Guam

Under the Table, a photo by Wayne-K on Flickr.

It's four AM and I awakened with the urge to pee. With anticipation, I opened the door to the warm, damp bathroom, where earlier I saw two large, American cockroaches, sunning themselves quietly in the darkness. As the door slowly creaked open, a flick of the light switch sent a lone cockroach scampering for shade. I tried to crush him with a bottle of bathroom cleaner, but the roach deftly avoided it and scurried quickly for the door. I hurriedly slammed the door, playing a deadly chess game with my prey. I watched his long antennae sweeping from under the door, giving away his presence, and I took a moment to pee, carefully aiming with one eye on the bowl, with the other eye on the roach. I opened the door and ran to grab the nearest insect crushing device, but the roach scampered across the white tile floor to the safety and security under the dresser, saving itself from gut-crushing shoe. I lay in bed, reflecting on the time, decades ago, when a large cockroach crawled up the inside of my pants leg one night at a Boy Scout meeting. I shook my leg feverishly, desperately trying to get the roach out of my pants.

My attention switched back to the roach under the dresser, as it noisily walked across the tile floor, breaking the darken silence and my eerie reflection. I lay awake, hoping he crawls back into the bathroom instead of up the bed covers. Thus is my first night in the Barrigada house, where my brother in-law is housing me for my weekend in Guam.

Dawn patiently arrived and I exited the bedroom to find my host sleeping on the couch. He graciously gave up his room and turned on the room’s air conditioning before my arrival so I wouldn't have to experience the warm, humid nights in Guam. It was clear, however, that he typically slept in the bed without air conditioning, as the sheets and pillows reeked of many sweaty nights.

I traveled to Guam on business and spent the subsequent weekend visiting my brother in-law. Here are a few pictures.

Guam is infamous for its large number of dogs, unconstrained with fences or chains. The Spaniards brought Catholicism to Guam and apparently the canines aren't spayed or neutered either.






On my last trip to Guam, Chris prepared a wonderful dish using banana hearts from the banana trees on the property. The delicious dish of banana hearts and pork is a regional dish from Pampanga, PI (I believe). Knowing how much I enjoyed it, he prepared it again…and it was as good as I remembered it.




Here’s a rare sighting of the Maytag repair man. According to legend, it’s rarer than Sasquatch, Big Foot, or the Loch Ness Monster. One little secret, Maytag reliability is poor, but their marketing is incredible. My father in-law used to service Maytag commercial machines and he let me in on this little secret years ago.




Here are a few more misc photos.