Newsletter – December 13, 2024
Last year I got an unexpected gift for the holidays. It was a Christmas card (pictured above) handed to me by a woman from Japan.
Every morning I take a walk after breakfast, enjoying nature as I wind my way through the ravines that lead to Happy Hollow Park. The abundance of trees, squirrels, deer, and humans starts off each day with joy, especially when those humans are walking their dogs because I get to indulge in some puppy love. Some of those dogs recognize me from a distance and run full tilt to greet me like a long lost friend. Because, of course, I am.
I also greet many other morning walkers who return my smile with a shared “Good Morning!” One of those walkers in Happy Hollow was a Japanese woman named Junko. At first she was quite shy about returning my smile and she clearly didn’t speak much English. The local university has many foreign students and visiting professors so that wasn’t uncommon. After several weeks she made eye contact more readily and shared a “Good morning” each day.
In December Junko approached me with a Christmas card that she was carrying in hopes of seeing me again. That’s when I learned her name and that she was from Kyoto. Using the translation app on her phone, we exchanged several written messages and got to know each other a bit more.
At home, Junko had spoken Japanese into her phone and copied the English translation letter by letter on her card. This is what she wrote:
I have been here for three months and will be returning to Japan this weekend.
I was happy to be able to greet you every morning. Thank you greet.
To you it may ordinary, but to me it was special.
I’m sorry for the sudden, but I would like to tell you you that.
It’s getting colder. I hope you and yourfamily have a wonderful Christmas season.
12/6 / 2023
Junko Hotta
Years ago, when I was living in Los Angeles, I would drive my VW Rabbit across the desert for eight hours to see my grandparents who had retired in Sun City. On one visit my grandfather and I talked about greeting strangers and I was pleased to discover that he and I had the same habit of wanting to bring a smile to the faces of cashiers, wait staff, and passing strangers. He had been a lawyer in Iowa, very stoic and socially cautious, and I was an actor in LA, very outgoing and creative, but we shared the same impulse to brighten someone’s day.
I think Grandpa would have nodded amiably and approved of my card from Junko. I hold it dear in my heart and hope she’s happy and healthy in Kyoto.
I wish you all the joy of the holiday season and hope you get to share a piece of it with someone you don’t know.
TTFN
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Eric Margerum 