Airplane crash, Crowded Haneda Airport

An info from Lester Price. It might be of concern for those often travelling abroad. The probability of airplane crash or other accidents is quite low compared with that of traffic accidents etc. 

Once we see the disaster of Air India crash, however, we could never neglect this safety rank. 

It might be related with the manufacturer and the maintenance crew of the airplane as well. 

In case of travelling at or transitting through Haneda Airport of Tokyo, the airplane would take off toward north, that is, over the downtown of Tokyo when it is southerly windy. That route has started to be in use since 2020. It sure is not as safe as the course over the Tokyo Bay. They say the flight takes off once in a minute from 3 to 7PM in our local. So crowded! If an airplace should fail taking off and crashes into the downtown, it might be an unimaginable disaster not only for the passengers but also for those living in the area of the the flight course.

 Luckily, I won't have any chance to travel abroad any longer. If I should, I would choose a flight from Narita Internatl airport.

RIP to all the people victimized by the accident in India.

A meaning of elderly

In the end of ourlives, why should we be burdened with such as pain, worry and anxiety? I could not help asking if I have gone through the hard life only for that. 

No answer to this question possibly until the last moment of my life. 

As I wrote in another article titled as "A gift in elderly", living elderly might give us a lot of new experiences. It might be a meaning of elderly, even though it could never be the ultimate answer. It may mean the elderly is the time to get ready free from things in on the earth and eventually to leave it for the another phase.

I am not an eager fan of any movies or movie stars. But the following sentence by Meryl Streep is quite impressive and ascertains an aspect of elderly. I have found this in a post of facebook. It was with her recent portrait. Not like the other most movie stars, she looked to have grown old as she is. No cosmetic suregery etc. I respect her not only as a movie star but also as a human being. 

~~~

 Aging is not for the faint of heart.

One day, you wake up and realize — youth has quietly slipped away.

But it didn’t leave alone.

It took with it your insecurities, your rush to please, your fear of not being enough.

And in its place?

It left you with something stronger:

A slower pace, but a steadier step.

The wisdom to say goodbye without fear.

The grace to cherish those who choose to stay.

The power to be you, unapologetically.

Aging isn’t about losing — it’s about letting go.

It’s about learning to accept, to release, and to truly see:

That beauty was never just in the mirror…

It lived in every story, scar, and silent strength we carried within.

Aging is a gift. Wear it with dignity.

~ Meryl Streep

Harvesting potatoes

It is the busiest time in a year for an amateur farmer. I have been kept busy doing with weeds, planting summer vegetables like pumpkins, long beans, ocras, eggplants, water melons or more sweet potatoe seedlings. Onions have been harvested. Not so good this year possibly due to poor growth of the seedlings.

Potatoes have been on a farm bed prepared with natural farming method. High bed with a lot of grass mulch as a source of compost and a lot of rice bran as not only a fertilizer but also more of activator for the soil flora.

The harvest was like this. A big success. No chemical fertilizer nor pesticides etc. A lot o big potatoes were grown without any damage from insects. I should crop much more from the rest of the farm.

It is interesting that such a vegetable could grow without any chemicals. Natural farming is a movement to ecological agriculture. Not much such as fertilizers or pesticides won't be used. But such as grass compost or rice bran is applied to the farm. Not much plowing. There is a dynamic ecological environment in the soil. Mycorrhizal fungi or the other flora in the soil are proliferated and work to give nutrients like nitrogen chemical to the plants. As little handling of the ground as possible is given to the soil. 

They say it would take several years to have the soil matured, that is, becoming rich enough for natural farming. I might be too late to start with it. But still would like to go on in that method good for the environment and economical without much expenditure for agricultural materials.

I am doing it with only hands and scoop/shovel. Some people are doing farming in this style for their profession and are successful to live on with it. 

Faure's 1st Piano Quintet

As reiterated in the past, I believe Faure's chamber music are all masterpieces. Especially, piano and string ensemble works. Probably 30 years ago, or even further back in the past, I have bought the CD of his two piano quintets played by Jean Hubeau, piano, and Quator Via Nova. It says it was recorded or the CD was manufactured in 1985. Their performance is not only lyrical but also passionate. One of the classics for these pieces for me as well as for the classic fans those days. Compared with the other modern perormances, it is still brilliant and touching.

I love his piano trio, string quartet, piano quartets or piano quintet Nr2. Hard to compare with them, piano quintet Nr1 is still the most favorite one for me. It was composed at the boundary of style in his life between early lyricism inherited from the Romantic school in Belle Epoch and later style succeeded to modern music, complicated, bitter and serious. It may be when he has started suffering from the auditory abnormality, which sounded higher pitch lower while lower pitch deviated to higher. With that dysunction lethal for a composer, he struggled to go on bringing forth the series of real masterpieces in his last chapter of life. I have not studied precisely about his pathography regarding his hearing abnormality but believe it was around the time of composing this quintet that he started suffering from it. It has, in my view, profoundly influenced on the composition.  

In 2008, I had a chance to play the 1st movement of this piece with friends of mine in Tokyo. On the arpeggio, as with the other piano involved chamber music, the 2nd violin starts singing impressive lovely melody of simplicity which is transferred to cello and later the other instruments. We were just playing it for enjoyment but not for performance before audience at all. Still, what a joy for me! I only wished we had had more than a couple of rehearsals we actually made. I am still thankful to the gang playing it with me. An irreplaceable memory for me.

I wished to play it with some friends. Seemingly no chance ahead. I have handed the part scores to a good friend of mine, a violinist, hoping she and her group may realize it to rendition some day. It is the score of dream for me. Luckily, the CD mentioned above is not deteriorated like the other old CDs. I will go on listening it in the rest of my life. A piece to farewell to youth in my life as well.

 

 

Turning 76 years old

As reiterated in this blog, I was born at the very same place as I am living right now. Around WWII, our aunt was managing a small sanatorium for tuberculosis patients who were seriously ill and had no one caring for them. It was among woods very sparsely populated area. My parents have met there, have married and have owned their family while working at the facility. I have only few memories then. I still remember our home was literally a shack made of woods and grass. No windows with sash at all. Only a room inside with a hearth in the center. As already told before, one of the earliest memories in my life was hymn in a capella flown on breeze, which the patients and the staff sung. A memory in serenity and peacfulness.

Before I entered an elementary school, my parents have decided to move to Tokyo. Parents might think of the chance of our education. And it was the time when anti tuberculosis medicine became available and tuberculosis could be cured. They might have judged that such a small sanatorium would be of no necessity in the society in the near future. Actually, our aunt has decided to close it down in a few years after our move.

My father went a suburb of Tokyo a bit earlier than we did and built a wooden tiny house renting a property from a friend. It is shown back on the right on this photo. It was a little bigger than the shack we used to live here. Still a poor and small house. The houses in front might be cages for chicken. Our house was comparable to the cages. It was 1955 or so.

   

 

Both of my parents have worked really hard. Father as a house keeper at a few different hospital/clinic while mother as a nurse at a Salvation Army hospital. In a few years, we could move to a public apartment nearby. It was still a small one for our family. Our parents have had three of us, their children, complete having professional education. Sister became a nurse while I and my brother chose to be MD. In my case, I have first learned mechanical engineering at a college. I could not be interested in doing with drawing diagrams or doing with machines at factory. Interested more in something human, I mean, directly involved in human, I would like to be an MD. Despite of limited amount of income, our parents let me go to a med university in Tokyo. No complaints from them. I could spend youth as I would like to. Playing with ham radio since teenage days and even cello at the university orchestra. I am sure it has been a burden to my parents but they never said no to me. 

A couple of days ago, I dreamed of coming to see and bring back my parents to this place. They seemed to have been on a journey together. Heading to the train station we were supposed to meet, in the dream, I could not be happier expecting seeing them after such a long interval than I was at any occasion. It was a mysteriously pleasant feeling. Unluckily, I could not see them in the dream. I woke up in that height of happiness.  

I have turned to be 76 years today. I would spend this day with gratitude to my parents. And also to my family and friends as well. It was not a life of success at all. To be fair, it is full of failure and regrets. But thank to my parents' efforts and the others, I could live so long. It is the day when I recall all of them with much gratitude.

Waking up dawn

Getting up around 4 AM here, it is always in vague twilight nowadays. It's only a month and a few days until summer solstice comes, I realize. In such a situation, a phrase of a psalm often comes up in my mind; "I wake up dawn". It is a phrase telling how hopeful we are for the day coming up. Even passing the days of hope in youth, I still recall of it. I must be thankful to have another day I could spend freely.

Having breakast I prepared for myself, I always wonder what to do in the farm. Summer vegtables have been planted. Some more to come. Bugs are getting active and ready to eat young plants. No pesticides used. With adequate compost and rice bran, hopefully they grow faster than being eaten by those bugs! A lot of peas are being harvested. They taste sweet. They are boiled for salad. Egg binding with proper seasoning is also good. Onions are getting ripe as well. Potatoes are also going to be harvested in a few weeks. 

They say socialization is important for mental health in the elderly. However, becoming free from things and relationships means to be solitary in a sense. Solitude and socialization seem to be contradictory in life of the elderly. It is a natural course in life. Whenever I listen to the late piano sonatas of Beethoven, I know he must spent the last chapter of his life in solitude. That's why he could compose those brilliant works of freedom. In the 2nd movement of the last one, Arietta, he took the style of variation. Variation always sound like life itself. Changing freely with the main theme in the core. This movement ends recalling the motif of the main theme as if it still went on. As if vanishing into thin air. No obsession of conclusion in the end as with most of his other works. He has composed Diabelli Variation after this sonata. But this was the very last sonata he composed. It is not easy for everyone to live like him. Still, may I be able to accept elderly as it is!   

Autocratic countries are increasing

A sociopolitical analysis regarding autocracy vs democracy in the world is published by  V-Dem Institute in Sweden as Democracy Report 2025. 

https://www.v-dem.net/documents/60/V-dem-dr__2025_lowres.pdf

It urges us to confront daunting reality of autocracy arisen and investigate by what cause it is brought about every where in the world.

The summary of the report says;

The number of autocracy countries is increasing. It is 91 while the number of democracy countries is 88.

Liberal democracy, the least common regime type in the world, is present only in 29 countries. Approximatly 72% of people live in autocratic countries, highest ever since 1978.

Loss of freedom of expression is worsened in 44 coutries, elections are corrupted in 25 countries, freedom of association is lost in 22 countries and rule of law is diminished in 18 countries. These changes tell how autocratization is being increased in the world.

So far as I understand, this tendency toward autocratization is due to or, at least, accompanied with the rise of far right in politics. The far right often insist of anti scientific views such as anti-vaxxer, neglect of the so called authority based on unintelligence and affinity to cults.  They also won't hesitate making lies.  

There are a lot of examples of such far right wing in the world. In our country, the main faction of  ruling LDPJ has insidiously turned to far right long time ago. Even some of the opposition parties have emerged as far right. They are trying to return to the regime of imperialism before WWII. A few European countries have such far right parties as well. Some of them are involved in the administration. Of course, the Trump administration is apparently another with imperialistic ambition they dare not hesitate hiding. A lot of executive orders the President has signed seem unreasonable. Undocumented  immigrants or those with legal visa with view of anti-semitism or against the government have been arrested and deported overseas, which seems to violate the constitution in the US. 

This change in sociopolitics in the world won't seem to be only a temporary phenomenon but would last to devastation. As Pope Francis wisely indicated in adhortatio apotolica in 2013, I believe, it is due to the greedy capitalism and the economic disparity as its consequence in the world. Without its reformation, the world would become a real chaos soon. What an irony it is that those exploited by the greedy capitalism are supporting the autocratic politicians who show up with populistic propaganda.

Mocking pope should never be allowed

 In 2013, Pope Francis has issued an adhortatio apotolica. It has raised an alert against the trend in the world that the stronger preys the weaker. He pointed out humans were handled as disposable products. He advised to establish ethics in economy as well as in finance. 

There have been a couple of encyclicas published, one by a pope Leo XIII in 1891 and, the other by John Paul II in 1991, a century apart each other. The former warned an evil effect of capitalism while the latter of socialism. This adhortatio ranked lower than encyclica should issue a warning against financial capitalism based on neoliberalism. 

Pope Francis has payed attention to the society and to the weaker in that way. From that standpoint, he could not help publishing that adhortatio, I guess. As the two encyclicas have influenced on the thoughts of the times, this adhortatio would be remembered as an important publication to the world for a long time. 

While it has not passed a long time yet since Pope Francis died, Trump has put a photo AI generated which showed him in clerical garment of pope. They say he actually told he would become a pope. It could never be regarded as a joke or a banter. He is on the opposite side to Pope Francis and embodies the extreme neoliberalism, with the motto, only now, only money and only myself. 

It is a terrible humiliation not only to the Catholic Church but to the whole world. Isn't it enough for him to be impeached in the US? Or do they enjoy his joking? I could hardly believe it is only a joke but his sense of omnipotency, which is dilusional, would try to realize it by some means if the situation permits.  

Mother's 14th anniversary

My brother has reminded me of our mother's 14th anniversary of passing by an e mail a few days ago. Of course, I remembered of the day, that is, today. It was interesting to me that he had emphasized that, becoming older, he would tend to wonder what our parents at our age would think of at each event in life. It was exactly what I had felt these days.  

Every afternoon, our mother used to spend sometime sitting on a corner of the flower bed at the end of this row of azalea facing to the street. It was when she had lost her husband, that is, our father a few years ago and had suffered from mild dementia losing her short term memories. She was watching people and cars passing by without tiring. I haven't dared to ask her what she was doing. I thought, howeverer, she had waited for our father to come home there. She often asked us where he had been to since those days until her passing.

We all get old and would lose our capabilities. In our mother's case, she has not lost her long term memories and her personality despite of Alzheimer. There must be a lot of people losing every memory in life at the end of their lives. The existence of those elderly people may give us a chance to say farewell on earth and to tell us how imortant loving each other is. Our mother has taught us that by the way she lived in her last years of life. Am I ready for that, I feel I am asked. 

The azalea is starting to bloom now.  

 

Cooking especially chicken breast

Weeding at the farm and garden is still keeping me busy. Getting warmer, it will have them grow even faster and more vigorously. I am apt to forget how long I have been working there. Thurst and back pain sometimes remind me of the time I spend there.

I am often cooking as well. My wife firmly believes we elderly should take good quality of protein to avoid sarcopenia. Good food plus good exercise will keep us young and far from frail, as she says.

One of the best meats is chicken breat in her view. Less fat and full of good protein. It is not costly, either, which is important to me responsible for shopping.

This is one of our ususal cook menue, chicken breast seasoned with salted rice malt. Salted rice malt has not been very popular to me. I learned this menu a few months ago and have been a big fan for this ever since. It could be preserved in the rerigerator for a few days. It is a handy preserved food.

This is another cook of chicken breat which I learned its recipe from Koiso JH1UNS in facebook. Not complicated but good taste.  He is good at preparing simple as well as tasty cook.

 

Leaves of carrots looked so gorgeous that I have tried to boil them with flaked tuna. Leaves, especially the trunk, were a bit too matured and less soft than expected. But still fresh and tasty. 

So that is how we are getting along. I should have mentioned on the music, especially on Matthew's Passion again. A very important memory. I might have already written about it for a few times. But still something to be mentioned. Maybe, later.

 

RFK Jr dragging up the old fraudent issue

RFKennedy Jr, the secretary of HHS, still seems to insist that "a environmental toxin", that is, vaccine is responsible for autism.

The relationship between MMR vaccine and autism was suggested by a British doctor named Wakefield. His paper saying that was regarded fraudent later and was retracted from the Lancet. I heard he had been deprived of his doctor license due to this criminal publication. 

This is an editorial of British Medical Journal in 2011 fully explaining the event of Wakefield.

 https://www.bmj.com/content/342/bmj.c7452

There have been dozens of papers telling of no relationship between vaccine and autism. It is more than a surprise that the secretary of HHS tries to drag up the problem.  Is he authorized to do so? 

This ungraceful event will harm the history only of HHS but also of the politics in the USA.

A gift in elderly

 Mother used to tell me she enjoyed things unknown and new everyday when she was suffering from dementia in her elderly. I thought it had been due to her cognitive and memorizing problem that she felt that way. 

Recenetly, being at her age those days myself, I feel things, either I have known before or not, look quite new to me. For example, as written in the prvious posts, Faure's nocturnes have come closer to my mind. I used to listen to them not too few times in the past but have not been impressed by them so much as I recently have.  Commonplace things approach my mind with quite different and brilliant outlook. Sometimes with quit new meanings and, on the other occasions, in deepened and enriched way. 

I have been wondering why. I might be on the process of dementia myself. On the other hand, since I am living the age when shorter time span is left in my life, things or experiences could approach me in different way from that in young days. Getting older, we lose physical and mental capability. Elderly is often regarded as a negative phase of our lives. However, if we could experience things in a quite different way as described, elderly could be a time of life with gift.  As a poet said, the best thing in life is left in our elderly.

In 12 days, it will be my mother's 14th anniversary. May I go after her being pleased at everything, always worrying on friends and family members and being thankful to people aroound her. 

Cherry flowers and potatoes

I have inadvertently forgot bringing my camera on the way for shopping yesterday. It was the main reason why I didn't take photos of cherry flowers. I still have something perverse in my characteristics. When a lot of people are taking its photo, I am a bit reluctant to do the same thing. All the more, posting them in my blog!

It was really the plateau of cherry blooming now. I could not resist posting some of the photos I took this afternoon. I am still a typical Japanese.

Cherry trees in the campus of a jr. high nearby. There was this school when I was born here. I am wondering how old these cherry trees are. Maybe, as old as me.

The entrance of a community center, a few blocks away from our home. Cherry trees in a well cared woods.

In close up.

Cherry flowers are starting falling on the ground. The life of cherry flowers is so short. Their transience as well as beauty might be the reason why they could not help attracting us. In a few days, the flowers will be replaced to new leaves. There will be a lot of flowers fallen on the ground as if a carpet.

I have spent whole day in the farm, pulling the weeds and planting vegetables like taro and burdock. As reported earlier, potatoes are successfully budding. I love these young buds as an expression of life. Very lovely.

Spring is fully blown here.

 

Working at the farm and cherry flowers

I am still working busily at my small farm. Planting seeds in the pots like tomatoes, broccholis and so forth. Taro fruits have been buried in the farm or near trees. Potatoes have successully budded. I am farming as much as with the principle of nature farming/regenerative farming. No chemicals, no plowing, no damages to the environment. In addition to rice bran, compost made of grass etc is used for fertilizer. 

Honestly, sitting on the ground using a tiny chair itself is a burden for me. Neuralgia stings me badly on hip to lower legs. The joy doing with soil surpasses it, however. As told someone else, I often find myself transcendent to eternity while working on soil. The soil and plants are living in the phase of eternity. It may sound an exaggeration but a reality for me. Elderly often enjoys farming/gardening. I believe, even without finding or being conscious of themselves related with the flow of lives, they might be fascinated with working in nature in the same way.

Exercise itself in addition to contacts with living things in the farm works well for my psychological stability as well. Cutting weeds won't be a serious exercise. But I find myself sweating a lot doing it. The next vegetable I am going to plant is sweat potato. I was not very successful keeping them over the winter. I should manage it somehow. 

Cherry trees along the street I drive for shopping were fully out today. A few people were taking photos with their smart phone. I forgot bringing the usual camera today. Here is a photo of my wife and beautiul cherry flowers taken at a facility near by. It was exactly 10 years ago. Needless to say time is flying.

I am a bit too lazy as a blogger. I would go out with my camera and take some photos of cherry flowers today or tomorrow. 

 

Again Faure's 11th nocturne

Faure's 11th nocturne. I have mentioned about it here;https://nuttycellist-unknown.blogspot.com/2025/02/most-basic-thing-among-people.html

It is a hauntingly poignant music. It comes up in my mind so often. It was composed for a memoir of a lady Noemi Lalo.

What makes me feel that way? Of course, it is a completely successful piece composed by him itself. Further, I believe there are a few more points which attracts us. 

One reason may be the fact that it reflected the social situation when the war had started in Balkan Peninsula which not too long resulted in the WWI. The anxiety and worry before that historical tragedy may be one of the backgrounds for this piece. I have read that Faure was concerned about it somewhere. Their sons might be involved in the war.

His own tragedy of hearing abnormality might be another reason. It has already progressed to a point a composer could hardly endure in common sense. Nevertheless, or rather all the more for it, he has devoted himself to his world. Genuinely from the bottom of his heart without any decorations or unnecessary expressions. 

At an old age, we are sometimes captured by an emotion of anger. Anger for what? I don't know. Maybe, it's related with the absurdity our lives are going to end. Maybe, I am too empathetic to this work. But I feel such an emotion is hidden in the unique dissonant harmonies and their move in this piece. We could hear that in the 1st movement of his cello sonata as well. This characteristics may also mean the late romatic music was being replaced to the modern music even without his intention that way.

His nocturnes in young days are expressing something happy and romantic. Such as Nr2, 3, 4, 5 etc. He might be literally in happiness those days. In the last years, he went into the days of discomfort and sorrow. The series of his nocturnes is, I believe, telling how he has lived. The young nocturnes sound like a soothing and relieving music to me. 

I am fascinated by the later nocturnes including this 11th now. I feel something reverbing in my mind with them. In the silence at night, this nocturne sounds like a whisper of an old friend to me. 

Tree flowers, vegetables and Bonhoeffer

A few days later than the last post of this magnolia, it became fully bloomed. I love it most. When I sent this photo to my brother, he told me our mother used to say it was the time to go picking parsley, possibly naturally grown at a bank of a river nearby. 

Japanese plum is also full blown now. Both the couple of the trees have a lot of blossoms. Good harvest of plum might be expected. 

View in close up. 

Camelia is also in full bloom. 

I love this flower in gentle pink.

Burdock has a seedling. I have sown its seeds at various places. They have budded for some time. But, in some time as getting colder, they have gone. I thought they had been killed by the coldness. They were alive and revived in this warmth of spring. It is always moving me a lot. Working with those plants, I feel I am let to live together with them. What a lovely being!  

Other than this, green pea and potato are budding as well. I am going to plant the other vegetables in the coming few weeks. When it is forcasted to get frosty, I should keep them guarded from it. Frost could come on for another month.

Besides these farm works, I am reading the bio of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I might mention of him, a theologist as well as a pastor, who used to be killed by Nazis a month prior to the end of the WWII in Germany due to his commitment in assasination plan for Hitler. In this time when totaltareanism seems to rule the world, his life and works have come in my mind. I used to read his "Nachfolge" when I was a student at a reading club lead by an evangelist. He was a really excellent theologist as well, who used to study and get the PhD in theology in Germany not too long after the end of WWII. I have never imagined recalling of that reading club and Bonhoeffer so long after. There are a lot of differences in the situation between the Nazis era and present days. Now the super rich is trying to rule the world and there are people following those oligarch. A kind of quasi religion which is quite similar to Nazis era. I may mention about it in relation with the life of Bonhoeffer later.  

 

Magnolia starting blooming

The magnolia in the garden has started blooming. It is only an event repeated every spring, not dramatic nor exciting, for others. It still means special to me. 

It reminds me of my parents who have planted it here and have enjoyed its growth and blooming every spring. I could not see it without remembering of my parents.

They have lived the hard time in WWII and the postwar period in poverty. They have struggled raisin us, 3 kids, in Tokyo. Eventually, they have been settled down at this place where they started own family. Looking at this tree or the other flower trees, they might have felt relieved at the end of their journey of life. 

The other thought is a question how many times I could see it blooming. At my age, it is an earnest question. The more earnest the question is, the more I should cherish it, I believe.  

 

When a nation hides or discards its administrative data

Federa Economic Statistic Advisory Committee, FESAC, has put an end to its activity. It is a committee composed of economic statistics researchers, who have joined almost in volunteer. They have advised the related administration organizations on statistical methodology and other technical matters related to the collection, tabulation, and analysis of federal economic statistics.

https://apps.bea.gov/fesac/

The Trump administration has started discarding or hiding the statistics data which are incompatible with their policy and/or the result of the policy. Historically, those countries which have hidden the administration data have always perished sooner or later. The most recent example is USSR.

When the administration discards or hides the related statistics, they won't be able to evaluate a certain policy. The politics and administration stray into a mess. Without proper evaluation of certain policy, how could they make the next move? It is quite doubtful if the administration could be run appropriately. 

The US seems to be in a real peril at present, I am afraid.

An unforgettable ham radio friend Ken K6HPX

There are a few friends whom I have met in certain interval for decades, not very frequent, only 2 or 3 times in a year. It is exciting and joyful to meet someone so frequently. But they often leave me soon. The former type friends always relieve me if not ardent relationship it is. One of them is Ken K6HPX. I started seeing him since '80s, probably when I was operating radio with barefoot and a vertical on the roof of dormitory. He often called me on 40m with fairly slow CW. Sometimes from mobile. I knew he had been with the business of antenna manuacturing and related items. As the president of CAL LAB, Inc. He scarcely talked about the products of his company, though. Not so many topics. But I always felt relieved, as told above, to hear him after some absence.

In several months after I closed down, he gave me an e mail asking how I was doing. He could not find me in the cluster and wondered how I was getting along. I explained what had made me decide to quit radio. He answered he could understand me and would wait for me to come back on the radio any time. Not urging me to do so. I felt it was the way he had been doing with me for the past decades.   

He must be in late 80s of his age. He told me he would close his business in a year or two. He is enjoying SOTA, Summit On the Air, with his wife, Kay, KE7BGM. The photo shown below sent to me in 2016 is him and Kay operating radio together on a mountain. What a close couple they are! I loved it so much. Recent mail told me he had still been enjoying SOTA with her. His page in QRZ.com gives us his bio, his unique antenna invention and SOTA activity with Kay. 

https://www.qrz.com/db/k6hpx

It is a bit pain for me not to be able to hear him on the air. However, we could get in touch with by e mail. I wish him and Kay good health and pleasant retirement ahead. 

 

Consequence of the tariff war

How come the US president has started the tariff war? I am afraid it will have the economy of the US plummeted sooner or later. This tariff war is totally against the spirit of GATT and, later, of WTO. If they have any problem in the trade, they could sue it to WTO. As I told before, this tariff war could lead to another Great Recession.

All I could guess is that Trump has started it in the vibes of "You are fired!".  It is causing too much turmoil and even victims. The US could lose the key currency status for USD in the world market, which has enabled to attract investments from all over the world.

Don't they have any specialists of economy and/or international trade who could give the administration proper advice? 

It seems to, at least, for Musk of Tesla to be defeated in this war. The consumers are the next victim of this war.

Here.

https://news.usstareveryday.com/thanhhtv/bad-news-for-tesla-musk-finally-gets-what-he-deserves-htt/?fbclid=IwY2xjawJD9aFleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHQ49-yHvnqtd_MsztDO2w7T-hiNYgRpdXklHazH4gDHF4QPaYTdiy_P_gg_aem_VfBIV41jNIf-DdiEhM3few

Climate change and crop foreseen

This interesting article shows how the upstick temperature changes the diversity and the cropland suitable for particular vegetables. Even 2 degrees C increase would cause drastic changes. The temperate areas may increase crop harvest. But the total harvest may drastically drop with that climate changein the world. The developing countries, mostly located in the tropics, may undergo food shortage and could become politically unstable. There could be more refugees to the developing countries due to food shortage as well as commotion and conflict.

 

This study tells us to make efforts to rewind the climate change. If it is inevitable, we should prepare for the food shortage. Maybe, both actions are required for now. 

Here. 

https://www.carbonbrief.org/half-of-global-croplands-could-see-a-drop-in-suitable-crops-at-2c-of-warming/?utm_content=buffer789f2&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Last fall, the hot wave has lasted long here. Vegetables, mainly leaf ones, have not grown as usual. At grodery stores the prices of leaf vegetables were even 3 times higher than usual year. Other kinds of vegetables were also more or less expensive compared with them before.

Even at my tiny farm, due to hot spell with drought, leaf vegetables were almost no crop this winter. I have learned how plants were vulnerable to a climate change. This change may not be temporary but go on long time. It should lead to food deficit. Those in big cities who are not involved with farming may not feel this sense of crisis coming in the near future. They falsely believe they could get vegetables or crops with money any time. 

I have replanted green onions, divided from grown ones, in a corner of the farm. Only with a shovel, I could do with vegetables in this size. It's good enough for us to have this coming summer. Dozens of potatoes have been planted as well. Imagining whom I would give them to when harvested enough, I planted carefully one potato to another on the soil mixed with home brew compost. Trying to grow seedlings like broccoli indoor, I find again a green house and warming system necessary. I should purchase those seedlings of summer vegetables next month. The only success to grow seedling is of sweet potato. It has started rooting in water. I may plant it in soil in a few weeks. It may given a lot o stalks which would be buried in soil. Anyway, it will be a busy season for a farmer for the coming few months. 

 　  

Red blossom ume is out

Following white blossome ume, red one is coming out. 

I thought this order of flowering had been dependent on the color of the flowers. Looking it up, I knew it was not the case. The ume species are divided to 14 kinds. Each kind has own flowering period. I am also impressed to know ume belongs to Sakura family Rosaceae. Does this taxonomy mean ume is akin to cherry in rose species? Since genetic study has probably contributed to classification of plants, these plants must be evoluted from the same origin. Two family members are living in our garden.

My brother told me, when I had let him know these ume had been out, he remembered our mother doing house chores on the side of these trees. The scene is clearly coming up in my mind as well. This is the remembrance we, only family members, could share. Even however trivial thing it might be. 

Our lives, including those trees, are being existing at the same time and at the same place for a while. In some time, we get separated and will be eternally away each other. We should cherish each moment being and crossing each other at the same time. 

 

The 14th anniversary of East Japan Great Earthquake and consequent nuclear power plant accident in Fukushima

 It is the 14th anniversary of East Japan Great Earthquake and consequent nuclear power plant accident in Fukushima. Almost 20,000 people were killed by the earthquake while the nuclear power accident related victims are counted up to 3800. Due to the nuclear power plant accident, 160,000 people were forced to evacuate at maximum. Still 20,000 evacuees are scattered away from their homeland. 

On this day 14 years ago, I was consulting to an ophthalmologist and was given a diagnosis of cataracts. Going out of the clinic, the earth was starting quaking so much as I have never experienced. Low pitched roaring all around, the power line poles were bending. Some damages at my office and our home but no one was injured. The radio equipments were fallen on the floor at home. In a day, the power line was restored. A lot of inquiries and encouragements have been in the mail box of the internet. Literally, from all over the world. Of course, they were friends whom I had known through ham radio. As written in another post before, an old retired physician Dick W0FBI told me he would visit here with his wife to help people. He used to stay in our country after WWII. I thanked him a lot for his proposal but told him the damaged areas had not been prepared to accept such a volunteer as him and not to visit here at that time. His words have moved me a lot. After an apathic period for 11 days or so, I came back on the air. There were a lot of old friends waiting for me. K5BGB, W6CYX, N3JT and so forth. They have encouraged me a lot. I could never forget them giving me such encouraging words then.

A few days later since the earthquake, the melt down of the fuel has started at 3 reactors of the nuclear power plant. The news of on going melt down has come here every moment. I felt the ground I stood up had been collapsing little by little. With worst scenario, my place about 120km south west of the plant could have been badly polluted by plume from exploded reactors. Fortunately, it was not realized. But, worrying about that worst scenario, I was eagerly doing farm work trying to forget it. In the area where polluted air plumed into, that is, the inland area northwest of the plant as well as along the coast area, there were a lot of people being forced to evacuate. What burden they have had at that time! They have lost the homeland and the community. I believe we should never forget them and what a disaster a nuclear power plant accident could be.  

It has been a peaceful countryside around the nuclear power plant. I have been there a few times. Once with my parents to visit their old friend almost 30 years ago. As wrote in another post, the area the person, a retired noncommissioned officer of salvation army, used to live was totally destroyed with the tsunami. There must be a lot of fallout covering the area. When several years ago I visited there alone again, nothing was left at the place her house used to be present.

Anyway, it is the day of requiem for them. I would spend it as the most others do.

In next monthe, it will be my mother's 14th anniversary. She was at a nursing facility where the life line had been off for a few days. Possibly, due to the stress she had then, she got sick and died next month.

It may take the Trump administration years to recover distrust by the allies

It seems the Trump administration won't hide itself as an ally to Putin Russia. 

Losing the countermeasure of the main fighter of Ukraine may mean delivering the air superiority over Ukraine to Russia. Russia could air bomb to Ukraine as much as they want.

https://news.online.ua/en/the-us-is-ending-support-for-ukrainian-f-16s-but-there-is-a-way-out-891472/?fbclid=IwY2xjawI6vB9leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHZpO-Y-PsdTiW8FTYPtmk9N4kF4rOA_Ao8OiXobQLX0V4JRLiMlvZ1TE_Q_aem_XrXyB0Oe1jaTrBM_uuSK2g

French government seems to offer their Mirage 2000, a fighter equivalent or superior to F16, to Ukraine equipped with the same kind of countermeasure. But, I am afraid, it will take them sometime to send the fighters to Ukraine.

The other disappontment is that Musk is going to cease the Starlink service in Ukraine, which is prerequisite for Ukrainean forces in operation. France seems to propose to cover it with their satellite communication system. Hopefully, the latter would work on behalf of Starlink.

The Trump administration dares not to disguise being on the side of Russia. They may pretend that those maneuvers are to cease the fire. It is just a pretext. Trump seems to rule the world with the other authoritarean dictators like Putin, I am afraid. It is the worst scenario.

However, I don't believe this trial of reign would last long. In this mutually dependent world where people know what democracy is, such dictatorship won't go on at all. I am afraid the US would realize what it means that they lose the faith and respect the US has achieved after WWII in the world.  

While writing down this post, I heard Trump would "reconsider" giving the intelligence to Ukraine. What unstable as well as unreliable administration! He seems to disregard the faith and respect to the US from the other countries. The old allies won't trust what the Trump administration says any longer, I am afraid. It may take years to recover that distrust by all old allies.  

An unforgettable ham radio friend Mike WB4ZKA

I have been keeping a blog in Japanese for the past 19 years. When I started that blog, as a doctor starting own practice, I might feel separated from the society and have had a lot of problems with the administration or the medical system. That blog has been a place where I could utter whatever I thought or felt. 

Now, it has turned full of political propaganda. I have been trying to be as accurate as possible regarding the data or the information source, since I would review it as a data resource if not perfect. I am also trying to post on music or our daily lives as well.

Among those political posts, I still often mention of memorable QSOs or unforgettable ham friends there. In the genre of "People in Ham Radio", there have been more than 500 posts. I have repeatedly told about the same good old friends like Ellen W1YL and stories on them have been reiterated. Since I quit ham radio 2 years ago, not many more addition to it any longer. 

I just would describe a few old friends on the air. That is the purpose of the posts titled "An unforgettable ham radio friend". It is to renew my memories, which have been badly rusted these years. I still have a lot of friends to be written. It is only a private memoir but, secretly, I hope it serves to advocate the enjoyment of conversational CW to younger people.  

There are a few people whom I have met only a few times and they are not necessarily big guns or famous ham operators at all. They still left me a vivid and impressive memories despite of few occasions to talk to.

One of them is Mike WB4ZKA. I have met him only twice or three times. It was around 2010. He was living on a trailor house in Arizona. Putting up a windom several meters above the ground, he was running 4 watts with an Elecrat K1. He said he had been keeping the radio on throughout nights. He told he had prefered to set it on 7026KHz, where I and other gangs were hanging out late at night or early in morning there. There were guys who started ragchewing always across the Pacific Ocean. Lending ear to them, he might be falling asleep. Maybe, when the conditions were so good, he gave me a call. That was that few occasion we could converse. 

When I heard it from Mike, I was deeply impressed and felt we had been connected each other even if not conversing directly. Around that time, I heard from KA7YRL, that his motto was "Tell me your story". I thought Mike was the ham who lived that motto by himself. Ever since this episode, I have tried to do my best to live the same motto on the air, even though I am not sure if I could do that or not. John, WA9AQN, used to tell me Mike had been writing an essay on US CQ magazine and had mentioned this way of listening there.

On his page of QRZ.com, Mike wrote as follows;

IF YOU AND I ARE MEETING ON HF CW RIGHT NOW

I'd like to connect with you on more than a "drive-by" QSO level. I prefer to ragchew, but I can do an abbreviated contact, if you prefer.

I'm more interested in hearing about you than talking about myself. Where will we take the conversation?

Send any speed you like up to about 35 wpm.  I can head-copy just fine, but my old hands can't send so fast.  So, gallop along!  I enjoy it!

I wonder if he is still listening the band throughout a night somewhere in a desert of Arizona. Does CW still sound like a lullaby to him?

Horrible incarnation of greedy capitalism

At first, it sounded like a joke that Trump would annex Canada. It seems, however, he is still serious at that desire as this news tells;

 https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/trump-vs-canada-51st-state-wildest-threats.html

Isn't Canada the closest ally for the US in diplomacy as well as economy? Could you do with friends in Canada while approving Trump's idea or being indifferent to this mess? Trump is greedy enough to obtain the natural resource in Canada. Isn't it a terrible imperalism, which we have overcome long time ago? 

His desire to make the Palestinians emigrated somewhere from Gaza and to own their land to build a resort was not a joke but a realty, either.

In addition, he would ally with or has already been an asset of Putin Russia. They would share authoritarean dictatorship in their countries. Now, I am pretty sure the scheme is already drawn in his mind.

If the US people let him go in this way, the international relationship especially in the free western side would be ruined. I don't think his desire would come true. But if they should resort to the military power incomparable with the other countries, there could be another era of authoritarean dictatorship in the world.

I wonder if the American people would overlook the present situation messed up by your president. I am sure demolition of democracy in the society would come on to you with much pain soon. He would materialize the dictatorship anywhere whether it might be oversea or domestic. Of course, it should be accompanied with recession of the economy.

Horrible incarnation of greedy capitalism is in the White House for now. 

Sagan's prediction

A renowned astronomer as well as a novelist, Carl Sagan, predicted the future of the US in his 1995 book "The Demon-Haunted World", warning of a time when critical thinking declines, misinformation spreads, and technological power is concentrated in the hands of a few. It is amazing how accurately he has foreseen what occurred in the US in 3 decades interval.

Quote~~~

I have a foreboding of an America in my children's or grandchildren's time — when the United States is a service and information economy; when nearly all the manufacturing industries have slipped away to other countries; when awesome technological powers are in the hands of a very few, and no one representing the public interest can even grasp the issues; when the people have lost the ability to set their own agendas or knowledgeably question those in authority; when, clutching our crystals and nervously consulting our horoscopes, our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and what's true, we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness.

~~~unquote

If I am allowed to add a few words to his excellent prediction. I would emphasize the class in the society who supports Trump and his administration. They have lost critical thinking about politics and society as Sagan predicted. I believe it is due to neoliberalism which lets them think only for themselves and for their profit at the moment. Thinking for themselves, they don't care for it it is a misinformation or not. They would disperse sayings whether they may be fake or not. Fakes and lies are so common. So far as it gives them any profit from their conducts, it is accepted. In that behaviour, whether it is true or not won't matter. They often deny even scientific truth. They are akin to conspiracy theories.

Oligarchies established from neoliberalism may acquire political power and try to dictate those enthusiastically following the oligarchies. It looks like a cult. The cultists are often exploited by the oligarchy guru. The oligarchies would look for their target in overseas and soon they would start exploiting domestically. The target would be their cultists who have been already exploited by the greedy capitalists.

History tells us politics always is often driven by religion or religious motivation. In this case, it is combined with greedy capitalism. The more poverty people are put into, the more enthusiastic they are for the guru. What an irony it is! Has Sagan imagined such a psychosocial dynamics would work in the present world when he wrote his predictory book? Needless to say, such cultist movement is easily propagated through the internet, which Sagan has never seen in his life.

Ume in full bloom Hot summer is expected

Ume is fully out. The 1st blooming this year. The winter has been rather cold and the flowers are slow coming out. This long chilly winter may be the reverse of extreme hot wave in the coming summer in this age of climate change. We might have cruelly hot and burning summer this year.

At another house in this property, my parents used to look at them from the dining room over the table. They have planted 4 of them around their house. Ume is a very viable tree without much illness etc. Ume fruits could be harvested later. That was the reason why my father had planted them. He was seriously considering of food crisisin the future, even though ume fruits could never be staple food. Planting a lot of fruit trees, he might be feeling less worried about hunger he has experienced during the war.

These ume trees have lived for more than 4 decades. I wonder who would appreciate this blooming in this season a few decades later.

I have started planting potatoes. A bit earlier than usual expecting that heat upcoming soon. We might have poorer harvest of vegetables this summer. We should get ready for that. 

 

An unforgettable ham radio friend Steve KW7Q

A few days ago, I received a short note from Steve KW7Q. It was an update on himself and inquiry about me. It's been a couple of years since he retired from Colo State Univ. As I wrote about it somewhere before, we used to enjoy chatting on 40m CW in early '80s. He was finishing the postgraduate school majoring in atmospheric science in Seattle while I was starting career as a pediatrician. My old log says we have had a lot of QSOs those days. His call was WA0UIR/7 then. When we met again after a long hiatus several years ago, I could not recognize him at once. Knowing of his previous call, memories of QSOs with him vividly came back. His "rushing" and smooth CW. I could not help smiling hearing his keying in the same manner as those days.

He has got a position at the university mentioned above. In the field of his profession, he seemed to have achieved a great sucess in research. He was awarded for honor of American Meteorogical Society. I didn't know Colo State University was the mecca of that science field in the world.   

https://www.atmos.colostate.edu/2021/09/american-meteorological-society-honors-steven-rutledge-melissa-burt-and-richard-johnson/

I am sure he had ground away at his research. Or he might have enjoyed all his career as a researcher judging from his enthusiasm in ham radio. He might have spent the same energy for his research as for ham radio. At retirement, as he told, he got a beam at home at last, which he had never had in his ham radio journey. He was always running a small set up with some wire antenna wherever he might be. A couple of years ago, he has joined FOC while I quit it almost at the same time. It was a shame we could not enjoy its membership together. But I am sure he will do credit the club for his enthusiasm and activity. 

Recalling of my own life, I wonder what achievement I have done in my life. Maybe, nothing comparable to his achievement. If I had to choose, the kids I have cared for and their smiles must be the only reward for me. Again, I am deeply impressed at how long time has flown for us. I wish him fruitful and healthy retirement from now on. Don't forget riding bicycle as he used to. As they say, "Exerecise may be the single most potent medical intervention ever known."