“Remember the ‘90’s?”, a gas station sign on Guam opines. Those
were Guam’s glory days, when the Japan economic boom fueled construction
projects and tourism; and sailors from Ronald Reagan’s 600-ship US Navy spent
their paychecks on trinkets and entertainment.
Light and stylish, suitable for a wide range of activities,
tropical shirts are ubiquitous in Guam. Designs range from floral, prints, to
abstract designs, and shirts bearing the legendary DC-3 propeller plane of the
1930s and 1940s. I have not yet seen a
vintage propeller plane fly over Guam’s Apra Harbor into Won Pat International
airport; just modern jets bearing the names of United Airlines, FedEx, Cathay
Pacific and Korean Air.
The end results of consumerism is quickly evident on a
small island. Gas stations and a six-lane arterial, Marine Corps Drive, line
the waterfront of Hagatna, Guam’s capital city. Even industrialized and
militarized Norfolk, Virginia keeps gas stations on the inland side of Ocean
View Avenue. British-owned Diego Garcia, an atoll in the Indian Ocean, sends
its “retrograde” garbage to mainland Asia for disposal. In American Guam,
household waste too often ends up dumped in priceless and scenic parks. Brochures advertise weekend trips to "unspoiled" islands like Saipan, Chuuk and Palau.
Telling of the harried times of today’s military, coffee shops
line the approach road to Guam Naval Base. Locals treat the speed limit- never
exceeding 35 miles per hour- as a speed limit. Sailors often regard those signs
as mere road decoration, as they whip and zag to work or home. Though our local
contractors live on island time, we’re busy;
we’ve made Guam just like home.
Then we sing “Old Maui”, an old sailor song. We’re singing
about going to a tropical island, when we’re on a tropical island? Nostalgia
for Paradise Lost was true even in 1890’s, when French painter Paul Gauguin
encountered the Pacific island of Tahiti. As described in “The Art Wolf”: "Papeete -the Tahitian capital- was not
the tropical paradise that it could have been in former times, the exotic and
mysterious town found by great travelers like the legendary Captain Cook".
Today, Gauguin’s artwork is described as imaginative, even
exploitative. So is Tiki Culture- that mesh of Chinese food, lush ambiance, and
tropical drinks that once swept America- and is enjoying a comeback in the
States. Nevertheless, Tiki Culture can be found in well-appointed Guam hotels. When
the co-workers vent frustrations about the job, I recommend: Get on your
motorcycle, ride past the waterfront gas stations, and within 15 minutes, find your paradise.
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