By W.T. WIMPY HIROTO
Best laid plans, ’tis said, can be blown asunder in an ELA minute. I don’t know who “’tis” happens to be, but I wholeheartedly agree. Take CR2S’s usual writing schedule: Wednesday comes around; I check out that week’s effort to see how it reads in print; most often contented and satisfied; sometimes displeased. The challenge of a new one is immediate: What to write about next? There is little time to enjoy or bask in the glory.
Last week for some strange reason, I was energized so early, a 900-word draft for today’s Page Three was concluded before the ink had dried on the March 26 column. Although I had second thoughts on the timeliness of the subject matter, I launched into the usual rewriting process; which is usually three or four edits following the initial draft. I reluctantly decide to pull the plug after having it critiqued by a critic for comment, something I haven’t done in eons.
So it was back to the typing board and another startup challenge. Alas and a lark, no walk in the park. But as always seems to happen, the light bulb clicks on, voila, the computer comes alive. It’s only Friday, three days before deadline; with spare time to enjoy a weekend sans pressure. Au contraire.
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We are well aware CR2S will never remind anyone of Rip Van Winkle when it comes to sleeping gugugu, or Smokey the Bear in hibernation. Just won’t happen. And long ago we swore off sleep enhancers like Ambien and counting naked sheep; addiction, don’t you know.
Here at good ole KRH following supper, everyone heads to their respective apartment; but not before an overabundance of courteous goodnights, “Oh-ya-su-mi-na-sais.” And it’s not even six o’clock! For an inveterate night owl, the challenge is how to slay time before eleven o’clock news. Television is seldom the solution. Staring at the ceiling isn’t the answer.
This past Friday was not a problem. During a less than sterling Dodger/Angel exhibition game, there was a shake & stir of the ground worthy of James Bond. I wrote about sleeping through the Monday morning earthquake, but there was no overlooking Friday’s 5.1! And it sure seemed bigger. Even though a California native and several years in Nippon, CR2S never gets used to the ground shaking. There is nothing that compares to the helplessness of riding out an earthquake. By the time Kimmel/Fallon/Letterman arrived, the nerves were calmed to allow for a stab at dreamland.
At 3:21 a.m., a haunted scratching sound comes from inside a wall cabinet (locked for safekeeping of valuables) that is no more than five feet away from my pillow. A second scraping follows, like an animal’s paw. No matter how spooky and surprising, my immediate thought is “O” has come up with yet another original way to gain attention. That assumption didn’t stop me from getting out of bed, finding the key to unlock, to make sure the cupboard was bare.
I return to slumberland bemused, only to be awakened by the more customary two raps on the door at 4:16. Still not satisfied, there are two more loud raps at the awfully late/early hour of 6:45 a.m. Three “O” visits in one morning after a thirteen-day/night absence! And wowzus, from inside a secured sideboard! What/where next? Will wonders never cease?
Because we’ve refrained from weekly “O” reports, I haven’t had the opportunity to tell you the telephone silence was also finally broken Saturday, March 22. There hadn’t been a phone interruption since the 12th. The return was also memorable because the front room instrument rang, followed by silence; rather than the one bedside, which has always been the norm. You figure.
So it most assuredly has not been the usual usual lately. I guess there are some who wish I make the “O” updates a weekly feature. On the other hand, it’s been so ongoing there is probably a sense of resignation with others. Can’t help, folks, gotta call ’em as I see ’em and hear ’em. Just like strawberries, bacon and chocolate candy, CR2S will never relinquish or give up. There has got to be reason and conclusion. And thanks to the army of followers who remain intrigued and as mystified as CR2S, the narrations march on.
For what it’s worth (Bitcoin not accepted), methinks Friday’s rash of “O” visits could have been related to the fact that Keiro held an open house the very next day. A huge turnout of more than two hundred showing keen interest in the facility despite the current uncertainty of ownership. Some visitors even had the temerity to inquire about CR2S’s spectral hijinks.
So there you go. This is definitely it, even if there’s another earthquake. I’m out of wiggle room and on deadline. But before we call it “30,” another word of appreciation and thanks to the legion of readers who remain constant, loyal and sometimes vocal. CR2S might not be everybody’s cup of tea (especially crème and sugar types), but c’est la vie: Winsome and loathsome .
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W.T. Wimpy Hiroto can be reached at williamhiroto@att.net Opinions expressed in this column are not necessarily those of The Rafu Shimpo.