Land of the Setting Sun
"Look, I'd like to spend a vacation in Taiwan as much as anyone else, but we came here for a reason. I'm not going to spend a week on a shitty boat because this guy thought he could waltz his way through Chinese customs." Dr. Blythe looked at me closely, and then began to nod.
"I suppose you're right, but if that's what we're doing, listen close. Keep your heads down, none of us know who Ogasawara is." Without another word, he walked back to his booth, apologizing incessantly for leaving while quickly filling out the rest of the paperwork. Meanwhile, commotion was beginning to stir. A customs officer tried to put his hand on Ogasawara's massive arm, but he shooed it away, warning the officer not to touch him. The officer stepped back, a baby compared to the hulking man before him, but he flicked down his plastic visor and motioned for other officers to join him. Dr. Blythe finished his paperwork, and motioned for us to go through the barrier, with him shortly following. When Ogasawara saw us leaving, that's when the yelling started.
"Hey, wait! I'm still here!" The officers began circling around him, pulling him gently from the counter, but Ogasawara was having none of it. He grabbed the officer behind him and pushed him into a wall, sparking all the others to draw their batons. They descended upon him like flies on honey, only a single hand of his could be seen above the fray, pointing and grasping in our direction.
It took no time at all for them to trace Ogasawara to us, and unlike him, I wasn't about to fight back against the heavily armed Chinese guards. We were promptly booked tickets back to Detroit, aside from Ogasawara, who'd been taken into custody. Dr. Blythe hardly met my eyes as we flew home, ashamed.
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Dr. Blythe hurriedly made plans for another expedition upon arriving back home, but three weeks later, we'd discovered another crew had already successfully arrived in Japan. I cornered Dr. Blythe in his office one late night for interrogation.
"Can you believe those thick-headed fucks from Strayer got there first?" Dr. Blythe tapped his fingers on his desk rhythmically, as he stared down at a newspaper silently. He motioned for me to join him, and tapped directly on the paper. I walked over, expecting to see the footage from their expedition appear on the cheap paper, but it was not so. Instead, I counted my lucky stars that we'd missed our flight that day.
"I suppose you're right, but if that's what we're doing, listen close. Keep your heads down, none of us know who Ogasawara is." Without another word, he walked back to his booth, apologizing incessantly for leaving while quickly filling out the rest of the paperwork. Meanwhile, commotion was beginning to stir. A customs officer tried to put his hand on Ogasawara's massive arm, but he shooed it away, warning the officer not to touch him. The officer stepped back, a baby compared to the hulking man before him, but he flicked down his plastic visor and motioned for other officers to join him. Dr. Blythe finished his paperwork, and motioned for us to go through the barrier, with him shortly following. When Ogasawara saw us leaving, that's when the yelling started.
"Hey, wait! I'm still here!" The officers began circling around him, pulling him gently from the counter, but Ogasawara was having none of it. He grabbed the officer behind him and pushed him into a wall, sparking all the others to draw their batons. They descended upon him like flies on honey, only a single hand of his could be seen above the fray, pointing and grasping in our direction.
It took no time at all for them to trace Ogasawara to us, and unlike him, I wasn't about to fight back against the heavily armed Chinese guards. We were promptly booked tickets back to Detroit, aside from Ogasawara, who'd been taken into custody. Dr. Blythe hardly met my eyes as we flew home, ashamed.
----------
Dr. Blythe hurriedly made plans for another expedition upon arriving back home, but three weeks later, we'd discovered another crew had already successfully arrived in Japan. I cornered Dr. Blythe in his office one late night for interrogation.
"Can you believe those thick-headed fucks from Strayer got there first?" Dr. Blythe tapped his fingers on his desk rhythmically, as he stared down at a newspaper silently. He motioned for me to join him, and tapped directly on the paper. I walked over, expecting to see the footage from their expedition appear on the cheap paper, but it was not so. Instead, I counted my lucky stars that we'd missed our flight that day.
