JAWing On – Life on Okinawa

It seems every year there is someone who is dissatisfied with the path their life has taken. For some reason or another, the holidays only magnify the discontent. This year, one of those unhappy people thought they would ruin other people’s enjoyment by closing the bar entrance shutter. So when some regulars came to the bar to have a relaxing Christmas Eve, it appeared the club was closed. These childish and selfish grinches need to face-up to the fact that they are where they are in life because of their OWN choices, and no one else’s. If a person doesn’t like the direction their life is taking, they should do something CONSTRUCTIVE to change it towards a direction that better suits what they do want for life. And let those people who are satisfied with the choices they made in life enjoy it!!!

One of the more pesky things about owning a bar on Okinawa is the constant interference of special interest organizations – the tourist groups, hostess bar owner groups, musician organizations, etc. Even if you are just trying to run a small but pleasant “Mom and Pop” type place, there is always someone trying to get you to conform to their image of what the place should be. (Which usually this means in a manner that is more beneficial to their own interests.) The problem with these types of organizations is that they want to control every aspect of what YOUR business is about!

Okay, this really doesn’t have anything to do with Okinawa. But, one of the things that brings joy to someone’s life when they live so far away from family for an extended period of time is finding-out that one of thier siblings has done an extraordinary job with a passion. If you are into scaled-down model ship replicas, you will get a kick out this site – Prince de Neufchatel . Good job Bro!!!

Leave it to the weather systems this year. Typhoon season is “officially” over. The holiday season decorations have begun to make thier annual display of lighting extravaganzas. Lo and behold, typhoon #10,000,000… (or at least that’s what it feels like this year) is heading our way! Luckily, we don’t have an outside Christmas display, other than a Moon Santa hanging in our window. But all those other people who, with glee, made the annual declaration of December by decking-out the exterior of their yards are now faced with tearing it all down to make room for Mother Nature. I hope this doesn’t put a permanent damper on the normally colorful holiday season.

As I was doing some web searches, it came to my attention that several websites have begun to use several variations on the JET Okinawa or Live Music Bar JET Okinawa terms for ranking and/or business purposes. I want to state right here and now, we are NOT ASSOCIATED NOR AFFILIATED with these sites!!! There are three official homepage addresses associated with JET band and Live Music Bar JET these are:

http://ryukyuno-okinawan-rock.jet-okinawa.com/JET/
http://live-music-bar.jet-okinawa.com/Official Website/
http://jet-okinawa.com

In addition, there are various tour sites that also contain links to the outdated Japanese JET band member fan website. Please use care in screening your searches.

I have a thought for those people who think they have a right, for whatever reason, to ignore a business’ rules. What if you were to think of the business as a country. The “citizens” of this country work hard and put their hearts into creating a way of life that they believe in. Say there is a group of people who don’t like that business’ rules and beliefs. So this group thinks they have the right to ignore those rules and impose their own beliefs onto that business. And say on occasion the group commits physical acts of destruction, creates means of interrupting the business’ normal way of operating, or even implies that if the group doesn’t get what it wants trouble will ensue. How does this group differ from terrorist organizations that threaten other countries? If this were your business would you give into the demands? Or would you stand-up for your right to run your business free of outside demands?

When I was researching some legal information, I ran into a site that provides an outlet for persons wanting to release some of the frustrations associated with the political environment on Okinawa. It is good to have such an outlet, but if you read the posts all one sees are the same old issues being tossed back and forth in varying degrees of anger. If I have learned anything in all my years on Okinawa, it’s there will always be one group against another. This isn’t because it’s Okinawa, but because that is the nature of groups. Being in an interracial/intercultural marriage for thirty years has put my husband and me in the situation of not really fitting into any specific group. We are okay with that, but the groups aren’t. There is always some group trying to force their belief system on us, trying to put one label or another on us. On occasion the differences in cultural backgrounds and/or gender cause disagreement on how a situation should be handled. I can tell you right now, there is nothing that an opposing group finds more satisfying than causing dissention in an adversary. If the adversary is busy arguing amongst themselves, then the focus is taken off of the opposing group.

What we have found over the years is that both sides of a politically based argument usually have legitimate reasons for their positions, and this can lead to nothing more than an ongoing standoff. We tend to throw away the cultural social formalities, since they are equally legitimate, and focus on the belief that brought and kept us together. The belief is that one human being should treat other human beings as such. A person doesn’t impose on others, but at the same time doesn’t allow others to walk all over them.

Having resided on Okinawa for the majority of the past thirty-one years, I have to wonder what in the world is being taught in America as far as public behavior. When I left America, the rule as far as being dissatified with a business’ house rules or personnel was you filed a complaint and/or found a business that more closely met your personal preferences. If the people we get at our business are any indication, the procedure these days seems to be the dissatisfied person ignores the rule, throws a temper tantrum, or acts like a thug and tries to harrass the business owner. What are these people thinking? I doubt that very many business owners are going to make changes in their rules based on that type of behavior. Very few business owners establish rules just for the fun of it. The reason most rules have had to be established is usually because of some serious difficulty with a particular behavior in the past. Ignoring the rule, temper tantrums, and harrassment only escalate, not eliminate, the situation and stresses the reason why a particular rule was needed in the first place.

Oh man, it’s cold season already. And I’m getting hit with the first wave again. Oh well, just like this summer, at least I’ll get over with it quickly. In case you haven’t noticed by the past two Pet Peeves, changes have been happening on Gate 2 Street and more are looming on the horizon. We had a change in guitarists this year. Al has moved his Harley shop up north. Rumor has it that the number of available bands is on the decrease so the number of night clubs with live music has decreased accordingly. However, there still is a wide array of night clubs for those seeking the “Wild On” type experience. But Live Music Bar JET is NOT one of them!!! What the club IS about is decent vintage rock music and mature-minded people who know how to appreciate and enjoy it without getting into other people’s faces or trying to become the main attraction! Luckily that is the type of customer we normally get at the club. Our customers come from all walks of life and range from parents of service members visiting from stateside to young cola-sipping musicians who want a chance to gain knowledge about rock music through observations of live performances. Because of past events that have happened this year involving people who were unable to control their behavior, dancing by males is limited to couples consisting of one male and one female only. Also, and this shouldn’t even be an issue, nobody is allowed to bring in beverages of any kind from outside of the club! So if you are into exhibitionism, x-rated or “adult” entertainment, mosh pits, sardine-packed night clubs, meat markets, or lack of common sense manners, you’ll be better off just passing us by.