You didn't hear this from me, 'K?

Because you wouldn't want to get me into trouble, would you? Thank you!

Many many moons ago, when my husband was in the Navy and was in Vietnam, he got pulled out to attend and compete in the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. The host country gets to pick a new sport to add to the games and they picked judo. Jim was a black belt and had qualified before he went overseas, so when it was time, they pulled him out (he had 2 weeks left to serve in Vietnam- he worked with Special Forces teams and they extracted downed pilots, amongst other things) and he went to Tokyo, marched in with the US team wearing someone else's clothing, and just in general, had a fabulous time. He is NOT a braggart so everything I know about this has been dragged out of him over the last 25 years, painfully. ;) He didn't medal, unfortunately, and was eliminated before the quarter-finals, but he had a lot of fun hanging out with the Australian female swim team and was there when Dawn Fraser got in trouble for swimming in the Emperor's Moat.

I had to go digging to find this pin, it was buried with some other pins and cuff links.

And this was what he looked like before he went overseas- pretty stinkin' cute, huh? I'm sure his experiences in Vietnam (another thing he never talks about) hardened him up a bit and he probably looked a little more fierce by the time he got to Tokyo.

He sent his mother some cool stuff, too, from Japan. This is a mother-of-pearl inlaid table that has removable legs, I decided to hang it in my sewing room. He gave away his sake set and chopsticks.

Oh, and the kicker? After the Olympics were over, they sent him BACK into action for his last 2 weeks. Can you imagine what a culture shock that was? And how paranoid you would feel, knowing you were this close to going home? Of course, getting home was an experience, too- he was swept overboard by a rogue wave in the Pacific Ocean with about 20 other men standing in a lunch line on a ship. Some of the guys couldn't swim so while they waited to be rescued, he had to help some of them stay afloat. He's a Florida native and quite the swimmer/scuba diver so it was good that he was there. IN THOSE SHARK INFESTED WATERS!!!! Eeek. I'm so lucky that he lived long enough for me to meet him and fall in love with him.

Now, Mum's the word! You'd never hear any of this from him. He hates when I brag on him, but I just can't help it. He's the smartest, funniest man I've ever met. As we say around here- he's no slotfish. lol (A slotfish is one of a certain size that must be thrown back.)