The Shut-in Emperor

 

I was a sociable person. When I was a stage actor, I used to spend all day in many types of fields. Then I would come back home just to sleep.

When I started to take care of my mother, who had Alzheimer’s disease, I had to become like a shut-in. I had to watch her all day at home.

When I got used to being shut in, I found it could be a comfortable lifestyle. We could do many things at home: reading books, playing games, etc.

I know young people’s withdrawal from society poses a big problem in Japan. Some people are seriously struggling. But I believe some are genuinely shut-in people: They are not good at face-to-face communication. They love to ‘face’ inanimate materials instead.

The second emperor of ancient Roma, Tiberius, could have been a shut-in type. When he was young, he was expected to support the then emperor. But he withdrew to Rhodes island. After becoming the next emperor, he withdrew to Capri island. He was not exactly a shut-in then. He lived with his close friends on the small island.

Shut-ins have always had a bad reputation Tiberius was specifically believed to be a bad emperor in those years and over the next many centuries. At the end of the 17th century, people started to think about him differently. Some started to think he might have been one of the great emperors of ancient Roman history.

Tiberius might have been a shut-in, but he didn’t withdraw from all of his responsibilities. He made a system that centralized information from all round Roma, and his orders reached all over Rome. As long as this information infrastructure was working, his location was not very important. He didn’t care about his popularity. He had never done popular policy. But when a disaster took place, he quickly made a decision and reacted properly. He had a reputation for about 1,700 years.

Now, there are many shut-ins in Japan. People find fault with them. But we can do many things at home. One thousand, seven hundred years later, someone will discover a person with great achievements in our world. But the person will be looked down upon in the way that shut-in people are now.

Picture by vectorpocket

Starting with the Surface Aspects of Things

 

My wife was sickly skinny before our marriage. But she subsequently gained weight. I also gained weight. We both put on weight due to married life. It could have been stress-induced weight gain. We were taking care of my mother, who had Alzheimer’s disease.

My wife decided to start jogging. She started with the surface aspects of running. She bought high-grade running shoes, running wear, a cap, and a watch. She had the appearance of a perfect athlete.

A huge park with a circumference of four kilometers is located near our house. One day, on my wife’s way there, a stranger talked to her. The stranger was an EKIDEN road relay team manager. They had an annual road relay competition in the park. My wife was scouted to become a member of the team. The manager assumed that she was an advanced runner because her equipment was perfect. My wife gladly joined the team.

On the first training day, the coach said to the team members, “Let’s make today’s training a piece of cake. We will run just six kilometers.”

My wife was shocked because she had never run more than three kilometers! Her outfit was that of an advanced runner, but she was a beginner. It was a double disgrace.

But that situation turned out very well. People who trained during the holiday with the goal of winning a road relay competition had to be advanced runners. Even if they won the competition, they would never get prize money for it. Those runners worked hard for an unpaid competition. They were extremely advanced runners. There were bound to be exceptions, but really advanced people were typically very kind to beginners. They had plenty of knowledge and experience. Their advice was accurate. My wife advanced very quickly.

My wife did not elect to run in the road relay competition. But she took part in the Nagoya Women’s Marathon. She ran the whole distance. It could not have been easy for a beginner to complete a 42.195-kilometer run, but she made it. She was given a Tiffany’s necklace as a prize. Only the runners who reached the finish line were able to get one. She was very happy. If she had trained alone, she would not have made it.

Some people look down on those who start with the surface aspects of things, but it could be a good way to start something. It’s a way of announcing, “I will do this!” It makes it easy to be supportive.

The next time I start something, I will start with the surface aspects of things.

Picture by sh240

Illumination

 

 At the stage performance, an actor switches on a light, and then the stage becomes bright. Generally, at these scenes, the actors don’t turn the lights on. A lighting crew member does the job. Of course, we can make real switches on the stage with cords. But it complicates the scene changes. Stages are high traffic areas. We have to worry about cable disconnection and so on.

 This is common sense to theater people. Having a good combination of lighting and sound skills is necessary among stage actors.

 It is so. It is natural. But I was also tricked by that. If I had thought about that, I could practically find that out by myself.

 Decorative illuminations are very popular among Japanese local governments. At a lighting ceremony, mayors or celebrities turn on a huge switch for the illuminations on stage. But in most of the cases, they don’t actually turn on the real switch. A lighting crew turns on the real switch. The switch on stage is just a dummy.

My wife works as a lighting crew for stages. A few days ago, she turned on the real switch for an illumination ceremony. She was very nervous because if she made a mistake, it would embarrass the VIP. The VIP should believe they had the real switch.

 She told that secret to me. Until I heard it, I had also believed that the VIP turns on the real switch. But I still believe that in some lighting ceremonies, the crew members really connect the huge switch on stage, and the VIPs turn on the real switch. I believe there is Santa Claus.

 There are some information we should not know.

Picture by makaron*

Encounter

 

 At a farewell party of a performance, a person whom I was very interested in was near my seat. The person was so interesting because I couldn’t tell the person’s gender. The person was skinny. The person had short hair and looked like a boy. The person was a crew member of the performance. Most of the crew members wore unisex clothes, so I couldn’t identify the person’s gender from the clothes.

 Once someone said to me, “In those cases, you should watch the person’s hands and neck.” I watched the person’s hands and neck. The person’s hands were bony. I could see the person’s Adam’s apple. But it was possible that it appeared because the person was too skinny. I couldn’t find the conclusive factor.

 I guessed the person might be male. But I wanted to hear the person’s voice first before I make a conclusion.

 The person was not the talkative type. The party was fun, but the person didn’t say a single word. I waited for a long time.

 Finally, the person uttered some words, but the person’s voice was very low. I made a conclusion and said to the person, “I assume you are a girl.”

The other crew members who knew the answer laughed.

 Actually, the person was a lady.

 Now the lady is my beloved wife.

Picture by sanno

My Father’s Car

 

              About seven years before my father’s death, he bought me a new car because he wanted me to drive him to the hospital as he underwent artificial dialysis three times a week. However, I was not interested in cars. I was afraid to drive, so I didn’t touch the car for a few years.

              One day, the doctor asked my father not to drive. Hence, I needed to drive the car. Later on, I found out that the hospital had shuttle services, so I only drove to the hospital a few times and just drove around the neighborhood.

              After my father passed away, I decided to sell the car. One elementary school and junior high school friend of mine ran a garage. I asked him to estimate the cost of the car. He checked it and said, “This is about $2,300 to $2,500. If you sell it at $2,300, I want to buy it right now.” Actually, we were not close friends, so I suspected him.

              I tried another company. I visited one of the most famous secondhand car shops in Nagoya. The shop was advertising on radio and TV. The clerk estimated my car from a computer and said, “This is $450.” I was shocked. I started to regret that I suspected my old buddy. I decided to get out of the shop and go to my friend’s garage immediately. I wanted to sell the car for around $2,400 to my old buddy, but the clerk kept me. He repeatedly asked me to sell the car.

              The clerk said, “Please say the price you want to sell it. Just say that. This is a do-or-die job for me!”

              “$2,600,” I finally said so we could end the conversation.

              He became silent for a while. Then he started to complain about the price. But he still bought the car for $2,600.

              I had no idea about the secondhand car industry. So I started to think that I needed friends in all kinds of industries.

Picture by Shintako

Diaper

 

              My mother has Alzheimer’s disease. I started to let her use a diaper. Generally, finding the right timing of letting patients use a diaper is one of the most difficult points in taking care of them. If it is too early, the patients get mad. Most of the patients don’t realize their disease, so it might deeply hurt their pride. In my mother’s case, the care manager recommended using diapers at a good timing. My mother agreed to use them.

              My wife and I carefully avoided using the word “diaper” in front of my mother. That word could hurt her pride. We used the word “rehab pant” instead of “diaper.” That idea was also recommended by the care manager.

              About ten years after my mother had the diagnosis, communicating with her was sometimes difficult. But we always avoided the word “diaper.” One day, because of carelessness, my wife and I used the word in front of my mother. She suddenly got mad and screamed, “Who uses a diaper? I will never use a diaper!”

              I quickly responded, “We are talking about my diaper. I still use a diaper.”

              My mother peacefully said, “You are talking about your diaper? That is OK.”

              I was almost fifty years old, but my mother never minded that. If she said it was OK, it was OK.

              An expert caregiver for Alzheimer’s disease said, “If you want to be a good caregiver, you should be a good actor.” My experiences as an actor, like doing ad-libs and improvisations, were very useful in taking care of my mother.

Picture by hermandesign2015

Scalper

 

 

In 2001, I lived in Tokyo. The most wonderful thing about Tokyo is it has many theaters and theatrical performances. I went and watched many plays almost every weekend.

 

One day, when I was on my way to a theater, I saw a scalper near the theater.

 

He said, “I have tickets. I have tickets . . .”

 

I was surprised because I have never seen any scalper near the theater before, especially in the mini-theater that I loved to visit. The scalper was also a bit strange.

 

I grew up in a house located near a big-domed stadium. I was used to seeing scalpers. Scalpers are very sensitive about the popularity of performers. For example, if there are enough tickets for a big-name artist, they never show up. They show up only if there are a few tickets left. They have bought tickets earlier and sell them later at expensive prices.

 

The performance that I was going to watch at the theater that day was not similar to an artist’s performance. I could easily get tickets. Furthermore, the scalper was selling tickets alone. I know scalpers work in teams. It was the first time I saw a scalper working alone.

 

Furthermore, his aura was different from other scalpers. He looked more like a crew member of a theatrical group.

 

The most critical clue was a black packing tape he was wearing on his belt. Black packing tape is one of the most useful items in the theater. Scalpers would never use them when selling tickets.

 

I believe he was a crew member of the theater group who just pretended to be a scalper. I guess there were some vacant seats for the show, so the theater group asked one of its crew members to sell tickets near the theater.

 

So many people visit Tokyo. Some go there for sightseeing, others for business. Some just wander around to kill time. If they find a scalper, they would be interested in him because everyone knows scalpers show up only during super-popular performances. They could buy tickets from them.

 

I already bought my ticket, so I didn’t buy from the scalper. I guess he sold tickets in reasonable prices because the theater group would want to sell all tickets. It would increase the group’s income. Furthermore, if the theater was full, the actors would be comfortable to act.

 

My dear friends, especially theater people in the local region, this could be a useful idea! If you plan to perform in Tokyo, you could sell out all tickets. However, scalping is illegal, and your crew member could be suspected by policemen.

 

Picture by Skillinformations