Star Gone but Light Remains

 I was saddened by the news of Dolly Parton's passing, not only because we have lost a great songwriter and singer but because we have lost a great philanthropist as well. Billboard has a timeline that is well worth visiting, particularly if you were unaware of her good deeds, which on the whole she performed with quiet grace and no more fanfare than was required to make them work.

She was unquestionably a great performer, appreciated even by those like me who aren't particularly fans of country music for which she is perhaps most famous. Some of the more than 3000 songs she wrote were intended for different musical styles, whether she wrote them for herself or for other performers. She has also done some great covers of songs from very diverse genres, including a bluegrass version of Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" and a famous duet with Kenny Rogers,  doing Bob Seger's "We've Got Tonight", one of my favorite songs. 

She has probably attained a kind of immortality through her musical endeavors, and rightly so. I am even more impressed by the good she has done for the educationally and literacy challenged. Millions of books, and substantial scholarships and other inducements to continue and expand education and literacy provided by the generosity of a woman whose father could not read. 

I've spent much of my career as an educator, a writer, and an editor. I believe that the power and freedom inherent in being able to learn and to communicate smoothly and swiftly are incomparably valuable. Dolly Parton contributed generously and continually to spreading that value among those who needed it most. There are many, many people--including children then and now--who echo the sentiment in the title of one of Dolly Parton's most famous songs, "I Will Always Love you".

Tamachi Revisited

 

Last Friday night I enjoyed an enormously fun evening in the company of a half dozen old friends, former colleagues from my early days in NEC. The reunion was held at an Italian restaurant in Tamachi, a nostalgic area since we all worked there at the time. That was the era just before and during the Japanese Bubble, when I was in my 30s and they were in their 20s, except for our very well-liked and respected department manager, who is some years older than I am.

We traded recollections about many of those long-ago shared adventures, including near-nightly partying, the whole crew helping me to move to a new apartment, trips to ski and to climb Mt. Fuji, and all sorts of antics that we got into, some wiser than others, all fun.

After the party—great food and an extraordinarily attentive server who kept our glasses full whether with high-end draft beer or well-selected wines—most of us moved up to a bar in the same building, where we had a nijikai (afterparty) just like old times, or nearly so…we may have slowed down just a little in the intervening decades.

It was great fun, thrilling to interact in person with old friends with whom I’ve only kept contact by SNS  and nengajo New Year cards, and an interesting if somewhat bittersweet experience to carouse in the Tamachi/Shibaura area, where I worked for three decades.

Much had changed, of course. The Morinaga Building, which once housed both the Morinaga and the NEC HQs (and my office until later moves to Shiba 4-chome and Shibaura), is now a massive construction site. The hotel just around the corner from the party venue, where I spent the night to avoid last-train worries, used to be an office building where I did some part-time tutoring of a company president. That was around 2018, before he had to move his company elsewhere in Shibaura; I worked at the new site one early morning per week until I was hospitalized in 2019, the last time I had visited the Tamachi area.

Places change with time, as do we all, but I was very happy to confirm that my old friends have changed not at all in any of the really important ways.

Hisashiburi

After a very early morning start, to ensure that the combination of shinkansen and taxis could get me there in time for my appointment, I visited St. Luke’s International Hospital in Tokyo today.

I was last there six years or so ago, for a relatively brief stay while one of their specialist surgeons performed a difficult operation on me, very successfully, as it turned out.

Recently some tests indicated that I should undergo another sort of surgery for an entirely different issue that was discovered during a colonoscopy. The surgeon at the local general hospital where the test was done declined to do the recommended surgery, despite averring that it is relatively easy to do with the latest techniques in laparoscopy. Because of various risk factors including age and prior ailments, he recommended a larger hospital with a really well-equipped ICU and such facilities for post-operative care, just in case.

The two most obvious candidates in my general area are university hospitals, but both are located in relatively inconvenient places transportation-wise. I tried a Red Cross Hospital in nearby Fukaya where I had been treated for something else, but they told me that although they had acceptable facilities, their staffing was too low to guarantee good care if something really untoward happened in the operation or its immediate aftermath. They recommended university hospitals, too.

I decided to give St. Luke’s a try first, instead. They had already had me as a surgery patient, albeit quite awhile ago, they have some of the best facilities and staff in the country, and although Tokyo is farther than the two recommended hospitals, it’s considerably more convenient: 40 minutes on the shinkansen and a short taxi ride vs. multiple train/bus transfers or a couple of hours’ drive by car for the others.

Having made an appointment by phone, and emailed them a photo of the envelope containing the referral from the local general hospital surgeon, I showed up this morning with various documents in hand, for a consultation.

The consultation turned into numerous tests including a CT scan with dye, an EKG, a couple of X-rays, blood test, etc.

With the results in hand, after consulting other specialists, the morning’s surgeon held another consultation, with the good news that the blood work showed no cancer markers and somewhat less good news that another colonoscopy was called for before the laparoscopy is done. So I’ll be returning to St. Luke’s at least twice more this month, and presumably once again for the main operation, probably next month.

Despite the day having been rather tiring, it was a real “long time, no see” event to return to that hospital, and a strange feeling to be doing it upright. I spent a couple of weeks there last time, but I was always on a gurney or in a wheelchair, unable to see much while being shunted between my room and various testing venues.

And there is a lot worth seeing, actually. The hospital is in some ways more reminiscent of an upscale hotel, adorned with some very attractive art and having some very pleasant touches intended to enhance the patients’ overall well-being.

I didn’t have time to peruse the small art gallery they maintain, but I was able to listen to part of a lunch-time concert given in the chapel, while I was getting some sort of test done nearby. A couple of the violinists appeared to be staff members, white coats and all.

I was reminded anew of why I had fond memories of the staff, too.

I don’t know whether it’s due to hiring policies, or to training, or to a nurturing environment, but the doctors, nurses, technicians, assistants, clerical staff, and just about everybody I came into contact with were friendly, helpful, patient, and cheerful, while still doing their jobs very efficiently.

I had been very favorably impressed by them when I spent a couple of weeks there six years ago, and I was very pleasantly reminded again today.

It had been a long time, and despite the realities of a battery of tests and discussions about harrowing operations in the future, I was actually happy to be back for another visit.  

Courage and Independence

 

May all of my relatives, friends, and other readers have a very happy, healthy, exciting, and prosperous Year of the Horse.

 Although I’m not a believer in astrology, Oriental, Occidental, or otherwise, I do find the lore amusing and intriguing, considering it worthwhile to consider the legendary characteristics of the year's representative animal, with a view toward emulating its perceived strengths and avoiding its supposed weaknesses. 

The Chinese zodiac animals are associated in different years with different elements, and this time around the horse is the “fire horse”.

 The horse in Chinese mythology  and astrology is said to bestow on those born in its year courage, generosity, perseverance, and independence. They are supposed to be endowed with strength and enthusiasm, but fire horses especially may have a tendency to be overly impulsive and just a bit stubborn.

The mixture of perseverance and impatience, generosity and overconfidence, can sometimes be confusing to colleagues and acquaintances. This is made up for by their enthusiastic and energetic nature.

The Year of the Fire Horse is typically regarded as a time of optimism and opportunity.

In the coming year, let’s demonstrate our courage, persevere in the face of adversity, and show generosity in our relationships with others while defending our independence.

As always, I fervently hope that the coming year brings light where there has been darkness, peace where there has been strife, understanding where there has been ignorance, and justice where there has been iniquity.

 May the coming year be better by far than any that have preceded it, for each of you and for those you hold dear, and indeed for all of us.

Happy New Year and joyous holidays!

Slithering Away

 The Year of the Snake has just about slithered completely away, and I can almost hear the galloping hooves of the Fire Horse, this year’s elemental version of the Year of the Horse, approaching for arrival—for Westerners like me—tomorrow. The new year according to the Chinese lunisolar calendar will begin on February 17th, requiring more of a trot or canter than a gallop.

It has been a busy year but activities have mostly proceeded at a dignified rather than a frenetic pace. We bought a house and have been dealing with renovations, starting with the exterior: demolishing the original gate and garage to facilitate construction of a small neighboring house, repositioning many large boulders, reshaping flowerbeds and a vegetable garden to allow for a driveway and carport, and reconstructing the concrete block retaining wall between the property and the parkside path and stream to the south, among other projects. Masayo has meanwhile been making good use of her newly acquired Electrician’s License, to modify and upgrade various switches and lamps.

It's about nine kilometers by car or 7.2 as the egret flies from our current place (“Kamino House” for convenient reference) to the new place (“Kofun Villa”), and for the last six months her frequent trips  have been much facilitated by the new car she bought, a Suzuki Spacia Custom with all sorts of bells and whistles including many safety features such as cameras, proximity detectors, lane holding functions, and the like. She’s much happier driving that than our older, much larger Escudo. The Spacia is a better fit for some of the very narrow roads in the new neighborhood, too. 

With no new health issues of any significance, aside from a brief bout of the flu, rendered mild by the vaccination a while back, the year has been productive but not harried, and happily without any major worries.

I expect the pace to pick up on various fronts in the coming year, which is appropriate for the Horse replacing the Snake.

Merry Christmas and the Like

 

The Winter Solstice has just passed, and the longest darkness is behind us, for this year anyway. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Yule, Splendid Saturnalia, and an excellent anything I’ve missed, to all of my relatives and friends who celebrate any or all of them.  May your holidays be filled with joy and excitement and love, both anticipated and unexpected, and may you find adventure, challenge, and contentment in the proportions that you prefer.

As this year winds down, I once again wish for better, happier, more peaceful days for all people of good will.

I have the essentially unchanging message for all of my readers once again this year. May all of you be happy and healthy, and hale and hearty, and as prosperous as you want to be, throughout the holiday season and the year to come. As I say at this time every year, may peace and good will prevail for everyone, everywhere, may generosity and kindness carry the day, and may the greedy and selfish be confounded. 

Truth and justice and freedom will win out in the end, and all the sooner if we help them along. No effort is trivial; each candle flame holds the darkness back a little more.

Happy holidays; stay strong.

Three Quarters of a Century

Fifty years ago today, on my 25^th birthday, I walked into my office in the early morning and was greeted by my secretary with “Good morning, Mike! How does it feel to be a quarter of a century old?”

Until that cheerful query, I had still considered myself very young. She ensured that from that birthday on I had a slightly different perspective.

Today I’m three quarters of a century old, but I choose to regard myself as having entered late middle age. Possibly very late middle age. I certainly can’t carouse with the same impunity that I could when I was 25, but I still recover from the occasional bout of excess relatively quickly, and despite some health and mobility issues, on the whole I’m healthier and in better shape than I probably deserve to be.

I appreciate all of the friends and relatives who are still around and wishing me a happy birthday, and I remember with fondness those who have left us too early.

Cheers to us all. And here’s to another 50 years or so of adventure.

Wisdom and Passion

 May all of my relatives, friends, and other readers have a very happy, healthy, exciting, and prosperous Year of the Snake.

 Although I’m not a believer in astrology, Oriental, Occidental, or otherwise, I do find the lore amusing and intriguing, and consider it perhaps worthwhile to consider the legendary characteristics of the year's representative animal, with a view toward emulating the strengths and avoiding the weaknesses with which it’s associated. 

The Chinese zodiac animals are associated in different years with different elements, and this time around the snake is the “wood snake”.

 The snake in Chinese mythology  and astrology is said to bestow on those born in its year sensitivity, curiosity, wisdom, and competence. They are supposed to be endowed with charm and a cool, mysterious demeanor, but with natural wariness concealing considerable passion.

On the other hand, they may also have to struggle against their ingrained skepticism and a tendency to laziness.

The wood snake is said to focus especially on resilience, growth, and long-term planning ability.

In the coming year, let’s embrace our sensitivity, use curiosity to increase our wisdom, and balance our charm and passion in our relationships with others.

 I fervently hope that the coming year brings light where there has been darkness, peace where there has been strife, understanding where there has been ignorance, and justice where there has been iniquity.

 May the coming year be better by far than any that have preceded it, for each of you and for those you hold dear, and indeed for all of us.

Happy New Year and joyous holidays!

Image by: mirrima on freepik.com

Merry Christmas, et cetera

 

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Yule, Splendid Saturnalia, and so on, to all of my relatives and friends who celebrate any or all of them.  May your holidays be filled with joy and excitement and love, and with amazing grace, and may you find challenge and contentment in the proportions that you prefer.

As this year winds down, I once again wish for better, happier, more peaceful days for all people of good will.

I have the essentially unchanging message for all of my readers once again this year. May all of you be happy and healthy, and hale and hearty, throughout the holiday season and the year to come. As I say at this time every year, may peace and good will prevail for everyone, everywhere, may generosity and kindness carry the day, and may the greedy and selfish be confounded. 

Truth and justice will win out in the end, and all the sooner if we help them along. No effort is trivial; each candle flame holds the darkness back a little more.

Happy holidays; keep the faith.

Hospitals and Houses

This year I’ve seen the insides of more hospitals and the outsides of more houses than I ever expected.

 Nobody—including me—is interested in hearing a long litany of my maladies and medical adventures, but I’ve been asked to provide a rundown, and shall do so, albeit briefly.

 Shortly after the new year, I spent a week in the Saitama Prefectural Cardiovascular and Respiratory Center for treatment of circulatory insufficiency in my lower legs. I went back a few times as an outpatient, then briefly switched to daycare at the old, familiar center affiliated with the Kumagaya Co-op Hospital, so that the nursing staff could deal with dressing changes and medication.

 A sonogram done among the other pre-admission tests caused some concern about the possibility of lymphoma, and I did some tests and had some minor exploratory surgery at Fukaya Red Cross Hospital, with only a short inpatient and relatively few outpatient visits for that and other minor concerns. The negative test results were welcome news.

 I caught pneumonia toward the end of June, but it was a relatively mild case, probably ameliorated by having had the vaccination.

 Just as I recovered from that, a brand-new dermatologist opened in the neighborhood, and the doctor and specialist nurse there are now treating my lower leg issues, doing maintenance and monitoring compression stockings and the like.

 More recently I had a couple of colonoscopies and a week-long stay at the nearby Kumagaya General Hospital. I’ll be returning there some time next year to have somewhat more invasive surgery done, but the good news (so far) is that samples taken so far have been benign.

 The worst part of that set of issues was the post-operative dietary restrictions. The bright and cheerful dietician who explained those to me on the day I was released became considerably less chipper when she heard about my typical diet: mostly I eat the things that I had to avoid, and the suggested substitutes were decidedly underwhelming. Avoiding fried foods, spicy foods, and things like nuts was not a huge problem, nor was eschewing alcohol for a while. No caffeine, however, was a serious downer. I’m very pleased to be free at last from all such dietary restrictions, at least for now.

 So much for hospitals and medical issues. This year also involved a lot of land and housing investigation. The city’s long-running and very expansive street renovation project has been progressing at its near-glacial pace, but it was about time to consider when and how we’ll deal with the need to demolish our current house and make accommodations for future living arrangements. Accordingly, we investigated and consulted and drove around considering various real estate possibilities last spring, including a rather dramatic open house visit in mid-May.

 Having seen an ad for an exhibition of a newly built house by a local builder in Gyoda (the next town from ours), we drove over to have a look. Just as I approached the house, my crutch slipped into the grating of a roadside culvert, and I went crashing down, attracting lots of attention from the builder’s staff (and very kind assistance in getting back upright, too). We liked the attitude and design philosophy of the small company’s owner, and started a relationship with him for consulting about land purchase, infrastructure issues, and housing options.

 After considering a few other possibilities, and knowing that I was interested in a place with more greenery and fewer cheek-by-jowl rows of houses regardless of how new, the builder, Kadokura-san, suggested a place rather different from the others. This is an existing house, built a couple of decades ago by his father to then state-of-the-art specifications and accoutrements, surrounded by a rather traditional Japanese garden—boulders, stone lanterns, streambed, bridge, etc.—and located right at the northern edge of the Sakitama Kofun Ancient Tomb Park.

 

There’s certainly plenty of greenery around the place, and much of the neighborhood is never going to be in danger of (sub)urban encroachment, since it’s a national special historic site. Some renovation of the building such as triple glazed windows and rooftop solar panels will be needed, there are some other changes and additions that we’ll want to make, and it will probably be necessary to find a retired gardener to come in occasionally and maintain the grounds, but it’s a very attractive and surprisingly affordable place.  There’s no rush for the administrative details, but we have officially decided to buy the place, and detailed plans and schedules will be made sometime early in the coming year, soon followed by the remodeling work.

It's good to have something to look forward to in the upcoming Year of the Snake.

 

Strength and Resolution

 

 

May all of my relatives, friends, and other readers have a very happy, healthy, exciting, and prosperous Year of the Dragon.

 Although I’m not a believer in astrology, Oriental, Occidental, or otherwise, I do find the lore amusing and intriguing, and consider it perhaps worthwhile to consider the legendary characteristics of the year's representative animal, with a view toward emulating the strengths and avoiding the weaknesses with which it’s associated. 

The Chinese zodiac animals are associated in different years with different elements, and this time around the dragon is the “wood dragon”.

 The dragon is a very auspicious creature in Chinese mythology  and astrology, and is said to bestow on those born in its year confidence, resolution, strength, and pride. They are supposed to be endowed with vitality and a sense of adventure, to be goal-oriented but idealistic and romantic, and to make visionary leaders.

On the other hand, they may also have the less desirable  tendencies of being somewhat arrogant or domineering, temperamental, somewhat egotistical, and gullible…the last due largely to over-confidence.

In the coming year, let’s approach life with pride and confidence, and be strong and resolute while avoiding arrogance and hubris.

 I fervently hope that the coming year brings peace where there has been strife, understanding where there has been ignorance, and justice where there has been iniquity.

 May the coming year be better by far than any that have preceded it, for each of you and for those you hold dear, and indeed for all of us.

Happy New Year and joyous holidays!

 (Image by mirrima on Freepik.com)

Yuletide Greetings

 

Here’s hoping that all of you, friends, relatives, and other readers of the blog have a really Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Yule, Splendid Saturnalia, or whatever other very enjoyable holidays that you may be celebrating in this season.

I got presents early this year, including the opportunity to meet two very old and close friends in person, after several years of pandemic-related restrictions and mobility issues had prevented it. Another old friend very graciously agreed to make the trek up to the Saitama/Gunma border country and perform some excellent guitar numbers as part of an anniversary celebration for the hospital where I do rehab. Another present was an invitation to a company get-together at an izakaya near the office, fun to see colleagues and friends in person and hoist a few tankards after about four years of only digital contact; it was almost like old times,  and well worth it despite a certain amount of fatigue and logistics hassles.

When the year winds down it’s time to arrange for the annual production of nengjo New Year greeting cards.  Updating the data base has sometimes been a little sad in recent years, as notices of old colleagues and other acquaintances having passed away have become more frequent. Each year there are a few less cards to send, but I’m still encouraged by the number of friends who—like me—have so far beat the odds and keep on keeping on.

May all of you be happy and healthy, and hale and hearty, throughout the holiday season and the year to come. As I said at this time last year, may peace and good will prevail for everyone, everywhere, may generosity and kindness carry the day, and may the greedy and selfish be confounded. 

Truth and justice will win out in the end, and all the sooner if we help them along. 

Still I'm Sad

One of the very first records I ever bought, back when I was 16 or just about to be, was The Shapes of Things, by the Yardbirds.  It featured, prominently, their then-recent replacement for Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, whom they'd taken on board at the recommendation of Jimmy Page. 

Yes, that is a lot of  legendary guitarists for a singe sentence.

I've just learned that Jeff Beck has passed away, following several other iconic musicians who--to me, anyway--contributed significantly to the soundtrack of my life. Jeff Beck was an astoundingly good guitarist. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice (as one of the Yardbirds and as a solo act), he's been cited as one of the very first of the psychedelic rock musicians, but was undeniably skilled at blues, too, and has influenced countless other guitarists.

Although I might not have thought so when I was 16, now that I'm somewhat older I think that at 78 he was too young to go. I'm sorry that he's gone, as I'm sure many of my musician friends and other music lovers are, too. Jeff Beck had a remarkable life to go along with his remarkable talent, but Still I'm Sad to hear that he's gone. 

Peace and Wisdom

 

I wish all of my relatives, friends, and other readers a very happy, healthy, exciting, and prosperous Year of the Rabbit.

 With my usual disclaimer that I’m not a believer in astrology, Oriental, Occidental, or otherwise, nevertheless I do find the lore amusing and intriguing, and consider it perhaps worthwhile to consider the legendary characteristics of the year's representative animal, with a view toward emulating the strengths and avoiding the weaknesses with which it’s associated. 

 The rabbit is said to endow people born in its year with the traits of wisdom and caution, which might be mistaken for timidity but actually reflect careful consideration of options before jumping into a new situation. Rabbit people are also said to be good listeners and kind and sweet by nature, with appreciation for art and beauty.

 Appropriately for the current world situation, the rabbit is also said to impart calm and tact, being cool headed and slow to anger. People born in the Year of the Rabbit are likely, it is said, to be peacemakers.

 I fervently hope that the coming year brings peace where there has been strife, and justice where there has been iniquity.

 May the coming year be better by far than any that have preceded it, for each of you and for those you hold dear, and indeed for all of us. Happy New Year and joyous holidays!

(Image by rawpixel.com on Freepik)

Merry Christmas et alia

 May all of my relatives, friends, and other readers of the blog have a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, or very enjoyable other holidays they might celebrate in this season, or just a very good time overall as the year winds down.

As I write this, my sister-in-law is struggling with cancer and one of my oldest friends is hospitalized with COVID-19. For both of them to recover swiftly and completely would be the very best Christmas present ever. 

In this season, and indeed in all seasons and all locales, may peace and good will prevail, may generosity and kindness carry the day, and may the greedy and selfish be confounded. Even a single candle serves to diminish the darkness, but the more light and warmth, the better.

May all of you receive your heart's desire, achieve your goals, and grasp every possible opportunity for happiness in the holiday season, as well as in the year to come. 

Where the Time Goes

 At the beginning of October, I went around to several of the people—therapists and other care givers—at the care center (called by the affectionate nickname of “Kumakoko”) where I have been a regular user since shortly after release from my long hospital stay. I thanked each for their support over the three years that I’ve been a patron, first in day care and now in half-day rehabilitation, and asked for their further cooperation in the coming year. Three years and starting on a fourth is a long time, but the medical and therapeutical consensus is evidently that my progress has been rather quick, not to mention more successful than originally expected. I certainly can’t dispute that I’m far from the permanently bed-ridden or wheelchair-restricted original prognosis.

 It has been longer than I’d prefer, but I can’t deny that I’ve come quite a long way, thanks to a lot of support and effort from those around me, pros, family, and friends, and, I suppose, to my obstinacy.

 I have of late settled into a routine of sorts, with each week differing only slightly from the one before or after. The focus is firmly on rehabilitation, aiming at an ideal of return to full mobility, and that requires an investment of will, of concentration, of energy, and of time.

 Most Monday mornings begin with a visit from physical therapist Takaoka-san. He makes suggestions, explains tactics, monitors progress, and guards against accidental injury in real-world activities such as using escalators, walking on uneven surfaces, climbing steps and slopes, and surprisingly tricky household tasks such as hanging out laundry or taking out the trash.

 Tuesday through Friday mornings I get up early, drive over to Kumakoko, and engage in activities involving a treadmill, stair climbing, several machines for leg and torso exercises, diverse walking techniques, various dumbbell exercises, and monitoring/planning discussions with the therapists and Aoki-san, my care manager. After two or two-and-a-half hours of that, I head for home, sometimes with a stop at the local bakery or the gas station.

 Weekday and some weekend afternoons are devoted to whatever work I might have, whether from my contract employer or from my various freelance clients. The computers and the smartphone get a lot of use, as do my webcam and recording software applications.

 If the weather permits it, very early Saturday mornings I drive over to the nearby Kumagaya Sports and Culture Park, and do a couple of round trips walking up and down the slopes of a bridge on the grounds near the rugby field, one of the relatively few slopes in this mostly flat alluvial plain town.

 Sundays I generally take it easy, try with very limited success to catch up on my email and other computer stuff, and so on.

 During the month there are a few other activities more or less beyond the routine. I do a lot of cooking, go out shopping, do a monthly doctor and pharmacy trip, and occasionally visit local restaurants or pubs.

 As usual toward the end of the year, I reflect on the passing of time, review a lot of memories, and make tentative plans for the future. “Who knows where the time goes?”, and variations on that theme, have been said by those around me, and by me as well, many times over the years. Right now I’ve got a fairly firm grip on that, because it’s easier when you have a mostly routine existence, but we’ll have to see what the future brings.

Can you make it all a little less old?

 Another rock legend has left the stage. I just learned that Meat Loaf passed away, probably from COVID-19 in combination with his already poor health, on January 20th. 

By coincidence and because of the time difference, that day marked three years since I broke my leg and was set onto a path of hospitalization, surgery, rehabilitation, and--in a head start on my colleagues just prior to the pandemic's effects--exclusively remote work. I had forgotten the anniversary, actually, until the sad news about Meat Loaf, and the mention that he was 74, brought the date, and the time, and the years, into sharper focus. I'll be 72 in a couple of months, and it hasn't been that long since my physique rather resembled Meat Loaf's in his--for want of a better term--prime. 

When closing time came for Leonard Cohen, he was 82...but I was only 66. When Charlie Watts  put his sticks down for the last time this past summer he was 80...but I was already 71. Meat Loaf was only a couple of years older than I am, and his passing was a stronger memento mori for me than I expected. Or needed, really.

Due to some lifestyle changes beginning in the late '70s, most of my initial exposures to new songs around then came by way of my car radio. I don't recall anymore exactly when it was, but when I heard "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" for the first time, I had to pull the car over to the side of the street and listen, rapt and amazed and amused. No song before or since has elicited that response from me. "Let me sleep on it", indeed. I've since had to struggle several times to explain that phrase to Japanese friends, but it was always worth it when realization dawned.

Seeing it performed on TV video clips and more recently on the internet of course added a lot to the experience: Meat Loaf was a hell of an actor as well as  a powerful singer. He was certainly worth watching, whether he was playing a (long ago) "barely 17, and barely dressed" youth, or Eddie in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, or the enigmatic Beast-like character from the music video for "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)". 

That last song contains the rather grim line "It'll all turn to dust and we'll all fall down". That does seem to be pretty much inescapable, but before that happens I'd like to live with the passion and energy that Meat Loaf put into his performances. The lyrics also include the "Can you make it all a little less old?" line, and I believe that he's done that, and it's worth emulating. He may seem to be an unusual role model, but  he's a worthy one in many ways. We're diminished by his loss, but enriched by his memory. 

Brave, bold, and brash

I wish all of my relatives, friends, and other readers a very happy, healthy, exciting, and prosperous Year of the Tiger!

I was born in the Year of the Tiger, specifically in what's called a year of the Metal Tiger--I've also seen it called Gold Tiger--among the five elemental types, the others being Wood, Fire, Earth, and Water (this year's). 

While not a believer in astrology regardless of the culture, Oriental, Occidental, or otherwise, in which it's rooted, I do find the lore amusing and intriguing, and perhaps it is worthwhile to consider the supposed characteristics of the year's representative animal, with a view toward maximizing the strengths and minimizing the weaknesses which I do find in my own character. 

Not surprisingly given the model, people born in the Year of the Tiger are said to be courageous, competitive, and self-confident, but also to tend to be impetuous and overindulgent. Metal Tiger people are said often to display strong will power and endurance, to have a positive  and passionate approach to life, and to have unwavering faith in themselves, even to the extent of obstinacy.

As I progress in my current quest for a return to full mobility and unimpaired health, aiming at once again being fully functional and entirely self-reliant, I expect the frequent demands on my courage and confidence to continue. I don't believe that I have ever lacked passion or sheer will, but I'm sure that the rehabilitation professionals around me, therapists and care managers and medical staff alike, would--if they were disposed to be candid instead of discreet--express concern about my tendency to be a bit reckless, or at least insufficiently circumspect. 

I do often want to pounce when it would be more advisable to plod.

My care manager rolls her eyes and looks worried when I talk about riding a motorcycle again, and the therapists look pensive but no longer dubious. They do regularly counsel caution and a measured, low-risk approach. There appears to be consensus among them that it's something of which I have to be reminded rather frequently. I can't honestly disagree.

I am looking forward to more extensive driving, and use of public transportation more frequently and for longer distances. I am hoping in the relatively near future to be able to greet in person the doctors, nurses, and therapists who contributed to my recovery during my long hospitalization, to show them how well their efforts have succeeded. There is also a good chance that before too long I will again be able to commute physically to my employer's office in Tokyo, to join my colleagues in person even if it's only a couple of times weekly while the pandemic restrictions continue. I'm not going to be averse to a bit of carousal when the opportunity arises, either.

It's the first day of a new year, and too early to predict how things will turn out in the next few months. I have no doubt that dealing effectively with the coming months will require me to be brave and bold, and if at times I'm a bit too brash, well...one doesn't often see blenching tigers.

May the coming year be a very safe, happy, prosperous, and exciting one for you and yours, and may it be a much, much better year than the ones that preceded it.

Moving Along

It has been a year marked by movement, often slower and sometimes more hesitant than I would prefer, but undeniably progressing movement.

From a wheelchair to a walker, thence to crutches, and driving, and moving along more or less steadily through shopping areas, pushing shopping carts through supermarkets, entering and exiting bars and restaurants, and accomplishing the surprisingly tricky task of taking out the trash, I've been doing more moving along than I usually realize at the time.

Switching from day care with rehabilitation to an entirely intensive rehabilitation mode in my daily routine had been a significant move, too, and appears to be showing good results. 

It hasn't been an easy year, but I didn't expect it to be. It has been a rather successful one, though, as far as progress in mobility is concerned. As the Year of the plodding, determined Ox ends, I'm looking forward to "my" year, the coming Year of the Tiger, with some expectation of at least some faster, more aggressive movement, but in any case, plodding or pouncing, continuing with moving along. 

Merry Christmas

May all of my relatives, friends, and other visitors to the blog have a very Merry Christmas, or very enjoyable other holidays they might celebrate in this season, or just a very good time overall as the year winds down.

May peace and good will prevail, generosity and kindness carry the day, and the greedy and selfish be confounded. Even a single candle serves to diminish the darkness, but the more light and warmth, the better.

May all of you receive your heart's desire, achieve your goals, and grasp every possible opportunity for happiness in the holiday season.