Osamu and I have started to make it a habit to meet outside at 7:35 with the neighborhood kids and walk a bit with them as they head off for elementary school. Now that it's springtime the mornings are cool and comfortable and Osamu is loving it. He runs and jumps and laughs and circles around cars and the apartment building next door and chats up the big kids and the moms.
We head up to the end of the block and stop at Ogata-san's house since they have three kids going to elementary school this year and they join the caravan at 7:40. After some loitering and parental chit-chat and some cars going by we wave the elementary schoolers goodbye. Once that's done Osamu loves to race me back to the house. He almost always wins. I let him, sort of. He really is fast and I'm not wearing the right shoes. Technically, I guess, neither is he.
He won again this morning and stopped in front of our house as I was coming in second. Eri was congratulating him from the living room window. Then Osamu decided to sprint off for a victory lap and WHAMMO. He was looking back at me as he started off and crashed right into the pavement, skinning both knees real good and scratching his hands and plunging him into a state of disbelief at how quickly the situation had changed from victory to utter defeat.
His knees got skinned good. I was impressed. He wailed and wailed. I picked him and carried him inside and we had to do the whole thing - disinfect and bandage. I remember Bactine when I was little. Man I hated it. There's none of that here, but there is a proper Japanese alternative, and it stings just the same.
Fast forward 5 hours and this guy was climbing to the top of the jungle gym at our neighborhood park.
I had a midday errand to run that required a motorcycle trip an hour south to the town of Watari. The weather was just right save for a bit of wind, especially when crossing bridges and passing trucks. The best part was making it a perfect excuse to enjoy lunch with friends.
We hit up this Thai place in the middle of nowhere, run by an old Thai lady who cranks out amazing, authentic homemade style lunches all by herself. When I called into her kitchen to order pork gapao rice she asked me how spicy I like it and I said just regular. I was pleasantly surprised when "regular spicy" was Thai regular instead of Japanese regular. It's been a while since I had a good sweat while I eat.
Cindy and Michael both gave me a bunch of stuff to take home. Freshly baked pumpernickel, pickles, chocolate-covered dried mangoes from the Philippines, homemade cheesecake, and an assortment of vegetables. Somehow I managed to fit it all snugly into my backpack, with the tops of a bushel of leeks sticking out the top.
After that Thai lunch I was stuffed, but Eri made such an amazing dinner I devoured that as well.
As much as I love the feeling of being hungry, I am thankful for when I am full. I know that enjoying hunger is a privilege that should not be taken lightly.
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