Trotters Trauma

The photo above is called, "Deer in Headlights!" Guess who the deer is or should I say doe? I am with Big Easy, the team captain and still traumatized.

This is an abstract photo taken of Big Easy by Big easy with our camera. Little did I know what was to become of me.

Big Easy before he took my camera.
Sadly this is Flash, he died 6 days later in Sasebo, Japan at age 28, they believe it had something to do with his heart. I believe it is still under investigation.

The Harlem Globe Trotters getting ready for the big game. We had front row, center court seats, we really lucked out until...... Watch the video below, I can't believe I am posting this! I sat on this for almost 3 weeks wondering if I should.


I have NEVER seen the Harlem Globe Trotters perform, neither has John, sure a few minutes on David Letterman, spinning the balls around, but never to one of their games. John and I were given the tickets at 2:00, I lucked out and found a babysitter an hour later and bam we had a date night. The first in a long time. I turned in the diaper bag/purse and pulled out the Shiki Ya Ya purse my Mom and Dad gave me for my birthday, it matched and we had a date. We had front row, center court seats. We went to the O Club and had sushi and then off to the Samuri Gym for the game. The night was going to be great! It was great the team was right there and you could almost touch them and touch them I did! Little did I realize what was going to happen, had I known I would have never brought a purse. For those who have seen the Globe Trotters you know exactly where this is going. For those who don't know where this is going, watch the video and read on. My friend Sarah said that the video was far worse than how I explained the event. That is a first!

Big Easy came up to me talked to us, took my camera and took a picture of himself, took my purse, slung it over his shoulder and played some ball. He then passed my purse on to several other players and I was laughing, but after what seemed like 10 minutes I was getting a little concerned about getting my purse back, especially since it was unzipped I was afraid stuff was going to fall out. Like I said before had I known what was going to take place I would have snuck out of the gym with my dignity intact!

The other players wanted to know who the owner of the purse was and the audience, my friends and fellow Yokotians or so I thought. After they threw me under the bus I think it was Flash who dragged me out to center court and dropped me off to Big Easy. How bad could this be, they will just give me my purse and back to my seat I will go. Ya, right, sure! I really thought that! I really thought wrong! Big Easy said, "I hear people at Yokota like to party, is this true?" I was dumbfounded, "Ah, yes (says the Mommy of 3) we like to have fun." The rest is a blur, then he asked me to dance and I just stood there and shook my head no, so he decided to shake his bootie in my face. His bootie was as high as my face, he was so..... tall. I was beyond mortified at this point. I was just thinking to myself, this really isn't happening, I am having a nightmare and I surely will wake up soon. This can't get any worse and it did! He then gave me his wrist band, which was really, really sweaty and put it on my wrist. Aghhh, yuck! I don't even like John touching me after he has worked out or worked on the yard. Then he said,"I hear in Japan, when you receive a gift you are supposed to give a gift." I nodded my head and I did have my purse back at this point. I knew just the thing, there has got to be something in my purse, I can do this! I was thinking gum, mint, I would even sacrifice my lipstick. Well he had something else in mind and Big Easy wiped the sweat off his cheek with a towel and pointed to his cheek, I reluctantly gave him the European traditional touch cheeks kiss. Mission complete, NOW I can go back to my seat, done! Nope, he said he has 2 cheeks and wiped off his other cheek, okay, once again same thing, European style kiss, surely I must be done now, but then he faced forward and puckered his lips and I frantically shook my head no. He asked,"Why not?" I said,"Because my husband wouldn't like it." so he thanked me and took me back to my seat, asked John if it would be okay if he could kiss me on the lips and John said No. So Big Easy took John's head in both of his ginormas hands and kissed him smack on the lips. Ha! Ha! Ha! Now THAT was funny!

I thought I was going to pass out during this entire time. I don't like to be in the spotlight and there I was, not knowing what to expect. Everybody has there 15 minutes of fame, well this was my 15 minutes of shame. I think it was only 5 or 10 minutes, but felt like 30 minutes. OF course living on base, I was reminded of it on a daily basis. I had a few friends just look at me and laugh and I had forgotten and they would say, aghhh the other night. Everybody said it was funny, but I really would rather have been the observer, rather than the reluctant participant.

All the guys were really, very nice and friendly and talked to us and signed basketballs. It is really very sad about Flash unexpectedly passing away and I truly feel for the team and his family. They are in our thoughts and prayers.