Monthly Archives: August 2007

It’s time for me to express my gratitude to Mark Bergsrud of Continental Airlines.� Growing up, my cousin Mark creamed me in ping pong more times than there are grains of sand on Waikiki.� He also knew�great music when he … Continue reading →

Jendrik Leviticus, Maritha’s grandfather, was twelve years old in 1946.  He lived on Bikini Atoll in the northern Marshall Islands.  In his lifetime, the Japanese had controlled the islands, but just recently the Americans had “liberated” the Marshallese. The Americans had … Continue reading →

Like all of the non-Western world, the Marshall Islands were invaded by Christian missionaries sometime in the last hundred years. As Kylie observed, they were darned successful. Kylie said, “There are churches everywhere, and they’re the nicest buildings on the … Continue reading →

Two Marshallese artifacts that I’d like to highlight are taxis and cemeteries.  First, the taxis. Taxis are public transportation.  For 75 cents, you go can anywhere on the east end of Majuro between Rita and the airport, a stretch of … Continue reading →

Shortly after we arrived on Majuro, Eddie told me that they wanted to have a big party at Jendrik’s house Saturday night with all of the relatives.  As Saturday approached, details of the party got more specific, like they’d pick … Continue reading →

The first morning we were on Majuro, Eddie and Jendrik (Maritha’s father and grandfather) arrived in a pair of Hyundai Elantras (the official island car- they’re everywhere) to show us around Majuro. The girls rode with jima (grandpa) and Edison … Continue reading →

So what, and where in the heck, are the Marshall Islands? Fair question. What I tell people is this: Go to Hawaii. Go another 2500 miles. If you get to the Philippines, you’ve gone too far. I’ve hunted for maps … Continue reading →

We arrived on Majuro Aug. 2. After landing, we waited about an hour to get processed though customs. During this time, Maritha could see her little brothers through some narrow slats that separated us from the main lobby. It was … Continue reading →

And life is good. God is good. We left Hawaii about 7:30 a.m. Aug. 1, flew for 5 hours, and landed in Majuro at about 10:30 a.m. Aug. 2. Who knew? Actually, I knew, but it’s still pretty freaky to … Continue reading →