Confessions of a cumshaw artist.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)

Although they are rooted in the culture and customs of the Far East, the art of bonsai and the philosophy of feng shui are embraced today by the Occidental mind.

A more obscure, perhaps even arcane, art of the Pacific Rim region is that of cumshaw, a term deriving from the beggars of Amoy, China, who said "kam sia," meaning "grateful thanks." It is not certain how the American naval service took such a narrow and foreign term and refined it into a market system by which ordinary sailors and Marines are able to overcome the bureaucratic and unworkable system of supply and demand that otherwise exists within their services.

Cumshaw, as a noun, is something procured outside of official channels and without official "payment." That "something" is usually received in the form of goods and services for which there is no paperwork, and which is obtained by bartering between military units, usually by noncommissioned officers, though not confined to those ranks.

A "cumshaw artist" is an individual who is recognized for his special talent in obtaining the goods and services desired for himself or his unit for free, or through bartering.

As a former Marine, I am somewhat familiar with the term, since long ago and in a faraway place I once enjoyed a modest reputation as a cumshaw artist.

(So far as I can tell, the term "cumshaw artist" is roughly equivalent to that of "scavenger" in the Army. So for those who are familiar with that equally important job description, you have but to substitute that honorable term in order to follow this tale.)

While I will admit that some cumshaw artists have a larcenous side, in my own experience the art is more given toward service to the common good of a squad, platoon or company.