Dr. Steve Silverberg lives three fourths of the year in the northern most part of Japan’s main island where it gets 3&1/2 meters of snow per year. This year the snow started a month earlier than normal and therefore there will be more snow this winter. The population of Japan is 130 million and their language is easy to speak but difficult to write. Restaurants specialize by type of food. There is a zero drink and drive law with a stiff penalty. If you drink, a taxi comes with a second driver to drive your car home for $18. Hot springs (104 degrees F) are popular and you must wash first. Mixed F/M bathing is dying out (shucks!). Medicare and dental care for 2 seniors is $1,000 per year.

David Stewart’s car was rear ended on the way to the Rotary meeting, so Dave Fitzwilliam talked about Stewart’s first 3 books. David Stewart is a retired lawyer that argued two cases before the US Supreme Court in his former life. His first three books were all related to the US Constitution. His 1st was “The Summer of 1787″and was about the Constitutional Convention. His 2nd was about Pres. Andrew Johnson’s impeachment trial. The 3rd was about Arron Burr’s attempt to form a brake away empire along the Mississippi River from Ohio to New Orleans in 1805.

Brian (Dan Moore’s son) talked about the U.S. Coast Guard, post 9/11/’01. On 9/12 he boarded a Turkish oiler 25 miles from NYC in sea state 5 (rough water) from a CG cutter (ship over 65 ft ) with rifles at the ready and found the crew friendly and sympathetic to the US and 9/11. The 11 missions of the CG are ports and waterways security; drug interdiction; maintaining aids to navigation; search and rescue; protecting marine resources (inspection of fishing boats); safety inspections; part of DOD; illegal migrant interdiction; environmental protection (10 pollution events per day); ice operations; and law enforcement (95% of the US economy is on the water).