By GEORGE YOSHINAGA
(Published March 14, 2015)
Yeah, it was about 3 p.m. when my wife (as usual) said, “Today is Wednesday, Aren’t you forgetting something?”
I tossed her question about in my head for a few minutes.
“Oh, darn, it’s Wednesday, time to write my column.”
Needless to say, she laughed, especially after she tossed me a couple of letters from readers of my column.
One was from a reader who wrote upon reading my column on retiring. She said: “I’m glad to know that you will keep writing as you are the reason that I continue to subscribe.”
She asked me to keep “sharing your energy/knowledge with us by continuing your column.”
Thanks for your letter, Shiz. Will try to keep going.
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When I glanced at the Wednesday edition of The Rafu and read fellow columnist Wimp Hiroto’s chatter, I figured I have only a few words to put together for “The Mouth.” I have to remember I’ve got a lot more years in my age bracket than he does.
And I figure there is a lot more writing talent on The Rafu’s staff than this old geezer.
My computer isn’t printing like it should, so I’m using a worn-out typewriter. Never thought I would use that as an excuse for giving retirement a thought.
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Another letter, this one from old friend George Wakiji:
“For a short while I thought I was out of a job. But with your short-lived retirement, I guess I can still contribute to ‘The Horse’s Mouth.’ … I was thinking that if the subscribers who read your column religiously stopped taking The Rafu, they would have very few English readers …
“Your longevity is something to admire. It’s hard to believe that you have been pounding those keys for so many years, from Heart Mountain, Wyoming, to The Rafu.
“I thought I heard you mention that you are now on dialysis. Welcome to the club. My kidney finally failed me early last year, so I am on dialysis now three times a week (Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 1 to 5 p.m.). The dialysis center is here in Camarillo, so I don’t have too far to go. It sure puts a crimp on what you can do during the week.
“My daughter Dana was here with her husband for a week before February to help clean up our house for an eventual move to an assisted living place in the San Fernando Valley in a place called Arleta. We are currently on the waiting list of the Nikkei Senior Gardens. We were told we could probably move in in May. It’s all contingent upon someone dying, opening up space.
“Incidentally, I don’t know if you got my phone message letting you know that she (Dana) was available for an interview over the phone. She has been working for Fox Sports in Detroit for the past few years as a multimedia reporter after leaving The Detroit News. For Fox she had been covering all the professional sports teams and some college games.
“Recently her boss made some changes … She was given the Detroit Tigers and is now in Florida covering spring training. After returning to Detroit, she will be covering the Tigers full-time.”
That’s quite a story, George. Glad to hear about his daughter getting an assignment with a Major League Baseball team.
Hopefully more and more JAs will land jobs with top professional teams.
As one who struggled in trying to land a top-notch professional sports team, I hope George’s daughter can continue to climb up the ladder with a big-league franchise.
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Recently with not much to touch on, I wrote a few words about new Japanese dining spots in Gardena.
My wife and I tried a couple of them and found them to be enjoyable with a nice menu, and the prices weren’t bad. If interested, email me and I’ll send you the names.
So combining fair prices and Japanese-flavored dishes, they are great places to try.
Yeah, better than McDonald’s.
Looking for new Japanese dining places is a treat for me. If I can’t find the right place, I can still go to my favorite spots like Bob’s Hawaiian and good old Hawaiian places like King’s and Marukai.
Since my wife grew up in Maui, we still favor dining at Island-type eateries.
Me? I grew up in Northern California, so I dined on hot dogs and stuff like that. That is, if my Issei mother allowed it.
I guess most JAs who grew up in SoCal dined on burritos, tacos and other Hispanic dishes.
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I know Maggie is probably having such a tough time reading some of the junk my typewriter is cranking out since I couldn’t get the repair man to work me into his schedule. I called him an hour ago and he said, “I’ll be there.”
He never showed up.
Sorry, Maggie. As the Japanese would say, “gomen nasai.”
(MAGGIE’S COMMENT: Mr. Y: Since you apologized and mentioned your plea on my behalf about the lines where the computer and typewriter are not printing legibly, it is really beginning to be MOST DIFFICULT to figure out what is being written. Another thing, perhaps if you changed the ribbon on your worn-out typewriter, that might help to a great extent.)
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George Yoshinaga writes from Gardena and can be reached at horsesmouth2000@hotmail.com. Opinions expressed in this column are not necessarily those of The Rafu Shimpo.