A Beginner in Matsuyama July 13, 2007
There is something to be said for going through life as a chronic beginner (as suggested by D.T. Suzuki in Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind). Living in Matsuyama and recognizing only a few Japanese words presents obvious problems, but on the other hand it opens up a lot of doors. Unable to communicate with words, I’ve been forced to explore some previously undiscovered territories, you know, bizarre concepts like politeness, patience, listening with my ears instead of my mouth…strange stuff indeed for me. And my charades skills have become downright . . .
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Mr. Kurihara's Volleyball Party July 16, 2007
"Many New Year's parties tonight. Matsuyama very busy," explained my friend Kurihara as he threaded his way through a maze of cars, pedestrians, bikers and shi-den (trolley cars). Indeed downtown Matsuyama, neon blazing, was doing a pretty good imitation of the West Village in New York on a Saturday evening. Kurihara's English is very limited but he always seems to be able to convey what he means if not in words then through a mixture of words and gestures punctuated by laughter. I learned that this was the evening that many groups such as teams or . . .
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Why We Run... July 17, 2007
Rain was pelting the narrow streets of Dogo as my friend Kurihara and I left the local high school gym where we had just played volleyball in our Saturday evening PTA league. "I sink race cancelled," he said looking at the sky as a howling wind turned his umbrella inside out. The next morning we were both to run a Sunday road race in nearby Iyo City. This was an event substituting for the one I had really wanted to run---the Shikoku 10K championship--but alas, the registration deadline for that had passed and so Kurihara had somehow dredged up . . .
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Misty Day in Uwa-cho July 17, 2007
Saturday was glorious and sunny. Jan and I had devoted the afternoon walking to little temples in nearby hills so we had nothing to complain about when Sunday dawned cold and rainy. In fact, the weather was perfect for what each of us had to do that day. Jan was giving a speech to a group of local business leaders intent on promoting opportunities for women, and I was off to Uwa-cho about an hour away to play a jazz concert. We both had awakened with that “how-did-I-let-this-happen-to-me” feeling. I mean over-reaching is my specialty but falling . . .
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FAST FORWARD: 7/27/07 August 8, 2007
Just back from our whirlwind east coast tour. For those of you who don't know us, we have two kids (hard to call them "kids" at this point since they are 33 and 29). Both (well daughter Johanna and son Eli's wife Melissa) were due mid-summer, one on July 25th and the other on Aug. 8th. That's really all the background you need to continue so please do . . .
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White Caps January 21, 2008
Miosi-sensei races out of the van up the stone steps to the top of the gray dike holding back the raging Inland Sea. He is followed by Tomi-Ken. I fall in step with a stocky fellow in a red and white raincoat that says “Harbor Master” on the back. Two boatyard guys cigarettes dangling join us. We are standing on a floating dock beneath a huge metal conveyance that is used to deposit and extract boats from the sea. Everybody is discussing something but it is . . .
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SUMO: The Original Japanese Baseball January 21, 2008
Kaioo has got to be roiling inside though you wouldn’t know it to look at him. Sumo wrestlers have elevated impassivity to an art form. He has lost the day before and if he doesn’t win his match today, his chances to triumph in the first National sumo tournament of 2002 are virtually extinct. He is squatting on his haunches, one fist on the sand of the ring waiting for his opponent’s fist to touch which signals the beginning of the fight. Kaioo has a strangely kind face and reputedly the strongest hands of any sumo wrestler at present. He does more than . . .
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