Natsukashii

Where to begin?
I began this little narrative with a few questions in mind. Why do I even want to do this book? To whom do I want to address my commentary? What do I have to offer that you may not have already seen or read somewhere else? Why should you even want to read this? And the one question that we all ask for which we never quite get a good answer: What is Growth Hacking?
Hey, Mick! Why do you want to write a book? Because I have some things to share about my experiences on Okinawa. I'm old and may not be around much longer. Some who know me may miss my subjecting them to stories and anecdotes about that little island out in the middle of Nowhere that I love so dearly, so this narrative might serve to pick up where I've left off. Maybe we can just say that this is a legacy project. But, no, it transcends the simplicity of wanting something to be around after I'm an urnful of ashes. I want to reach people who I think may be on the fence about pursuing their latent curiosity about the great Ryky Kingdom. I hope to stimulate them a bit and spur them into action. I've known so many people during my years on Okinawa who just sat around and whined about being "stuck on this rock" with "nothing to do" but who never worked up the gumption or even the curiosity to go out and look for the countless adventures that existed all around them. Now, ten or twenty, or in some cases forty or fifty years later, I read their lamentations about having never taken advantage of opportunities while there and how now they want to go back to the islands so that they can see, do, and eat the things they so fervently wish they'd have done when they had the chance. It's a pity that most of those who wish they had, will never do so.
So then, to answer the second question, who am I trying to reach, I would include those people for sure but I think there are many others who could use a bit of a nudge. For example, folks who are currently living on island but have yet to get out and about. For those who have just begun to get out and about, I hope to give them some inspiration and maybe some guidance on where to go, what to see and, of course, what I think are great things to eat! I have my favorites but would never presume to tell anyone what's the best, or where's the best places for truly adventuresome sight-seeing or dining. Those are decisions made by each person for themselves and what they deem to be the best is a very personal thing. But for gosh-sakes, at least get out there and try a bit of everything!
There are folks who once lived there and want to go back. A lot of them are discouraged by what they've read about how the island "just ain't the same" as when they were there in the 1950s, '60s, or even eight years ago! Sure, it has changed, but so has your home town, my home town, everyone's home town. Only the most remote, and probably most unexciting places have remained unchanged. I believe that in each and every one of those chan...