by choosing not to return when one has the opportunity, is the life one 'buys' on the mainland worth what is lost from not living a quiet life on the islands? Just something to ponder...

I bring it up only because of how much Terri and I have come to love Tinian and the people living there--and in such a short time. We have had our share of problems, and questions, and are sometimes puzzled by the way things are done in the CNMI, but any negative issues and problems have been overwhelmed by the beauty of the island, the charm and kindness of the local people, and, for us, the quiet solitude Terri and I can experience together.

Being back on the mainland is a mixed blessing: it is a joy to see family and friends again, but it is also a chore--just something I am required to do until I can return to paradise. But this too shall pass.