Dead Poets Society
Subj:
You must be busy.
But don't work so hard.
Take it easy...relax!
Take a walk or jog around.
From: diane03760@vancouver.ca
To: barclay1720@aol.com
Date: Wed, Nov 9, 2011 8:55 pm.
Hi Kato,
My truly romantic Taliesin!
How wonderful to see how FAT you were .. just kidding.
But you did look refreshed and it was good to see you.
I only wish I was as open-minded and warm-hearted as you think I am; holy cow, IF only!
Things are going fairly well with my boyfriend and myself although I do see some red flags as it were and I do miss my Westend lifestyle so things are not entirely smooth I must say.
We had a long discussion about it just this evening at supper ... not satisfactorily resolved just yet.
You see? Relationships are NOT for the timid.
Time will tell, n'est-ce pas?
How's it going over there at Joe Fortes today?!
Keeping busy, eh? I see ...
I thoroughly enjoyed your article.
■"Madame Lindbergh"
(November 10, 2011)
Thanks so much for all this fascinating information on Anne Lindbergh.
I do agree that we all need time in our day for solitude and as much as possible I do try to achieve this, but it's not always easy.
Especially now with all my distractions here in Kitsilano.
Interesting idea about women being pioneers in this.
My experience has been that men in this country are more likely to be introspective than their female counterparts.
However, this may not be the case at all but just my experience.
I listened to all the interviews by the daughter as well.
Reeve Lindbergh Interview
She is rather strange woman, wouldn't you say?
Both of the Lindberghs seem to have been larger-than-life individuals, for sure.
...hope to hear from you again soon.
I'm getting better at my piano these days.
I must have you over one day for tea.
Thanks again, Kato.
Love, Diane ~
How true it is!
What's that?
Relationships are NOT for the timid. In Japan, they say, "虎穴に入らずんば虎子を得ず."
Translate it to me, Kato.
It literally says that you must get into the tiger's abode if you want to capture a tiger's cub.
I see. So, you must face the difficulty if you really want something, mustn't you?
That's right...nobody is perfect. So, naturally, you see some red flags with your boyfriend when you really want something.
Kato, you said that Madame Taliesin was a happily married woman, didn't you?
Yes, I did.
So, you often see some red flags with Madame Taliesin when you meet her in Japan, don't you?
Yes, Diane, you're telling me.
Don't you think you're involved in an extramarital affair?
No, I don't.
Why is that?
Let's suppose, here is a sukiyaki pot. Have you ever enjoyed sukiyaki?
No, I don't think I've ever enjoyed the genuine Japanese-style skiyaki pot.
The above pot looks delicious. In fact, you can enjoy the above pot as it is. However, you can enjoy it even more if I add some secret flavors or seasoning.
I see. So, Kato, you're saying, your relation with Madame Taliesin should be able to enrich her life, aren't you?
Yes, I am. Diane, have you ever seen the movie titled "Same Time, Next Year"?
I'm not sure. What is it about?
It goes like this:
Same Time, Next Year
It is 1975 comedy play by Bernard Slade.
The plot focuses on two people, married to others, who meet for a romantic tryst once a year for two dozen years.
New Jersey accountant George and Oakland, California housewife Doris meet at a Northern California inn in February 1951.
They have an affair, then agree to meet once a year, despite the fact both are married to others and have six children between them.
Over the course of the next 24 years, they develop an emotional intimacy deeper than what one would expect to find between two people meeting for a clandestine relationship just once a year.
During the time they spend with each other, they discuss the births, deaths, and marital problems each is experiencing at home, while they adapt themselves to the social changes affecting their lives.
SOURCE: "Dead Poets Society"
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Oh, this is an extramarital affair...I don't like it.
I thought you were open-minded.
I'm trying to be.
You may not like it, but it's a lovely story. The most of my friends loved the movie. Anyway, take a look at the video clip:
Interesting!...maybe, I'll borrow the DVD.
Please do...by the way, Diane, you said, Canadian men are more likely to be introspective than their female counterparts.
Yes, I did. This may not be the case at all but just my experience. What about it?
Well..., in my opinion, regardless of gender, Canadian men and women are more talkative than the Japanese counterparts.
I agree on that. The people in the East don't talk much.
No, they don't. In Japan, they say, "Silence is golden."
We say it in Canada, too.
I know. But in North America, "Dumb" means "stupid" in most cases. On the contrary, in Japan, a person who doesn't talk much is considered smart because he is supposed to be a deep thinker. Here in Canada, if you don't talk much in class, other classmates consider you to be a stupid person. Don't you think so, Diane?
Yes, that's true to a certain extent.
When I was a kid in Japan, teachers used to say, "Don't talk too much. When you talk much, people think your head is empty and you're stupid because an empty can sounds well and loud. Think, instead of talk!"
Is this the Japanese way of teaching kids?
Yes, it is. At least when I was a kid. In middle and high schools, all the students wore uniforms like soldiers, and the above teaching was prevailing. In a sense, all the Japanese pupils and students are conformists, compared to the Western counterparts.
But young people are getting more westernized in Japan, aren't they?
Yes, they are. Nowadays, students don't wear uniforms in middle and high schools. Only in some private schools, students wear uniforms.
Same here. Students in public school don't wear uniforms. They do only in some private schools.
When I was a high school student, I wore a uniform. Even though my high school was publicly funded, students were all male, so were teachers.
Uniformed male-only students in high school...I can hardly imagine that.
Think about some private prep schools in Canada. Well...on my way to Vancouver from Japan, I viewed "Dead Poets Society" on the flight. It has something to do with a prep school.
■JAL Entertainment Network
Dead Poets Society (1989)
Original Trailer
Dead Poets Society is a 1989 drama film directed by Peter Weir and starring Robin Williams as John Keating.
Set at the conservative and aristocratic Welton Academy in Vermont in 1959, it tells the story of an English teacher who inspires his students through his teaching of poetry.
Knox (one of students) meets and falls in love with a girl named Chris, using his new-found love of poetry to woo her.
He presents one of these poems in class, and is applauded by Keating for writing a heartfelt poem on love.
Knox travels to Chris's public school and recites his poem to her, later convincing her to go to a play with him.
Neil wants to be an actor but knows his father (Kurtwood Smith) will disapprove.
Without his father's knowledge, he auditions for the role of Puck in a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.
His father finds out and orders Neil to withdraw.
Neil asks Keating for advice and is advised to talk to his father and make him understand how he feels, but Neil cannot muster the courage to do so.
Instead he goes against his father's wishes.
His father shows up at the end of the play, furious.
He takes Neil home and tells him that he intends to enroll him in a military school to prepare him for Harvard University and a career in medicine.
Unable to cope with the future that awaits him or to make his father understand his feelings, Neil commits suicide.
SOURCE: "Dead Poets Society"
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
It was quite an interesting movie, which reminded me of my high school days.
So you were prepared for Harvard University, weren't you?
Don't be silly, Diane...I was in Japan at the time. Actually, my high school was like a prep school, and I met Mr. Aoki, an unconventional teacher like John Keating.
So, Kato, you fell in love with a girl as Neil did, and tried to commit suicide during your school days, didn't you?
Don't be foolish, Diane. I'm still alive.
...'Cause your teacher, Mr. Aoki, convinced you to forget about suicide, didn't he?
No, not really, but he encouraged me and other students to reject the status quo, to "seize the day" and pursue our own dreams---as John Keating did.
So, that's the reason you decided to come to Canada, isn't it?
Yes, it is.
How about the girl you fell in love with?
Diane, I think you're preoccupied with the "a boy meets a girl and falls in love" syndrome.
I thought you were a romantic guy, are you not?
Yes, I am. so, let me finish my story.
Tell me whatever it is.
Well..., Madame Taliesin was a pretty girl attending all-female high school in Tate-bayashi.
I see, you attended the all-male high school while she all-female high school...interesting! Where is Tate-bayashi?
Tate-bayashi is a city where Empress Michiko attended a primary school during the World War II. The city is 20-minute-drive away from Gyoda, my home town.
So, both cities are so close, and you met her during the high school days, huh?
Unfortunately, we didn't meet at the time. Although Madame Taliesin and I were almost neighbors, we had to wait for some more time. We were destined to meet each other.
Did you believe that? And When did you two meet?
Some twenty years later...by Deer Lake in Burnaby.
This is the place Madame Taliesin and you met, isn't it?
Yes, it is. We didn't know each other when we were high school students. But I knew I would meet a girl in the future.
How come?
'Cause Mr. Aoki used to tell the students, "Seize the day. Boys be ambitious. Pursue your own dream!" So, I knew that a romantic girl would wait for me in the future, and was dreaming about her.
Are you serious?
Yes, of course, I am.
So, you two met in Burnaby...some thousands of kilometer from Gyoda and Tate-bayashi.
Yes, we did. Madame Taliesin had lived in her cottage on and off for 13 years since she was 29 years old.
Was she married?
Yes, she was...happily married. But her husband didn't like Canada, so they lived separately.
Separated for 13 years?
The cottage was only for summer.
So, the cottage was her summer house, wasn't it?
Yes, it was. She sold it in 2007. Since then we've met once in a year when I return to my home town.
I see.
Anyway, Mr. Aoki was right.
What was right?
Well..., he said, "Pursue your own dream, and a dream will come true." Unlike in the movie, I didn't have to commit suicide because, I knew, my dream would come true in Canada. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha,...
【Himiko's Monologue】
Yes, yes, yes, ... That is a lovely story.
How wonderful it is!
But I feel, something is funny and foolish about Kato's story.
How about you?
Come to think of it, I've never met a decent man in my life.
How come I'm always a loner?
I wish I could meet a nice gentleman at the library in my town as Diane met Kato.
Well, they say, there is a way where there is a will.
Have a nice day!
Bye bye ...
If you've got some time,
Please read one of the following articles:
■"First Love"
■"Fright on Flight"
■"Boy's Movie"
■"From Summer to Eternity"
■"Sōseki & Glenn Gould"
(biker302.jpg)
■"In Search of Your Footprint"
■"Little Night Music"
■"Merry X'mas"
■"Happy New Year!"
■"Long live Diane!"
■"Mona Lisa"
■"Flu Shot"
■"Selfish TD Bank"
■"Talk with Mozart"
Hi, I'm June Adams.
Halloween is over, now.
But, have you ever wondered when Halloween guising started?
As you know, children disguised in costume go from door to door for food or coins.
It is a traditional Halloween custom.
The guising is recorded in Scotland at Halloween in 1895, where masqueraders in disguise carrying lanterns made out of scooped-out turnips, visited homes to be rewarded with cakes, fruit and money.
The practice of Guising at Halloween in North America is first recorded in 1911, where a newspaper in Kingston, Ontario reported children going "guising" around the neighborhood.
