And That's No BS

Let me start by getting off-track. I'm wondering how many times I can reference Facebook on my blog in a week before people think I spend all my time there? I do have a life, honest. I even blog about it. But Facebook is my connection back to the USA, so I check it every day. I don't do any games or other applications. I refuse to poke people, or send them hearts or flowers. I simply scan my newsfeed and enjoy the glimpse into the daily lives of people I care about, and see if I can return the favor with anything worthwhile.

Anyway...there is a Facebook group called, "You know you've lived in Okinawa when..." that went viral. I haven't actually checked it in months (because it was getting redundant) but it was so much fun to laugh at the common experiences I've had with others, being an American living on Okinawa. One of the items I saw listed repeatedly had me baffled.

"You see a man walking his bull down a busy street like it's no big deal."

OR

"You see a man taking his bull for a walk by the nose."

What?! How had I missed this? Where would one find a man walking a bull down the street? A couple of people mentioned the area near Camp McTureous, which is just north of us but on the Pacific side of the island. I rarely get over there, but decided I'd have to go sometime just to witness the man walking the bull.

Well, on our way back from Peace Prayer Park today (which was a fabulous experience I will blog about later) on the very southern tip of the island, I saw a sight that led me to near-hyperventilation and back-seat-driving ("Oh my gosh! Honey...turn around! Turn around!!!")

We were on a very busy street, but Cliff made the next possible U-turn as I grabbed my camera. He pulled off on a side street and I bolted out of the van to capture this:




Just like people said.



And there's the rope through the nose. (Look at the first picture. You can barely see it...but if you look closely, you can see the knot at the end of the rope in his other nostril.) This is ALL the control this man has of his bull. He was so gentle. I even got to pet him.



The man was so patient. He gave the bull the command to stop when he saw me coming (he's probably used to crazy, camera-wielding Americans) and he just waited patiently for me to get my fill. He made a few size jokes with hand gestures (about the bull...not me) and then I reluctantly left the scene...



And he continued his walk, turning down the hill, toward his farm. All in a day's work, I suppose.

It made me wax a little nostalgic for this.

I love this place!