Ralph’s Love of Leather

Frank and I had invited some of his single GI friends to come over to our home to spend the day.  I had made cookies and fudge for them to snack on, and I had plans to make homemade spaghetti and meat sauce.  Frank and his buddies had just finished working thirty days of the day shift.

They were all ready to have some fun, which meant getting off of the Torii Base. We would play cards, listen to music, and eat.  The single guys would bring beer, snacks,  cokes (coca-cola), and liquor for those if they wanted mixed drinks.  They always helped us cook, clean up, and wash the dishes.

Since I had stripped the floors with lye water, then waxed them with clear wax, which made the floors shine as if they were brand new.  The guys always took their shoes off at the door as a respectful gesture for my hard work and to not mess up the floors.

Frank told me that a new soldier was coming who had just arrived in Okinawa from the states and who was feeling homesick.  I was so glad he was going to visit with the other guys.  We were all far away from home, but we had become a real family.

When they all arrived, the guys spent some time outside playing with Ralph, and then they came inside. Frank and I made sure Ralph stayed outside so that they could take off their shoes without him eating them if they were leather shoes.

Once they all came inside, one of the GIs showed Frank and I a pair of shoes he had worn that he had made unique by the Okinawans to fit his feet perfectly.  They were made of leather, with beautiful detail on them and were gorgeous shoes.  Of course, he took them off and left them inside by the front door with all of the other GI’s shoes.

Our Stereo Equipment

We all went into the bedroom, which Frank and I had made into a stereo room after we had bought a reel to reel, amp, and speakers for our birthdays.  We dearly loved that room and spent a lot of time in there listening to music since we did not have a television. Also, we could go to the base where we could record reels of music for free. We had a lot of spools of music.

Frank and I took the doors off of the closet, and I made a padded cushion for the bottom of the closet. Also, I covered the pad with some fabric. We painted the cover for the outlet a dark blue. The outlet was for a moisture rod, but we replaced the rod with a light bulb since there weren’t any clothes in the closet.  The effects of the light coming through the round holes in the cover was amazing.

Our Closet Made Into a Stereo Listening Area

The new GI got into relaxing with us all and enjoying himself, which made us all very happy.  After a while, he went outside to get something out of the car, in which he had ridden.   When he returned, he had a present for Frank and me, which was a beautiful knick-knack that he had bought in Okinawa.

After a while, I decided to go to the kitchen to cook some lunch. I was in for a big surprise as I entered the living room from the stereo room.  Ralph was sitting in the living room by the front door “next” to the shoes.  Immediately, I called for Frank to come to the kitchen.  When Frank came into the room through the door, I was speechless because of what my eyes were seeing. All that I could do was a point towards Ralph.

Frank started laughing loudly, then he said, “Who let Ralph in the house?”

I whispered to Frank that it was not funny and to quit laughing, but he paid me no mind at all, then the GI who had gone out to the car to get the present for us answered, “I did.  Ralph looked like he wanted to come inside.”

Well, that answer made Frank laugh even louder with tears in his eyes, which brought all of the guys into the living room.  Frank pointed towards Ralph, and they all started laughing at what they saw by the front door.  Ralph had devoured one of the GI’s special made leather shoes and was working on eating the other one.

Thinking Frank and the guys had drunk far too much beer; I asked them if they knew that Ralph had eaten some specially made shoes, but that just made them laugh more.  Even the GI who owned the shoes was laughing loudly, so I just decided to laugh with them. These guys loved Ralph so much that he could do no wrong in their eyes.

Frank and I offered to pay for the shoes, but the GI told us that he would not let us because he had so much fun at our house, and he had two pairs made.