Kitty

  

I have three cats.

 One day, my wife’s father found a kitty on a street. We took in the kitty temporarily. We called him Rain because my father-in-law found the kitty on a rainy day.

 My wife and I talked it over. We wanted to welcome Rain into our family. But we already had three cats. One more might be too many. We decided to find someone who could take care of Rain. 

 We thought we should take care of our cats and Rain separately. Rain had to go someday, so we thought it best if they didn’t become friends. We gave him one room. We made it so the other cats couldn’t enter that room. They never met him.

 But they could sense him. After Rain came into our home, all three of the cats became very nervous. We could feel their anxiety. Cats are delicate.

 Finally, we found new owners for Rain. We believed that they were good people. My wife and I felt relieved.

 Rain left our home. The new owners were going to give him a wonderful new name.

 A few hours after Rain left, our three cats’ moods changed drastically. They started to relax.

 Maybe they also felt relieved.

　

Japanese

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Picture by Taka

One-Night Theater

 Once, I experienced a near-death experience. I was in a port. I almost boarded a ship.

Actually, I experienced a different kind of near-death experience at that time. I was wandering between life and death so many times.

I was on a riverside. I couldn’t see the opposite side of it. It was a vast river.

Someone was building a structure. I can’t remember who told me that. I was informed that the structure was a theater. Sometimes, theatrical people build temporary tent theaters, but that theater was not a tent. It looked like a permanent theater with its foundation works. The theater’s top was pointed, and I couldn’t see the top.

Strangely, I was informed that it was a temporary theater. It was built for just one night and one performance.

Somehow, the show was canceled, so I didn’t get to watch it.

Thinking back about this experience, if I watched the show, I couldn’t go back to this world.

The roof was pointed. It could mean the top of the roof might be connected to the opposite side of the river.

I imagine that if I watched the show, it might have been an exciting experience. My favorite late actors might be on the stage. The playwright I have long admired might write the script. The late director I greatly admired might direct the show.

If I watched that show, I could accept my death.

To my theatrical friends, you may watch this show someday.

I hope it will be in the far-distant future.

 Japanese

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The Best Chef

　I have eaten many dishes in my life. Actually, I used to work at restaurants. I met many chefs. I cooked for myself when I lived by myself. I understand that cooking is interesting and deep. If someone asks me, “Who is the best chef in your life?” I will answer “Mrs. K.”

Mrs. K was my classmate’s mother and my mother’s friend. We were neighbors. My mother was an activist. She held a meeting at home almost every day. Sometimes, she asked Mrs. K to cook lunch for the members. I could eat the dishes. I could enjoy her dishes when I was a child.

The greatest thing about her dishes was that she never used expensive or unusual ingredients. She only used usual, familiar ingredients we can buy in any supermarket, but her combinations and arrangements were always surprising.

“Can we cook these ingredients like this?”

Okay, making a strange dish is easy. You can create a new dish, but keeping a balance of taste is difficult. Reaching the stage of delicious is super difficult.

I couldn’t understand her greatness when I was a child. After I started cooking by myself, I gradually realized she was an outstanding chef.

Her parents ran a restaurant at her home. She was taught the fundamentals of cooking as a child. Some creative people tend to skip fundamentals, but she did not. She married and became a housewife. She kept studying and practicing every day. She even served her new dishes to my mother’s friends at our home.

She was a talented person who was born in a good environment. She loved cooking and kept at it. She was a great person.

Creating economic, delicious, and fresh dishes is a dream for all cooks, but only a few cooks can reach this dream.

Are you ready to enjoy Mrs. K’s dishes?

Well, I am sorry. I have some sad news for you.

She already passed away. As usual, talented people tend to be invited to heaven too early. I believe she is cooking in heaven now.

I cared for my parents, but I don’t want to meet them very much. I want to enjoy Mrs. K’s dishes again.

I want to be a good man who will enter heaven.

 

Japanese

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Big Box or Small Box

 The Sparrow’s Tongue is a traditional Japanese story. You may know this story, but I will introduce it to you.

 A nice old man visited a sparrow’s house. He had been very nice to the sparrow. The sparrow would give him a present. They gave him two choices: a big box or a small box. The old man was a selfless man. He chose the small box. In the box was silver, gold, and other treasures.

 A bad old woman listened to his story and also visited the sparrow’s house. She had not been nice to the sparrow. Actually, she had cut the sparrow’s tongue. But she found the sparrow’s house. The sparrow offered her a present too. She also had the same choice as the old man: a big box or a small box. The bad old woman was greedy. She chose the big box. Actually, in the box were monsters.

 This traditional story teaches us to be nice, to not be bad, and to not be greedy.

 But my wife understands this story from a different angle. She insists that if she were put in the same situation as the old people, she would definitely choose the big box.

 I tried to explain, “In the big box, there are monsters. You should choose the small box.” She answered, “Who decides that? No one knows until the box is opened.”

 My wife is a nice person. She is not bad. She has never abused animals. In this case, there might be treasure in the big box. It is a gamble. My wife loves gambling.

 This kind of person could be successful in the future.

 Japanese

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Boys, Be Ambitious

When I lived in Tokyo, my roommate was a programmer. He was a good programmer.

 When he was an elementary school student, a teacher asked the children in the class, “What do you want to be in the future?” His classmates answered with their dreams. “A baseball player!” “A pilot!”

 But my roommate answered, “I want to be a passenger on a train.”

 The teacher scolded him. “You should be more ambitious!”

 In the end, he became a wonderful programmer.

 I think children’s dreams can be like his dream. Maybe he didn’t know what a programmer was at that time. Children don’t know most jobs in this world. I don’t know all the jobs in the world even now. The world is changing. Maybe new jobs are created every day.

 We can’t predict our future. When I was a child, I couldn’t even imagine the world would be like this. I couldn’t imagine I would be like this.

 But I want to support young people who are ambitious.

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Japanese 

Should I Offer My Seat?

Recently, I have been thinking about the topic of trains or buses.

I am fifty-six years old. I am not surprised by my appearance in my usual mirror. But sometimes when I see my reflection in a mirror located at an unexpected angle in a shop, I am surprised. I am older than I think.

One day, I was on a train. An old man got on. The train was crowded. I thought I should offer my seat to the man. But I reconsidered: his age could be almost the same as mine. He could be younger than me. It could be rude.

Offering one’s seat to old people is a duty for young people. People at my age no longer have this duty.

My dear friends, do you offer your seat to old people even now?

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Japanese

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A Bottlecap of Sauce

A playwright said, “When you write an absurd play, you have to have concrete, reasonable theories, at least, in your mind.” Absurd plays are difficult to understand. But they are attractive. I guess that is because the playwrights have their theories.

Taking care of Alzheimer’s patients is similar. The patients may act meaninglessly. But if their caregivers support them sincerely, they can find their meaning. For example, wandering. From the patients’ point of view, they never wander. They have important reasons to go to particular places. On their way, they happen to get lost. So, some people tend to avoid using the word “wander.” A doctor said, “A good caregiver to Alzheimer’s patients needs to be a good detective.” Superficially, the patients’ actions appear meaningless, but good caregivers can deduce the meaning.

My own observation was that if a patient acts without a reason, they may cause trouble. In my mother’s case, she could stay home alone for a short time, provided some clear conditions were met: She was not hungry. She was not thirsty. It was neither cold nor hot. She needed a comfortable chair and a bed and so on.

One day, my wife and I left her at home for a short while.

When we got back home, we were so relieved to find her safe.

But I was surprised by the unnatural scene on the table. A bottle of sauce was opened. And the bottle’s cap was full of the sauce. Automatically, I started to wonder about the meaning of that. Was she thirsty? Did she have some message for us?

I froze up for a while, looking at the bottle and the cap full of sauce. And my wife said to me: “She was playing with them. OK?”

If my mother was playing, there was no meaning. If a person is satisfied, they start to play.

Japanese

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