Persistence Pays!!! and an Epilogue added

I kept after my the kids to get a photo of them all together in Japan~ and they pulled it off! Along with dear friend Sayoko!!

Zen, Naomi, Sheon and Ischin and Sayoko at Kayaking in Mikawa-wan

But what I also mean by "persistence pays" really is this story following~

Zen went to Japan for the whole month of August (Taka for two weeks)

We messed up the return tickets for Zen, his school started up again the 26th but Zen's return wasn't until the 31st.

The night of the 30th when Zen was supposed to be getting on his plane from Nagoya Japan, we were in bed in California.

His flight was cancelled because of a storming typhoon, when he got to the gate.

He had to call Hiromi to return to give him a ride back home, along with his luggage.

They couldn't get him him a flight again until two days later. Sept. 2nd from Japan.

When we found out in California it was too late at night.

But the morning of the 31st when I was supposed to have gone to pick him up and deliver him to school, I started making phone calls.

Cause Zen said he wanted to be on his way back to California ALREADY. He'd done said his good-byes.

So I started calling. NWAirlines, and the travel agency... they all said the same thing. No other seats any sooner. Since it was due to weather, "sorry" they couldn't help.

But I didn't give up.

Finally the fourth NWAirlines agent I spoke with the evening of the 31st ( in California), I asked him whether I could use our mileage points to pay for an upgrade and get Zen into a seat... the man switched me to Mileage people and THAT man said, with a deep voice all calm and cool, he seemed to be as a GOD. He said "No, you needn't use miles, I have a seat for him".

HE could make the almighty decisions. There in the "WorldPerks" section. And he waited patiently and VERY quietly on the phone

while I began to e-mailed, and try to Skype call frantically.

Mailing-texting to Zen, who I hoped had awaken in Japan- "CAN YOU LEAVE IN AN HOUR??? THERE'S A SEAT FOR YOU!!!" I e-mailed my manager, (Wait- let me say- when I e-mail all these people in Japan from my computer, it's going to their CELL PHONES) I e-mailed Ischin's phone (Can you Drive???) I tried Skype calling Zen's phone, and Hiromi's house, and Sheon's where Zen was staying... but I was at Grandmom's where the wireless was borrowed from neighbors and my phoning couldn't be heard through Skype...FINALLY (cause maybe Zen had forewarned his dad the night before that I'd be trying to change his flight to 24 hours earlier- he was READY!!) Zen e-mailed back to me and said "Oto-san can drive me-OKAY!" and I could reserve the seat with the NWA WorldPerks Almighty Man ~who never shared my enthusiasm, but had sat "with me" through that.

Still after hanging up I worried whether Zen could really make it to the airport in an hour... I skype called him once again and got through. His dad had JUST gotten to him to take Zen from Sheon's and they were off. ON TIME!

That's where the PERSISTENCE WORKED!!

....

Now if only Zen manages to make the two connections~ One in Tokyo for Portland (he didn't originally have to do THAT) He has to go through Immigration in Portland then change to a domestic flight...I wondered how well we'd sleep that night, with my phone by the bed.... The "baby" of the family flies alone for the first time. Of couse he should be so perfectly fine but...but another mama was here trying not to imagine the worst!

Is this where I can plug in- it's called an "Epilogue"?

The plane from Japan to Portland WAS delayed an hour.

Zen told me after he arrived, he wondered "WHY ME? Me? who's traveling internationally alone for the FIRST TIME having to deal with all of this?"

Zen's flight from Portland was changed and he ended up waiting there three more hours. We did have sudden hope he could switch to a flight to San Jose but it would involve Zen's literally running, and rechecking in bags within ten minutes from deboarding in Portland so... one NWA woman who even remembered us from my phone calls the day before!... advised Zen not...push it. And Zen agreed to sit and wait it out. He got to SFO looking dazed and confused but the fresh air seemed to revive him. Once home, and unpacked a tad, he got started at more of his homework. Tomorrow, it will have been a week of missing classes, but he's just about as ready as he can be for school! THANK YOU EVERYONE here and there and everywhere, for helping Zen have a safe and truly wonderful looking trip!

Almost no word from Zen in Japan~

But his twenty year old sister sent these photos "PURIKURA" You, know, those little photo booths~in Japan they make the best there are~

with Friends

At Henry Cowell State Park.Cora and hubby Joshua~ were at Zen's birth when we first met, friends of friends~



Over the years we haven't gotten to hang out much~

but their family got to spend time with Taka and me in Santa Cruz this week. Their gorgeous family is one of the most beautifully functioning families I've ever met! Special!!!

Another day, my tennis friends, we picnic-ed out by the pool. Tatyana and Quinn with daughter Jody. Another Beautiful Day!

Taka's news in 日本. 8/09

This is a photo of Taka's Great Great Grandfather in front of the City Bank he helped open! (The bank in Japan I coincidentally chose to bank with from 20 years ago! And still do!)

今回日本に帰って見つけました．鶴田家の歴史の一部。自分のひいおじいさんの弟。

おじさんが何と岡崎信用金庫の創設者、初代会長でした。

写真真ん中でどかっと座ってる人です。

もっとさかのぼると面白いですね．

日本japan.（nishio実際は一色ですが）に到着して３，4日めに友達と食事。

パブー．オリジナルカレー。うまかった。みんな元気でした．自分はこの後東京に、友達らは富士山。とぼりに。。

一心（ishin),詩音(sheon)、ごん吉にて。担々麺さすがにうまかった。仕事帰りのしおん。

京都帰りの一心。東京帰りの自分でした．

かほり！東京行く前に．シルベスターの面倒や、掃除に。。。も、感謝、感謝。santa cruz で会うのが楽しみ．

今回前半のメインの一つ．今、東京に住んでる菜穂美(Naomi)に会いにいくだけだったのが、

ぜん(zen)が八王子でbjリーグのサマーキャンプに参加。楽しい東京の旅になりました．

ぜんの引率してくれた北林さん、友達のルー。もかけつけて、キャンプ２日目の終了後に１枚．

本当にでかくなりやがって．

　なおみ　いい女になった　と　ルー１９５ぐらいだったかな？９月から大学生がんばれー

　　　全の中学校時代、ジュニアの仲間たちと，親と食事会。スカパナマにて。蒸し暑い

　　　　　　　　　　　　全の連れ．毎日遊んでも飽きない頃だな．

　　　全とお世話になった親たちと．ごちそうさまでした。今後ともよろしくです．

そして、ぜんとかほり。いろいろ会った今回の里帰りでした．

Santa Cruz has been "Up in Smoke"

But it didn't come too close to the town of Santa Cruz.

The Westside, where we first lived, was perhaps 30 minutes away from roads firefighters and many, many firetrucks took into the hills alight.

(above is from our patio- that's not fog)

Since last week, it's been smokey all the way to San Francisco, and the smokey smelling air did make me cough. It wasn't so terrible that I felt I should wear masks though.

We now live on the Eastside. Yesterday morning, while out for a walk, I found this car had obviously driven from an area closer to all the burning.

But the news of it's containment is a relief.

So, on a lighter side, here's another entertaining car in I took a photo of by the seaside.

(click on these to get a closer look! xoxox)

Went to MONTANA!!! MOM's and FRANK's

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That's me taking a photo of Mom and me!

And little brother Carl, me and Jay who's stubborn like her mom and won't let us take a photo of her.

I got to meet Carl's gorgeous woman MC. I couldn't get enough of her!!

And then there was the darling, sweet dog Rosco. He had gottem his chest torn open, and went for stitches the first morning I was there. He is fine now. He had chased a deer and tried to get past a fence that was sharp with needle like spears on it.

(click on the photo and see it up CLOSE! It's SO pretty)

Here is Mom and Frank's house. See the OSGOOD sign? To the left of the sign is the guest house (below too) and to the right of the sign is the main house. That's Mom and Frank riding their horses (above).

The guest house, where us kids stay.

And the main house, where, on the other side, runs a river. A strong, noisy, powerful river.

We went on a horse ride. With a couple of neighbor's horses. These two horses, Frank's horse is to the right, Slick. The neighbor's horse is on the left, and Slick and his horse friend were really nice to each other! They kept touching noses. I couldn't get the photo : (

So we took a ride~

I was only there five nights, but it was full of great times. Scrabble, tennis, jacuzzis...horses...Mom, Frank, my niece Jay~

Lightening storms and thunder, memories. A special- VERY special place!!!

Los Angeles back to Santa Cruz

On the ride down to L.A. I tried to photograph the many trucks of tomatoes. I couldn't imagine the tomatoes on the bottom not getting squished!

The onions in trucks smell SO oniony when driving behind them. Another truck: potatoes

I never have seen cows raised this way. Where there's no grass. The heat was close to 100 F.

It looked, and smelled pretty badly. Sad.

As I neared Santa Cruz County, I could see the fog from the ocean rolling over the distant mountains.

Tomorrow I fly to Montana.

Visiting L.A. and YURI and DAVID!!!

And "bye" to Taka and Zen who then left for JAPAN.

Zen's so tired of me it looks like...
The night before we got to hang out with our old Nishio friends!!!

David!!! from- what year in Nishio, Japan at NAC? 1991? And Yuri! Also at the same time she worked in the school system in Nishio.

At Yuri's house in Long Beach, Zen could totally entertain the little guys!
Zen acted as a jungle gym!
It was exercise for Zen too, I think!

FInally Yuri and Gary's little girl Ally didn't want to let Zen go when we were leaving, Ally held onto Zen's leg! Zen was a "teenager" and they were getting all they could get out of the teen!

How gorgeous of a group is this! My "baby" along with dear friend's "babies"!!!!

Oh, and David lived with us in Nishio when Zen was BORN! David ALMOST made it to see Zen's birth but JUST missed it. So Yuri too, she hung out with me while I had Zen as that baby boy!