The Nippon Ham Fighters lost 3 consecutive games against the Soft Bank Hawks.

In the early morning, it was raining, so I didn't think there was no radio taiso ( calisthenics ) but there was. When I began to help Ayako prepare breakfast, I saw people coming back from the minipark with their children.

Cucumbers

  Cloudy all day. But in Niigata, it is heavily raining and many rivers are flooding and tremendous damage has been done everywhere in the prefecture. 430,000 people had to evacuate. A lot of houses, rice fields and even bridges are under water. Two people were killed, and four are missing. Niigata is a disaster-prone prefecture, where earthquakes have often hit, floods have happened these years, and in winter, snow falls very much.
  In the morning, in an interval of drizzle, I went to Furusato Noen, and picked some cucumbers and eggplants. And in the afternoon, I went out to walk along the Tomakomai river. It had stopped raining by then.

Former NY Yankees pitcher Hideki Irabu found dead in LA.

  It was sunny. Ayako went to the hospital by bicycle in the morning while I went for a walk. Leo, our cat seems to be lonely without his brother who died the other day.
 In Niigata and Fukushima prefectures, it is raining heavily, and the rivers are flooding, and many people are evacuating, the TV news reporting. So, I called my sister Sumiko in Fukushima. She said it was not raining in the eastern part of the prefecture, so they were safe. Sumiko only talked happily about one of her granddaughters who had just returned from the school trip in Hokkaido. She said her granddaughter was very happy to travel to Hokkaido, and that she wanted to travel to Hokkaido again. So I said, "Come to Hokkaido with her."

On Wednesday, local time, former NY Yankees pitcher Hideki Irabu found dead in his house in a wealthy Los Angels suburb.  He seems to have committed a suicide. The reason is unknown. He played in the Major League from 1997-2002. He played for the Yankees in the seasons 1997 and 1999, and in 1998, he won 13 games, and lost 9 games, and the team won the World Series and became the champions.  

"Radio taiso", or radio calisthenics

  During summer vacation, "radio taiso" or "radio calisthenics" is held in the neighborhood minipark from 6:30 every morning. About 20 adults and 30 children gather in the minipark from the neighborhood, and do exercise to music on the radio.

  The following is an explanation of Radio taiso in Japan from Wikipedia:

  Radio taiso were introduced to Japan in 1928 as a commemoration of coronation of Emperor Hirohito. The idea for radio broadcast calisthenics came from the US, where during the 1920s the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. sponsored 15-minute radio calisthenics in major cities in the US. Visiting employees of the Japanese postal insurance division brought samples of the exercises from the US back to Japan. The exercises were widely used to improve the health of Japanese soldiers both at home and abroad during the 1930s and 1940s. After Japan's defeat in 1945, the broadcasts were banned by the occupying powers as being too militaristic in nature. After several rewrites to the routine, it was reintroduced by NHK radio in 1951 with the support of education ministry, health ministry, the Japan Gymnastic Association, and the Japan Recreation Association.

I went to the hospital to have my stomach examined with a gastrocamera.

  In the morning, I went to the hospital without having breakfast to have my stomach examined with gastrocamera.
After the examination, the doctor said NDA, or "Nothing abnormal detected". In the afternoon, Takashi and Sachiyo called us by skype asking about Memme, our pet cat who died yesterday. They said they were very sorry, but the cat with handicap by birth could live as long as 14 years because we had loved him and had taken good care of him.

  Ms.Miki Takano, the representative of the organizer of the class reunion the other day, sent me the photo album of the party, a frmed photo of all gathered there and the "group efforts" of all the attendants. I hadn't expected there would be such a surprise. I am very happy to have such wonderful presents. I thank the organizers and all the attendants very much.   

Menme, our beloved pet cat died at 1:15 this afternoon.

Menme, our beloved pet cat died at last after having suffered for over two years. He had lived with us for about 14 years. I remember many scenes with him. Haruna, my daughter living in Sapporo, brought him with Leo, another cat still living with us, 14 years ago. Menme was a very little white kit with some handicaps.

I trimmed the trees in the garden.

  It was very hot today. In the morning, Ayako went to the dentist while I worked in the garden trimming the trees in the garden. To trim the treetops of the yew trees with pruners standing on the ladder was very hard to me. I feel it harder and harder year by year.
  After Ayako returned from the dental clinic, we went to Furusato Noen and picked some cucumbers grown big. On the way back, we dropped in at a supermarket and bought something including seeds of daikon (Japanese big radish), which we are going to sow in our field in Furusato Noen. After lunch, I again trimmed the trees in the garden. I was very tired today.

Hokkai Senior High School won a victory over Komazawa Tomakomai in the final game of the South Hokkaido High School Baseball Championships.

  This afternoon, I watched two baseball games on TV. One was the final game of south Hokkaido Senior High School Championships Tournament, and the other was All-star game of Japanese professional baseball. In High School baseball, the game was played between Komazawa Tomakomai and Hokkai High School from Sapporo, and Hokkai won the champion in the extra inning game by 5-4. Hokkai was qualified as the representative of  south Hokkaido and will advance to all Japan championships tournament to be held at Koshien Ball Park in August with Shirakaba High from Obihiro, the representative of north Hokkaido.
 Inaba of the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters was elected as the MVP player in the final game of the All-star game of  Japanese professional baseball leagues. He hit three base hits including a two-run homer, a timely single, and a tripple, and contributed the 5-0 victory of the Pacific league all-stars. After the game, Inaba announced to donate all of the 3,000,000-yen prize money to the victimes of the East Japan Great Earthquake and tsunami. By the way, the game was held in Sendai. A very fine play by Inaba!

Terrorist attacks (?) in Oslo,Norway

In such a peaceful country, we couldn't expect such cruel terrorist attacks would happen. In Oslo, Norway, the government office was attacked by a car bomb and several people were killed. About 90 minutes later, in a camp site on a small island named "Utoya" 30 kms off Oslo, a gunman shot randomly at young people who were taking part in the rally organized by Norway's governing party Labor Party, and killed at least 85 people.   

It's fine, but cool today.

July 22, Friday. It was not warm, and very cool today.

I didn't post on this blog yesterday. I just forgot.

There are some days when I don't remember what I did or what happened on that day, while there are some days I can't forget. Yesterday, I remember I went to Furusato Noen with Ayako. What did I do there?  I took some photos there. The purple potato flowers were blooming. We checked the beanpoles. I saw many yellow flowers of cucumbers. In the afternoon, I stayed at home. A quater-final games of all Hokkaido High School baseball championships were being played at Maruyama Ball Park, and I tried to listen to the play-by-play radio broadcast but I couldn't because the condition of the radio wave was bad.  Anyway, I got to know the result that Komazawa Tomakomai and Sapporo Minami won.

CT scan of the abdomen

 　I went to the hospital to have CT scan of the abdomen today. Next Wednsday, I will have a gastroscopy. The results will be reported later. I go to the hospital regularly once every month and have checked my diabetes. The doctor worries about my mild weight loss for these three months, and he doubts about cancer initiation.
  The big typhoon approached Kochi prefecture in Shikoku, and has done a lot of damage. But, fortunately, there has been any people killed. It is expected to move eastward and go away from Honshu island. It will not approach Hokkaido. Today, the weather here is cloudy, and windy. But tomorrow, it will be sunny. 　

A big typhoon is approaching southern Japan.

It was fine and hot today. But a big typhoon is approaching and in Shikoku and Kyushu, it is raining heavily with storng wind.

Nadeshiko Japan defeated USA after a penalty shoot out, the champions of the world !

In the World Cup 2011 in Germany, Nadeshiko Japan edged USA after a penalty shoot out. It seemed to be a miracle. Twice, Japan got a goal for tying the game after having conceded a goal, once in the second half, and also in the overtime last half. And finally, won the victory in the penalty shoot out.  

Class reunion

 30 old students of mine attended the reunion held at Prince Hotel last night.　I asked Ayako to drive me to Grand Hotel New Oji in the rain, but at the hotel, there was no reservation of class reunion today, the receptionist said. I thought I made a mistake for another hotel of the similar name, so I took a taxi to the hotel. There was not such a reservation,either. How stupid I was not to make sure of where the party would take place. I returned home by taxi. One of the party organizer had called me at home, saying the place was not Grand Hotel New Oji, but Prince Hotel. I went to the hotel half an hour later than the starting time. I first apologized to all the attendances for being late.
 I was relieved that I could recognize all the old students I saw for the first time in 23 years since their graduation from senior high school. They welcomed me with warm hearts, and talked to me very tenderly. The organizers did a very wonderful job, because the party was so joyful and especially what I admired was they completed the correct list of names and addresses of all their old classmates. They were 41 or 42 years old, and this was the first reunion since their graduation at their age of 18 or 19.  

Rainy all day.

Isn't this a rainy season in Hokkaido?  The cloud of  the rainy season front (Baiu front) in Honshu moved into Hokkaido and has overcast the sky for these past days. I can't go out but just stay at home. I took out an old photo album, and made sure of  the names and faces of my old students who were going to have a reunion tomorrow evening. They graduated from the class of  Tomakomai Higashi Senior High School of  which I was in charge in 1988.
 Watching the photos, I imagined how each one of them had lived for the 23 years since their graduation. They are now 41 or 42 years old. Most of them may be married, and may have their children. Their jobs and positions are, of course, different. Are they doing well ? I hope so.
 Tomorrow evening, from 5: 30 at Grand Hotel New Oji, the reunion party is going to be held. Mrs.Miki Takano sent me a letter of invitation, and Mr.Akihito Koshito, and Mr.Koji Miyawaki sent me emails. I really am looking forward to seeing them.   

Nadeshiko Japan defeated the Swedish team and advanced to the final of the Women's World Cup Soccer.

  For the first time in the history of Japanese soccer, Nadeshiko Japan, Japanese national team, advanced to the final of the 2011 Women's World Cup Soccer in Germany by defeating the Swedish national team by 3-1. The final will be played against USA, which is ranked No.1 in the world on the early morning of next Monday. Japanese soccer fans look forward to the match hoping Japan will win.

 Prime minister Naoto Kan announced at a news conference on July 13 that Japan will gradually decrease its reliance on nuclear power. And the ultimate goal will be to achieve a nuclear power plant-free country. I quite agree with him, but he didn't tell about the process to achieve it in detail.

 The constant cooling system of the Fukushima nuclear power plant using nitogen gas is reported to be working. It is good news, but it  means only the first step of the controling the wrecked power plant is cleared. On the other hand, beef contaminated with radioactivity was newly found in Fukushima prefecture. The beef  has already been sold in some areas including Hokkaido. Those cow are reported to be fed contaminated fodder.

It was cloudy and humid all day.

As usual, I woke up at 5:30 a.m., and tore off a page from the block calendar, plugged in an electric jug, change the diapers of  an old cat, and  read newspaper. Tearing off a page from the calender, I noticed more than a half year had passed since January. Since March 11th, the day the earthquake hit eastern Japan, more than four months had passed,too. Time really flies. In the newspaper, there are the numbers 15,555 and 5,344  which indicate the numbers of  the dead people and the missing people in the earthquake and tsunami. far more than 20,000 people were killed. Behind these numbers, there are the same numbers or more tragedies. Sad, so sad !  We should never forget of these tradegies. And, of course, we will have to continue to encourage, support, and help the victims.

Magpies often come to our garden. Why?

  The first time I saw a magpie here was about ten years ago. I had known the name of the bird because I had found it in a poem written by an English poet. And I had actually seen the birds when I traveled in New Zealand several years before. But, according to an encyclopedia, Hokkaido is not a habitat of them, and they only live in northern Kyushu island. So, they are designated as protected species and a natural treasure by Oita prefecture. So I was so surprised to find them here in Tomakomai. Recently, we see them here and there, and yesterday, nine magpies at a time were seen on the electric wire and on the roof of the next-door house. Of course, I often see them taking a walk. Is this because of global warming?
 
  It was cloudy, and it rained a little in the afternoon. In the morning, I stood at a crossing as a school crossing guard. Then, I walked as usual as far as Kawazoe cho.     

It was cloudy all day, and toward evening, it began to rain.

 In the morning, I went out for my routine walk along the Tomakomai river.  While walking, I could enjoy beautiful flowers blooming along roadsides. Little yellow flowers like dandelions which we call here "Russian dandelions", a kind of wild roses named "hamanasu" in Hokkaido, various colors of irises, etc. are blooming everywhere. I found a lot of tiny black fruits of cherries in the trees and picked them and ate. They were sweet with a liittle bitter taste. It is summer. It is the best season. I like summer best. But, here in northern Japan, summer is so short, and winter is so long , so cold, and so severe.  

In the evening, it began to rain again.

Japan defeated Germany in the Women's World Cup Succer in a quater-final game.

 I was sleepy today, because I got up at 3:00 o'clock in the morning to watch on TV the 2011 Women's World Cup Succer being held in Germany. Japan won a historical victory in the quarter-final game over Germany, the defending champion, and the hosting country of the World Cup. The game was very tough, and went into overtime in scoreless tie, and in the last half of the extra-time, Japan finally scored and won by 1-0.

Children carried "Mikoshi" or a portable shrine

  It was very hot. It had been raining during the night, but by the time dawn broke, it cleared and the temperature rose up very high. I don't know what this event means. The yearly festival of  the Tomakomai Tarumae Shinto Shrine will be held from the 14th to 17th of this month this year. I guess this children's event of carrying "mikoshi" used to be a part of  the Tarumae Shinto Shrine.
  The officials of our neighborhood association started preparations at 9:00 p.m. at our minipark. I had to work as the chairman of the executive committee. We pitched three big tents, carried chairs and tables, carried two mikoshi or portable shrines from the storage, and decorated them with ornaments of  red paper flowers, red and white ropes, etc, and put them on carts.         

It was rainy all day today.

It has been raining all day since last night. I didn't go out and stayed home all day. Having nothing to do, I watched a soccer game between Puerto Rico vs Bolivia in South America's  championship tournament "Copa America 2011" on TV. Puerto Rico upset Bolivia by the score of 2-1.

 I sent to Mr.Koshito a message for the booklet which he and other classmates of my old class were editing. I wrote only what I had been doing since I retired.
 By the way, I plucked out the yearbook of 1988, when they graduated to assure their faces and names.   

The highest temperature was over 25 degrees?



 It was very hot for Tomakomai this morning. I walked out of the house in the morning to go for a walk, but I felt very hot, so I gave up walking. I drove to go to Furusato Noen. The purple flowers of potatoes were beautiful everywhere in the fields. I took some photos of them. In our field, I also saw some flowers of eggplants. Vines of beans and cucumbers, and  the runners of sweet potatoes  are growing.  I always feel happy to see the crops growing. To work in the field is sometimes hard for me, but I can't give up working to feel this happy feeling.



Flowers of eggplants



  Mrs.Miki Takano, my old student, sent me a letter inviting me to their class reunion she and her former classmates have been preparing. It will be held on the 16th of July, Saturday next week at Tomakomai Grand Hotel New Oji.   According to her letter, 29 people including 16 men and 13 women are going to attend the reunion. I look forward to seeing them for the first time in over 20 years.

A beautiful summer day, walking and gardening.

 

A kind of wild rose "Hamanasu"



It was a beautiful summer day. I felt very pleasant walking along my routine walking path to the Tomakomai river. Flowers were beautiful. In this season of the year, "Hamanasu", a kind of wild roses are so beautiful in Hokkaido. And for various colors of irises, it is also the best season.

In the afternoon, I took care of the vegetables and peanut seedlings in our kitchen garden. The seedlings are still very young. Peanuts are believed not to grow in Hokkaido, so I don't know when I should seed them. Maybe, it was too late. I am afraid I will not harvest them in autumn. Anyway, I hope we will continue to have such warm days as today.   



Still windy,but sunny today.

The rain stopped, and the sun was shining when I woke up at 4:50 this morning. In the morning, Ayako went to the dental clinic, and I went to Furusato Noen to see if the crops were damaged by yesterday's strong wind. A few stalks of corns were broken and fallen.  

It was a very rainy,windy day today.

It rained very much. Today'precipitaion was over 50 mm, which recorded the most amount here in Tomakomai  for this summer. I had to stay home all day, and, of course, didn't go for my routine walking exercise. The wind was strong, so I am worried if it damaged the crops of our field in Furusato Noen.
In Mexico, now FIFA U-17 World Cup MEXCICO 2011 is being held, and today, Japan played against the world strongest team Brazil, and performed very well, but was defeated by the score of 2-3.

In the morning, the fog was dense, but we went to Furusato Noen.

It was very foggy, but Ayako and I went to Furusato Noen, because we were afraid spinach would overgrow. We picked all of our spinach. On the way back home, we dropped in at a supermarket and did some shopping.The flowers Ayako planted in the pots on our wood deck and in the garden are blooming very beautifully. But tomatoes and eggplants do not grow well, because the temperature is not high enough, and we have had enough sunshine.  

A field day or "undo-kai" of our neighborhood association

Today, we held "undo-kai" or a field day of our neighborhood association. The weather was fine and very hot in the morning, but more than 100 people, young and old, gathered in our minipark "6-chome Koen". We, officials of the association, began to prepare everything in the event site. We first pitched two big tents, then,  leveled the ground, drew lines, set a loudspeaker, prepared prizes, arranged tools for each event in the program, and so on. I served as one of the starters. The weather was sunny, and the temperature was very high, so I got sunburned.
In the afternoon, after our undo-kai had finished and we had cleaned up the site, it became cloudy and foggy. I stayed at home listening to the play-by-play radio broadcast of a high school baseball final game between Tomakomai Komazawa senior high school and Tomakomai Higashi senior high school. Komazawa is a very strong team because it became the champion of all Japan twice, in 2006 and 2007. And Tomakomai Higashi is the school which I retired from after I had taught for 22 years. The game was a very tough and close  one, which went into the 13th extra-inning, and finally, Komazawa won by 3-1.  

It was fine and so hot. I went to see high school baseball games.

It was very fine and hot. Ayako went to the hospital to check  her diabetes this morning,while I went to check mine yesterday.  My level of blood sugar was not good. So, in the next time, on the 20th of July, I will have a screening test for cancer in my stomach and pancreas. The doctor says I am losing weight a little, so he is afraid of there being possibility of cancer.
Today, I went to see high school baseball games to Midori ga Oka Baseball Park in Shimizu cho. Komazawa Tomakomai and Tomakomai Higashi won and promoted to the final game tomorrow for the qualificasion for the all Hokkaido championship tournament.

My personal history after the war   18
I didn't join the track and field club, or any other club after all. I didn't remember the exact reason now, but I remember what I always had in mind in those days was the concern about whether or not I could continue my school life. One of the reasons was, of course, the financial problem of my family. And another reason was the pessimistic prediction of my accademic performance,especially in English. I hadn't learned English at all in Miyagi, because English was an optional subject in junior high school.