Counterattack of Marmite

 

My wife and her sister love natto. If you are familiar with Japanese food, you have heard of natto. It is a traditional Japanese fermented food. Some Japanese love natto; some Japanese hate natto. I eat natto because I have heard that it is good for your health. My wife will be in a bad mood if we don’t have natto in the fridge. Her sister married a British person. They live in the UK. He loves Japanese food, except natto.

 

A few years ago, my sister and brother-in-law came to visit our house from the UK. They brought us a nice present. It was marmite. I heard some people love marmite and some people hate marmite. It might be like the UK version of natto. I heard there are many movies on YouTube of Japanese people’s first reaction to eating marmite.

 

             I had heard and read about marmite, but that was my first time seeing it. My wife and I ate it in front of my brother-in-law.

 

Actually, it did not have a surprising taste for us. We liked the taste, but we didn’t have a strong reaction to it. If you can eat marmite, you can eat natto, I guess. I was sorry for my brother-in-law: he had brought me a special present from the UK, and I should have reacted with a noticeable change in my expression.

 

If you have never tried either of those foods, please try them and react strongly.

 

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Picture by T.H

 

Stumble

When I was an elementary school student, we played our very first soccer game in physical education. The gym teacher explained the basic rules of soccer, and we started to play.

Children are childish. Most of my classmates wanted to kick the ball. They crowded around it. I was a child who didn’t want to join such a crowd, so I stood alone, away from the crowd. Then, somehow, the ball rolled in front of me. I kicked it toward the goal. There was no one between me and the goal. Everyone went after the ball, but no one could run faster than it. The ball entered the goal.

My soccer experience had started successfully. I had successfully shot the first shot. That was also the final goal. After that, I never took an interest in soccer.

When I was a high school student, we played our very first rugby game in physical education. The gym teacher explained the basic rules of rugby, and we started to play.

The high school students were not so different from children. Most of my classmates wanted to touch the ball. They crowded around it. I was a kid who didn’t want to join such a crowd, so I stood alone, away from the crowd. Then, somehow, the ball rolled in front of me. I picked it up and ran to the goal line. There was no one between me and it. I scored a try.

My rugby experience had started successfully. My first try had succeeded. That was also the final try. After that, I never took an interest in rugby.

When I was an elementary school student, we had a school performance. We planned to stage The Emperor’s New Clothes. I was looking forward to the play. I memorized all the lines of all the roles. I wanted to be the emperor or the cunning merchant. But I caught a cold and was absent on the important casting day. I was given the role of a doctor. Of course, it was not an important role. I had just one line: “Emperor, do you have headache or stomachache?” Oh, that was a shame!

I continued to pursue drama in junior high school, high school, and university. Even now, I am in touch with the theatrical community. It has given me a lifetime of pressure.

When you start something, a stumble might be a good beginning.

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Picture by freehand 

Guide Cat

January 2007. My cat, Mary, passed away.

Mary was born in Osaka. When I was studying in the U.S., I took her with me. So she also studied abroad. Her airplane ticket was more expensive than mine.

Then I moved back to my hometown, Nagoya, with her. I had heard that cats hated moving. I was sorry about subjecting Mary to that, but I didn’t have a choice.

One of my neighbors told me our city crematory could accept pets. I also considered burying Mary in my yard. But I reckoned that if I could hold a funeral for her in the crematory (like I would have done for a human), that might be better for her.

I could have gone to the crematory by train. But I was not sure I could take the train with a dead cat. I felt that the other passengers might think it was spooky. In the end, I decided to take Mary in my car.

At the time, I was learning how to drive. The crematory was a bit far from our house. I needed to drive through the downtown area. I was really nervous. I thought it would be a long journey.

A week later, my grandmother, who lived with me, passed away. My mother was the chief mourner. But she already had Alzheimer’s disease, so I served as the actual chief mourner.

Thus, I found myself going to the city crematory again. But this time, I was not driving the car. Rather, I was in the passenger seat of the hearse. My mother should have been in that seat. But we were worried that the hearse driver might get confused if he talked with her. And so I watched the driving from the passenger seat. The driver might have been one of the best pro drivers. His driving was safe and polite.

My grandmother had died. A week before, Mary had died. One of my neighbors said, “The path to heaven might be long. Mary left first; now she is acting as a guide for your grandmother.”

Cats are mysterious animals, so that could be the case.

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Picture by jumsica