Summertime in Bangkok - July
Stephanie's words:
My third trip to Bangkok was surprising. It's July and I had expected it to be hotter than before, but the evening and morning showers kept things tolerable. I've grown to really enjoy the Sky Train- it's cheap, amazingly clean, air conditioned, and going so many fun places.

That's Mark and me in Florida on a summer vacation, probably about 1969. I'm the one that got the chubby genes, on the left. I think that's the summer Mark played with Jellyfish and came out unscathed (same with the time he caught a mink barehanded!); we walked the beach and swam every day - swimming's always been important to the family.

Mark's always been a healthy eater- he loves GOOD food in particular, and he can cook like no one I know. Mom and I worry that he's lost weight; he's always been thin but now we'd like to see him put weight on since it seems he can fight the cancer and associated illnesses better with a good, healthy weight. While I was in Bangkok, he was on a "pressed sandwich" kick. Since it's tough for him to swallow breads, he makes a warm sandwich in the oven, then he uses a board and some weights to press the sandwich flat. It's awesome! He's also been on a sour candy kick, and since you can't find them anywhere in Bangkok, I brought 6 or 8 packages... they went quick! Mark's also introduced Bangkok to the wonders of a good brownie - we like the easy-to-make Betty Crocker mixes, and then he adds his own touch with chocolate chips or nuts, etc. I made a meatloaf while I was there, but not knowing exactly how much a "kilo" is in actual size-amount, I wound up with a HUGE plastic bag of hamburger, which we used for the meatloaf, froze, made burgers with... they are possibly still thinking of what to do with all that hamburger.

While I was in Bangkok, Mark and I both read a lot. It's fairly easy to get books in English; he'd pick some up from a friend or we'd get them at the JJ Weekend Market. Mark loves CIA novels with all the government mystery and intrigue. I was impressed and amazed at his reading speed- one of the days I was there he read THREE NOVELS in about 12 hours, and was able to tell me all about them... one was a history of pirates in Southeast Asia.

Mark loves to read in the sun on the apartment patio, which overlooks the Asoke Sky Train station and the local market. If you're at the station or Soi Cowboy, walk an extra 20 yards past the soi, look up, and you'll probably see him... wave!

Thusday, 12 May 2005-Last day in Amsterdam

Today is the first warm sunny day in Amsterdam and it
is the last day for Mark and me to be here.We head for
Bangkok tonight.

Mark and I went to Groningen on the
train yesterday and had to switch trains in Amfoort.
My friends from Emden picked us up and drove us to
Emden and proceded to train us in the Ostfriesland tea
ritual. For lunch we had huge white asparagus, boiled
potatoes, ham and tomatoes..it was lovely. Next we
went into the countryside to Ockenhausen. This area is
so beautiful and there were so many flowers. The homes
are all of brick and lovely. Pastures with beautifully
groomed horses. We had a nice visit with a cousin and
his family. They too are interested in genealogy.
I think May is probably a nicer time than April to be
in Amsterdam. Good luck to all of you.

Amsterdam, the adventures continue.

Mark and I may go to Germany tomorrow for one day to see an 84 year old cousin. Last night Mark was not feeling well and stayed in. I got a tour of the red light district. There was window after window with pretty girls in bikinis and some of the bikinis were flurescent or luminescent...and the windows were with red light. We also went to an old fortification like a castle for coffee..it had been aplace where women were weighed in the past to determine if they were witches.

Today was Mother's Day.
I rousted Mark's butt out of bed for early breakfast and he complained of his legs hurting, but I wanted him to see Amsterdam and I had figured out the tram and made him go to Central Station area to catch a boat...intending to ride the canal boat half a day which should not make his legs worse, since we would be sitting down... but we ended up getting off at the Van Gough museum since Mark wanted to see it, having lunch at a nearby restaurant and then seeing all the paintings in the Van Gough. Mark knew a good bit about a number of the paintings and seemed to greatly enjoy the museum although he was not feeling top notch. We came back on the canal boat which stops very close to the museum and we got off at a place close to hotel and had a beer and he went home and I rode boats some more. After he rested we took a late night supper at an Italian restaurant.

Planning trip to Amsterdam
I have purchased plane tickets for Amsterdam for Mark and me, and I worked hard to get seats with more leg room so he will be comfortable.

His mood had been down and he looks very sick, so I asked him what he was thinking about. He said he was thinking that he would never go on another trip again. I asked him where he wanted to go and he said "Amsterdam." He has lost a lot of weight from nausea and vomiting while on chemo.and was pretty sick, but I decided to take the bull by the horns and order up some tickets. Then I found out that we were going during the Queens silver anniversary on the throne and over a holiday weekend. I had to get help to find a room. Here are some e- mails to my daughter Stephanie and to James who are scouring the internet for rooms for Mark and I.

Steph, We have not found rooms yet in Amsterdam...James found the Nicolaas Witsen and he had our dates of arrival departure off by one day and had 8 days down and it was available until I changed the dates to make reservation

Steph and James, my shipbuilding geneology friend Hinrich in Emden has a cousin in Amsterdam checking on rooms for us It turns out the 5th is a holiday and people flock to Amsterdam...so we had best get something soon or be out in the cold..Maybe the cousin will come up with something.. ..We are scheduled to arrive on 5th and leave on 12th..it is probably the 5-7th that is the problem.

I have a contact with a young man in Amsterdam thru couchsurfing.com - I have his phone number and he has invited us to a free trip of National Park with a group.
more later of continuing adventure.

A rough day today...

Lots of decisions- with hosptial and treatment and whether to do this or that or drop out and do traditional medicine.. Everyone has advice and "a friend who tried...", but what to do?

I went to cooking school..hot time in market learning veggies, meats, curries, etc...I got to cook several dishes and a dessert and my cooking group sat down to eat what we had cooked. I did not get to finish as Mark called me from hosp, desperately needing help before school was over. It was a long hot trip back to the hospital, by boat, then sky train, then walking several blocks. I am tired ...it was a long day

Day after Mark's 45 birthday.
We had a grand four days ...maybe five days here in Bangkok. Mark has been feeling better although he has napped many times during the day and night and does not have the energy to walk more than a block. I know he felt better even though he says when he feels good, he feels bad...I know it because he was not grouchy and he was playing jokes on me. He came into my office center I sat up in my bedroom and had me touch his hand which was very cold. He said his heart had stopped while he was sleeping. To my wide eyed reply of "REalLy?", he said: "No, my room airconditioner is really working and it is sooo cold and I had my hands outside the covers...It reminded me of one time years ago when he was a little kid about the 6th grade and he caught a mink and caged it. That animal had some teeth. He came to me one time with his fingers bent back so it looked like he was missing some of his fingers. He said the mink had ate them...I almost believed him as I saw that mink eat a frog in seconds and reduce it to chewing gum...bones and all.
Yesterday was Mark's birthday. We began it by watching southpark season 5 DVDs that I got him for his birthday. He rested most of the day and we never left the condo until late in the evening. We went to a restaurant called Neil's Restaurant and Bakery at 9:20. It is a block away on Asoke. We had Caviar and Oysters Rockefeller and salmon appetizers and then rock lobsters with salad and potato and corn...Mark wanted some dessert but the bakery had closed. This is an excellent restaurant...very fine decor and wait service. Mark was able to eat because he is as far out from chemo as he ever is...the further out he gets from chemo days, the better he can hold food down and the better he feels.
It was a great birthday then this am it was off to the hosptial for chemo...we were there from 10:45 until 6 pm. Mark is now not feeling well and has a fever. He gets chemo three days in a row....then our plans are to take a short trip if he isn't too sick from chemo. I will tell you about if we pull it off. The doctor is working with us to get Mark in shape and provide some medicines I can give IM if necessary. I think that his being able to plan a trip and having something to look forward to is what is keeping him going. Periodically he also tells me an interesting story from his experiences and we both enjoy it. I think that is my role at times to listen and encourage him to tell his story.
This next three days may be rough. Mark is very sick during chemotherapy and for a period of time after chemo he is very sick and can keep nothing down. I have Mark's friend Jin staying with him in the morning as I head for the Thai cooking school on the Chao Phraya River. I will be back in the hospital in the afternoon.
My best to all of you and more stories later....PS my diamond fell out of my ring...i thought it was lost down the drain...the cleaning girl found it and gave it to me...couldn't do the drain for three days cause of holiday..and the last day of holiday, she found it on the floor under something...My PDA plug- in is fried due to my stupidity and I have a new one that takes 220 or 110 but the addresses I had on it are gone. My watch battery stopped. ...all small potatoes compared to how Mark is doing...and all will wait for fixing until I get back to Austin. Hopefully my computer will hold up...I may have to get an abbacus

Stephanie's Words: Happy Thai New Year!
Since I've been coming to see Mark in Thailand he's been talking about New Years and how fun it is here. I didn't understand it at first, just that it involved a lot of water and water guns... but it was at least as much fun as he had said it would be! I'm staying at a hotel near his place and I took the tuk-tuk over to the soi where the action is set to take place. At noon it's just getting started, but as I get a block from my hotel I get some squirts of water coming through the tuk-tuk. I make it to the soi without too much more water and then I see The Fun: a whole 5 or 6 block street, people everywhere carrying buckets, squirt guns, water cannons, hoses, anything that will carry or toss water. Some folks have large plastic trash bins filled with water and ice! And it's all being tossed out at everyone else.

No one can explain to me exactly why - why water for New Year's, why a water parade (as people file up and down the street tossing water and being tossed at, and why after you've been "wetted" you get a dose of talc on your face, too. About 10 minutes into it I realize it doesn't matter why - it's just a blast. I look at Mark and see this man who really fought to get himself up and goingt oday, who is in great pain, and he has now the most wonderful and sincere smile on his face as he enjoys watching the parade go by. He shoots water occasionally at friends or farang. He's transformed into a little boy, teasing and shooting water and watching the other kids play all around him.

I worry about him this day. He's been feeling feverish lately and there are so many potential germs and viruses all around us. He's having a blast, but he decides he needs to go lay down an hour or so later. In a way I am relieved because he's been thoroughly doused by friends going by (those who don't realize he's hanging back a little because he needs to not be jostled today). He's gone through a round of chemo since I last saw him in March, and he's starting to lose some hair; what's still there has gone from a beautiful chestnut brown to gray. But we all laugh at my mom, who is wearing a shower cap under her hat, in a lame attempt to keep the water at bay.

It was a great New Years.

March 28, 2005 James and I are both in Bangkok with Mark.

Saturday morning Mark had a CBC drawn at the hospital and in the late afternoon, Dr. Theera called to tell him to come to the emergency department. We jumped in a cab and dashed over to the hospital to learn that Mark's platelets and WBCs were very low. He got a unit of blood and two injections of Neupogen which is an expensive medication to stimulate the bone marrow to produce neutrophils a type of WBC. We were at the hospital until 10 pm or so getting this done. On Sunday I gave him two injections of Neupogen at home. On Monday he went back to the hospital for another CBC and to get his radiation. His platelets and WBCs were so low that the docs would not give him radiation and it took a lot of convincing to be able to stave off hospital admission. The docs wanted to admit Mark but instead gave him some more Neupogen and told him to stay inside, wear a mask, and be very careful to avoid any infectious sources.

Mark is very energetic at times and it is hard for him to stay in the condo and rest. He is making pickles for entertainment. He packs his pickles with garlic pods, fresh dill, dill seeds, carrots, onions, and chives.Last evening when he was to be resting and avoiding germs, he decided we had to go to the condo pool and gym. The pool is on the second floor and is indoor-outdoor and very beautiful. One of our condo balcony' is above and overlooks this pool with its plants and palm trees. After a little time at the pool, Mark wanted to use the dry sauna and the wet sauna (steam room). There is one in the men's locker area and another in the women's...Mark was afraid to go by himself as his blood pressure is low and he was afraid he would pass out. James doesn't like saunas and would not go with him..so I went into the mens rooms with him and fortunately, or unfortunately depending on how you look at it, no men came in naked to use the steam room. The reception lady in the gym brought some special scents to put in the steam and our bucket for the dry sauna also had some oils and natural scents in it.. We spent a good bit of time in the saunas and felt real healthy afterwards...The docs probably would not approve of it.. but this gym and pool is exceptionally clean...the floors are marble and everything else is a high quality polished wood. The lockers are not metal but high quality well designed and of a fine wood. We have on the 9th floor Squash courts. you would really have to see this building to get a real picture of the quality but it is exactly what Mark needs....extremely clean and comfortable in the midst of a city that has great contrasts in the extremely clean and the extremely dirty and often in very close proximity to each other.

James continues to cook for Mark and he is definately eating better. He has gone from eating nothing and only drinking about one ensure a day to actually eating a meal. He still has some difficulty eating but has figured out what and when he can eat. Breakfast is his big meal. He awakes about 5 am and leaves a note for James about what to cook. This morning it was french toast and bacon. He sits on one of the balconies and falls asleep again in a chair like a tweety bird asleep on a perch...waiting for James to cook breakfast.There is a fresh vegetable and fruit market and fish market just a block from us so we are able to get lots of fresh things and very cheaply.Hopefully Mark will have an increase in platelets and his white cells will be in the normal range soon.

March 24, 2005
Today is my birthday and we celebrate by taking friends to the Marriott for dinner. Mark is successful in eating some of his steak. This is a big improvement over not being able to swallow anything but liquids when he arrived in Bangkok and presented himself to the Horizon Cancer Center at Bumrungrad Hospital. Mark has begun chemotherapy but he still has his handsome head of hair.

Bumrungrad Hospital and its Horizon Cancer Center
When I arrived in Thailand March 7, 2005 Mark's sister, Stephanie, had been with Mark about a week and our visits overlapped a few days. Mark has had radiation most days since I arrived. We have spent a good bit of time in the hospital's Horizon Cancer Center. The hospital is impressive. This is a world class hospital accredited by the Joint Commision International. People come to this hospital from all over the world. The hospital is extremely modern and beautifully decorated. Complementary hot and cold tea and bottled water is provided in the waiting areas for visitors and patients. There are beautiful flower arrangements in many locations throughout the hospital. The nurses answer the call bell promptly, are polite, professional, competent, and wear nurse's caps.
There are restaurants in the hospital - Starbucks, a nice Italian restaurant, a Japanese restaurant, Au Bon Pain, and many Asian places. Not only are there banks of elevators but escalators as well. At the international help desk, there are usually about 10 translators to help you in a variety of languages.
Each day Mark pays for services before he leaves, and the costs are usually 1/10th - 1/2 what the costof the same procedures in the US would be; medicines are still very expensive here and Mark's medicines can run itno the thousands of dollars a month, depending on what he needs- the pain medicines and nausea meds are some of the more expensive. We found a nausea medicine that is $15 a pill, and mark is hesitant to take it, but it works when nothing else will, so I feel it is worth it, though still expensive.

There are cashiers' desks throughout the hospital and much effort goes into making sure patients pay before leaving. Sometimes a deposit is required before services are given. After service, patients receive a numbered card, and monitors throughout the hospital tell you when the cashier has your charges processed. After paying, you go to the on-site pharmacy where they fill any prescritions the doctor may have ordered. When you have x-rays taken, they are available at the doctor's computer screen within a matter of minutes.

February 28, 2005 The first report or update on Mark:
Mark's decision to go to Thailand is turning out to be a good decision. Even though it is private pay, it is turning out to be true that he will get the very best of care, at 1/5th the cost. He made an appointment with an oncologist for the day after he arrived in Thailand. He was at the hospital from 9 am until 8pm. seeing not only the oncologist but a radio-oncologist, an orthopedist and an infectious medicine specialist as he had developed an abscess on his elbow in some mysterious way. He had a battery of scans and tests: bone scans, heart scan with radioactive tag, blood tests, renal tests...and an IV with IV Rocefin. He is to get radiology every day for awhile as an outpatient, beginning right away, to shrink his esophageal cancer. There is the option of some laser cutting also. There is no talk of a magic cure though as some suspicious areas on his spine also.

More metastasis? One of his docs just arrived after 15 yrs at MD Anderson and is familiar with the experimental studies and drugs and treatments, as well as latest non-experimental treatments. He was greeted and treated like a king, escorted everywhere in the hospital which is apparently huge with a mall and restaurants. I have only viewed it from the outside and looked the lobby windows in the past and been impressed by how clean and how modern it is.
Mark's goal is to increase his quality of life and extend it as far as he can. I am less worried about him than I was. He accepts that he does not have long to live and I accept it too..however if he can have time to put his affairs in order, perhaps have a few more adventures while under good medical care, and to say goodbye it will be wonderful. I will be in Thailand March 7 to 21 unless I need to stay longer. If I come home, I will make a return trip perhaps 6 weeks later. Thanks for all your prayers and caring, betty

It is 10 days after I received word from Mark that he was diagnosed with cancer. He has been hoping and believing that his health insurance would send him to a hospital in Hawaii or the Philapines for evaluation and some treatment, but he finally came to believe that they were not going to send him as they believe he only had three months to live. But then again, shouldn't he be evaluated by specialists in the field of oncology, of which there are none on Saipan? He has given away all his belongings except for a camera, a computer, and just a few clothes. When I visited him this past fall, he had closets full of clothes and 15 or so plastic crates of belongings and clothes that the hospital had paid to ship to Saipan, a television, an answering machine I had sent and lots of household items he and i had bought and cupboards full of canned goods and housewares : virtually everything he had collected over the years. He gave it all away except for a camera, a computer, and about 5 pair of pants and 5 shirts and bought a ticket for Bangkok.
Mark sends me an e-mail:
Well, I made it here. It was a rough trip, my back hurt, and then my elbow and my ankles got very swollen.. I am headed to the hospital now, but it is a holiday here so I don't know how much I can get done. My friend, the Thai doctor in Saipan, wrote me a note and referral to an oncologist at Bumrungrad Hospital, but in the same note he said that in my case he wouldn't reccomend radiation or chemo, because I might not survive it, or it might make me sicker. He is reccomending traditional Thai medicine, and said his family would help me with it.
It seems every person that I have talked to also knows of some doctor or cure that worked on someone they know. People are almost offended if I don't show the proper awe and gratitude at their sugestions for my care.
Talk to you soon, Love Mark.

e-mail to sister Stephanie: I just called mark at 6:45 a.m. my time. Mark was just preparing to go to sleep...I think it is 4 pm..maybe he is working nights...I am not sure if he is or not but he said he is trying to stay on schedule as long as possible to extend some benefits out..
Today looks like the insurance company will authorize him go to Hawii and will pay for the first round of radiation if the doc in Hawaii says he needs it..
I will call MD Anderson today and talk to lots of people but it looks like he needs to get first round in Hawaii and when that will happen is still not settled...maybe he will go tomorrow or weekend or mon....island behavior...Thank you for looking stuff up: a lot of links and sorting thru misc stuff of little value could be overwhelming to mark ..so sift thru it and just send him the gems if you can...kind of like us panning for gold in Japan..lots of panning for tiny gems.
Love you mom

E-mail to sister, Stephanie.
"Mark is waiting to see if he is to go to Hawaii...They have decided he is not to see Dr. Pang but Dr. Sterns and they can't get ahold of Dr. Sterns to get an apt for Mark yet..but they are trying to get an apt...then he will go to Hawaii..he thinks he will be there a couple of days, come back to Saipan, pack and head for Thailand. He has his friend John there looking for an apt for him.
He is willing to think about M.D. Anderson if they can do anything for him...I will call tomorrow.
I have encouraged him to talk with the social worker at hospital in Hawaii regarding his Medicaid and SSDI questions and continue to tell him I will provide some money and even sign if need be saying I will pay...eventually. He does not want to be on Saipan any longer than necessary since they can do nothing for him. I told him we would meet him there after Hawaii and he said...come to Thailand."

It's frustrating. You don't expect this to happen, and you can't be prepared for it. When insurance backs out on you, it feels like your choices become severely limited. Add to it that the choices you have keep being taken away, and you have what we have- no control.

Stephanie has talked to Mark and she writes in an e-mail:
OK, talked to Mark for a while... he answered and sounded tired- I guess he was asleep, but it was a real good talk. He's gotten news from somewhere that they won't pay for much care because it's "not curative", meaning it's just to keep him comfortable but not to save his life. He agreed that he should do some of it anyway - said he'd be in Hawaii in a day or two, to discuss with doc, then back to Saipan then on to Thailand for treatment b/c he likes the hospitals and people there.

A Thai doc from his hospital said he'd send his family to pick Mark up and care for him and then I guess he also knows someone who does some alternative treatment. I asked about clinical trials and he said he doesn't qualify but to feel free to send out his contact info and he'll talk to anyone. Said he will sell or give away most of his stuff but that he hates it b/c he's gotten it down to stuff he really really likes. I told him that photos are really important to you and me and he understood that and he said that was the plan... he seems to be hanging onto having a plan and that's understandable.

I told him I wanted to see him and to contact me as soon as he lights somewhere that he has a doctor so I can do that. We joked about going to Tahiti for alternative treatment... that was nice. Then (note: morbid thoughts ahead... proceed with caution) he asked would we take his ashes and what would we do with them and so I said "that's up to you- mom and i will do what you want us to do, but come up with something fun, creative" and he says "Okay, I want you to skydive and..." and I said "be careful with this, cuz you know Mom will do it if you ask" and we laughed again.

Stephanie wants to send Mark a hand held game and some books. I email her the following news:
"Mark just called and the doc told him to go to Hawaii day after tomorrow and he will go to St. Francis Hosp and see Dr. Pang. He is feeling lost since he does not have the time he thought he would to pack up his things and ease out of Saipan...yet he is not sure he should pack his things as he might be coming back to Saipan...Uncertainty...He is headed for hospital now. I did tell him again that you were not so far from him and you would come help him. I guess we will know more about Thurs after he sees Dr. Pang...I am not sure you can send him a handheld game or books until you know how long he will be at St. Francis Hospital. What a deal! He said he felt lost today...but I know he will be back up as soon as he gets to the hosp. and talks to people there and gets more info. love mom PS thanks for kind words."

February 12, 2005 "Bad News."
Mark called a couple of days ago and left a message to call him right away as he had "a bit of bad news." When I reached him, he told me that he had suddenly been diagnosed with cancer of the esophageal gastric juncture with metastasis to the liver and it was so bad that he had been given three months to live. He expected to be flown off the island to Hawaii or the Phillipines for further evaluation and treatment within a few days. I called his sister in Japan and had her contact him. He sent her an e-mail on this date explaining his situation. Here is that e-mail:

Hi Steph, Thanks for trying to call, it means alot to me. Mom has told me all about your place(in Yokosuka, Japan), and that you are happy as a clam. I like it here on Saipan too, but now I think that I will have to move on.
I'm sure Mom told you some of what is going on but I'll recap for you: For the last 4-5 months I have had alot of pain in my stomach. At first I thought it was just indigestion, and took malox ect., but later on I had trouble swallowing food. It would just get stuck right above my stomach, and would hurt alot before I could force it through with water. So the doctors thought it was regurgitation, and put me on regalin (kind of like prilosec), and some stronger antacids, told me to change my diet, and we would check it out if it didn't get any better. I had already changed my diet to mostly noodles and soup, an I stopped having more than 2-3 beers a week almost 2 years ago, so there wasn't much to change. Well, the pain stayed with me, and I developed another pain on my right side that was alot stronger. One night at work it got so bad that I went to the ER. They started me on an IV because I was dehydrated (my gut is not taking up water like it should) and gave me some pain med. The doctor was smart, and could tell that this might not be just regurge or acid problems, and scheduled me for an ultrasound of the abdomen the next day (this last thursday). I thought the ultrasound might show gallstones or something like that, but it showed several places on my liver where the tissue was of a different density than the surrounding liver tissue. This is about the time I started to get a little worried. Then we did a cat scan of the abdomen. After that many of the doctors that I work and play with started dropping by the ER to say hello and if they could help to let them know, another bad sign. then the GI doctor came by and took me over to look at the CT. He showed me where the esopagus started, and how large the passage was. Then as the pictures went deeper, near my stomach it got smaller, and then just was closed. Surrounding the esoupagus was a donut looking bunch of tissue, slightly darker, indicating more tissue of a different density. The end result of the tests were that the doctor told me that I had an esophogeal tumor that had spread to my liver. The next day I underwent an endoscopy, and they took biopsies to find out what kind of cancer I have. I haven't heard yet but generally this kind of thing goes pretty fast. There is not much they can do for me. Possibly shrink the tumors a bit and try to open my stomach a little every now and then so I can eat some solid food, but I think I'll probably kick the bucket in the next year. The doctor gave me all the liquid morphine that I need, and that helps alot. It keeps the pain down so that for right now my life is pretty regular. I am able to go to the beach and see friends and stuff. I am not weak or anything, I actually look really good, since I have lost a few pounds. I'll take some pictures and send them to you. This week the medical board will meet and send me to Hawaii to start some kind of treatment, but it is just to buy a little time, there is no possible cure. I think after Hawaii I will try to go to Bangkok and rent an apartment there. It is cheap and they are not freaked out about death. I think it would be a comfortable place to be, I have friends there, and they have good medical care. I don't want to burden mom with watching me whither away and needing to deal with all of the other things that will come up, so this is my initial plan. As things change or develop I will let you know.
Thank you so much for calling. When I came home and heard your voice I can't begin to tell you how much it meant to me, and how much it cheered me up. I will get mom a phone card, I think I have an extra that can be recharged, and if you will e-mail your phone number, I will call you. I miss you.

August 29, 2004 Island of Tinian: location of airfield and bombpits for the Enola Gay



Mark and I finally got the ferry to the island of Tinian. The ferry has not been operating due to the typhoon Chaba that just came through. We waited a long time to see if the ferry would run today but finally we took off. When we got to the docks on Tinian we were not near anything we could walk to. Luckily, the casino picked us, and the rest of the ferry passengers, up in a bus and took us to the Casino, which is huge and fancy and has a hotel and shops and a fancy restaurant and of course gambling. We were told if we played the slots or tables we could get ferry ticket back so we played about 14 dollars between us and then we learned that the only tickets back that we could get were in 10 minutes and we had just got there and the next tickets available would be at 5 am...so we decided we would pay our own way back on the ferry, but a little while later we learned that it wasn't just pay or not pay. There was no ferry coming back until the next day. Hmm, perhaps an overnight stay. Then we learned we could fly back for less than twice the cost of the ferry, so we decided to fly back at 6 pm and in the meantime we would find a way to the bomb pits. The last tour of the day had supposedly left 10 min ago. Earlier we had been told no tour today. I rented a car for 3 hours (minimum rental) for 45 dollars. There was no one at the car rental agency but we made some phone calls and then someone came and rented us a car. Mark and i took off down roads with grass growing up thru the concrete here and there and some roads closed due to typhoon debris and uprooted trees falling on them...but we managed to get to bomb pits one and two and get pictures and to walk on the runway that the Enola Gay took off on headed for Hiroshima and laterNagasaki. At one time during WWII, this airport was the busiest in the world. On this day only Mark and I stood there looking at grass growing up in places through the airstrip built by seabees. We got to relive history in our imaginations by seeing not only the bombpits and airstrip, but also the monuments and suicide cliffs and bunkers and headquarters etc....it was a full day and believe it or not, when mark and i were driving up to the bomb pits and around the island and back...about 2 and a half hours, we only saw one other car...it certainly was not crowded...no one at bomb pits or other places of historic interest, but us. The road paralleled the ocean for most of the trip to the bombpits. We stopped on route to see a blow hole. There was an area next to the blow hole, with signs to keep out as there were unexploded munitions in that area. Of course Mark had to go into that area to explore. I played mom and yelled at him to come back immediately.
We managed to turn the car in at the airport rather than hotel where we had rented it. We had to route the lady out to come to the hotel and rent it to us and had to call several times to get her to the airport to check us out. She wanted us just to leave the key in the glove box...but I am super cautious these days and wanted her to give us the heads up that the car was in as good a shape as when we took it. The flight home to Saipan was first come first serve and we were not first...waited about 90 minutes as two single engine planes carrying 5 passengers each went back and forth from Tinian to Saipan...There were a zillion Japanese tourists going back to Saipan and other people who would have taken the ferry if it was running. They came out of nowhere. I would have sworn there was only a handful of people on the island. I had to take off my flip flops and climb up on the wing to get into the plane. I was told this airlines has a 70 year old woman pilot...but we did not draw her...just a middle aged man for a pilot... our car was not at the Saipan airport but at the Warf or docks. Fortunately I conversed with Perry, a young businessman. in our airplane on way back and he gave us and another man a ride from the airport to the dock area...a full day... Betty

Saipan August 2004




The island is not very big …only about 23 miles long and is fairly narrow. The airport is near the southern end of the island. Mark lives currently in Guarapan, which is north east of the airport. He lives in a very nice apartment building, which has only eight apartments. Mark has not been working on the island long and so I got to help him get his apartment leased and in order. He had an unbelievably large number of huge plastic boxes that he had shipped to Saipan that we unpacked and I helped him set up a telephone service and e-mail provider (essentials to us high tech professionals) and get a few rugs and niceties.
Mark has a view of the ocean from his kitchen window and he is within a short walk of the beach. He does not have a car and fortunately one of the nurses loaned him a motorbike. When it rains he wears his bathing suit on the motorbike on the route to the hospital. He carries his scrubs in a plastic baggie and changes to them when he gets to the hospital, which is only five or ten minutes away by car. While I am here, we have a car that I have rented.
Mark took me sightseeing all over the island. At the far north end of the island is Marpi Point…one place where the Japanese jumped off into the ocean. Another location in which they jumped off was Suicide Cliff. As you know already, the battles began in the south and ended in the north.

We visited the last command post of the Japanese, which is in northeast part of island close to sea with cliffs and forests to the west. The cliffs have caves and areas that look like they were hit by mortar fire. The jungle is dense…very dense. There are all kinds of Japanese and Korean monuments at the last command point location and at Marpi Point and Suicide Cliff. The American monuments are in American Monument Park. The biggest monument there is a circular walk with names of all the American soldiers, sailors, and marines killed or missing. In the middle of the monument circular walk are flagpoles with American flag and flags of 4 American branches of service. There is a museum building in the park but it is closed on the weekend so we have yet to go there. The park is fairly large. There is also a monument to the native peoples: the Carolinians and Chamarros, who were marched into caves and then killed by the Japanese soldiers who threw grenades in and killed them. The murdered natives included infants and children as well as men and women. The names and ages of the people are on the monument. There is a bell tower in the park donated by an American Ambassador to Saipan. Behind the park is a marina for sail and motorboats, which connects to the ocean.

While I have been here we have experienced Typhoon Chaba, which included high winds and rain. There was loss of electrical power and some lucky people like us were in buildings with generators. I even managed to e-mail out from a bar down the street, that still had their e-mail up and going and a generator. I was a little worried about the rent car being out in the storm since I did not take the insurance. I couldn't turn it back in as the rental car agency closed before the Typhoon hit.
I think the Eastern side of the island got the most damage although our western side had many damaged trees, some washouts of roadways, some water in houses, periodic water shut offs, and loss of cable TV and radio stations. Businesses shut down with only a few open. One Chinese fellow was taking pictures at a place called the grotto and he was washed away by a sudden unexpected wave…and he has not been found. Mark and I had stood where he was washed away, only two days previously. We also were taking pictures of the large number of divers in the grotto. This is a place where you walk down the side of a cliff on winding steps to large stones in the water and you are surrounded by cliffs with caves. The divers have to carry their tanks up and down this long winding stairway. Amazing to see the Japanese tourist divers doing this. Most of the tourists are Asian. Asian tourists are a big business here. Guarapan even has a big fancy mall with all the big name designer shops. The shoppers? Mostly Japanese. There is a Rotary Club here that meets at the hotel. I did attend a meeting and met some wonderful Rotarians.