A Nostalgic Look At Okinawa Circa 1980-1985

Originally Compiled by Ken Pare' and Jack Canavan, added to on the Web BBS

On Base:

Water Rationing
(If under eighteen) Driving all over base, because that is the only place you can legally go.
How many quarters did you spend on video games in the Bowling Alley?
Seeing a action movie on base with a theater full of Marines. (First Blood or Porky's)
Going out during the typhoon to wind surf your skateboard.
Actually knowing someone who lived at Naha housing
The Habu taking off. Shook the whole damn house, and by the time you got outside, it was gone.
Earthquakes. I remember my bed bounding around the room without any help from me on a couple of occasions.
Typhoon parties.
Cement Walls (Hell to hang up posters)
Housing area evacuations after construction crews uncovered unexploded WWII ordinance.
Donkey Kong with all the levels in the "right" order
The teen club that no teenager in his right mind would actually go to
The Kadena Karnival
Carrying a boom box or walkman everywhere you went
Always knowing if an approaching car was an MP because they were the only
American cars on the base
Summer hire for $1.90 an hour
The Tiki
The Skoshi KOOM
Mama-sans to clean your house

At School:

Kadena High School Radio Show
Panther Run
Videos about Joe's anatomy parts (Stomach, Brain, etc...)
The Body Builder
Pencils stuck in the ceiling of the cafeteria
The Letterman's Club initiations.
The Panther "Band" at the 1984 Far-East Hoop Tournament. No instruments, but very enthusiastic.
Westminster Chimes between classes
Mr. Brown spitting out his dentures while yelling at the soccer team
Running hills after football practice.
Trying to start a fire on the beach after graduation with wet wood
The talent show
Candy Grams
Flower Grams
Decorating your locker
Lunch table territoriality

Out and about Okinawa:

Corn on your Shakey's Pizza.
Talking about or actually painting a square on the Sunabe Seawall
Mongolian Barbecue
Going to Deja Vu to watch videos
Fried Ice Cream At (Store?)
Fukahara's record store
BC Street was the interesting side of gate two street.
The (Last or First Chance restaurant) Had to play Great White North on the Juke Box
Going to TEC and McDonald's on Friday nights.
Going to Okuma falls and actually swimming all though it was off limits.
Learning how to wind surf at Kadena Marina.
Pocari Sweat
Banana Shows.
Buying Yaki Tori from street vendors.
Sam's By The Sea
Kobe Beef
Benjo ditches
The Botanical Gardens
Cup Stars
Fresh Bottles
Sumo wrestling on Japanese TV
8 Beat, Manhattan, Apple House, Pianisimo, etc.
The Purple Haze? The Cave? The B.Y.O. parties after football games?
Drag racing on the highway.
Doug Culver's little Suzuki pick-up with Mr. Bike painted on the sides.
Humidity

FEN TV:

Infomercials about salmonella.
Seeing last years parades on holidays
Typhoon Programming
Watching games until ungodly hours of the morning
Also, the controversy this caused for those people who wanted to watch the game on tape at a decent hour. I remember signs all over Kadena HS admonishing the students not to talk about the Super Bowl.
Public Service Announcements about:
1. The "BOOST" Program
2. The GI Bill (Especially Lincoln standing up in class to answer a question about the Kansas/Nebraska Act. "The Kansas/Nebraska act of 1864......I've been doing some studying, kind of on my own."
The little typhoon symbols in the corner of the picture during storm conditions
FEN news: "If you don't want to know the score, turn down your TV now."
Gumby losing Pokey's bike "He'll rip your lips off"
OPSEC! Operation Security! Especially the ones about taking the on-base stickers off the windshield of your car!

FEN Radio:

What an eclectic programing Country, Rock, TOP40.
American TOP 40 the only thing that kept you current on songs.
Jon Yim's morning show.
Gumby Biff and Spinner
Chicken Man
The FM Classical Station that played hard rock from 11 PM - 5 AM

Quality of Life:

How many movies did your parents copy tape to tape ?
Where else can you buy a great car for less than $3,000.
There were cars in the junk yard in Oki that were in better shape than the ones we drove, due to the inspections.
Remember people changing out all there customized parts to the standard ones in order to get the car through inspection, and then changing it all back again.
Speed Flashers.
$5 Reeboks from Korea
Mink blankets from Korea
$7 Members Only jackets from Korea
$10 MAC flights to anywhere
Getting stranded on one of those $10 MAC flights
Felix bubble gum
Those shriveled up little things called 'seymours'