1. Mom
40 years ago, Mom gave me her shape, her whimsy, artistry, way with words, sense of good and unconditional love. She doesn’t interfere, but is keenly aware and always ready with support when needed. Thanks for the good start, Mom.
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40 years ago, Mom gave me her shape, her whimsy, artistry, way with words, sense of good and unconditional love. She doesn’t interfere, but is keenly aware and always ready with support when needed. Thanks for the good start, Mom.
Tall, blonde and athletic, Maura moved in high school circles I didn’t have access to. In class I admired wit paired with handwriting as big and loopy as she was. She narrowly escaped being an April Fool’s birthday joke. Lucky.
Sean, like me, has lived 20% of his life in Japan. Gentle, fun loving and very clever, it’s delightful to watch him grow in size, strength and skills. He's taught me signs for potty, orange, cheese, and bread – his favorites.
Misa has a boy's name and a man's profession. She’s an architect – an unusual career choice for someone who’s a generation older than me. Misa’s elegance of line and space infiltrate not only her blueprints but her personal style, too.
The worse birthday ever, I woke naked and damp in Jana's dressing room. It was Alan's worst birthday, too. He found me passed out in his shower. He screamed & threw a blanket over me. He doesn’t even like girls.
Mrs. Richardson lived two doors over and let us kids play in her big back yard. She was our next door neighbor’s grandmother. When I got too hot and turned beet red, she brought me inside for lemonade and cookies.
James epitomizes bleakness. He puts on a brave smile and a wry laugh with a drink in hand, but you know behind it are thoughts as black as midnight. Despite his melancholy, he’s an accomplished cook, storyteller, and art photographer.
Equally beautiful in a t-shirt or a cocktail dress, Jo radiates happiness and calm, even in the midst of complicated sewing and unpicking seams. She’s the grounded one in our crowd. A cuppa, another fag, and then we’ll get moving.
A chance encounter in the park, she was walking a rabbit on a leash as we passed by. I pet the bunny while she photographed Sean eating a cucumber. She ran after us to get an e-mail address – how thoughtful.
Though I’ve known him for almost 15 years, John remains a mystery to me. How does he sail through life unperturbed by daily annoyances? He thoroughly enjoys his surroundings and situation. He’s unflustered, self-reliant, and he’s great in the kitchen.
Miss Evans needed to review before her law school entrance exams, so got permission to teach a 12th grade class the Constitution. I was fortunate to be in her class. She sparked my long-abiding respect for the document and herself.
Dan is involved in so many artistic projects (his own and others’) that I don’t believe he sleeps. I’ve never known anyone so full of truly novel and creative ideas. Dan’s a good guy – and he loves my sister, too.
Elizabeth is the world’s English-speaking expert on Japanese cooking. She came to Japan in 1968 and stayed for the food – and her new family. An animated, eager teacher full of life and stories, she shares her knowledge in every encounter.
Always serious, earnest and wanting to do the right thing, Chad grew up to be a computer expert. Now he works for the government and I worry he’s going to turn up to arrest me for computer crime. Blaspheming Microsoft?
Kimura is all about words. We write together sometimes, but mostly quaff beer and lament the ways of the world. I knew him six months before I learned his first name. He’s charming, but his personal life is nearly opaque.
Shinji is mischievous. He gives drivers wrong directions, hassles women about their bad makeup, asks a million questions. He’s not afraid to talk to strangers or give his opinion. Before retiring at age 49, he produced hit Japanese TV commercials.
Now a valued friend, Robin was my (nominal) boss for many years, and he somehow learned how to get what he wanted from me without conflict or stress, even when I didn’t agree. He talked to me without corporate double-speak.
Carl plays piano in a swanky Kabukicho lounge club. He’s funny as an entertainer, and exactly the same kind of amusing off-stage. He wrote ad jingles a couple decades back: “Puppy Chow for a full year – til he’s full grown.”
Rosemary hired me for my worst job. She had a vision I fulfilled, but her ideas didn’t map to the realities of the job. We got along great but she left three months after I arrived. I escaped shortly after.
Ets doesn’t attend our dinners and I was sure Jeremy had invented his wife until I met her in person. We sat next to each other, unplanned, at a swim meet in 2004. After the introductions, we never spoke again.
Jone cares for the guests and is uncle to the staff at Moody’s Namena. He’s always smiling,, and its brilliance lights up the resort. When I discovered his natural talent for drawing; I gave him my watercolor pencils. Bula vinaka!
A beautiful young man who all mothers loved, Rob was a naughty boy behind the scenes. He dropped out of college and “toured with the Dead” in a VW bus. Later, he settled down to become a chef & father.
Manisha joined my team as a graduate student. Her husband, on a student visa from India, studied medicine and she decided to take another degree, too. Diligent, smart, soft-spoken, she never seemed to mind that everyone mispronounced her exotic name.
I met him one evening when I bought groceries for myself and someone else. I wanted to divide the order and started bagging solo before he came over to help. “I’ll bag in self defense.” I laughed. He meant it.
Terri is the embodiment of infectious enthusiasm and joy, tempered with actions taken to right wrongs and injustice. She flew from Japan to the US to knock on doors during the last presidential election, and discovered beauty all around her.
Jim’s the only other person in Tokyo who experienced Miss Judy and too much “haina” growing up. He captures the moods and people of everyday Tokyo photographed in black and white with antique cameras then developed by hand at home.
Blonde tresses pulled into a ponytail, t-shirt snugging generous curves, Stacey cooked up the best cheeseburger on the South Side – perhaps in all of Pittsburgh—at Dee’s. She was smarter than any of us slacking college students, and sassier, too.
Imamura-san owns the local liquor store. Hard edged and business savvy but unassuming and friendly, she runs the show in her trademark black apron. She is a seventh generation Tokyo resident, which makes her a pedigree Eddoko (child of Tokyo).
Cynthia is not otherwise elfish, but her smile makes me want to peek at her ears just to be sure. Interested and active in social causes, showering love on her family, she is also a smoother of ruffled departmental feathers.
In 1976, Heidi spun rings around everyone on the monkey bars. Later, she turned heads and dated the cutest boy in school. Now her life revolves around her family of natural, adopted and foster kids; she teaches them her tricks.