Notice: Function _load_textdomain_just_in_time was called incorrectly. Translation loading for the twentyfifteen domain was triggered too early. This is usually an indicator for some code in the plugin or theme running too early. Translations should be loaded at the init action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /chroot/home/a6f7779a/9d7429a5d9.nxcli.io/html/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6170 {"id":820,"date":"2016-11-23T13:26:31","date_gmt":"2016-11-23T19:26:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/frankdeleon.com\/?p=820"},"modified":"2016-11-23T13:26:31","modified_gmt":"2016-11-23T19:26:31","slug":"okinawa-part-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/frankdeleon.com\/?p=820","title":{"rendered":"Okinawa – Part One"},"content":{"rendered":"

Okinawa<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Part One<\/strong><\/p>\n

September-October 1965<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

A Bad Decision Gets Worse<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

When I broke the news to Sharon about my receiving orders to go to Okinawa unaccompanied, she barely batted an eye.\u00a0 Like me, she was so accustomed to bad news that when it arrived she accepted it like someone would accept the return of an old and annoying, but very familiar recurring ache.<\/p>\n

Even after I told her that after serving six months she and the boys would probably be able to join me after being assigned to military housing, her demeanor remained sullen and brooding.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere\u2019s the housing going to be?\u00a0 On the base?\u201d She asked, looking over my orders.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know, but I doubt that it would be on the base.\u00a0 The transportation officer told me that unless you\u2019re an officer or a senior NCO (non-commissioned-officer), housing would probably be located off-base.\u00a0 Somewhere in the surrounding village, or town, or whatever.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh great.\u00a0 What language do they speak over there, anyway?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, I don\u2019t really know\u2026maybe Japanese?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWonderful.\u201d She said sarcastically, handing me back my stack of orders.\u00a0 \u201cYou expect the boys to grow up around a bunch of foreigners who don\u2019t even speak English?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I don\u2019t know.\u00a0 Maybe it would be a good experience for them to get to know people from another culture.\u201d\u00a0 She stared at me hatefully.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust like you to make things sound so cheery.\u00a0 Do what you want, I don\u2019t care.\u201d\u00a0 And she walked away from me to go into the kitchen.<\/p>\n

I wasn\u2019t in the mood to argue or to try to convince her to look at this in a positive light.\u00a0 Ever since our near fatal encounter our relationship had understandably reached a new low and nothing I did could change that now.<\/p>\n

Violent arguments between us had ensued a few days following that incident, after which we had both retreated to our respective corners to lick our wounds, renew our resentments, and plan new verbal attacks on each other.\u00a0 Soon we both tired of exchanging the same old accusations and issuing the same old threats so we finally both just gave up.<\/p>\n

It had been weeks since we\u2019d effectively communicated with each other\u2014and any affection that we\u2019d once felt for each other was now just a wistful memory.\u00a0 We went through our daily rituals like zombies, each of us playing the role of victim, and whenever the occasion arose heaping loads of culpability on each other.<\/p>\n

Shortly after the incident at the gas station I called Billy and told him what I\u2019d seen.\u00a0 I issued an ultimatum\u2014insisting that if he didn\u2019t fire Randall I would quit.\u00a0 He was sympathetic, but in the end refused to fire Randall.\u00a0 His reasoning was that regardless of what he\u2019d done with my wife, it was my problem; and anyway, Randall\u2019s job performance was still satisfactory.\u00a0 I told him to prepare my final paycheck as I would not be returning.<\/p>\n

Later that day I spoke to John and told him I would not be playing with the band any longer.\u00a0 He said that without me they would have to break up because I was his lead vocalist and there was no way he could find a replacement in time for our future booked gigs.\u00a0 I apologized but insisted that my decision was final and used my pending reassignment as the reason.\u00a0 The truth was that although we desperately needed the money I could no longer stand working at the gas station and I had suddenly lost all desire to play my guitar and sing music.<\/p>\n

Further, I was still hugely resentful of Sharon\u2019s behavior with Randall, and it felt as if a dagger was being driven through my heart every time my memory replayed the scene that I and my friends had witnessed that night at the gas station.\u00a0 What hurt the most was not what she did–I deserved that; it was that she chose to take my sons along when she did it.\u00a0 I felt that at least Ricky was old enough to understand what was going on.<\/p>\n

At work at the Air Force detachment, I pretty much stopped speaking to anyone unless it was mission related.\u00a0 Every time I caught one of my coworkers eyeing me surreptitiously while taking a break, the shame and embarrassment rose in me, and unless I was working the radar I would wordlessly just get up and leave.<\/p>\n

Of course, in Sharon\u2019s eyes it was me and my bad habits, one of which was not staying home and behaving like a faithful husband, as the prime cause that had forced her to seek comfort and understanding in the arms of another man.<\/p>\n

And, of course, she was right.<\/p>\n

I was racked with guilt, anger, and regret, and just couldn\u2019t figure out what I could do to right our sinking ship.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

So if there weren\u2019t already enough problems affecting our relationship, one bright sunlit morning, a new one arose\u2014this one regarding the legal ownership of our Dodge Dart.<\/p>\n

When I\u2019d bought the car from Lou Werner he\u2019d promised that he\u2019d mail me the registration and a copy of the title as soon as the loan went through at the bank.\u00a0 He\u2019d suggested that I transfer my Texas plates from the Chevy that we\u2019d traded in for the Dart, and when they expired I\u2019d have the Kansas paperwork, so all I would have to do was to register the car and get my Kansas plates.<\/p>\n

Well, I did get the payment book from the Empire State Bank in Kansas City in about a week, but the rest of the paperwork never arrived.\u00a0 I tried to contact Lou several times by phone but all my calls had gone unanswered.<\/p>\n

Changing my tactics, I started making repeated calls to the bank, asking and leaving messages for the Auto Loan officer whose name was on the coupon book.\u00a0 They also went unanswered and unreturned.\u00a0 In time, and with my hectic lifestyle, I gave up and soon put the whole issue out of my mind.\u00a0 Besides, I recall thinking, my Texas plates were still valid so unless I wanted to sell the car I wouldn\u2019t need to have proof of registration.<\/p>\n

But now, with my impending departure from the states to a foreign destination, I suddenly realized that I couldn\u2019t do anything with the car without the proper paperwork.\u00a0 Sharon had stated that she wanted to go back to Nevada to live close to her mother and sisters during my deployment, and if she took the car there my Texas plates would expire within months.\u00a0 That would leave her with an unregistered and non-titled car, with no legal way to get either.<\/p>\n

In a near panic I put a renewed effort into contacting Mr. Werner and\/or the bank loan officer but had no luck with either.\u00a0 Almost out of options, I suggested to Sharon that we\u2019d just have to show up at the bank in person without an appointment and confront the loan officer, demanding that he produce and deliver the required paperwork.<\/p>\n

After discussing our limited options, one of the few times we actually communicated, I told Sharon that we would just have to take a trip into Kansas City and pay a visit to the bank.\u00a0 So, on a Wednesday I took the day off work, and after leaving the boys with Hilda, we set out for the drive to the Empire State Bank of Kansas City.\u00a0 On the drive up, we were absentmindedly listening to a local station on our car radio when the music was interrupted by a news bulletin.\u00a0 The name, \u201cLou Werner\u201d immediately caught our attention.<\/p>\n

We listened with rapt interest as the announcer stated that a \u2018Mr. Lou Werner, from Kearney, Missouri, had just been arrested by the FBI at his home and charged with multiple federal counts of interstate motor vehicle fraud and embezzlement of bank funds\u2019.\u00a0 Along with Lou and other bank employees, the Executive Vice President, Ben Leimgruber, was also under suspicion for conspiracy to defraud, embezzlement, money laundering, and racketeering.\u00a0 Some other names were also mentioned, but by that time we were both almost in shock due to what we were hearing.<\/p>\n

The announcer breathlessly declared that the bank was presently being raided and would be closed until further notice, pending a federal investigation.\u00a0 Further, he said, the FBI had suggested that anyone having any auto loan dealings with this bank should immediately retain legal counsel to determine the legality of the ownership of any vehicle purchased or financed through promissory notes through this bank.\u00a0 The announcer then resumed the music program, but not before assuring his listeners that any further updates would be made as soon as they were received.<\/p>\n

Sharon and I looked at each other with genuine surprise.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou think that means us?\u201d she asked innocently.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would say that it means us for sure,\u201d I responded, now looking for the nearest freeway exit to reverse our route.<\/p>\n

\u201cShit!\u201d Sharon spit out.\u00a0 \u201cIf we can\u2019t get a title or a registration for the car, what are we going to do?\u00a0 We can\u2019t drive this thing to Nevada without some type of legal ownership\u2014that\u2019s for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLet me think about it.\u00a0 Although we don\u2019t have the money, I\u2019ll have to see about hiring a lawyer, I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow\u2019re we gonna do that?\u00a0 Of course, we don\u2019t have any money, and we sure as hell don\u2019t know any lawyers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since we were already almost into the city, I suggested that we continue towards the bank just to see what was going on.<\/p>\n

As we turned the corner where the bank was situated, we noticed no real activity outside.\u00a0 We found a parking space on the curb and decided to walk to the bank to see if we could still talk to the loan officer.\u00a0 When we approached and pulled on the large front doors, we discovered that they were locked.\u00a0 Peering through the glass we noticed a lot of activity inside the bank, but none of the people milling around seemed to be customers.\u00a0 Most of them were male, dressed in dark suits and white shirts.<\/p>\n

Walking back to our car I happened to notice a small office at the end of the block with a sign that announced, \u201cLaw Office\u201d.\u00a0 Looking at each other we shrugged and silently decided to go on in.<\/p>\n

The office was small, wood paneled, and there was no receptionist at the empty front desk. Three of the four wooden chairs were lined up against one wall, but our interest was centered on a closed frosted glass door at the back of the office with black lettering that said \u201cPrivate\u201d.<\/p>\n

Before we had a chance to decide whether one of us should venture forth and knock on the door, it opened, and a small mustachioed man wearing a brown vest and tie came walking out.<\/p>\n

\u201cHi!\u201d He said cheerfully.\u00a0 \u201cHow can I help you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell\u2026\u201d I stuttered, \u201cI don\u2019t know if you can, but I\u2019d like to ask you a couple of questions, if that\u2019ll be OK.\u201d<\/p>\n

He eyed us as he approached and I noticed that he was walking with a very perceptible limp.\u00a0 It seemed that his right leg was significantly shorter than his left.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, that depends on the question, doesn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes sir, I guess it does.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOK, ask away.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell,\u201d I started out, and pulled the bank\u2019s coupon book from my back pocket. \u201cWe bought this car\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh God!\u201d he said, suddenly reaching out and snatching the book out of my hands. \u201cDon\u2019t tell me\u2014you got a loan from that bank.\u201d\u00a0 He pointed in the direction of the Empire State Bank, \u201cOn a car, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes sir, we did.\u201d<\/p>\n

He took the coupon book from me and leafed through it.\u00a0 \u201cIs this all you got?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes sir.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo other paperwork, forms, things like that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo sir.\u00a0 I did sign some forms but I didn\u2019t get copies because we were told they\u2019d be mailed to us.\u00a0 They never were.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFigures.\u00a0 OK, come on in and tell me the whole story.\u201d\u00a0 He turned and limped back to the office from where he\u2019d emerged.\u00a0 \u201cTim Fogerty\u2019s the name!\u00a0 Attorney at law!\u201d\u00a0 He stopped just as he crossed the door\u2019s threshold.\u00a0 \u201cAnd you are\u2026\u201d\u00a0 He squinted at the coupon book. \u201cFrank DeLe\u00f3n!\u00a0 Right?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes sir.\u201d Sharon, following close behind, almost ran into me as I came to a sudden halt.\u00a0 Fogarty stretched his hand out and shook mine enthusiastically.<\/p>\n

\u201cCome on in and entertain me!\u201d He turned and limped back behind a large wooden desk, strewn with papers all over its surface.\u00a0 \u201cYou and that pretty lady pull up a couple of chairs.\u201d<\/p>\n

We sat down and waited patiently as he leafed through the coupon book, squinting through a pair of rimless spectacles that he\u2019d had resting on his head.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t say here anything about a car.\u00a0 It just says you owe the bank sixty-dollars a month for twenty months.\u00a0 Is that right?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes sir.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, no other paperwork, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo sir.\u00a0 Like I said before, I signed some papers when I bought the car but never got copies.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHmm.\u00a0 Typical.\u00a0 OK, before we go any further I will require a retainer of one-hundred dollars if you want me to represent you!\u00a0 You got that much?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell\u2026no sir.\u00a0 Not on me.\u00a0 But I can write you a check.\u00a0 That is\u2026if you don\u2019t cash it until next Monday.\u00a0 That\u2019s when I get paid.\u201d<\/p>\n

He looked up from the book and pushed his glasses down to the end of his nose.\u00a0 Looking over the lenses, he said, \u201cYou don\u2019t have the money now?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo sir, sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOK, tell you what.\u00a0 It\u2019ll take me about that long to figure out what\u2019s going on here, so I\u2019ll trust you.\u00a0 Start writing the check. \u00a0I got a pen here somewhere.\u201d\u00a0 He pushed papers back and forth on his messy desk until he found a fat black fountain pen.\u00a0 \u201cAh, here it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

While I was writing out the check, he got up and pulled a large volume from an oak bookshelf on the back wall.\u00a0 Leafing through the onion-skin-like pages he pushed the glasses back up his nose.\u00a0 Finding what he was looking for, he slipped a paper marker on the page, closed the book and wrinkled his brow.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat kind of car is it?\u201d He mumbled.<\/p>\n

\u201cUh, it\u2019s a 1962 Dodge Dart.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBlue? Big engine? Fat tires?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes sir.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHumph, same old gig.\u00a0 Son, he sold you an old police car.\u00a0 That\u2019s what he did.\u201d\u00a0 He peered up over his glasses.\u00a0 \u201cDidn\u2019t he?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes sir, he did.\u00a0 We found that out later.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYup.\u00a0 Who was it?\u00a0 A guy named Eddie?\u00a0 Eddie Robbins?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo sir, Lou.\u00a0 Lou Werner, out of Kearney, Missouri.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHa!\u00a0 That\u2019s what he told you his name was!\u00a0 Dollar to a donut it was Eddie Robbins.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, never you mind for now.\u00a0 Let me look at this and do a little investigating, and I\u2019ll get back to you.\u00a0 In the meantime, and for now, I\u2019ll need you to fill out some paperwork that\u2019ll assign me as your attorney.\u00a0 And I\u2019ll be sure to give you copies before you leave.\u201d<\/p>\n

After filling out several forms he stood up and ushered us out of the small office.\u00a0 \u201cIt shouldn\u2019t take me too long to see what you\u2019ve gotten yourself into, and how I can get you out of it.\u00a0 I\u2019ll call you in a couple of days.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you very much, sir.\u00a0 We really appreciate it!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHell boy, don\u2019t thank me now.\u00a0 I don\u2019t even know if your check is good.\u00a0 And if it ain\u2019t I may have to sue you to get my hundred dollars, eh?\u201d\u00a0 He slapped me on the back.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t think that was funny.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh no!\u00a0 I\u2019ll make sure the money\u2019s in the bank on Monday.\u00a0 Honest.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll see.\u00a0 Now, here\u2014take my card so you\u2019ll know who to say\u2019s representing you if that should ever come up.\u00a0 And, lastly, if anyone from the bank contacts you and starts asking questions, the first thing I want you to do is get my card and give them my name and phone number.\u00a0 Do not\u2026and I repeat\u2026do not answer any questions or volunteer any information.\u00a0 From here on out I\u2019ll do all the talking for you.\u00a0 Understand?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes sir.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd that includes the FBI.\u00a0 Of course, if they contact you I want you to call me ASAP!\u00a0 You got that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes sir.\u201d\u00a0 That frightened me, and I could tell Sharon was also shocked.\u00a0 At the mention of the FBI she reached out and grabbed my hand.\u00a0 When I squeezed her hand gently she just as quickly pulled it back.<\/p>\n

OK, now off with you.\u00a0 I got me some work to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

He escorted us out the door, and we walked back out into the blazing sunshine.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

The call came on Friday while I was at work.\u00a0 I walked into the break room and picked up the receiver laying on the table next to the phone\u2019s base.<\/p>\n

\u201cHello?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFrank?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is Fogarty\u2026your attorney!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes sir!\u201d\u00a0 My heart jumped and skipped a couple of beats.<\/p>\n

\u201cOK, so before I start, are you somewhere private?\u00a0 I don\u2019t want this call being overheard.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes sir, it\u2019s OK.\u00a0 I\u2019m in a break room but there\u2019s no one here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOK then, here\u2019s part of what I found.\u00a0 Do you own land in Pawhuska, Oklahoma?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPaw\u2026what?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPawhuska, Oklahoma!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo sir!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHumph, I didn\u2019t think so.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cExcuse me sir, but what does that have to do with my car?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything son, it has to do with just about everything!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t understand.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, it\u2019s pretty complicated and I can\u2019t go over this completely on the phone.\u00a0 Can you come into the office this afternoon?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSure!\u00a0 Does my wife need to be there also?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo son.\u00a0 Just you.\u00a0 This is all about you.\u00a0 See you\u2026say\u2026around four?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUh, sure.\u00a0 I\u2019ll be there.\u201d<\/p>\n

I called Sharon to tell her what the attorney had said.\u00a0 She didn\u2019t seem too impressed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI should be home around five or six.\u00a0 I hope this turns out to be good news.\u201d I told her.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever\u2026\u201d was her response, and she hung up.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

\u201cHere\u2019s what the scam was.\u201d Fogarty said, pulling a chair close to mine and throwing a stack of papers on his already messy desk.\u00a0 \u201cThis guy Eddie, or Lou\u2026borrowed twelve-hundred dollars in your name from the Empire State Bank, and leveraged the loan against some real property that you allegedly own, or owned, in Pawhuska, Oklahoma.\u00a0 Then he pocketed the money and pretty much just gave you that car.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u00a0 OK, so that\u2019s the money that was financed for the car.\u00a0 So, then when I pay back the loan in full, the car will be legally mine?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUm, not so fast.\u00a0 He gave you a 1962 Dodge Dart that he bought for two-hundred and fifty dollars from the Kansas State Police at auction.\u00a0 Only problem is, that car had a salvage title that expired thirty days after he bought it.\u00a0 He was supposed to part out that car\u2026that is tear the car down and sell it for parts.\u00a0 Once it was all parted out, it would no longer exist.\u00a0 So, the car you\u2019re driving now does not exist on any tax rolls, or registration lists.\u00a0 It\u2019s a ghost.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, most likely after he bought it he just had a body shop do some cosmetic work on the car for maybe a couple of hundred dollars\u2014you know taking off the red light, the antenna\u2026stuff like that, then spruced it up for sale and tried to get rid of it before the thirty days was up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh yeah.\u00a0 That\u2019s what the service guy told us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cService guy?\u00a0 Look, tell me\u2014have you had any trouble with the car?\u00a0 Mechanical trouble?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, yes.\u00a0 Shortly after we bought the car the transmission blew up and I had to get it replaced for six hundred dollars.\u00a0 That\u2019s how I found out it was an ex-police car.\u00a0 The guy who replaced the transmission told me so.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, there you go.\u00a0 Sold you a real bill of goods, he did.\u00a0 Did that Lou guy offer to make good on the repairs?<\/p>\n

\u201cNo sir.\u00a0 I could never reach him again by phone, and I didn\u2019t want to have to drive all the way to Kearney and find that he was not home.\u00a0 So, we just kind of absorbed the expense.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou had six hundred dollars to blow on a car that you\u2019d just financed for twelve hundred?\u00a0 Excuse me son, but that don\u2019t make any sense.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I\u2019d just reenlisted in the Air Force a week before the car broke down, and when the car broke down, I had to spend all my reenlistment money on the transmission.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy God!\u00a0 That\u2019s sad.\u00a0 Anyway look, here\u2019s the rest of the story.\u00a0 He and his buddies at the bank cooked the books to show that the twelve-hundred-dollar loan was written up as a chattel mortgage, securing the loan, the twelve hundred, with that same property in Oklahoma.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo now the bank has paid out the money as a personal loan secured by a chattel mortgage in your name, on the property that you don\u2019t own in Oklahoma.\u00a0 And that money was immediately pocketed by Billy, or Lou.\u00a0 Since there was no mention of a car in any of the paperwork, and the loan was written up as a chattel mortgage that you signed off on, you are out a car, and<\/strong> twelve-hundred dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, and the best part is this: The payments you\u2019re making every month to pay off the loan are going directly into an account co-owned by Lou, or Billy, or whatever he\u2019s calling himself now, and the loan officer at the bank.\u00a0 On the bank\u2019s books, the loan is probably delinquent and a lien will be issued, if it hasn\u2019t already, against the property in Oklahoma that you don\u2019t own.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, when I bought the car a loan was made in my name based on property that I supposedly owned\u2014and that money was split by Lou and the bank guy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRight!\u00a0 That\u2019s the first part of the scam.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOK, so now when I pay my monthly sixty bucks, that payment is going to the same two guys?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cExactly!\u00a0 You were sold an almost worthless car, with no title or registration for twelve hundred dollars, which was pocketed\u2014and now you\u2019re paying another twelve hundred dollars to the same two guys for the car.\u00a0 Bottom line is that they made twenty-four hundred dollars on a car that they bought for a couple of hundred dollars at a police auction.\u00a0 And so, the best part, or worst part, depending on your take\u2014is that the loan at the bank is not being paid off by anyone.\u00a0 But because the loan is so small they\u2019re counting on getting all the money from you before the bank notices.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I think what\u2019s probably going on is that they\u2019re putting your sixty-dollar payments into an escrow account at the bank\u2014that way if the scam is noticed before you pay off the loan, they can produce the money if asked.\u00a0 Chances are they were betting that no one would notice until you paid your last payment.\u00a0 Then, they would\u2019ve absconded with the money and say you never made any payments.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happens when the bank finds out no one is paying back the twelve hundred dollars?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, the bank will send you a letter demanding you pay back the loan or they\u2019ll place a lien on your property in Oklahoma.\u00a0 By the time the bank figures out that you don\u2019t have any property in Oklahoma, they\u2019ll file papers on you, demanding you pay back the loan plus penalties and interest.\u00a0 If you don\u2019t, then then they\u2019ll threaten a lawsuit or even jail for defrauding them.\u00a0 One of those papers you signed probably had you verifying that you were putting that property up as collateral.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh God.\u00a0 So, I guess the best thing for me to do is to stop paying the monthly payment and come clean with the bank.\u00a0 But then, what do I do with the car?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhoa!\u00a0 Not so fast!\u00a0 You, I\u2019m afraid are not off the hook.\u00a0 Because the original loan of twelve hundred dollars was taken from the bank\u2014and because you signed a chattel mortgage in the amount of twelve hundred dollars with the promise to make twenty payments of sixty dollars\u2014you are still required to make payments\u2014regardless!\u00a0 That\u2019s the only thing that may save you in the long run\u2014proving you\u2019ve made goodwill payments all the while and have not tried to defraud anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut\u2026the payments I\u2019m making are for the car!\u00a0 And the bank\u2019s not getting the money!\u00a0 So, if I don\u2019t own the car, and the money is not going to the bank, and I can\u2019t get the car titled or registered, then why should I continue to make payments?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, the bank won\u2019t care about any of that.\u00a0 See, they are out twelve hundred dollars\u2014taken from them under fraudulent conditions.\u00a0 Now, the guys responsible are probably going to go to jail\u2026or their case will drag on for years in the courts\u2026and the bank will not wait that long for their money.\u00a0 The easy fix for the bank is to turn to you and have you continue to make payments on this chattel mortgage.\u00a0 You have about six or seven hundred dollars left on the note, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, something like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, at least the bank will think that they will recover that much of the original twelve-hundred-dollar loss.\u00a0 They won\u2019t care that you have a car that has no title and ain\u2019t worth spit. That\u2019s not their problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

I sat there staring at the stack of papers without really seeing them.\u00a0 I was crushed and didn\u2019t know what to say.<\/p>\n

Finally, Mr. Fogarty reached out and put his hand on my shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m going to tell you something, but if ever asked I will deny that this conversation ever took place.\u00a0 Understand?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2026I think so.\u201d<\/p>\n

He pushed his spectacles up onto his head and pulled his chair even closer to mine.\u00a0 \u201cIf this were me\u2026that is, if I were in your situation\u2026this is what I would do.\u00a0 First, stop making any more payments.\u00a0 It\u2019s going to take the bank months, if not years, before they get to the bottom of this.\u00a0 By the time they figure out the chattel mortgage thing and tie it to you, you should be long gone.\u00a0 You\u2019re in the service so I\u2019m sure you\u2019ll be reassigned somewhere in the next year or so.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, as a matter of fact, I\u2019m being transferred to Okinawa in October.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPerfect!\u00a0 You won\u2019t even be in the U.S.\u00a0 How long you gonna be gone?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cProbably a couple of years\u2026maybe three.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, there you go!\u00a0 That\u2019s your out.\u00a0 OK, the second thing I would do is drive that car somewhere secluded, and leave it.\u00a0 Take all your possessions out of it and walk away.\u00a0 Whenever it\u2019s found the police will run the VIN, but they\u2019ll find nothing\u2014because there\u2019s no title.\u00a0 That will also take a long time for anyone to figure out, and by the time they do you\u2019ll be out of the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut what if they find me and file some kind of charges for me to face when I come back to the U.S.?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll that takes money, son.\u00a0 And a lot of time and effort.\u00a0 For six hundred dollars, the bank will likely just drop the matter in the end.\u00a0 Besides, they\u2019ll have the car, once they figure out that they do.\u00a0 Besides, they\u2019ll have bigger fish to fry, believe me.\u201d<\/p>\n

I walked out of Mr. Fogarty\u2019s office even more confused and more depressed than ever.\u00a0 So now I was out another hundred dollars that I couldn\u2019t afford to lose; the car I was driving didn\u2019t belong to me even though I\u2019d been making payments on it faithfully; and, now I would end up with no car for my wife to use when I left for Okinawa.\u00a0 On the drive home, I thought to myself, \u2018If I\u2019d just kept the Chevy none of this would be happening.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

I was depressed and confused and truly embarrassed.\u00a0 Sitting in the car I decided that what I didn\u2019t want to do was to go home and face Sharon.\u00a0 So I didn\u2019t go home, but I should have.\u00a0 Instead I made a rash and most unfortunate decision that had to rank as one of the worst decisions of my life.<\/p>\n

I headed for the Anchor Inn.<\/p>\n

As soon as I walked in Butch must\u2019ve seen that I was not in much of a mood.\u00a0 He waved me over to a corner of the bar and poured me a scotch and water.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s up kid? Feeling OK?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot really\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWanna talk about it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGot it.\u00a0 As soon as you\u2019re ready I\u2019ll pour you another one.\u00a0 You look like you really need it, so it\u2019s on the house.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks.\u201d<\/p>\n

After having three or four drinks in quick succession, instead of feeling better, my mood darkened even more.\u00a0 One minute I was angry, the next I was full of sorrow.\u00a0 Thinking that the more I drank, the better I would feel was not working out for me.<\/p>\n

After pouring me yet another scotch Butch pulled up a stool and put his arm around me.<\/p>\n

\u201cOK son, listen.\u00a0 I know it\u2019s none of my business, but I heard about what went on with your wife and that guy at the station, and I can only imagine how you feel.\u00a0 That had to be a rough deal for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not just that Butch.\u00a0 There\u2019s a lot of shit happening that really has me down right now, and I just can\u2019t figure a way out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, for what it\u2019s worth, I know that you\u2019re also being transferred and having to move your family to Nevada, and I know that\u2019s really weighing down your mind.\u00a0 But look son, this isn\u2019t the end of the world.\u00a0 You\u2019ll pop back up again.\u00a0 Shit, look at me: three fucking ex-wives, a stint in the Navy brig, and see where I landed.\u00a0 It could be a lot worse.\u201d<\/p>\n

That didn\u2019t make me feel any better.<\/p>\n

\u201cOK, look on the bright side: you won\u2019t be stuck out in the middle of the fucking prairie anymore.\u00a0 You\u2019ll have a whole new country to explore and a lot of those geisha girls to chase while you\u2019re there!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cButch, I know you\u2019re trying to cheer me up, but what I need right now is some quiet and more scotch.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOK, coming up.\u00a0 Sorry, just trying to cheer you up.\u201d\u00a0 And he heaved his huge frame off the stool heading for the other side of the bar.<\/p>\n

Later, a few more of my friends wandered into the bar and headed over to greet me.\u00a0 That was not what I needed, nor was it what I wanted.\u00a0 I asked Butch what I owed him and he just waved his hand dismissively.\u00a0 I walked back into the cool Kansas evening, shading my eyes against the quickly sinking autumn sun and got back into my car.<\/p>\n

I sat there for a while wondering what I should do next.\u00a0 But what I really wanted to do was to go home and hold my wife tightly, tell her how much I loved her, and more than anything else, beg for her forgiveness.\u00a0 I wanted to assure her that as hurt as we both were, our love would help us get through this very rough patch, and even though I was leaving, I was going to do everything in my power to bring her and the boys to Okinawa.\u00a0 But deep in my heart I knew that all this was way too late\u2014and that thought made me sadder still.<\/p>\n

Firing up the engine, I turned the car towards I-35 north and headed for Kansas City.<\/p>\n

After parking the car, I made the rounds\u2014visiting the clubs where my friends, Joy and I had spent a lot of time and money.\u00a0 Instead of feeling better listening to some of my favorite musicians and seeing the people there laughing, dancing, and having a good time, I descended into a much deeper and darker place.<\/p>\n

Sometime in the late evening, or very early morning, I found myself back in the car, racing south on the freeway heading back to Gardner.\u00a0 I\u2019d never opened the car up to its full potential, and noticing that there was very little traffic, I thought this would be a great time to do that.\u00a0 After all, I thought, in a few days I\u2019d be gone, and the car would be on its way back to the bank.\u00a0 So\u2026why not?<\/p>\n

I reached down and found the lap belt that the Kansas State Police had installed in all their vehicles, and secured it around my lower waist.\u00a0 I heard the reassuring click as the buckle on the right belt locked onto the metal tongue of the left.<\/p>\n

Just after the College Street exit the freeway straightened itself out and became three lanes of unimpeded gray concrete a full three miles until the Santa Fe Street overpass.\u00a0 I pushed the accelerator all the way down to the floor.\u00a0 The four hundred and thirteen cubic-inch Ramcharger engine instantly responded with a deep-throated roar and I was violently pushed back into the seat.<\/p>\n

A few seconds went by and I noticed that the front fenders and hood were beginning to vibrate.\u00a0 I glanced at the speedometer and saw it nudging past the 100 MPH mark.\u00a0 Since it only went to 120 MPH, it was my intention to pin it there and see how much faster the car would continue to accelerate past that mark.<\/p>\n

A type of euphoria filled my chest, and for a few moments I felt almost invincible.\u00a0 Even though the steering wheel felt extremely light and the car was hardly responding to even moderate pressure left and right, I felt absolutely no fear of losing control.<\/p>\n

In what seemed seconds, I saw the Santa Fe Street overpass come into view in the distance\u2014its illuminated elevated guard rails shimmering against a backdrop of total darkness.\u00a0 That\u2019s when I noticed the huge circular concrete pillars supporting the overpass.<\/p>\n

There were three sets.\u00a0 One set to the right side of the three southbound lanes, the second set to the left of the northbound lanes, and the third set directly in the middle of the overpass rising from the grassy center median separating the northbound from the southbound lanes.<\/p>\n

A wispy thought, in the form of a question and articulated by a soft dark voice rose up into my consciousness from somewhere deep in my mind:<\/p>\n

Do you know what would happen if you aim the car directly at the set of pillars on the right side of the freeway?\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

Without a discernable pause and not waiting for me to answer, the response arrived:<\/p>\n

Why, everything would just go black, that\u2019s what.\u00a0 And all you know, and all you fear would just cease to exist.\u00a0 That\u2019s what would happen.<\/em><\/p>\n

Then, another question\u2014this one from a lighter voice\u2014my conscience.<\/p>\n

But, then what would happen to me?<\/em><\/p>\n

Nothing.\u00a0 <\/em>The dark voice answered.\u00a0 Peace and quiet, and eternal darkness.\u00a0 No more pain.\u00a0 No more regret.\u00a0 Peace, forever.<\/em><\/p>\n

Yes\u2026peace.\u00a0 And forgiveness?\u00a0 <\/em>The light voice asked.<\/p>\n

Of course, forever and ever.<\/em><\/p>\n

Then, my own mind\u2019s voice interceded.\u00a0 \u201cBut, what about my wife and my boys?\u00a0 What will happen to them?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ah, them.\u00a0 They\u2019ll finally be released from your destructive influence, <\/em>the dark voice answered self-assuredly, and they will be looked after by others who are certainly more worthy than you.\u00a0 So don\u2019t worry\u2014just turn the wheel a bit to the right and the peace you desperately seek will come.<\/em><\/p>\n

Then, quiet.<\/p>\n

I recall marveling at just how quickly the gray concrete pillar was moving towards the front of my car.\u00a0 I glanced to the right and my headlights illuminated the edge of the emergency lane and then a bed of soft gravel.<\/p>\n

The roar of the engine and a deep rumbling as the tires on the right side of the car dug into the gravel jerked my attention back to reality.<\/p>\n

\u201cNOOO!!\u201d I heard myself scream.\u00a0 \u201cNO!\u00a0 NOT THIS WAY!!!\u201d<\/p>\n

And I jerked the steering wheel to the left!<\/p>\n

The car seemed to float\u2014the front-end veering sharply to the left\u2014the force pushing me to the right on the smooth plastic seating.\u00a0 The seat belt dug into my midsection and I hung on to the steering wheel, desperately trying to find the brake pedal with my right foot.<\/p>\n

I saw the large overpass pillar flash off to my right, and then almost instantly reappear on my left.\u00a0 It flashed across the front of my car and quickly disappeared off to the right.<\/p>\n

The car was in a violent three-hundred and sixty-degree spin.\u00a0 Then, another.\u00a0 And another.\u00a0 And another.<\/p>\n

Dust rose from the inside of the car and got into my eyes and nose.\u00a0 I hung on to the steering wheel until I thought my fingers would be torn from my hands.<\/p>\n

I was thrown against the driver\u2019s side door and my left shoulder screamed in pain as the door handle dug into my flesh.\u00a0 My head hit the closed window glass causing my vision to black out momentarily.\u00a0 Then I was back.<\/p>\n

The lanes of the highway came and went\u2026from left to right\u2014and finally and slowly, the car\u2019s gigantic tires reestablished their grip on the concrete surface.<\/p>\n

The spinning had stopped, and now the car was traveling backwards slowly, but straight.\u00a0 And my right foot found and depressed the brake pedal.\u00a0 I saw the Santa Fe Street overpass through my front windshield when I should\u2019ve been seeing it in my rearview mirror.<\/p>\n

The car drifted to a stop\u2014the acrid smell of burning oil and rubber wafting up through the floorboards and stinging my nose and eyes.<\/p>\n

And I took a deep breath.<\/p>\n

A violent shudder shook my body and I wanted to vomit.\u00a0 I pulled my left hand off the steering wheel and rubbed the rising knot on the side of my head.\u00a0 I felt a trickle of warmth run down my arm and I noticed my sleeve was torn.<\/p>\n

Slowly I turned the still running car to the right and brought the front end to bear in the right direction\u2014southbound.<\/p>\n

I eased over to the emergency lane and shut off the engine.\u00a0 I disengaged my lap belt, opened the door, and stepped out.<\/p>\n

The cold autumn night air flowed into my lungs and helped calm my churning stomach.\u00a0 I walked around to the back of the car and leaned back on the trunk.\u00a0 My hands were shaking, and in my mind I could still hear the echoes of the contradicting voices.\u00a0 I squeezed my eyes tightly and tried to force them out of my head.<\/p>\n

In the redness of the rear tail lights the sleeve on my left arm looked purple and moist.\u00a0 I popped the trunk open and found a not-too-dirty shop towel and held it to my upper arm.\u00a0 My shoulder ached and my head was pounding.<\/p>\n

After a few minutes, I realized just how cold I was, and on shaky legs walked back to the driver\u2019s side, holding the towel tightly against my arm, and got back into the car.<\/p>\n

I drove the remaining few miles to my home in Gardner, my mind blank\u2026all the while staying well under the speed limit.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

There had been no one else on the freeway.\u00a0 Had there been, they would\u2019ve seen the small blue Dart sliding and spinning from the far-right side of the freeway, across three lanes and literally flying under the overpass.\u00a0 I had executed at least four and a half three-hundred and sixty-degree spins, remaining completely level.\u00a0 The police car\u2019s heavy-duty suspension, tuned to accept extreme lateral forces, and the car\u2019s low, wide stance had kept the oversized tires mostly on the roadway preventing the car from losing its lateral balance and rolling over.\u00a0 A less sturdy suspension and skinnier tires would have surely failed, and the car would not have been able to stay level and would have rolled violently.\u00a0 Both I and the car would\u2019ve been destroyed as the inertial velocity spent itself out by turning the car into a rolling missile\u2014disintegrating itself, and me, on the super-hard highway surface.<\/p>\n

The Long Goodbye<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

A decision had to be made about what to do with the car and how to get Sharon and the kids back to Nevada, and our options were severely limited.\u00a0 Sharon\u2019s attitude was that since I was the one who had gotten us into this situation, I would have to be the one to dig us out.\u00a0 So, every day for about a week I played and replayed the scenario in my head, and in the end, only one solution seemed viable.<\/p>\n

First, I made a trip to the Payroll Office at the base and submitted a formal request for an advance on my travel funds.\u00a0 The check that I\u2019d written to Mr. Fogarty had put a big dent in our almost non-existent funds, so the advance would help us with the expense of moving Sharon and the boys to Nevada and helping them with rental money for a couple of months.<\/p>\n

The payroll officer warned me that when the travel funds were issued in advance, there would be no money to draw on for any expenses I may incur when I reached my destination base.<\/p>\n

The payroll officer cautioned me, \u201cYour first paycheck will probably be delayed for about a month after you get there, so that\u2019s why we recommend that you leave something in the travel money fund for unexpected expenses once you get to Okinawa\u201d.<\/p>\n

Against his advice I requested and received, the entirety of the travel money that was afforded for my travel.\u00a0 I then used part of this money to purchase one-way airline tickets for us from Kansas City to Reno; then, a single ticket for me from Reno to Oakland, California.\u00a0 From there I would travel by bus to Travis Air Force Base where I would stay for a couple of days before boarding a military charter flight to Naha, Okinawa.<\/p>\n

I gave the rest of the money, minus about twenty dollars which I kept for myself, to Sharon for her and the boys.\u00a0 I told her that since I would be eating in military chow halls and wearing my military uniforms on my trip overseas, I would need very little money.\u00a0 Further, I assured her that I had set up an allotment with payroll, assigning eighty percent of my pay, after taxes, to be sent to her monthly once I reached my base.\u00a0 She expressed very little, if any, emotion\u2014and only seemed interested in finding out when she could expect to receive the first allotment payment.<\/p>\n

Finally, I came to a decision on the Dart.\u00a0 Heeding my lawyer\u2019s advice, I decided to just leave the car once we departed Kansas City.\u00a0 However, since I didn\u2019t feel comfortable with his suggestion that I just drive it somewhere and abandon it, I instead opted to do something a little less sinister.<\/p>\n

The night before we left our apartment for the taxi trip to the airport, I sat down and wrote a letter and addressed it to the Empire State Bank of Kansas City.<\/p>\n

To Whom It May Concern:<\/em><\/p>\n

Enclosed please find a \u201cMonthly Payment Coupon Book, nine (9) money order receipts, and a set of ignition and trunk keys to the 1962 Dodge Dart, a used automobile which I \u201cpurchased\u201d from Lou Werner of Kearney, Missouri, late last year.<\/em><\/p>\n

To the best of my knowledge, I applied, and was approved, for a loan from your bank in the amount of twelve hundred dollars ($1,200), to be repaid in twenty (20) equal installments of sixty dollars ($60) per month, until the sum of the loan was completely paid.\u00a0 Each monthly payment, made with U.S. Postal money orders, submitted to your bank was to be accompanied with a coupon from the enclosed booklet.<\/em><\/p>\n

As you will note, there are eight (8) coupons missing from the booklet, and eight (8) corresponding money order receipts; each representing a cash payment to your bank; and each in the amount of sixty dollars ($60).<\/em><\/p>\n

I was recently advised by my Attorney, Mr. Timothy Fogarty, Esq., Attorney at Law, that due to some illegalities that have occurred within a certain department in your bank, I am not, nor will I ever be, the legal owner of the 1962 Dodge Dart, which I assumed was financed by your bank.<\/em><\/p>\n

I was further advised that the monies that I have paid to your bank for almost a year never went to satisfy the \u201cloan\u201d or \u201cnote\u201d that I assumed was put in place for me to legally purchase the aforementioned automobile.<\/em><\/p>\n

Subsequently, I have discovered that since I hold no interest in, nor do I legally own, this vehicle, I am unable to register, nor am I able to title it in Kansas, or in any other state.\u00a0 I have also been counseled by my attorney that any time I drive this automobile, I am doing so illegally. <\/em><\/p>\n

Therefore, I would ask that, at your discretion, you dispatch representatives from your bank to recover said automobile, which is located at (residential address inserted).\u00a0 The vehicle has sustained no body or engine damage since I took delivery of it, and at this time the doors and trunk are locked and secure.<\/em><\/p>\n

Finally, please be advised, and I hereby Declare, that I will no longer submit monthly payments to your bank since I do not legally own this vehicle; Nor do I accept the responsibility of paying off a \u201cloan\u201d or \u201cnote\u201d, which when \u201csatisfied\u201d, will not result in my legally owning said automobile.<\/em><\/p>\n

I remain, <\/em><\/p>\n

Respectfully,<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Frank De Le\u00f3n <\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

I placed the letter, car keys, coupon book, and money order receipts in a heavy manila envelope, and after printing the address of the Empire State Bank of Kansas City on the front, packed it in my briefcase.\u00a0 I planned to deposit the envelope into a Postal receptacle when I arrived at the Kansas City Airport the following day.<\/p>\n

As the taxi pulled out of our small driveway at the apartment in Gardner, Kansas, the driver turned to me and said, \u201cWow, what a great looking car.\u00a0 You own it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNope.\u201d<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

So, ten months after I reenlisted in the Air Force and committed to serve my country for another four years, I was rewarded by being given orders shipping me out of the country and forcing me to leave my family alone again for an indeterminate amount of time.<\/p>\n

The reassignment came at a very difficult time in our lives; a time when Sharon and I were not only going through a very difficult time in our marriage, but also at a time when our children needed to have both parents present in their lives.<\/p>\n

Although I had finally come to the realization that the majority, if not all, of the blame for the damage to our marriage was directly attributable to me and my loutish and selfish behavior, I had also promised myself that I would do everything in my power to atone for my foolish misdeeds.\u00a0 If I had learned anything from the devastation that I had created in the last year, it was the stark realization that I loved my wife and children very deeply, and was profoundly remorseful for the hurt and pain that I had caused.<\/p>\n

However, now that I was being sent thousands of miles away, and with no way to directly communicate with, or to demonstrate to Sharon my willingness and determination to repent from those grievous transgressions, I slowly began to accept the possibility that all may well be lost.<\/p>\n

Several times, on the long plane ride to Reno, I desperately attempted to engage Sharon in conversation leading to a discussion regarding our shaky marriage, but after several rebuffs I realized that this was not the time nor the place.\u00a0 By the time we disembarked the flight I was convinced that our life together was all but lost.<\/p>\n

A few days later, having traveled from Reno to Travis Air Force Base in Oakland, California, I boarded a military chartered Boeing 707, bound for Naha, Okinawa\u2026over twenty hours away.<\/p>\n

After touching down in Anchorage, Alaska, and Tokyo, Japan for refueling, the plane finally arrived at Naha Air Base, in Naha, Okinawa, twenty-two hours later.<\/p>\n

The weather had been in the high thirties when I\u2019d left Reno so I had dressed out in my Air Force winter blues, complete with a dark blue overcoat.\u00a0 As I descended the mobile stairway from the silver Northwest Orient Airlines jet onto the tarmac at Naha, I was met by a suffocating high level of humidity and an air temperature in the high eighties.\u00a0 The stale breeze carried a noxious and lingering odor of raw sewage that did nothing to quell my already slightly upset stomach.\u00a0 By the time I reached the check-in desk inside the terminal still clothed in my overcoat and wool blue uniform, I was soaked in sweat and hoping I wouldn\u2019t throw up.<\/p>\n

It was Wednesday, October 27^{th<\/sup>, 1965, and I was now on an island sixty-five miles long and five miles wide, located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, almost seven thousand miles from the West Coast.<\/p>\n}

To be continued\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"