Michael Noah:  

Life Where have I been? I was born at Offutt Air Force Base more than a few decades ago (1955), but I haven't spent much time in Nebraska. My folks and I lived in Omaha for a few years after I was born (1955-1959), and another few years to get through high school (1970-1973), and then a few more years to barhop (1975-1979), and that's about it for living in Omaha. If anyone remembers, I used to tend bar at, then manage, and then ended up having a 25% stake in Butch Cassidy’s Saloon on 84th and Blondo. In the interim periods, I've lived in Japan (1959-1964, my Dad was career Air Force, hence my being born at Offutt), Southern California (1964-1969, 1973-1975, 1979-1993), Las Vegas, Nevada (1993-1994), Honolulu, Hawaii (2003-2004). Somewhere around the time of the O.J. Simpson/Reginald Denny/Rodney King/Menendez Brothers fiascoes, I decided to try living in other countries. I lived in Tokyo (Yokohama) between 1994 and 2003, moved halfway back to the U.S. to Honolulu, HI between 2003 and 2004 (as a SCUBA diver ever since being certified at Burke, I call that move nothing more than a cultural decompression stop), then I moved back to Japan. This time it was Okinawa in 2004. In May 2007, I left the Far East and moved to Heidelberg, Germany, stayed there for almost 3 years, and then went back to Japan, in Yokosuka (a few kilometers south of Yokohama on the shore of Tokyo Bay). Stayed there 4-1/2 years and finally repatriated back to the U.S., now living in Eagle River, AK, just up the road from Anchorage. Marriage The first time I tried it I was way too young and way, way too eager - I certainly got saddled with the wrong gal. I married a "damaged" California girl in 1982 - a mistake that took me more than 24 years to fully recognize and correct, but nonetheless, the marriage blessed me with 2 absolutely wonderful children (Sean Michael & Erin Breanne) who are now two of my many reasons for living. I may not have wanted to be HER husband, but I LOVE being THEIR father. Our 4-year long fight during the divorce (2002 - 2006) eventually came to an end. Early on during that fight, I met, and then later married, Ms. Junko Yoshida, a Japanese national. We were married just 17 days after the ink on the divorce dried (7/7/2006). Now I know why divorce is so expensive - because it's worth every damned penny of it!!!! How did Junko and I meet? Well, first of all, I was lucky enough to be living in Japan - She was born and raised in Sagamihara. Second, I was out enjoying my recently hard-earned emancipation ("free at last, free at last, thank God almighty, I was free at last!"), enjoying a few cold beers at a small dart bar just outside one of the gates to the U.S. Army's Camp Zama (south of Tokyo), when she and a couple of her girlfriends walked in. WOW!! What an incredible woman!! She may have blown her chance at ever hooking up with some nice Japanese guy, but I certainly traded up! Hobbies? Homebrewing, Woodworking, Hashing, SCUBA diving and International Travel. As an all-grain homebrewing hobbyist who lived in Germany for years, I delved deeply into the incredible selection of fine dark lagers that were available, and rose to the challenges inherent in breaking them down to develop the recipes so that I can copy them! My current favorites are Oktoberfests/Marzens, Dopplebocks, Maibocks, Altbiers, Kellerbiers, and Munich Dunkels. In fact, as you are all together for the 40th reunion, I'm carbonating 10 gallons of a 6.2% ABV Marzen! What's hashing? The Hash House Harriers is an "international underground drinking club with a running problem." My deciding to join the Hash was another emancipating decision - my first wife would never have done it, and she would never have approved of me doing it alone (too much adult conversations, too much laughter, too much social drinking, and frankly, too much fun!), while my second wife absolutely loves it. In fact, she started hashing the first weekend after we met that evening in the aforementioned dart bar; I had hashed for the first time in MY life the weekend prior. There's nothing like downing a cold beer or two after being on trail for a couple of hours, sweatin' your ass off! After your 6th or 7th trail, the other members of the hash gather up and collectively decide your hash name - the name you'll have for the rest of your hash "career." My hash name is "Namako" (Japanese for sea slug) and my wife's hash name is "Chilled Melons" (something to do with her being named on a cold, wet day in December, with certain features of her upper torso reacting to said temps! oh well, use your imagination - the men in the hash did). We've since hashed with the Samurai and Sumo hashes in Tokyo (Japan), the Phuket hash in Phuket (Thailand), the Aloha, Honolulu, Full Moon and LABIA (Life's a Beach It's Awesome) hashes in Honolulu (USA), the Okinawa and Typhoon hashes in Okinawa (Japan), and now the Heidelberg and Sembach hashes in Germany. I was Beermeister for both the Aloha and Okinawa hashes, and the "Religious Adviser" for the Okinawa hash (all elected mismanagement positions). We've also hashed with a dozen more packs throughout the world, including California and Washington DC (USA), Hong Kong (China), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia, the birthplace of the HHH), and Misawa and Kobe (Japan). If you like to walk/jog/run, enjoy wandering around on trails in the shiggy (woods), enjoy the company of adults (CAUTION - the group has a very...Expand for more