Son of SPAM

My son is an Okinawan.

His mother is an Okinawan. His father, that’s me, is an American with my lineage going back to Scottish, Irish and Portuguese descent. But with our oldest son, he has clearly shown his connection to his Okinawan (Ryukyu) heritage.

A little back story. After WW2 there was no food for the Okinawans to eat mainly because the entire islands had been destroyed by Americans and Japanese forces. All food supplies coming into Okinawa were from the American side. Being wartime, the Okinawans were eating the same foods that the American military were eating. And the meat was Spam. And now more SPAM is sold more in Okinawa than probable anywhere else in the world. It’s the main food dish after pork and fish.

And my son has taken to eating Spam like it was a gift from God himself. Just tell him that he’ll be eating Spam for dinner, his eyes get all big as a huge smile covers his face as he squeals in excitement. He even love eating Okinawan noodles rather than the Japanese style noodle. Luckily the only Japanese store in the Raleigh, North Carolina area is operated by an Okinawan family that makes sure that many Okinawan foods are sold there.

He also loves practicing Karate on his little brother which is a martial art that was developed in Okinawa. If he’s not drop kicking his brother or trying to break boards they are both sword fighting with their replica swords.  He loves talking about going to Okinawa to enjoy the beaches and seeing his much older female cousins. In time after saving up for the trip, as with winning the lottery, we may be able to afford to take the whole family to Okinawa for a family reunion. Until then we keep sending and receiving care packages from home.

Until then we’ll keep buying Spam in large bulk quantity.