It's cheerio from me.
It's cheerio from me.
東京に住んでいた頃、西武池袋線の大泉学園駅から帰る途中、小さい子供が2人、駅の近くの線路のあたりをふらふらしていた。なんだろう?あの子達は、危ないなぁ。親はどこだろう、と心の中で思いながら見ていた。すると駅のホームから地獄の底から響き渡るような 「こら!あんたらなにしてるの!線路から出て行け!」という小柄なお祖母さんの怒号がホームに響きわたった、子供達は一目散に線路から出て行った。ホッとすると同時に自分を恥じた・・・なんであの時あのお祖母さんのように、しかも大の男の大人が彼らを速攻に叱れなかったのか。30年以上たった今も、あの小さなお婆さんの怒号がどこからか聞こえてくる。「機をみて叱れ」と呼びかけくるようだ。私の心の中は隙間だらけだった。
I saw two children trespassing on the railway of Seibu Ikebukuro Line. I was just wondering what they were doing. Then I heard a roar of an old woman, which said "Get out of there!" They immediately got of of there and disappeared. I should have told the children not to trespass on the railway. I should be quick to seize an opportunity without worrying about decency and appearance to the public. I shouldn't be an onlooker. I am still ashamed of myself of the day.
While living in Tokyo, on my way home from Oizumigakuen Station on the Seibu Ikebukuro Line, I noticed two small children wandering near the tracks close to the station. I thought to myself, "What are those kids doing? That's dangerous. Where are their parents?" Just then, a small elderly woman's voice thundered from the platform, echoing as if from the depths of hell: "Hey! What are you doing? Get away from the tracks!" The children immediately scrambled away from the tracks. I felt relieved but also ashamed of myself—why hadn’t I, as a grown man, scolded them right away like that grandmother did? Even now, over 30 years later, I can still hear her angry shout resonating somewhere. It feels like a call to "scold when the moment arises." My heart was full of gaps.
焼き杉
岡山県の瀬戸内海沿岸地域には黒く焦げた板壁の家がたくさんある。その地域の友人は「半分は燃えてしまっているから火事になりにくい板壁だ」と教えてくれた。なるほどと思い、昔の建築洋式だと思っていたら、新築の焼き杉の家を見ることもあった。実際は杉板は炭化させることによって、湿気が多いところでも、防虫、防カビ効果があり、紫外線や雨にも強くなることだとのこと。火をおこすのに炭を使うし、逆に燃えやすく、建物としても脆くなるのではとずっと疑問に思ってきた。異形の裏に隠れている真実を知りたい。バーナーで焦がすやりかたもあるが、本格的には三角の筒状にして煙突効果で燃やし、焦がす。岡山の児島、倉敷地域にはたくさんある。くれぐれも焼き過ぎないように。
Yakisugi is a traditional Japanese method of charring(burning) the surface of cedar wood to preserve it. The burnt surface of wood will become more resistant to weather and insects.
The poem of bats
We are the bats. We will be active after sunset in an irregular way of flight. Some hates us as limbs of the vampire. But once we settle down in the barn, you are lucky. Mosquitoes are my favorite. We eat them much.

俺は荒野に生きているサボテン 植物だけど 俺には軟弱な葉はついていねえ このカラカラの大地で俺のぶっとい茎に水を貯めているぜ ぶらぶら葉を拡げ、水分をすぐ蒸散させちまう情けない植物とは違うぜ 俺にはピキピキと鋭い棘があるぜ こいつは水分は蒸散させねえし のどの渇いたその辺のとかげらも 俺達に食らいつくことはできねえ 俺のぶっとい茎に、葉緑素があり 荒野でタフに生き続けるぜ そいつが俺の生き様だ ワイルドだろ
Poem of cactai
I am a prickly cactus living in sandy waste. I am a plant life. But I have no limp leaves. I keep water in my big fat stems in this dry desert land. I don't let the soft flat leaves flap in the wind and evaporate like other wimpy plants. My sharp pricks don't let my water evaporate so easily. And thirsty lizard out there can't bite me. I have also chlorophyll in my big fat stems and serve the same photosynthetic function as some other plants' leaves. So I can survive in the wild. This is my life. Isn't it wild?