Now picture this, in a Japanese restaurant on Okinawa that is the size of a Burger King. Mind you, this is a really large place to their standards considering how expensive real-estate is there to begin with. My buddy, we’ll call him “Kinsu” because he is taking Japanese and actually doing very well at it is sitting to my right. On my left is a local girl that we hang out with named Akiko. After a great meal of Sushi, followed by a couple of beers, “Kinsu” leans back and tries to make some small talk with Akiko on his observations of the Japanese language. I have to admit that the big hulking “Gaijin” or Foreigner as they call us is doing pretty well at a very difficult language.
“Kinsu” looks at the waiter across the room and in his deep American Marine voice yells over the din of noise as he waves his hand to get his attention and says something like “SemiSan, SemiSan, ConJo O Kudasi,” but the reaction he received was not what they told him it would be in Japanese One Oh Two. Every head in the place is now looking at us, chop sticks frozen in mid-stride, all conversation ceases. I calmly lean over to whisper, “Hey there Kinsu, what the hell did you just say???”
“Kinsu’s” face is flaming red, Akiko has her face covered with both hands, and is slumped down in her chair. He snarls under his breath in a low hiss, “I said, excuse me, excuse me, I’d like my check please.”
Akiko, slumped down whispers, “No, Kinsu, that is not what you ask. What you say was not polite.” I’d have to agree judging from the stares we were receiving. It was like that old broker commercial where the guy says, “My broker is EF Hutton and he says…” and the whole place freezes, which is just what this situation is like.
The waiter who we find out is actually the owner, comes over and says, “Please, in future do this for check, (drawing out on his hand) and I bring check.” We buy Akiko lunch and walk out to the van down the street. “Kinsu” is still reeling from his failure at asking for the check. He is bugging Akiko to tell him what he said to the owner of the newest blacklisted to all Gaijin because of him, restaurant. Finally, she looks up with this serious face and says, “What you say, not polite.”
He replies “Yeah, yeah, I got that already, I asked for the check right???”
Shaking her head back and forth she says “No, Kinsu, what you said across the restaurant was EXCUSE ME, EXCUSE ME, WOULD YOU PLEASE STICK YOUR THUMB UP MY A** and in Japanese that is not polite.” She continues “to ask for the check is OOHHH ConJOO, O Kudasi.”
“Kinsu” just shakes his head as we get into the van, “Happy to Glad, I’m sorry but your language sucks!!!”
Now you know how he got the nickname Kinsu…
Hey Gang, by the way, I have a buddy who is now over in Iraq for his third tour and here is his link on Anysoldier.com, if you look him up, please adopt him and his Marines for the rest of the year. He isn’t located on a base so there is no PX to get stuff from. Lets just say that they are West of everywhere in the desert and this is like being in the wild wild west!!! Thanks a ton for helping him out. Trust me when I tell you he can write VERY well and you would like to be on his email list. His name is LtCol Tom V
http://anysoldier.com/WhereToSend/DynamicAdmin.cfm?SEQNO=23239&popup=no
Semper Fi as always,
Taco
The SandGram 
September 15, 2006 at 11:09 pm
That’s a good thing about you Taco. You don’t ditch your friends no matter what they say. By the way our future penpal and adoptee is not on AnyMarine or AnySoldier, yet.
September 16, 2006 at 12:53 am
If you keep erasing the comments, some of us are gonna get a complex:)
September 16, 2006 at 3:12 am
Mrs Diva,
I’ve already got one:)
I hope Tom’s link will be there soon. He is one neat young man! AND CAN HE WRITE!! On his first couple of tours in the Sandbox, I was always on pins and needles awaiting his emails!!
Hey, Maj. Pain was at Walter Reed tonight! He left his air horn so I guess he’ll just have to return to get it, won’t he, Gunn Nutt?
September 16, 2006 at 3:25 am
I’ll adopt him and his Marines if I get an address. I need to know what TV programs they like. New TV season starts next week and I’ll be recording a lot of programs again 🙂 I have a ton of magazines to mail too.
You can give him my e-mail if you get a chance.
Taco Mama – glad to “see” you 🙂
September 16, 2006 at 7:11 am
Maybe I’m just up too late, but I don’t get the name “Kinsu”. Is that a dirty Japanese word, too? Poor guy, making such a terrible faux pas in front of a buddy who will NEVER let him live it down!
Yes, the Major was a royal Pain in the Pinko’s backsides tonight. He lit in to them right away with an unequivocal “You Suck!” and it went downhill from there. It was beautiful!
September 16, 2006 at 12:03 pm
LOL GN!!! And some people don’t think his new name fits:) Thanks guys for ALL you’ve been doing out there every Friday!
Taco, I think your friend is hiding from your supporters after reading some of the past comments.:)
September 16, 2006 at 2:03 pm
Hey Guys,
There is a gunny or something as the POC for the unit, but he posted on that link as LtCol V., the link that I put on the blog.
Thanks for taking care of them. I’m going on the road this week with the Marines and will check up with you all next week.
S/F
Taco
September 16, 2006 at 3:26 pm
I did find him and his team 🙂 After reading his update I even know what movies they will like…
And of course when he is back he can count on the case of Polish beer lol
September 16, 2006 at 3:38 pm
I haven’t been able to get the link to work so if anyone can help out with this one, I would be happy to do something for them.
September 16, 2006 at 4:27 pm
Found ’em! Kathy in NC, email me at sdlkirk2@cox.net for info.
September 16, 2006 at 8:23 pm
Taco-shosa, sumimasen,Karen I. no propellor ga desu. Domo arigato.
September 16, 2006 at 10:35 pm
For LtCol. V, Look under Ggt Sgt Kevin McKinney and you will find the latest update was written by LtCol V.
They have already received 48 requests for the address!
September 16, 2006 at 11:19 pm
Karen needs coffee again:)
T-Mama, he had almost that many when I first went over to the site this morning. I already sent him a letter though and today is box packing day soooo…….
September 17, 2006 at 1:44 am
I found them,too. Does anyone think they’d want a foot massager?
September 17, 2006 at 1:48 am
p.s. The link Taco put on his post has a symbol on there that I don’t have so I substituted& and got a bright blue warning page that I would be investigated! but then an hour later I got on there and typed LtCol. V. in the search engine and got what Taco Mama got.
September 17, 2006 at 2:04 am
Foot massager? M’kay. That sounds realllly familiar:) Maybe this time you should just send foot powder and socks?
September 17, 2006 at 3:51 am
Thanks for the McKinney connection Taco’s Mom…
September 17, 2006 at 4:48 am
GunnNutt- I just used goodsearch at anysoldier and here’s what I found on kinsu:
Kinsu
The King of butt music is here to serve you music that gets your booty jumping.
Sorry, Taco’s Mama, but as you’ve alluded, you’ve become almost used to what the Major comes up with.Geez, I feel like we’re talking behind his back with him on the road for the Marines and all. Shame on me.
September 17, 2006 at 12:40 pm
You guys crack me up!! Kinsu, like the jap knives that could cut through anything… Nothing dirty!!
But remember, I hardly use real names to hid the guilty who are still out there in the Corps…
Ha!! Going Fishing this morning in P-Cola Fl, hope you guys have a great weekend.
S/F
Taco
September 17, 2006 at 1:03 pm
Taco! Jeeeez bud, that’s Ginsu on the knives!!!! Not Kinsu. Apparently, Japanese doesn’t work for you either?
September 17, 2006 at 1:15 pm
Oh Taco!
I have so been there and done that! I lived in Japan for a while in the 80’s as I worked for Hitachi Semiconductor. Thanks for the memories and the uproarious laughter!
Sam
.
.
September 17, 2006 at 3:17 pm
Agnieszka, I vote for you giving them zhivyetz (its got a patriotic red white and blue label) when they return because it tastes great and because its so filling you won’t have to feed them much and they’ll get full before they get too drunk.
Mrs. Diva, you’re right. There’s nothing like a good cup of joe.
Major,that was sweet how you tried to get out of saying kinsu, maybe because Mom might read it.Better let us know what you catch. Us women are always suspicious when a guy goes fishing and doesn’t catch anything.
September 17, 2006 at 6:09 pm
Hey, Taco! When you’re in Pensacola, drive to the other side of the state and see me in Jacksonville!
I’ll write to Lt. Col. Tom this week…sounds like our boys will be WELL taken care of! Thanks for the tip!
September 17, 2006 at 6:41 pm
Y’all, he’s gone fishing with one of the wildest, most fun-loving retired Master Chiefs the Navy ever had–I know cause he is my first cousin 🙂 There will probably be a good story coming soon, if things hold true to course! This is one of my favorite cousins and I wish we lived closer!!
September 17, 2006 at 7:57 pm
Mama Taco – what a great family y’all have !!! Thanks to you and Taco for sharing so much richness with the rest of us.
Hey Mrs. Dive – I’m looking at the “word verification” I need to type to post this and it is “nuggyh” … Go ahead, pronounce it out loud… doesn’t that sound just like … instead of erasing comments, is Taco gonna start messing with us by making us type … un-Church-Lady-like words ???
September 17, 2006 at 7:58 pm
Ooooh Mrs. Diva – sorry didn’t mean to call you Mrs. Dive !!! I should preview my typing 😦
September 17, 2006 at 9:10 pm
LOL Sammy! No prob, just thought someone had mentioned secrets of my past:) And yesterday I got a verification that was pretty bad too. Now you have me wondering!
T-Mama, I was starting to get just a bit suspicious. I mean Hubby claims to be fishing on the west coast, then Taco runs away from home and claims to be fishing on the east coast! That’s after he said he was with the Marines:( I was gonna say things were getting a little “fishy”, but you saved the day! It’s not that I don’t believe all the stories the guys tell us, but……..
September 18, 2006 at 1:17 am
On an unrelated note:
I have searched everywhere for a link or info for someone who might be putting together a legal defense fund for the Haditha marines and sailor to assist with their outside legal bills, etc. Do you or your readers know of such a committe?
Thanks!
Blonde
September 18, 2006 at 2:46 am
Blonde – I personally don’t know.
Hey, and my husband went to TX today…hmm…he didn’t take any fishing poles though 🙂
Tacobell – you need to plan fly-fishing in CO next year.
Karen – it’s Zywiec and Okocim. Don’t try to drink it on the empty belly 🙂
I won’t even mention Polish vodka. I just came back from the Polish picnic in COSprings. Let’s just say there was a lot of loud singing of folk songs at the end lol
September 18, 2006 at 2:42 pm
Agnieszka…I wanna come play! Did I mention before that Hubby is half Polish? He can’t speak the language (still trying to master English) but his G’parents grew up in Poland.