Professional Baseball Player

 Most Japanese males love baseball. Most of them played baseball when they were boys. I was one of them.

 When I started playing baseball, I immediately realized I was not good at it. I was the worst player on the team. I hated that.

 Of course, I was never interested in joining my school’s baseball club. I have never even thought about being a professional baseball player. A professional baseball player is not my dream.

 But one night, I dreamed a strange dream.

 In the dream, I was a professional baseball player. Of course, I belonged to Nagoya’s home team, the Dragons. I was in the locker room. The game would start soon. But I had a problem.

 I couldn’t find my uniform shirt. I couldn’t remember what I had done with my uniform after the last game. I could have brought it home to wash it and forgotten to bring it back. I couldn’t borrow a uniform from my other teammates. Because each uniform had a number. My number was fifteen. I couldn’t play as a different number.

 I saw a laundry lady. I thought she might know where my uniform was. It was possible that I had not washed it at home. She could have forgotten to give it back to me after laundering it. I asked her where my uniform was.

 Then she got angry and scolded me: “Did you take it home? What a brat!”

 I was shocked that she didn’t show any respect to me, a professional baseball player!

 The game would start soon. But I was still in the locker room. I decided I would play half naked. Optimists would say I was half dressed.

 I went out of the locker room. When I had almost reached the field, the laundry lady called after me, waving some article of clothing. She said, “Wear this, brat!” I thought it might be the uniform.

 Actually, it was a uniform. And the uniform number was fifteen. But there was a problem. It was not a baseball shirt. It was a tank top for a basketball player.

 It might be better than half naked. But would a professional baseball player wear a tank top on the field? I thought about that. Then I woke up.

 After waking up, my first thought was, “Who has uniform number fifteen in the Dragons now?” It could be a message from the dream world. If I support the player, I might be happy.

 I checked who has number fifteen.

 Actually, no one has the number right now.

 Dragons uniform number fifteen is permanently retired.

 The player who had the number was the first “Mr. Dragons,” Michio Nishizawa.

 He was a great pitcher before the war. He needed to go to war as a soldier. He was injured. He had to give up pitching. After the war, he became a great hitter. He was a two-way player.

 We know Babe Ruth and Shohei Ohtani as two-way players. But we should not forget the tragic time-lag two-way player, Michio Nishizawa.

 I was relieved I didn’t wear that uniform number, because that number is too heavy for me.

 I wish the late Michio Nishizawa will support the Dragons now.

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Japanese

Picture by SUZUKI

 

Body Language

　When I was a high school student, I felt that studying a foreign language was bothersome. Actually, I was not a good student. When my classmates and I had a bad grade in English, we all told ourselves, “Relax! We will not need a foreign language. Because if we need to communicate with people from abroad, we can use body language.” We comforted each other.

When I was a university student, I traveled to Kyoto by myself. Everyone loves Kyoto.

I forgot the name of the temple, but I watched a shocking scene there.

There were a couple. They might be from abroad. They were walking around. There were also two high school girls. They stood in front of a small house.

One of the girls said, “Come here,” using body language to the couple. The couple got angry, glared at them, turned back, and got out of the temple.

Okay, here is the question. What happened between them?

I had studied English for a long time, so now I could solve this miscommunication. I could help them. But as you know, I was not a good language student at that time. I couldn’t help them.

I wrote, “Come here,” with body language. If you are familiar with Japanese culture, you might already know the answer. Japanese’s “come here” gesture and the English-speaking world’s “come here” gesture are upside down. It was not the beckoning sign. If an ordinary Japanese person invites you with the gesture, he or she waves the fingers with one’s palm facing down, bringing them toward one’s body (like the famous Maneki-neko lucky cat), but it means “go away” in the English-speaking world.

From the couple’s point of view, this was a sad incident. They came from abroad. They were enjoying an old temple, but a high school girl expressed “go away” to them in a gesture. They love Japan, so they visited Japan, but they could assume they were not welcome by the young girls. This might be a shocking experience.

I could understand the situation, but I couldn’t speak English. So I couldn’t take care of the couple. I talked to the high school girls because they were almost crying.

They said there were mysterious stones in the small house. They wanted to explain about the stones to the couple. Instead of that, they explained that to me.

There were three stones in the small house. They were different sizes. The big, middle, and small. All of them were handheld sizes. One of the girls said, “If you caress a stone, it will become lighter. If you hit a stone, it will become heavier.”

Actually, I couldn’t believe that story, but I tried.

Actually, it worked as the girl said. Somehow, I felt lighter when I caressed it, and I felt heavier when I hit it. I tried all the stones. I felt the miracle. The big stone, especially, drastically changed its weight. I was surprised.

I am not sure you can believe this story, but I think it would happen in Kyoto. Kyoto is a mysterious city.

The girls wanted to explain about these magical stones to the couple from abroad. The girls tried to invite the couple to the small house, but there was miscommunication. The couple got angry and went away. This was a sad incident for all of them.

Language includes body language. Our body language might not have common universal meanings. We use body language in daily life, but these could have bad meanings in a different part of the planet.

Studying foreign languages is bothersome, but we have to study them steadily.

Japanese 

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Memories Are Four-by-Three

Love Is Like After the Rain was a Japanese animated product. It was on air in 2018. Already, it is a kind of old animation.

When I was watching this product on TV, I was surprised by the direction in that.

Let me explain the story. There is a high school girl. She was a hopeful track-and-field athlete, but she had an accident. She had to give up being an athlete. She started to do part-time work in a family restaurant after school. She started to love the store manager.

The manager was forty-five years old, a middle-aged man.

I was almost the same age at that time. This story gave me encouragement.

The manager also had a sad story in his life. He was divorced. He wanted to be a novelist, but he was still a manager.

One rainy day, they met. The story went on with them showing their sad pasts.

There was a big difference between the girl’s past and the manager’s past.

They showed the girl’s past with normal pictures, but the point is the manager’s past. They showed the manager’s past intentionally as four-by-three-resolution pictures. Once, all the pictures in a TV show were in four-by-three. Now we are watching sixteen-to-nine resolution. When we look at the TV now, if the TV station is on air and has recorded old pictures, the picture changes to four-to-three. Then, we realized it was an old picture.

The animation crew used that effect as the direction. The girl and the manager belong to different generations.

I don’t know whether the direction worked or not, but I remember a similar direction.

Once, memories were all monochrome.

I remember a drama was on air with a colored picture. A character started one’s memory, and a monochrome picture started to show past incidents.

I think this direction is not often used these days. Maybe the younger generation hasn’t experienced monochrome movies and TV. This direction could be hard to take now.

My parents’ generation enjoyed monochrome movies when they were young. They might never think monochrome would be a symbol of the past. Furthermore, most people would forget about monochrome.

Now, we are enjoying social media. It will be a symbol of the past, and everyone will forget about it someday.

Japanese

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Egg Shop

　My wife buys eggs at a shop that specializes in eggs. Most Japanese buy eggs at the supermarket. I asked my wife why she buys eggs at the egg shop. She got mad at my question. According to her, it’s because of me.

 I lived with my mother who had Alzheimer’s for fourteen years. There are many difficulties involved in living with someone with Alzheimer’s. In my case, the lack of sleep was the hardest aspect.

 For someone with Alzheimer’s, when they wake up, it’s morning to them. My mother often used to cause trouble in the middle of the night. She always disturbed my good sleep.

 When I decided to get social welfare help, a care manager asked me one question: “If you use short-stay care and have some time to yourself, what do you want to do?”

I answered “I want to sleep.”

　If you suffer from a lack of sleep for a long period, you will be half asleep. Someone in that condition might talk nonsense. And they won’t be able to remember what they talked about.

 Apparently, when I was half asleep, I told my wife, “You have to buy eggs at a shop that specializes in eggs. Don’t buy them at a supermarket. The eggs from an egg shop will be fresh and delicious! You understand?”

 My parents never bought eggs from egg shop. I have never been to any egg shops in my life. I have no idea why I said this. I don’t even remember the incident.

 My wife obeyed my request. She started to buy eggs from an egg shop. She didn’t know I was half asleep at that time until I asked the question.

 My mother has already passed away, but my wife keeps buying eggs from the egg shop.

　Scientists study the brain and dreams. I have read those kinds of books. I have never read a book about being half asleep. They should study that phenomenon.

 How are the eggs from the egg shop? They are good, but I can’t tell the difference between them and the eggs from a supermarket. I don’t think there is any need to buy eggs at an egg shop.

 Messages from dreams can be mysterious. We should study them. Messages from a half-asleep person can also be mysterious. But we shouldn’t study those closely.

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Japanese 

Picture by Urelzita

We Assumed It Was a Joke

 

 My wife’s sister is working in London as a nurse.

 Sometimes we talk on Skype.

 When the pandemic started, the hospital my sister-in-law was working for didn’t have enough PPE. They had just one size. There were bigger and smaller nurses in the hospital. Only my sister-in-law fitted the PPE they had. So, she took care of the very first COVID-19 patients in her hospital. She became the most experienced nurse there. After that, she moved to a hospital that specialized in COVID-19 cases.

 In those days, the TV news informed us about the pandemic all day every day. At that time, there were about one hundred patients in Japan.

 My wife and I talked to her sister on Skype, telling here, “There are about one hundred patients in Japan.”

My sister-in-law said, “There are over five thousand patients in the UK.”

 Unconsciously, my wife and I laughed. We assumed she was joking. There were too many patients for it to be true.

My sister-in-law scolded us. It wasn’t a laughing matter. She was working on the front line dealing with COVID-19. She would never tell that kind of joke.

 Sometimes, the worst situation sounds like a joke.

 Now, we have survived the pandemic. My sister-in-law went back to her original hospital.

 We hope there will never be a pandemic again.

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Japanese

Picture by Tsuneo MP

 

Warning Sound

　This is a memory from when I was a child.

 One summer night, someone didn’t close the door of our refrigerator. We slept through the night. The next morning, we found a disaster had occurred. I remember my mother cleaning the refrigerator and dumping food that had gone bad. She was almost crying.

 These days, we don’t experience that kind of disaster very often. Modern refrigerators make a warning sound when someone leaves the doors open for a while. When we clean the refrigerator, we need to open the door for a long time. In this case, the sound gets very annoying.

 One day, I opened the door of our refrigerator. My wife was watching TV. I left the kitchen. I heard a sound, so I assumed I hadn’t closed the door. I returned to the kitchen. I checked the refrigerator. But the doors were closed. The sound was not from the refrigerator. What was it? Then, I heard the same sound again. I froze. Which home appliance was warning me? What was happening?

 Actually, the sound was coming from the TV. My wife was watching a fencing match on TV. In a fencing match, if a player gets a point, a machine makes an electronic sound. The sound is similar to our refrigerator’s warning sound.

 When I was a child, the only talkative home appliances were the radio, the record player, and the TV. These days, all appliances are very talkative. When I hear a mysterious electronic sound at home, I start to worry. If it was the sound warning us of a gas leak, it would be dangerous.

 Why are our refrigerator’s sound and the sound used in fencing so similar? I guess the designer of our refrigerator might have been a fencer.

 Japanese

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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

Picture by Kanten