A Shower of Tears

Turning over the pages of the old album, I muttered,
"Thank you." You are always in my heart,
and you are always encouraging me.
I remember your smile on a bright day and on a rainy day.
Our memories faded away, but I am still looking for your image.
When you come back to my memory, a shower of tears comes over me.

I pray to the first star of evening. Praying has become my habit.
Looking up to the evening sky,
I am looking for you with all my heart.
I remember your smile when I feel sad and when I feel happy.
If you see me from your place,
I am sure I can see you someday
Believing that, I live my life.

I remember your smile on a bright day and on a rainy day.
Our memories faded away, but I am lonely,
I miss you so much.

As I think of you, a shower of tears comes over me
I want to see you, I want to see you so much.
As I think of you, a shower of tears comes over me

- nada so so

Melancholy

I've never seen a night so long

When time goes crawling by

The moon just went behind a cloud

To hide its face and cry

---

The silence of a falling star

Lights up a purple sky

And as I wonder where you are

I'm so lonesome I could cry

- from the song of Hank Williams

Okinawa Museum and Okinawa Cave

Okinawa Cave 01/19/08

Waiting

Wanting,
lusting,
to be held,
to be loved,
to feel warmth,
to feel your beating heart.
Wanting to be sheltered from the cold,
heartless winds.
Falling into invisible arms;
into an abyss of love.
Wishing,
hoping,
that my desires will be filled;
my desires of loving warmth.
Wanting to be held,
comforted,
loved.
Dreaming of passionate embraces,
of tender kisses,
loving words,
romantic nights.
Waiting for undying love.




- Dawn D.

Tokashiki Island

If you think you are beaten, you are.

If you think you dare not, you don't.

If you like to win but think you can't

It's almost certain you won't.

Life's battles don't always go

To the stronger or faster man

But sooner or later, the man who wins

Is the man who thinks he can.

-adapted

Mochitsuki: A New Year's Tradition

In many Japanese American households and communities, an annual custom is mochitsuki -- the pounding of mochi or rice cakes, which is essential to the "Oshogatsu" or New Year's celebration. Mochitsuki is an all-day event which requires many hands, long hours, and physical labor, but is also a time of fellowship and socializing with friends and family.Mochitsuki begins the day before, with the washing of the mochigome (sweet glutinous rice) and leaving it to soak overnight in large kettles or tubs. Early the next morning the mochigome is ready to be steamed in the seiro -- wooden steaming frames. Three or four seiro are stacked one on top of the other and placed over a kettle of boiling water.

I am lucky to be here at Okinawa International Center to witness the 2008 Mochitsuki Celebration. I was told that participants who took part on this activity will be lucky (I wish).

Late in the afternoon, I was interviewed by a Japanese television staff regarding Mochitsuki experience and the output will be shown late in the evening today. I hope that my part will not be deleted...ha.ha.ha.

I carry your heart with me

I carry your heart with me (i carry it in my heart)
I am never without it (anywhere I go you go, my dear;
and whatever is done by only me is your doing, my darling)
I fear no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet)
I want no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you


Here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;
which grows higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart
I carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)



- poem by e.e. cummings

I'm all alone...

Several nights I felt so low

As I counted the hours they go so slow

I looked outside my window to the world below

All that I could see were memories of you.

Travel to Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium

A Whale of a Memory: My Okinawa Adventure with JICA Scholars

December 30, 2007 — a date etched in my memory like a splash frozen in time.

I was in Japan, surrounded by bright minds and fellow JICA scholars, far from the tropical warmth of the Philippines but burning with excitement nonetheless. That day, we journeyed to one of the crown jewels of Okinawa — the Churaumi Aquarium. A mouthful to pronounce at first, but unforgettable the moment we stepped inside.

Now, picture this: the main tank, Kuroshio Sea, loomed before us like a cathedral of glass, towering with silent majesty. And then — there it was. The whale shark. The whale shark. Mammoth, gliding through the water like a king in slow motion. Around it danced stingrays, groupers, and creatures I couldn't name — each one more surreal than the last. I remember feeling like a tiny dot, just a visitor in the vastness of the blue.

Cameras clicked. Gasps escaped lips. Jaws dropped — mine included. We were scholars on a mission to learn, but on that day, we were kids again, wide-eyed and wonder-struck.

It wasn’t just the sheer size of the sea creatures that stunned me — it was the reminder of how vast and mysterious our planet is. And how lucky we were to witness a sliver of it from behind a pane of glass.

We took photos — lots of them — but even the best picture couldn’t capture the feeling of standing inches away from a 20-ton gentle giant. That aquarium visit wasn’t just a tour stop; it was a moment of awe, laughter, and pure joy. The kind that anchors itself in your soul and refuses to fade.

To this day, whenever I hear “Okinawa,” I don’t just think of beaches or history. I remember the chill of the air, the warmth of friendship, and the quiet power of the ocean... seen from the inside out.

It was fun, yes.
But more than that — it was unforgettable.
A memory I’ll cherish forever.

Very nice place!