A trip on the bus by Tony Green

I was getting my car serviced on a Sunday a few months ago and since my wife was working I needed another way to pick up my car from the dealership once the maintenance was complete.  Then the thought came to mind, why not use the public bus?

Open seats on a public bus

As a child in growing in Philadelphia, as in many large cities, people depended on the public buses and subways to get from one place to another.   Now that live in the suburbs, which by nature is very spread out, having an automobile is almost a requirement to getting where you need to go.

At any rate, I checked on the Internet and found a bus route whose route happened to be within a block of my house which stopped within walking distance of the dealership. I walked to the bus stop well before the scheduled time of its arrival.  I would later discover as a result of reading the schedule incorrectly I missed a bus and had to wait another ½ hour until the next bus arrived.

Once I sat on the bus I remembered the annoyance of riding the bus from my childhood.

I recalled instances when passengers would get on the bus with large bags of what appeared to be junk. By the time the person hauled their gear onto the bus and paid their fare – almost five minutes had elapsed only to pick up one passenger.

Another thing which boggled my mind was, in my view, if I planned to take a bus I would make sure I know what the fare would be BEFORE I boarded. First you get the clueless look and after the bus driver would inform the prospective rider what the fare would be the person would gather what available change was in the various pockets of her jacket. I almost felt compelled to give the person a dollar to cover her fare just to get the damned bus moving.

Finally, during certain portions of the bus route which went through heavy traffic. What was the end result? The bus moved at a snail’s pace along the street which the pedestrians walking on the sidewalk made better progress.

Once I returned home in my newly serviced car, after having wasted half of the afternoon, I came to the conclusion driving may not be best way of commuting in all cases but in certain instances , especially this one, the public bus may not be the way to go either.

My last Undokai by Tony Green

Undokai flags

For the last few years on the first Saturday in June I have participated in the traditional Japanese sports day known as undokai,  For the last few years on the first Saturday in June I have participated in the traditional Japanese sports day known as undokai,  運動会. Attendance is one a requirement since my daughter attends the Hoshiko Japanese school. The school, which is held every Saturday during the fall and spring, is designed to enable its students, many of which are the children of Japanese citizens living in the U.S., to read, speak and write Japanese at a native level. 

The “undokai” is traditionally held on a Saturday or Sunday morning.  The children are the primary participants, but their parents and friends attend in order to enjoy the experience.   During the weeks proceeding the sports day, the students practice their events with the intention of showing off their prowess to their loved ones.

Since I was not participating in the events my job was to arrive early enough to reserve the spot within close proximity field where the event would occur. In addition, I pitched a tent and ensured the box lunches (bento) are ready for lunch. 

The morning events began after the opening ceremonies are completed. After engaging in casual conversation with some on the other parents I used the opportunity to brush up on some on Japanese grammar all while being immersed in the various side conversations which were taking place in Japanese. I should mention I did take a moment to observe my daughter participate in one of the races where four children are paired off and run one lap around the track, with more of a focus on competition than winning and losing.     

The break occurred at lunch where all of the parties take time to eat the carefully prepared bento lunches.

In the afternoon, I finally got a chance to actively participate taking part in the tug-of-war and a race where four people, two facing forward and the other two facing backwards hold two poles and raced as a team. The key was to ensure all four people kept in step which other which is easier said than done since the two of the people are looking in the opposite directions are not able to see each other. This year the race wound up being successful since we did not fall down in a heap like last year in the grass as the other teams raced past.

After a long day of events all was well with the exception of one child who received a bloody nose during one of the competitions.

Since my daughter would be moving on to junior high next year this would be my last undokai. All told it was a long day after working all week but the opportunity to experience a true piece of Japan in San Jose all without having to endure the long flight was well worth it. 

 Attendance is one a requirement since my daughter attends the Hoshiko Japanese school. The school, which is held every Saturday during the fall and spring, is designed to enable its students, many of which are the children of Japanese citizens living in the U.S., to read, speak and write Japanese at a native level.

The “undokai” is traditionally held on a Saturday or Sunday morning.  The children are the primary participants, but their parents and friends attend in order to enjoy the experience.   During the weeks proceeding the sports day, the students practice their events with the intention of showing off their prowess to their loved ones.

Since I was not participating in the events my job was to arrive early enough to reserve the spot within close proximity field where the event would occur. In addition, I pitched a tent and ensured the box lunches (bento) are ready for lunch.

The morning events began after the opening ceremonies are completed. After engaging in casual conversation with some on the other parents I used the opportunity to brush up on some on Japanese grammar all while being immersed in the various side conversations which were taking place in Japanese. I should mention I did take a moment to observe my daughter participate in one of the races where four children are paired off and run one lap around the track, with more of a focus on competition than winning and losing.     

The break occurred at lunch where all of the parties take time to eat the carefully prepared bento lunches.

In the afternoon, I finally got a chance to actively participate taking part in the tug-of-war and a race where four people, two facing forward and the other two facing backwards hold two poles and raced as a team. The key was to ensure all four people kept in step which other which is easier said than done since the two of the people are looking in the opposite directions are not able to see each other. This year the race wound up being successful since we did not fall down in a heap like last year in the grass as the other teams raced past.

After a long day of events all was well with the exception of one child who received a bloody nose during one of the competitions.

Since my daughter would be moving on to junior high next year this would be my last undokai. All told it was a long day after working all week but the opportunity to experience a true piece of Japan in San Jose all without having to endure the long flight was well worth it. 

Discussing Table Topics on a Monday over lunch by Tony Green

In order to polish my speaking skills I recently joined my local Livermore, California Toastmaster chapter.  On most occasions at the beginning of the meeting the person acting as Toastmaster goes through the assignments of the roles the attendees will perform during the meeting.

Since there no formal speeches planned for this meeting the Toastmaster decided to go with Table Topics which are topics on which you speak 1 ½ to two minutes off the cuff. Today’s topics were current events and groundbreaking technologies which have the possibility to change the future.   

Ribbon cutting at Livermore Lunch Bunch Toastmasters 

The “current event” portion opened with the recent story of the “blade runner“, the Olympic athlete who had recently murdered his girlfriend. The next person talked about Michael Jordan’s comeback and the OSCARS while the next person spoke about Jimmy Carter in San Francisco and touched on the ARGO movie.  The next participant spoke about Gun Control and the killing of Charles Doerner Nick from Seattle. The next presenter continued with the current event theme talking a subscription fee which was being implemented or a web site that he had logged regularly for free in the past.  The topics changed to upcoming changes in technology which led to a discussion of space mining of rare metals and later nanotechnology. I piggy backed on the dialogue of nanotechnology by explaining about the relation nanotechnology and how the size of the particle related to the novel properties which could be created. The next speaker started her chat with the words, ”Imagine a world” and touched on quick transport ,using  cargo airplane and talked about the possible impact in our lives .  The last speaker was a new visitor chatted about finding a new passion. In summary, one of the more senior members stated of “practicing talking to people” is what Toastmasters was about.

We left 45 minutes after we arrived. The whole idea of Toastmasters is to use the opportunity to practice your speaking skills. The reasoning is any time you work to develop any skill on a regular basis over time improvement will occur.  Mission accomplished. Every town has a local Toastmaster section. Check it out if you get the chance. You’ll be glad you did.

Photo Courtesy of http://www.toastmastersclubs.org

Riding the cable car as a resident by Tony Green

One of the most famous tourist attractions in San Francisco are its world renowned cable cars. 

Millions of tourists from all over the world a year visit the city just to get the opportunity to experience the ride through the city streets. As a long time residents of the Bay Area my family decided to pretend we were tourists and make a pilgrimage as a family.  Once we got in line after purchasing our tickets we waited over an hour while being entertained by a homeless person with a saxophone.

Image of cable car

My wife and kids found open seats once the new car was ready for boarding; therefore, I rode the cable car standing up.  Once I made sure I had a firm grip on the rail I was pleasantly surprised when I realized when I had the best view of all. At one point during the ride we cruised past Lombard Street (a.k.a. the crooked street). A stunning view of the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz Island, followed which was in plain view to riders on the left side of the train, complemented by the sound of horns moving vehicles in the path of the oncoming cars out of the way. I needed to hold on tight as the left turn was made onto Hyde Street prior to passing within inches of parked automobiles and the cable car speeding in the other direction.

Finally, we arrived at Fisherman’s Wharf and the conductor announced the end the ride. After a second of hesitation everyone dismounted the cable car to continue the rest of their day. In short, six bucks a person seems like a lot to shell out for a short trip through the hills of the City of San Francisco. Riding the cable cars is more than a short ride; it is an opportunity to experience of one of the world most interesting places. Honestly, you should not have to travel around the world to check out this attraction if you live here. Especially since I have lived in the Bay Area for over 13 years; shame on me. If only my drive across the Bay Bridge to back to Livermore would be half as entertaining.

Photo courtesy of www.streetcar.org 

Acoustic Guitar for me by Tony Green

Tony on his acoustic guitar

I took guitar lessons years ago at my local community center and while I have not practiced much over the years the lure to play the guitar still exists for me. Many people learn to play in order to form and join rock bands which primarily use electric guitars.

And why not? People always gravitate toward performers. How many times have you checked out a band and the guy on the guitar might not be very good looking yet all pretty ladies in attendance are eager to hang out with him?

Perhaps, I am different, since the only guitar in my closet which I intend to play is an acoustic one.  

The concept is simple, a person and their instrument singing ballads from the heart does more for the soul than a group playing the latest electric/electronic equipment to a stadium of thousands. 

I remember during my time in college on Sunday nights one of our favorite hangouts had an “unplugged” night where the performers completed their play sets using instruments which did not require electricity.

I thought it was fascinating to feel the experience of the sound created by a hand played instrument and a person’s voice.

I recall listening to “Songs of Freedom“ by a 4 CD-ROM compilation of Bob Marley’s greatest hits  where a few of the songs sounded better with Bob signing in his trademark voice then the finished production version. How can you beat that?

I admit I probably will never play will enough to play my favorite Bob Marley songs but still get the urge to pick up my guitar and strum a few notes after a hard day at work. There is nothing more relaxing. Maybe this will motivate me to actually tune my guitar….