My sister Dorothy

Dorothy with our mother and Chipper

Dorothy with my pretty little Piiko

The Okamoto Kids: Nancy, Dorothy, Fred, me and Patty

My sister Dorothy, who is eight years younger than I am, has been working as an environmental engineer for the U.S. Navy. She's in civil service. A couple of years ago, she was told that BRAC was closing the naval base in Charleston.

So she's been interviewing for various jobs and she got one as a government contractor.

Dorothy left today for Djibouti, Africa.

Of course we're worried. Djibouti, though stable, is surrounded by Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia.

She'll be back in April. Stay for a couple of weeks and then it's back to the Horn of Africa.

She said once she proves that she can handle the work in such an isolated place, then she can maybe pick more attractive places like Japan!

So we've all told her to be aware of her surroundings and not to do anything by herself.

Dorothy's had temporary duty before, but she's gone to places like Scotland, San Diego, Pittsburgh, Jacksonville, Fla., and San Antonio. Not Africa!

We'll keep in touch through e-mails and phone calls. And maybe my new favorite Web site, Skype.

I think her year in Africa will go more quickly than we think.