Meet the Staff –  Lon Howard I know about sumo from being stationed in Japan with the U.S. military in the 1960s and 70s.  There were some blackout periods between tours of duty there and after military retirement in 1975, but in the mid-80s I subscribed to Sumo World magazine and bought all the back issues, and then got an occasional VCR tape of the action from friends in Japan.  From there I got back into it and became the insane sumo fanatic that I am today.  I also follow the Seattle Mariners and Seahawks, and no – I’m NOT over January’s Super Bowl!  As for other pursuits, I’ve had careers in radio broadcasting, insurance and financial planning, and chasing down tax cheats.  For fun, I’ve picked and grinned for quarters and dimes pitched in mason jars on pool tables, and coordinated a Sister City Program between Bremerton, WA (USA) and Kure (Hiroshima-ken), Japan.  Since real retirement five years ago, there’s been volunteer work with the local literacy council and as an ombudsman in an assisted living center.  Duties here at SFM have – for the present anyway – kind of pushed everything aside but I do miss the volunteer work.  Later…I hope. I met my Japanese wife of 32 years in a nabe restaurant in Shimbashi in 1974 – still the best night of anyone’s life!