VIEWPOINTS
Saturday, August 19, 2017
East Oregonian
Page 5A
At the zoo with a Lama
W
hen my daughter was eight
years old, she and I left an Idaho
January and bunked for a couple
of weeks on the sixteenth floor of an
apartment building on the Waikiki strip.
We were house sitting while her mother
investigated a rumor
that a tiny bird was
gagging into extinction
on fumes generated
by the mountaintop
observatories on the Big
Island.
On the second
Sunday morning of our
stay, my daughter Delta
suggested that she and
I and her new pal Max
go to the Honolulu zoo.
When she phoned to
invite Max, his father
asked to speak with me.
He explained that he
offered his home as a
halfway house for Tibetans, and asked if a
newly arrived monk could accompany us to
the zoo. You bet.
We herded a rental Chevrolet through
a catacomb of streets with only vowels
in their names until we stumbled across
Max’s house. Waiting on the steps were
bright-eyed Max and a featherweight guy
wrapped in golden yellow robes, sporting
black high-top Keds and a chrome Timex.
On the way to the zoo, Max explained that
he didn’t know the monk’s name, that the
monk didn’t speak English, that he slept
sitting up and smoked too many cigarettes.
Max was a local, so the kids ditched us
at the entrance to the zoo. We made quite
the pair, a have-a-nice-day-face wrapped
in yellow curtains and an over-heated
drugstore cowboy in lace-up logger boots.
We had a lot to talk about, but couldn’t. We
both had a nicotine monkey on our backs,
though, so we wandered down the zoo
paths, smoking Camel stubbies, pointing at
animals and giggling at each other’s name
for various critters.
The Tibetan word for
giraffe sounds like
“chewing gum.”
As we shuffled
past the cat cages, the
monk was looking
back over his shoulder
at a yawning lion
and giggling. When
he turned around he
came eye-to-eye with
a drippy-eyed Bengal
tiger. The little dude
came as close to
freaking as a Buddhist
ever would.
He immediately
went into a crouched self-defense posture
and from down in that pile of saffron came a
throbbing yowl that could have curdled yak
milk. It took me awhile to realize that this
fellow grew up where tigers run free range
and he didn’t much care for them. I stepped
in front of the cage and broke the spell. He
looked at me, looked at the tiger, nodded his
head then fired up the smile again.
On the monkey islands a middle-aged
chimpanzee was playing games with the
humans, throwing a knotted burlap sack
over the moat to the crowd. When it was
tossed back to him/her, the chimp tucked
it behind a chunk of driftwood, performed
a somersault routine, then reached behind
the log, and threw the cloth ball back into
the audience.
Waiting on the
steps was a
featherweight
guy wrapped
in yellow robes,
sporting black
high-top Keds and
a chrome Timex.
Quick takes
Nazis aren’t Americans
Well written and you stated how I feel.
Nazi ideals are NOT Americanism.
— Randy Smith
I stand against Nazis. I also stand
against Antifa. How easy was that?
— Ryan Hamilton
Look into the faces of the remaining
WWII veterans. For those who fought the
Nazis and white nationalists, there was
only one side worthy of their allegiance.
— Karen Spears Zacharias
Hermiston High debates
where to hold graduation
Toyota Center? No. As a former Bull-
dogs volleyball coach living in Tri-Cities,
please keep it in Hermiston because grad-
uation is supposed to be at their own high
school or else it’s meaningless, especially
an hour drive to get to the graduation.
— John Vball
Hermiston residents you need to open
your mind to out of town venues. I grad-
uated out of a class of 450 students. Our
graduation was held at an event center
30 minutes from my high school. All that
really mattered was that I was graduating,
not where I was at when I was handed my
diploma.
— Rachelle Owen Fleming
Keep it in Hermiston! Outside venue is
practical for our area, ceremonies are held
in the mid-morning before it’s too hot.
Kennison Field for my vote!
— Melissa Hurliman Pimentel
And rain? Wind?
— Kristopher Stiefel
Woman gets stuck in toilet
after dropping phone
Are you telling me people have actually
gone after their phones after dropping it in
one of these disgusting bathrooms? Why
people, why???
— Juan Rodolfo Jimenez
But did she get the phone?
— Teresa Thorpe Long
One of the great lessons of the Twitter age
is that much can be summed up in just a few
words. Here are some of this week’s takes. Tweet
yours @Tim_Trainor or email editor@eastore-
gonian.com, and keep them to 140 characters.
During the third repetition of this
performance, when a herd of tourists
were packed around the ditch popping
flashbulbs, the monk grabbed me by the
arm and pulled me up on a knoll, away
from the show.
He looked me in the eyes and said
something that sounded like “Watch for
poop.” Sure enough, the chimp finished
the cheerleader segment of his act, then
reached behind the driftwood like going
for the gunny sack, filled his right hand,
and sprayed ten thousand dollars worth of
camera equipment with chimpanzee crap.
An hour later, the kids found us and
were hungry. We bought shave ice, popcorn
and Pepsi, sat on a warm concrete bench
in the shade, munching and slurping while
pigeons in paradise swarmed around us. I
fed the birds in the manner of an American,
broadcasting popcorn by the handful then
watching the scramble. The monk carefully
chose one kernel, held it between thumb
and forefinger, zeroed in on one pigeon, fed
that individual one piece of popcorn, then
switched birds.
When done snacking, Delta and Max
ran off to see the seals. The monk, using
universal sign language, made it clear that
he had to use the restroom. I pointed to the
appropriate door, then stretched out on the
bench and fell asleep. Tropical torpor.
The kids woke me an hour later,
wondering where the monk was. I checked
the men’s room and the tiger cages, no
monk, then began asking zoo visitors if they
had seen a bald fellow in gold anywhere. A
young couple from South Dakota said they
had seen something like that down by the
phone booths.
We found him sitting cross-legged on the
grass, totally focused on a pay phone booth
J.D. S mith
FROM THE HEADWATERS
OF DRY CREEK
shaped like a clamshell. Max claimed he
was asleep. I knelt beside him and gently
tapped the face of his Timex. He snapped
from his state of consciousness into ours,
smiled, and followed us to the parking lot.
On the way back to Max’s, over the
noise of the kids discussing whether an
elephant could beat up a killer whale, I am
sure I heard the monk humming a few bars
of “Love Me Tender.”
■
J.D. Smith is an accomplished writer and
jack-of-all-trades. He lives in Athena.
Memories of Minamisoma
S
ix Pendleton High
School students and two
chaperones traveled to
Japan earlier this month to
visit Pendleton’s sister city of
Minamisoma. They returned
with a newfound respect for
world’s great size— but also
with the belief that people are
more similar than different,
filled with love and generosity.
Below are a few of the students’
final reflections on the trip, in
their own words:
Students and chaperones from Pendleton dress in tradition-
al Japanese regalia during a trip to Pendleton’s sister city,
Minamisoma, Japan.
and befriending Japanese
students, chaperones and my
host family. Every single person
we have come across has treated
us with kindness and patience.
The city of Minamisoma is just
as beautiful as the people who
live in it. Meeting the students
at Haramachi High School was
very special for me because I
could see what life is like in
Japan for someone my age.
I now feel as though I
have a second home here in
Minamisoma, due to the love,
care and respect which my host
family and the community has
shown me. I will remember
this for the rest of my life,
and I hope I can return to this
incredible place again one day.
own. The Minamisoma City
International Association ladies
put so much effort for our trip
and they’ve blown me away.
They’ve connected me to people
I would have never known
otherwise. These connections
that will last a lifetime. I’ve met
so many new people that will
have a place in my heart forever.
I hope to be able to go back as
soon as possible.
Though we are busy every
day, we always had time to our
host families. Saying goodbye
is the hardest part. I know I will
cry and I’ll miss my host family
so much.
Communication is the
hardest part. I wish I could
understand and know what
they’re saying. I’ve never felt
so at home even though home
is thousands of miles away. We
laughed together, ate together,
shopped together, studied
English together, played with
fireworks together and watched
morning dramas together. I
was never lonely with Mama
and Miyu-Chan around. They
bickered like my own family
and I felt at home weirdly. I will
miss them so much.
Though we both were shy,
Miyu and I seem to get along.
That was probably the biggest
relief for me. I hope I wasn’t
too much of a bother to her.
She’s talented in the flute and I
Karin Power, chaperone
It is tempting to talk about
Japan with a description of
beautiful temples made of
sculpted wood without nails,
or amazing technology that
rivals anything we have, or the
brilliant greens of the rice fields
and other hydroponic gardens
scattered around the incredible
mountainous landscape.
I could describe their horse
festival with its 1,000-plus
years of tradition and history
with samurai in splendid
costume. There are ladies on
the bullet trains and crowded
subways wearing silk kimonos.
I could spend hours describing
the beautiful presentation of
scrumptious food. It is tempting.
But instead I want to describe
the 81-year-old man that builds
a “garbage box” in sweltering
heat for a neighborhood that
doesn’t have one.
I want to describe his wife
who volunteers to check up
on students that are missing
too much school to make sure
they are ok. They are healthy
and vibrant and they have a
whole group of friends just like
themselves.
They took us into their home
for two whole weeks, cared
for us as if we were family,
which by the end of the time we
wished we were. The people we
met were so humble, so kind
Emily Dittebrandt-Haney, 17
My experience in Japan was
one to remember.
I’m glad that this was my
first time leaving the country,
and I couldn’t have asked for a
better trip. Although I was sick
for over half of the trip, I still
enjoyed it.
Everyone I met was nice and
helpful— it was very nice of the
doctor not to charge me for my
visit, and for the foundation to
pay for my prescription.
Some of my favorite parts
of the trip were putting on the
Samurai costumes, the tea
ceremonies, trying on kimonos
and visiting the beach and
aquarium.
My host family was amazing.
They helped me when I was sick
and were very understanding.
Nanami, my host sister, spoke
very good English and that
made it easy to communicate.
Kozue, my host mom, was the
best. She cared for me like her
own, even though she didn’t
know me well.
Overall, my experience in
Japan was amazing, and I hope
to come back some day.
Daphny Chen, 16
As this trip is coming to a
close, I’ve realized this trip
has changed me as a person.
I’ve made a family here that is
irreplaceable. The generosity
and the kindness that everyone
here has shown me is life-
changing.
I’ve seen temples, shrines,
Tokyo, Minamisoma, and
a whole world completely
different but the same from my
Photo courtesy of Jessie Patterson
hope she goes far in the future.
I know she’ll do well. It’s weird
to have a sister my age. I’ve
always been the oldest so I had
the weirdest desire to protect
her. We’re not even blood
related, but I hope she is happy.
Tonight she cried at the
farewell party. I never thought
she would cry. I guess she also
felt the connection. I didn’t want
to cry tonight but I couldn’t
hold it in. I cried in a room full
of people who don’t know me.
I’m embarrassed thinking about
it now.
I guess I didn’t think it would
hurt as bad as it did. Sitting
with them at the table, I realized
they are my second family. Two
weeks pass by rather quickly.
If time could stop, I would like
to be in that moment forever.
They’ve changed me and my
life.
Jessie Patterson, 17
My time in Japan has been,
without a doubt, an incredible
life-changing experience. The
Minamisoma International
Association has done an
amazing job with not only
organizing our trip, events and
transportation, but making sure
we have a variety of things to do
every day.
I’ve greatly enjoyed learning
about Japanese culture and
customs, along with meeting