august
august, originally uploaded by if objects are much too solid.
and so i will take my leaving slow. a reminder to just enjoy. august, half of which i was not even in japan for, has been drizzle. the rainy season scarce this year in june and july has found its way here, but in a half hearted way. sometimes during my walk or bike to work i will be under my red umbrella nodding good mornings and circumventing puddles. it is nice to be back. kawasaki has a sense about itself. as though we've made an agreement. i know what's going on more now than i ever have and this is so very good to me. still surprises emerge. at my smaller junior high school an assembly formed itself out of nowhere. a man with the kindest face, all concentration on the vibraphone. before each song he would get one of the students to play a new instrument. getting all of them to rock their chairs and clap using their full upper bodies. when it came time to have someone dance a three step to the next song he caught my eye and then took both my hands. in the day to day i think this man is a miracle. he made the room just kind of light up. he took people by the hand, he led and relaxed everyone and without a single ironic smirk all the while. so i danced a three step with him, then got my english teacher to dance the whole time he and his partner played their next song. we added twirled flourishes to the whole thing. i think many things are miracles, by the way, joking with the kids. having them approach me with their humor and gorgeousness. seriously, look at anyone who is becoming a teenager. watch them generally struggle and think that everything hinges on Them and This without ego and tell me you don't smile at how much heart that takes. so goodbye august. japan is treating me so well and has for two years. i am saying goodbye slowly because i know it'll be hard to leave when leaving comes closer.