Reminiscences

Here is a picture of the elusive (and obsession-worthy) Kenji, renaissance man of Alaska. Who else could be so happy down in a hole? This visit I failed to secure a dinner invite (through Jen) to Kenji's home to meet his (I'm sure) amazing family. It is my new goal to befriend (through e-mail) and get comfortable enough to invite myself over for dinner (but just uncomfortable enough so he can't say no).


Kenji Yoshikawa

A little history: My fondness for Kenji developed after a near-death experience in August of 2004. The details aren't so important. I've created a list of the basic events:

1. Kenji drives into a field site and accidently runs over a baby spruce tree.

2. Fuel line breaks and Kenji valiantly tries to fix it with:
a. straw, and then
b. putty (not the silly kind).

3. Kenji and I attempt to drive into the nearest town with broken fuel line.

4. Kenji stops every half mile to assess the strength of the gushing gas smell and the state of the straw/putty.

5. Kenji senses death is imminent, but bravely chooses to drive on (rather than hitching a ride with some army guys).

6. Kenji stops to get the fire extinguisher out of the back of the truck and hands it to me. He also gives me a pep talk that consists of the following two points:

a. The fuel line is under his seat, so he will die
b. If I happen to catch on fire as well, then I should jump out of my window and use the fire extinguisher.

7. Kenji and I go to automotive store and try to buy fuel line, but the employees won't let us and we are sent to an actual mechanic, who then informs us that driving it any further will kill us and we are in fact lucky to be talking to him.

8. Kenji and I eat at a greasy diner for 3 hours and proceed to discuss knitting and boating.

The end.