SEVEN AWESOME DAYS maketh ONE AWESOME WEEK.

The past week just slipped away, silently as it came,

I tell you:

Those seven days had not been easy, to say the least.

Let’s say that when you are happy, you pass a day.

And if you are miserable, you also pass a day.

So the obvious choice is to be happy and pass a happy day, come what may.

Impossible?

Heck, unless you really try, would you ever know?

We either make ourselves wretched,

Or we gear up to make ourselves strong.

The amount of work will always be the same.

So folks, brace yourselves and say “Carpe Diem”,

SEIZE THE DAY!

“SUKIYAKI” by the late KYU SAKAMOTO revisited. “Coping with REJECTION? I’ll always LOOK UP when I WALK.”

(DECEMBER is brrr ... a cold and wet month.

 Let’s band together for warmth.

Let’s find solace to embrace fond reminiiscences as we trudge down memory lane.

Let’s pay tribute to those we truly love and treasure, irrespective of them being alive or dead.)

Here goes:

It’s vintage time, so let me usher you into the magical era of the 60s.

3 am, pre-dawn.

The rain has just stopped.

And there’s no owl in sight (good grief).

This 24-hour radio service is belting out an old, familiar song called SUKIYAKI.

It’s in Japanese, and for goodness sake, I do not comprehend a single word.

The crooner’s voice is pleading, lilting and soulful, so much so that it sears deep inside. Badly.

Enthusiasm persuades me to look up the dictionary.

Have you gone through rejection pains as this guy is pining out sadly in his song?

Then look no further.

Listen to the man, he is nursing his angst on being dumped by his lover.

Being betrayed in love spells a thousand sorrows, trust me.

Try it if you do not believe that life has its stark brutalities.

I used to hum along with the song when I was a kid.

SUKIYAKI?

I googled for the name of the singer and yes, the name KYU SAKAMOTO surfaced.

He was really famous then, but he perished in the sky in the 80s, such a real pity. It’s horrific.

Is death predestined?

On August 12, 1985, the ill-fated JAPAN AIRLINES FLIGHT 123 carrying 520 passengers and crew including KYU SAKAMOTO plummeted from mid-air.

It was the deadliest single-aircraft accident in history,

and the third worst plane crash in history behind the TENERIFE DISASTER and the SEPTEMBER 11th ATTACKS.

It had been reported that, before the aircraft lost its bearing, SAKAMOTO wrote a farewell note to his wife.

Toying with Fate?

Don’t. It is bizarre and an eerie recall.

LIFE IS SHORT, reminding you again.

So enjoy every “moment” while you can.

It’s here now, gone forever tomorrow.

The 60s to the 80s carry the REAL years when you MUST have a genuine voice to be a singer.

These days, if you are prettily endowed, then you can get connected to a music producer, indulge in image packaging coupled with decent studio “enhancements” for high-pitch songs …..

This’d be the first step to the entertainment threshold.

The rest is up to you.

KYU SAKAMOTO has the distinction of being the only Japanese artist to ever scored a top international hit.

His song (”I Look Up When I Walk”; Sukiyaki in the West), sung completely in Japanese and against all odds, reached #1 in the US Billboard charts in 1963.

The music was written by Hachidai Nakamura.

It is said that Rokusuke Ei wrote the touching lyrics after his heart was broken by actress Meiko Nakamura.

The lyrics tell the story of a man who looks up while he is walking so his tears would not fall.

It is interesting to note that Sukiyaki is not even mentioned in the song ; the West just needed something that was easily pronounceable and associated with Japan.

SUKIYAKI is translated thus into ENGLISH:

I look up when I walk

So the tears won’t fall

Remembering those happy spring days

But tonight I’m all alone

I look up when I walk

Counting the stars with tearful eyes

Remembering those happy summer days

But tonight I’m all alone

Happiness lies beyond the clouds

Happiness lies above the sky

I look up when I walk

So the tears won’t fall

Though my heart is filled with sorrow

For tonight I’m all alone
(whistling)

Remembering those happy autumn days

But tonight I’m all alone

Sadness hides in the shadow of the stars

Sadness lurks in the shadow of the moon

I look up when I walk

So the tears won’t fall

Though my heart is filled with sorrow

For tonight I’m all alone
(whistling)

Yeah, LIFE is a song, no less.

We can’t all be happy everyday.

But whatever life’s lot is, there is always somebody out there who’s a lot less fortunate than you.

We just have to count our blessings.

RIGHT?

Taking a walk down memory lane?

I have selected 3 songs from You Tube for your listening pleasure.

The first is sung by the grand master KYU SAKAMOTO.

The last two are fitting tributes.

A SOUL-SEARCHING PIECE by GEORGE CARLIN, Comedian of the 70s and 80s.

Here's a pretty TOUCHING PIECE by GEORGE CARLIN.

I shall say:

"May all Beings of this UNIVERSE be well and happy."

You retort:

SAY IT, MEAN IT, FEEL IT.

NOW, back to our great guy GEORGE CARLIN.
Isn't it amazing that this wonderful - comedian of the 70's and 80's - could write something so very eloquent...and so very appropriate.

GEORGE CARLIN stipulates:

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider Freeways , but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things.

We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete...

Remember; spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.

Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.

Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent.

Remember, to say, 'I love you' to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.

Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.

Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

THANKS GEORGE, for this awe-inspiring speech.