For Japan with Love

As a child, I spent a year living off-base (meaning: amongst the locals) in Iwakuni, Japan, from 1977 to 1978. I remember coming home in the summer of '78, pit-stopping in Hawaii to visit family. My aunt asked my brother and I what we wanted to do now that we were back in the states. I remember my brain nearing implosion because I couldn't decide if my desire for French fries was greater than my desire to see "Star Wars" (all the cool kids had totally already seen it). Happily, we stopped at McDonald's (amazingly, they didn't yet exist in Japan back then!) and took our fries and our chocolate shakes into the theater with us (you could do that too) and watched in awe as Obi Wan battled it out with Darth Vader, happily slurping away. It was a fabulous day, being home in America.

But we had many fabulous days in Japan. We did things and saw things and ate things that no one had EVER heard of before. You ate RAW FISH? You sat on the FLOOR to eat dinner? You had rice paper DOORS? In your HOUSE? What is that thing - a microwave? What's THAT? And you say this VHS thing records your TV? What?"

Yes, to all those wonderful things.  My dad still asks for things and says thank you in Japanese, you know, just when we're hanging around the house (keeps the ol' guy sharp, I guess). My family? We're elitist sushi snobs. We knew sushi before sushi had anything to do with America! So this tsunami and the death and destruction that have followed in it's wake is crushing in a very personal way. It's hard to see a place you once called home get annihilated.

So guess what? You can help. It's easy. The folks who bring you Utterly Engaged and Ever Ours have teamed up with Shelter Box USA for donations to help the victims of Japan. Click on the banner below to donate today! And keep reading because you can help in more ways than one!

Via Utterly Engaged:

For Japan With Love has a direct link on the website to the fundraising page for ShelterBox. ShelterBox was one of THE first organizations asked by Japan to help and were on hand on the Saturday after the quake.  Each large, green ShelterBox is tailored to a disaster but typically contains a disaster relief tent for an extended family, blankets, water storage and purification equipment, cooking utensils, a stove, a basic tool kit, a children’s activity pack and other vital items.

Please check it out and whatever you can contribute will be so appreciated.
—

Bloggers Day of Silence:

Anyone that has a blog can help out with this one.

The aim is just raise awareness and respect and acknowledge the devastation going on in Japan.

The guidelines are simple.
1.  This coming Friday, March 18th, no posts at all on your blog.
2.  Please post a blog post about what you will be doing this Friday whenever possible in hopes to spread the word and whoever else would like to join in
3. Tweet and Re-Tweet the shiznit out of the link to http://www.forjapanwithlove.com please.
4. Encourage your readers to contribute to donate shelter to Japan.
Whatever anyone can contribute will be appreciated.
Every little helps.

Feel free to ask other bloggers you like to join in on this.  Whatever impact we can make will be so awesome.

Whether you write or read blogs, or just happened to fall onto this website today, so something great and donate!

Comments

[Mego!]

Ok, so first off, ive been an admitted blogger follower for well over two years now. I got married last may and found your website during the planning phases. what can i say? im still hooked now. BUT what makes me love your blog even more now is the fact that you come from a military family. I am a newly navy wife and just appreciate the fact that you know what this lifestyle is really like, the ups and downs. anyways. that was it. im a fan who is now an even bigger fan!
praying for Japan.

[Louise]

Mego, I love the lurkers! :)
I know the trials and tribulations of the life of a Military Brat, but man, what the wives have to deal with? Y'all are my freakin' HEROES!