The number of elderly people in Japan living alone is expected to grow even higher in the coming years. The statistics in the media never really made an impact on me until I fell into the category of one of those ‘old people’ living in a single household. My daughters and their families are stretched …
Bette Davis, the American film actor known for her acerbic wit and powerful roles during the 1930s and 40s, is quoted as saying: “You need guts to grow old.” Well, I’ve grown old, and she was right to a point. Yes, it takes a bit of doing for me to face the reality that I …
I completed an iBook this month after weeks of laboring over the photos, choosing the ones to include in my opus. Writing the text required several rewrites. The book provides text and photos of a retired educator seeking to find outlets for his creative energy. It also provided foreshadowing for younger men and women who …
August brought in the summer heat. The unforgiving sun beat down on my head covered by a white baseball cap. I was walking toward the supermarket when for the first time in my 76 years, I felt light headed. I sat down on a stone fence surrounding sunflowers stretching upward toward the sky. “I’m getting …
Photo editing software provided me with the tools that made up for my lack of artistic talent and skills. I tested out different functions of the software in a trial and error process in order to infuse life into my anemic looking photographic efforts. Soon, I managed to progress to a point where I could …
November 11, 2018: My friend drove me to the Yokohama War Cemetery. (https://www.cwgc.org/find-a-cemetery/cemetery/49433/yokohama-war-cemetery/) I walked through the entrance to the cemetery and was struck immediately by the serenity of the scene in front of me. The cemetery is surrounded by trees. I felt as if I was entering a different environment far from the expressways, …
As I enter into the final stretch of life, I have begun to view scenes with dreamlike, subconscious lenses. On my recent visit to Carmel Valley, California I appreciated the color and textures of the valley. The lines of the mountains appeared as if drawn by a thick brush with black ink.But when I struggled …
Virtual reality is a concept that I am gradually getting a grasp of. Years ago as a little boy, we referred to people who lived in different worlds as illusional or delusional. Today, people can step from the tactile world into a world filled with phantasmagorical landscapes — surreal, psychedelic, even illusory. In my mind, …