The following was something I wrote back in November of 1990. I never had it published, and wrote it mostly to get my feelings down on paper, rather than let it fester up inside me. Sounds dire, eh? Let's hit the road...
It was on one of my earlier semi-regular homestays over at the Kanemaru-san residence. Kanemaru-san is one of two gentlemen (the other being Hanazaki-san) who besides their regular work, were responsible for the overall well-being of me, their AET (Assistant English Teacher) working at the Ohtawara Board of Education (OBOE) sub-contracted through the JET (Japan Exchange & Teaching) Programme.
A homestay is what the Japanese call an invite to someone to spend a day or two at their home. In my case, it's a way for a foreigner (gaijin) to see how the other half lives, and for them... well, they tried to learn a little bit more about how different or similar gaijin really are to the Japanese (Nihonjin). Cultural exchange... to me, it is so much more about what the JET Programme is all about rather than just teaching in a class room.
As a result, I never missed an opportunity to spend an evening or a day with any Japanese person or family that asked. Getting a really decent meal, while important, was secondary.
So... I'm riding in the back seat of my friend Kanemaru-san's white van (okay, it's actually a grey van). Sitting beside me is his youngest son, six-year-old Tomohiro. I love that kid. He hangs onto me like his life depends on it,and in this story, it just might.
You see, sitting there in the backseat, Tomohiro is not wearing his seatbelt. And we're already moving.
So I spoke up (in English): "Tomohiro, seato beltu, kudasai (I'm unsure if that's proper Japanese, but it means Tomohiro, seat belt, please... and he undedrstood)".
The looked at me and grimaced and said, " No... I don'to like."
Pretty good English for a six-year-old, but dammit, it's not pretty good common sense - which was why I initially spoke up.
His parents both turned from their front seat perches smiles at me and shrugged their collective shoulders.
They didn't say a word to try and persuade the little bugger let alone force him to buckle up.
They left Tomohiro's health up to the myriad display of tiny good luck charms and amulets hanging from the rearview mirror and taped to the car's dashboard to ward off a car plowing into their van.
But... did it really matter? After all, the Kanemaru's had two other sons.
It saddened and sickened me at their total lack of concern for this awesome little boy.
And without help from their parents, I felt there was nothing I could do to rectify the situation.
Earlier that month, I was informed that a good friend of mine back in Toronto had died in a car crash. His fiance was driving when they were slammed head-on by an out-of-control car.
My friend went shooting through the windshield landing three metres away. Obviously he wasn't wearing a seatbelt. I was told the hole his head and body went through was a lot smaller than he was, as the skull and body compressed with the force to propel with violently out onto the road.
His fiance was wearing her seatbelt and actually walked away from the horrific crash physically intact.
The marked stupidity of people not wearing their seatbelt really irks me. ten years previous as a 16-year-old, four classmates died in an accident after their car rolled six or seven times tossing them out the vehicle onto the highway where other cars struck them.
It all makes my Japanese incident even more disturbing. I've seen and felt how deaths of this nature affect people. I want to try and convey that feeling here - but I lack the Japanese language ability. I just want everyone to realize that wearing a seatbelt may not only save your own life, but the sanity of your friends and family.
Buckle up people. The life you save might not only be you, it could be me.
Somewhere safely sitting in a car,
Andrew Joseph
Today's title is by The Beatles: BUCKLEUP. And here's a version from Russia: WITH LOVE. I think the drummer keeps messing with the temp, but it still cool.
PS: Here in 2010, I have a son who's nearly five. If I should happen to forget to buckle his seat belt, he correctly calls me 'silly daddy' and tells me I forgot - before I start the car up.
PPS: That photo up above - that's my nose. Sorry. Anyhow, in Canada, we have some pretty strict seatbelt laws - Japan, sadly does not. In any car I ever sat in, I always buckled up - except once - In that photo above there''s a scar between the side of my nose and upper lip. I received eight stitches as a four-year-old while being held in my dad's lap in the front seat while we being driven in a taxi. I was lucky.
PPPS: In a second photo below... it shows Tomohiro and myself at my birthday at the Kanemaru residence in 1992. I'm 28, Tomohiro is 8. If he's around, he'll be 26 years old in 2010 - 26... which is essentially how old I was when I first arrived in Japan.
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| Happy birthday, Tomohiro, wherever you are. |
