https://ameblo.jp/b4its2late/ 私の非日常の世界だけお伝えします。　私の日常は皆様に開示できるほど面白いものではありません ja

When we talk about our family members, especially when we talk about our wives, Japanese ways are much different
from Americans.

I understand Japanese attitudes are getting closer to Americans, these days, but for my boss at that time who was
born in 1947, praising his wife and children to his clients was nothing but rude behavior.

I still remember when we first opened our California office. We had dinner with some of our clients and one of the
clients said to my boss

“So, your wife is finishing her job in Japan and moving to California next week. I guess you are very happy to be
reunited with her”

My boss laughed and replied

“Ha Ha Ha ! How can I be happy to live with such an ugly woman !?”

Being typical Japanese myself, I totally understand why he said so. He was actually very happy for her coming to
California giving up her job in Japan and longing for the day she would be arriving at Los Angeles Airport. He was just trying to be polite to his client in Japanese way which never works outside of Japan.

While we were waiting for our cars at the valet parking reception, the client whispered to me.

“I guess your boss has a serious family issue and you’d better watch out”




↑↑↑↑　こいつをクリックしてくれるとけっこう嬉しいです (b4)




]]> https://ameblo.jp/b4its2late/entry-10238950964.html Wed, 08 Apr 2009 19:42:08 +0900

As everybody knows, American people like telling jokes, so do I. But we have to know some jokes can not necessarily be jokes. Especially when we joke about Japan, we have to know some Americans do not have any knowledge of our
country except for being beaten by them at WW2.

The manager of the electronics retail store in the small town in Virginia, where we helped his sales event, was a very
intelligent person and he always asked us about Japanese culture.

I am from Tokyo and my partner at that time was from Kobe. To make him understand easier, he said that he was
western Japanese and I was eastern Japanese and told him that our cultural backgrounds were slightly different. And I said “Yes, I came from Socialist Republic of Eastern Japan to fight against evil American capitalism”

He laughed and said “Now, I think I am supposed to report to CIA”.

It was 1985 and threats from Soviet Union still existed.

Then the next day, his mother who happened to hear our conversation, came to me and said

“Let me take you to our church tomorrow and I want you to know how wonderful America is” And I said

“Thank you for your invitation, Mrs. Cooper, but I have to leave Virginia this evening to help other store’s sales event in Maryland. But I promise you to learn more about America and tell Mao Tse Tung that I’ll quit red army”

I believe she was happy for me.




↑↑↑↑　こいつをクリックしてくれるとけっこう嬉しいです (b4)




]]> https://ameblo.jp/b4its2late/entry-10235217929.html Thu, 02 Apr 2009 19:34:14 +0900
“Attention passengers, we had bird-strike when we took off, and as a result, the left engine of the aircraft absorbed
some birds. Therefore, we are now returning to Los Angeles for our own safety. Sorry for the inconvenience”

I knew this sometimes happens. All I had to do is to know the new departure time as soon as possible.

After the flight retuned to LA, we were all taken to the Hotel ball room where meals were served. And we were all
randomly allocated to the tables for eight.

People at my table were all Japanese and we were all strangers each other, except for the one couple who was
apparently on their way back from the honey moon. They whispered each other a few times, but over all, my table was very silent and I didn’t like it

Then, meals were served and the main dishes were roast chickens. And to break the unnecessary tense calm, I said….

“Oh! These must be the ones from the engine, ha ha ha ! “

Everybody took a quick glance at me, and that’s all. And there was silence again. Nobody laughed or even countering me saying like “Hey! You are not suppose to say that, we are eating” might have been little better. But all I had was
the cold glance from everybody to make me a very pathetic man.

I, then, remembered. This is the typical Japanese attitude and maybe I was too Americanized at that time. We don’t
attack strangers, but we don’t smile at strangers.

Since I was so embarrassed, I ate my chicken like a hungry wolf and left the table earlier than anybody else.

On my newly scheduled flight to Tokyo, I said to the Japanese flight attendant “The chickens we had at the hotel
weren’t from the engine, were they?”

She smiled and said “Well, you have to understand we are not supposed to waste deaths of any animals”

She made my day, finally.






↑↑↑↑　こいつをクリックしてくれるとけっこう嬉しいです (b4)


]]> https://ameblo.jp/b4its2late/entry-10231144215.html Thu, 26 Mar 2009 20:37:07 +0900


In the summer of 1988, I was appointed my second overseas duty by my employer and I was very happy to have
another adventure in USA. This time I was apponted to work in Los Angeles.

But the hardest part for me was I had to say that to my 87 years old grand mother who was not in a good health, then.

She was not only able to leave her bed then, but she also stated becoming senile. She used to be a very clever and
wise person, but her brain was not able to stop developing Altzheimer’s in her age of late 80s.

She said “ I’ve already heard that you’re moving to America again from your mom. Is that because your wife is an
American “

(What !?)

“No no, grandma, she is tall but she is Japanese. Didn’t you meet her and talked with her several times ? My
company is sending me to America and that’s very good for my future !”

“Oh, that’s right ? Do you go back to the place you used to live?”

“No, I used to live in East and this time, I’m going to live in West.”

I intentionally say just East and West to make her understand easily, but I soon foud out this was a mistake.

“What !? You’re going to Western America ? Oh my dear! That place is terribly dangerous! You might be killed by
Indians or cow boys ! “

(What is she picturing? Ah ! I’ve got it, old TV movie…..)

“Grandma, Western America is not like you’re thinking now. Los Angeles is just a big city and it’s quite safe to live
there”

(Actually, not always safe… but, at least, there are no possibilities to be abducted by native Americans nor challenged by Steve Macqueen to fight)

But she said “ No, you’re lying. I know you’re just trying to soothe me. Oh dear, I won’t die until you’ll back in Tokyo safe……”

Then she started crying calling me by my father’s name.




↑↑↑↑　こいつをクリックしてくれるとけっこう嬉しいです (b4)


]]> https://ameblo.jp/b4its2late/entry-10227639293.html Fri, 20 Mar 2009 19:30:38 +0900


One Saturday afternoon, I had a phone call from a Japanese young lady and her family name sounded familiar to me

She was my ex-girl fiend’s younger sister. I used to visit my girl friend at their house. We were college student and
she was still a grade school kid, then.

According to her, before she left home for a vacation in US, my ex-girl friend called my mother and got my number in LA, in case something unexpected would happen to her little sister. We had not even talked for last 10 years at that
time. But she still had my mother’s phone number, anyway.

She (the younger sister of my ex-girl friend) was a college student, then, and visited Los Angeles for her vacation
with her best friend. Since she really liked Los Angeles, she insisted her friend to cancel the flight, and stay one more week at Los Angeles. But her friend refused because she did not like Los Angeles so much. Then, they were separated at LA International Airport.

Then, believe it or not, she left the airport on foot and kept on walking to the east to find an inexpensive hotel. Then
as she finally found the inexpensive looking hotel, she checked in, late at night.

Next morning, as she went outside of the hotel to buy something to eat, she noticed the hotel was located in a very
scary area. Everybody looked at her and some yelled at her with the words she could not understand at all.

What do you expect to the people in the rough neighborhood in LA to see 20 years old innocent looking Asian girl who looked 13 or 14 in America, walking alone wearing fluffy skirt and Louis-Vuitton bag in her hand?.

That’s why she called me like confined princes calling for help to a royal knight. Off course the knight retrieved
the princess, paying $45 at the front, and took her to his Marina del Rey apartment.




↑↑↑↑　こいつをクリックしてくれるとけっこう嬉しいです (b4)





]]> https://ameblo.jp/b4its2late/entry-10224922374.html Sun, 15 Mar 2009 23:37:31 +0900

12 years ago, I was in New York City, running a small subsidiary of a Japanese company.

I was so busy then. I was usually still at work, when a cleaning person came to the office around 8 pm, every night.

One night, a new cleaning person came. And she was a young white lady. No offence, but it is rare to see a young
white lady working as a cleaner in NYC. Then I decided to talk to her.

I soon found out she did not speak English very well. She said she came from Albania about a year ago. To summarize our conversation over the week, here’s her story.

She was born engaged to marry the son of her father’s best friend. But the family of her father’s best friend
emigrated to US when she was little. But since the “man to man” promise should be kept, her father ordered her to
move to New York to marry the son.

Needless to say, I was so surprised to hear her story. It was the end of 20th century. This kind of story can be heard
in historical stories or fairy tales. Yes, it happens in modern Japan on TV dramas or animes, but it only makes stories dramatic, but unrealistic.

According to her, she had never met him until she came to US. Then, since her husband had been unemployed few
months before, she started working, but her husband never allowed her to work with any men, and that’s why she had the office cleaning job.

I do not know anything about Albania. All I know is the country, which is located between Greece and ex-Yugoslavia,
used to be a socialist nation but politically isolated from any of its surrounding nations. I don’t know if they still kept old European or Slavic culture and social systems until recent years, and I even don’t know if her story is realistic in the country or not. But I was sure she was not telling her fantasy.

A month after I first met her, she was replaced by a Caribbean boy. Then my after-hours atmosphere got back to quite common New York one

I hoped her husband got a job.




↑↑↑↑　こいつをクリックしてくれるとけっこう嬉しいです (b4)







]]> https://ameblo.jp/b4its2late/entry-10221398745.html Mon, 09 Mar 2009 22:09:18 +0900
Soon after the clock told it was midnight, they told us to go back to the hotel and when we all went out form the door to get on my car, a strange creature was waiting for us on the fence of our house.

It was a big rat and naturally our wives screamed. But I thought “Wait a minute, a rat can not be this big”. It was as
big as a cat or a puppy. The animal was just keep on sitting there and would not move.

My friend showed his interest, because he majored biology in the famous national university, but since he was an
insect specialist, or more precisely, a bee specialist, he could not tell what it was.

But his academic passion made him look at the animal closely. It would not run away even his face was only ten
inches away.

He finally held its tail. “Gees, nobody but you would hold the tail of an unidentified animal, my friend.”　Then it lost its body balance and fell to the ground, and slowly went into the bush.

It surely was not a rat. Rat should be far more active and defensive. I had never seen such a slow moving, easy going, and defenseless wild animal.

A week later, we received a fax from him. He found out that was “Opossum”. A copy of animal encyclopedia followed. It said “Opossums in North America are slow moving and defenseless”

I hope NY Opossums are little sharper.





↑↑↑↑　こいつをクリックしてくれるとけっこう嬉しいです (b4) ]]> https://ameblo.jp/b4its2late/entry-10217838681.html Tue, 03 Mar 2009 20:05:00 +0900 　ルンのケーキ屋さん日記　　　　第１５話

それから1ヶ月経ちました。ルンのお店がついにできました。

茶色い木をつなぎあわせた入口を入ると右側にテーブルと椅子、左側にカウンターがあり、その下には透明のガラスケースがありケーキがたくさん、並べられるようになっていました。

そして奥のキッチンに行くとそこにはとても大きな焼き釜がすえつけてありました。これだったら今までの５倍ぐらいの数を一度に焼くことができます。

「わーい！わーい！」

ルンは嬉しくなって床をころげまわりました、気がついたら犬のポンタも一緒にころげまわっていました。クンとモモちゃんとミミちゃんもやってきました。４人と１匹でゆかをころげまわりました。

ごろごろごろごろ、、、

ふと、ルンがテーブルの上に目をやると一冊のま新しいノートが置いてありました。きれいな花もようででふちどられたとてもきれいなノートでした。

その横にはメモが置いてありました。

『ルン、新しい日記帳だよ、お母さんより』

「やったー、お母さんからこんなきれいな日記帳もらっちゃった！」

そしてルンはできたばかりのケーキ屋さんの主人として最初のページを書き始めました




（第一部　おわり）
]]> https://ameblo.jp/b4its2late/entry-10216146904.html Sat, 28 Feb 2009 19:23:15 +0900

One day, my wife came home with an angry face. She was shopping at Japanese grocery stores on Sawtelle Blvd., Los Angeles.

She got a parking violation ticket there. According to her, she got a ticket because the parking time was “almost”
expired.

When she return to her car about 3 minutes before the meter would show “Time Expired” sign, a parking enforcement officer was writing something beside her car.

As she opened the door, the officer handed a ticket to her and my wife said “No no! Time has not expired yet” but the officer said “I have already issued the violation ticket, it’s too late and you are almost violated. If you ate 90% of your lunch, that’s what we call you are finishing with your lunch, Same thing here, I suggest you to come back to your car at least 5 minutes before the expiration time, in a future”

Off course my wife opposed but the officer said “How many times should I tell you that it has been issued already! I
am not authorized to revoke the violation ticket which was already issued!”

Knowing what happened to her, I was also so angry. What kind of idiots City of Los Angeles hires? I’ve never heard of “almost expired” parking violation. Do you say “Happy new year” on December 30, because the year is almost done? Or do you burry a person alive, because he’s almost dead?

And you are not authorized to revoke the violation ticket which was already issued? Then, what do you say if I take
your wallet and say “I thought it’s my wallet but I am not authorized to give the things once taken by me back to
you” ? Or what do you say, if I call you to say “I took your 3 year old daughter home, because I thought she was my
daughter, but I am not authorized to release any person who already entered into my house”

Off course we went to the court. It was not a matter of money, but the justice. But there was no evidence to prove the fact. So, we ended up paying $15 as a fine.

More than a year later, we received a bill from the court with the description "unpaid violation fine".

We paid already. More than a year ago. But since I had already trashed more than one year old cancelled checks, I
asked the bank to send their microfilm copy of the check. Then I took it to the court and the judge said “ It’s too
small to read”

I said “ Sure it’s small, but I think it’s not too small to read” and the judge said

“ I am 53 years old! I am not as young as you are! I JUST CAN’T READ”

Then I went back to the court on the next day, bringing the cancelled $15 check which was paid for another parking
violation few months ago. Off course the date did not match.

The same judge took a look at the check and declared “ The Bill is now cancelled”

I became little wiser to live in LA, by then



↑↑↑↑　こいつをクリックしてくれるとけっこう嬉しいです (b4)



]]> https://ameblo.jp/b4its2late/entry-10214584654.html Wed, 25 Feb 2009 21:14:32 +0900 　ルンのケーキ屋さん日記　　　　第１４話

さて、おじさんたちからいいアイディアをもらったルンは早速家族やみんなに相談しました。で、結局すぐに足りないお金が集まってしまいました。

けっきょくこうなりました。

ルン　　　　　　　　400,000☆
ルンのお母さん　　 100,000☆
ルンのお父さん　　 100,000☆
クンのお父さん　　 　50,000☆
ニホンジンさん 　15,000☆
アメリカジンさん 　15,000☆
村長さんの執事さん 　8,000☆
村長さんのメイドさん　5,000☆
果物屋のおじさん　　　4,000☆
クン　　　　　　　　　1,000☆
ミミちゃん 1,000☆
モモちゃん 1,000☆

合計 700,000☆

何か、いやにすぐにこれだけ集まっちゃいました、みんなまあ、家族や知り合いなんですけどね。

それで、おじさんたちの言うには、まずルンが店長さんになる、で、お店の事はいつでも集まれる、ルン、ルンのお母さん、ルンのお父さん、ニホンジンさん、アメリカジンさん、クン、で月に一回話し合いをして決める、（ミミちゃんとモモちゃんはまだ小さいので大きくなってから）で大事なことは年に一回金を出した全員が集まって多数決で決める、それから話し合いで決まらなかったこともお金を出した全員が集まって、多数決で決める、という事でした。

でも結局多数決だとルンが半分以上「わけまえ」を持っているので、けっきょく何でもルンの決めたとおりにまるという事です。

「それでいいのかなぁ？」

「それで、いいんだよ、そういうもんなんだよ。」

とおじさんたちは言いました。

さて、お金が集まったのでいよいよお店を建てることになりました。大工さんたちが来て、毎日毎日、少しづつできていきます。

ルンはそれを毎日毎日、ニコニコしながら眺めていました。

（つづく）






]]> https://ameblo.jp/b4its2late/entry-10213985390.html Tue, 24 Feb 2009 19:51:30 +0900