Dropping in from Fukuoka

It's your overseas correspondent here visiting southern Japan, the city of Fukuoka. Arrived in one piece a couple of days ago, we had a minor earthquake on the first night. I am on the loose whilst the rest of my party are getting some organized exercise. I am getting disorganized exercise in the form of getting lost very quickly. I have recently found my bearings again and here I am.

Fukuoka is a city heaving with people, very vibrant and a mixture of ancient and modern. We have visited some shrines from the 4th century on the outside of the city. The lilac blossom scent nearby filled the air. It is pretty hot here, well pushing 30 degrees I would say.

Of note - flag persons directing traffic, bow to the cars when they are being requested to drive forward. Very civilized I thought. At crosswalks, the tune Comin' through the Rye floats through the air.

We`re staying in a family apartment in the southern part of the city. For breakfast we have been eating rice, pickle, cherry tomatoes, sour plums and miso soup. Our beds are foutons on tatami mats. So far I`ve collapsed at the end of the day, exhausted from the days walking.

That's all for now - we get 10 minutes on these machines then some threatening messages announce the end of the allotted time. Sayonara.

Litter and Hunger

The natives are getting restless and I'm one of them. I'm still picking up litter, but the blogstation now has ridiculous amounts of newspaper on the ground each day, mainly from the three new free papers. I'm getting frustrated and annoyed. I'm thinking - I take some pictures and send a letter to each of the three newspaper owners and ask what the blazes are they going to do about it.

In our town there are increasing numbers of people on the street asking for change. I get asked at least a dozen times a day. Yesterday there was a forlorn unkempt looking man, holding an empty styrofoam cup with a simple sign that stated "Hungry." I'll call him Jerome. I've seen him many times before, panhandling in the downtown area. He's aged between 30 and 50, it's very hard to tell, as he's ravaged by illness, and not able to stand straight.

Yesterday Jerome was in the underground mall where the security guards usually stop the likes of him from entering. I reckoned he had five minutes before they'd come along, sweep him out of the mall and shut the door. I walked past him, feeling very uncomfortable. I got about 30 yards, and could not go on without doing something. I bought a couple of muffins and went back to him. As I approached, another woman was giving him a sandwich. I gave him the muffins. At least he would get a meal today. He did not look me in the eye, but smiled, head bowed and thanked me. I walked on again, feeling like crying. Jerome has made some bad choices in his life, and he's probably still making bad choices. I wondered why I acted today and not the other times I had seen him. It had to do with hunger and desperation staring me in the face. And the fact that I could give him what he was asking for rather than some loose change that would probably be spent on something other than muffins.

Google gives us satellite photography

Well you can't see the birdfeeder or litter on the ground near our house, but there is aerial photography of our humble abode. Check if your house is on Google Maps. Put in an address and on the right hand side click on satellite. Once the photograph appears you can zoom in. After checking our street, I can't whether Doris has anything on her HedgeRow, but I'm on to it. For the heck of it, I searched for "Litter OK" and it gave me Great River Dam Authority in Vinata, Oklahoma. Looks dam pretty on the photograph. Of course this gets me to wondering if there are some privacy issues that Google is trespassing over here.

I would not do it for a million bucks

This morning as I walked to the office I came across the common sign that men were working above. In this case they were thirty floors above. It makes me shudder just to think of someone on a narrow platform with a bucket, hundreds of feet above the ground. Sometimes I am working at my desk and Spiderman appears right next to me at the window with a goofy grin and a sponge. Only he's on the outside and I'm safe and sound on the inside.

He swings across the huge plate glass, washing the window with soapy water, giving someone below a free shower. Then he wipes it all clean. Then as soon as he arrives, he leaps on to the next window. It must takes hours to do some of these enormous skyscrapers. I must admit I've never seen any women do this but I am sure there must be some. I hope they all get paid as much as stockbrokers. But you could not pay me enough to do it.

More Newspapers, Small Cars and even Smaller Cameras

As I got off the blogtrain this evening and left the station, I counted 19 newspaper and magazine boxes lined up outside the entrance. I'm sure that only a couple of weeks ago, there were five or six. Its getting ridiculous, most of the papers are free hence the area surrounding the station is constantly littered. There is no use gnashing teeth. I am calm, if not serene. The DozyBlog paper came out today. Sorry, mere mention of it is making me descend into a coma. I'll do a review of all three when I've had ten cups of coffee.

HedgeRow House has lots of stuff on it again. I suspect Doris scurried out when the rains came last Friday and put the same clothes and shoes out again today. I expect her to be busy again tonight as the clouds look a tad threatening.

There are these wonderful little cars round town the last few months. Some of them park perpendicular to the curb, which in some instances makes them stick out a tad. But I give them a break and a smile. They are half the size of most cars and way more energy efficient. I'd be a little perturbed driving on the highway in one, as it wouldn't come off so well in any argument with any other vehicle. Anyway, thumbs up from me.

This is the toy camera I've been using previously for some of pictures. Its two inches by about one inch. Anyway I've purchased an inexpensive but hopefully better camera for future images; but for $20 the cheapo keyring camera was a lark. I may use it again. It can act as a webcam and folks look at it curiously when I bring it out, which is half the fun.

Interview with Doris from HedgeRow House

Imagine my excitement on Friday morning as I set off for work. There outside HedgeRowHouse, was Doris, a sprightly grey-haired woman in her late seventies, putting a wack of clothes on the hedge. I've been wondering for a while about the occupants of HRH. I took the opportunity to introduce myself and the following exchange ensued.

Me: So..
Doris: YES! These items are FREE. Look at the label.
Doris pointed at the piece of paper attached to a sweater. I detected an accent, and with a wild guess, placed Doris somewhere in Europe, likely Yugoslavia. But Doris is the selected name, so that's staying.
Me: Where do these clothes come from?
Doris: Well my friend out in Blogsville is getting rid of stuff and she always brings things to me. People give me lots of stuff.
Me: So people expect you to put your give-away items on the hedge?
Doris: Oh yes, they do. Some folks ask me when I'm going to put more stuff. It always goes very fast.
Doris is obviously very proud of her hedge giveaways.
Me: I liked the red tent you put up there the other week?
Doris: Me too, people liked that.
Me: How long have you been doing this? The hedge dressing?
Doris: Since 1974. They all know me in this neighbourhood.
I looked at the blue sky - not a cloud in the sky.
Me: So you reckon it won't rain on your hedge today?
Doris: Oh no. Beautiful day.
After a few more minutes, I left Doris and walked to the blogtrain. As I ascended the steps to the platform, I could see her spreading multi-coloured clothes all over the rest of the hedge. Later that day as the rain clouds drenched the city, I wondered about the hedge. It was one of the wettest days last week. When I returned home later that evening, clearly Doris's fan club had been out, as all the items on the hedge had disappeared.