2019 in rear view

It’s that time of year again. Let’s start – yikes – a new decade by looking back at the year just passed. I’d say that 2019 was a mixed bag for the Rising Family™. The first half was aces, the latter half was un-good. Come what may the Rising Family keeps chugging forward with hope in our hearts for a great new year to come.

Quotable quotes:

“All I have in my hands is sadness.” - M.

“I don’t want a boyfriend. I just wanna live my life.”  - Lady E.

Courtesy of the Todd Art Gallery, MTSU

January

January is usually a banal experience; often the hopes of a fine start to a new year slide into normal routines. Thus, January came and went as expected! Although I discovered this poster in November, it quite nicely depicts the state of my “perfectly OK” household.

February

I’ve already posted about our visit to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Yet ‘space’ is a recurring theme of 2019. (You’ll soon hear more about our trip to the Kennedy Space Center in December.) Today is the national holiday commemorating the birth of Martin Luther King, Jr. Now that I have lived in the U.S. for enough time, I’ve come to understand the importance of this inspiring man’s life, and the tragedy of his assassination. I hope the Rising Daughters have, too.

March

Elena graduated from her elementary school program at the Japanese supplementary school of middle Tennessee. M., also attends, of course. The program mirrors the schedule of the Japanese school system so mid-March is the usual time to end the year.

Part celebration, part “when in Rome”, we drove to Destin, Florida, then on to Tampa, for spring break. It was flavored by seafood binges for my ladies and Bud Light for me. One memory was visiting the home of the Blue Jays’ spring training in Dunedin. I couldn’t wrangle a full game, but I did get a nice memory with Marina as we strolled around the facility as I whet my appetite for the baseball season to come.

April

Elena showed her violin skills when her school orchestra played a concert for parents. Marina participated in an art exhibition after her painting of a gumball machine made the cut. Both kids are displaying more artistic inclinations than their parents. Hmm.

May

Dad a.k.a. Grampa visited us for a spell in May. His being within driving distance is a major perk of our time here in Tennessee. One memory of this particular visit is his face getting redder as he resolutely ate his Nashville hot chicken at the Party Fowl joint in Murfreesboro. For the record, pride aside he opted for “Nashville Hot” grade chicken rather than “Poultrygeist.” No amount of beer can quench that fire or stimulate purging that from your digestive tract quickly enough.

In May, we also went to a drive-thru safari. The kids also visited me at my workplace to see where the family funding comes from!

June

Back to Japan to re-charge and visit family.

July

I celebrated my birthday on the road, where I belong. I also took weekend tours to Memphis and Tallahassee while the family was away. Maximized my male bonding time with friends.

August

I delight in summer’s heat. It was steamy-perfect weather to go to the county fair and cool down at the Kentucky Kingdom amusement park in south Louisville, Ky.

I took my brother and his girlfriend on an emission-free tour of downtown Nashville and Franklin in my LEAF. We had them stay for a few days and noshed on BBQ, too.

September

As the heat and humidity abated, the family went out for lengthy outdoor activities not involving waterparks. One was to the Cheekwood Estate, a Great Gatsby-type estate where we frequently go in December to see Christmas illumination lights. This time, it was Japanese Culture Day and plenty of pumpkins. 

Sep.-Oct. is also pumpkin harvest time, so the pumpkin patches also grab our attention. 

And Sports Day never disappoints.

October

A random day trip to Atlanta embodied West meets East. How’s that? 1+2= flavorful fusion.

(1) Coca-Cola is an iconic American symbol often referred to as the world’s most recognized  brand. So hell yes we went to see the wellspring of carbonated happiness by touring the World of Coke museum near the Coca-Cola Company’s world headquarters in Atlanta. We all love a cold Coke. During our visit, Elena took advantage of a software station to create her own bottle wrap.

(2) With so much Americana guzzled there, we needed a cultural balance by eating at our favorite Japanese-style tavern in America, Shoya izakaya. The food and ambience are the real, yummy deal.

Halloween: Marina went out as Abraham Lincoln. That costume was more about the cheaper second use of a social studies project prop. Don’t read too deeply into the symbolism, people.

November

The Big Feast - Thanksgiving

Our turkey was half of Marina’s weight; God bless America!

The Publix apple pie and the double vanilla ice cream blending with the juices of my mouth conjured an endless parade of satisfied grins. Later, the feasting provoked tears of chagrin as I looked at my waistline. If you’re gonna play, you gonna pay.

Another November dreary weather escape is to head out to Chattanooga to the aquarium. The Rising Family sometimes misses the aquatic life.

December

For our last Christmas in the U.S. we opted to go south. A trip to the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral was planned, followed by further movement southward to the Miami area. And that is a story for another time.

Merry Christmas 2019 & a new decade beckons

We send you Yuletide greetings for a wonderful Christmas and great start to a new decade.

The Rising Family™ skedaddled out of Tennessee for some down time in warmer climes and a break from it all. Humble brag alert: We’re on the road in sunny Florida. 

Enjoying the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral

Nothing says Merry Christmas quite like contemplating the vastness of the universe and humans' exploration of it!

Traveling or not, it’s the season of reflection, giving and gratitude. The ritual of thinking about all that’s been good and not-so-good over the course the past year. 
Saying hello and thank you never gets old, never goes out of style.

Pre-departure annual Christmas photo of the Rising Daughters® 

For our family and friends out there reading this, know this family is thinking of you on Christmas, one way or another. We wish you a heartfelt Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

A new decade, people! Means a fresh start!

Steve-O turns 3-0

[Ed. note: this post is super-family-focused. You know by now that I do these from time-to-time.]

Happy birthday my brother. You’re more three decades old. Some say turning thirty years old marks the end of youthful indiscretions that you can laugh away. Personally, I don’t buy that shit. Reject the propaganda that leaving your twenties is symbolic of losing your youth. Like most things in life, it’s all about attitude. 

Then again, thirty is as good as any age to go into overdrive and make your dreams come true. It also doesn’t have to mean you’re suddenly more mature, more self-disciplined, wiser, or more grown-up. Just roll with it, man. There’s still plenty more interesting stuff coming up, at warp speed...

That’s about all the half-baked advice that I am capable of.

My sincere wish is that you had an amazing birthday.

Anyway. 

I’ve always been proud to call you my brother.

You were a cute toddler. I was lucky to have glimpsed some of that as a quasi-adult.

I'm not sure what you were like as a teenager. This photo is hard to read. Probably, like most people, you were preoccupied with figuring yourself out.

Your twenties…establishing the base. Launchpad of adult life. Mom was always leading the cheers and extolling your many virtues. 

You’ve started a new decade in your life as we all enter the 2020s. Neat. Please thrive.

And we all love ya.

Circa 2004

World of Coke and SpongeBob

Coked Up

The Rising Family™ succumbed to the temptations of limitless free carbonated beverages. We visited the World of Coca Cola museum in Atlanta, Georgia, in October. Just like its namesake drink, our stopover was bubbly and stimulating. We were seeing the Mecca of Coke, the Cooperstown of Carbonation, the Base Camp of the Boss of all Beverages…you get it, right?

Our tour began by experiencing Coke’s 125+ years of history in an expansive theater. A genial museum rep greeted us. He strode to the front and warmed up the crowd for a slick historical video focused on the company’s origins and history. The group then proceeded on with the museum tour.

For us, the main event was sampling from over 100 Coke products. I discovered my favorite foreign Coca Cola product was “Smart Watermelon” water from China. I saw a Tab cola dispenser and that made me wistful for that brand. 

I'll concede there was some tugging of heartstrings. Even 'ol sarcastic me became lost in thought. The grainy video of the famous 1971 hilltop TV advertisement featuring young people from all corners of the globe signing “I’d like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony…” still resonates. (It was recently brought back into social consciousness by the same imagery used in the series finale of "Mad Men" in 2015.) Later, I detected a slight hush in the room when our guide told us we had arrived in the vault holding Coke's legendary secret formula.

We left the Coke museum with our bags filled with small can samplers and souvenirs that we usually avoid. This time, we bought them at the memorabilia store. For jaded tourist nomads like us, that speaks volumes about the power of the Coke brand.

SpongeBob Spectacle

SpongeBob Squarepants has been a staple of our TV viewing diet ever since I first introduced the Rising Daughters to the irreverent yellow sea sponge when we visited Guam years ago. We watched SpongeBob in our hotel room while Marina napped between beach excursions. Bikini Bottom has been a regular presence on our living room TV ever since.

Courtesy of courant.com

We saw a poster advertising the new SpongeBob musical on Broadway in Times Square in 2018. The girls were intrigued, but we spent the money on seeing the Blue Man Group instead. This year, fortune smiled on us with the opportunity to see the SpongeBob musical here at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center. Hoppin’ clams it was a family-tastic evening. SpongeBob really rocked.

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A love letter to my LEAF

Foreword

I returned my leased 2018 Nissan LEAF electric vehicle last week. I drove it for more than eight months as a daily commuter and occasional jaunt enabler. It is a remarkable car. It is my favorite four-wheeled vehicle to drive bar none. And so…

I am writing this love letter to you, my dear LEAF. We’re been ripped apart after 4,900 miles together. Our breakup provoked anguish and adoration in equal measure. Anguish because you’ve moved on to a new driver; adoration and thanks for the time we had together. I love the way you moved me.

Driving with you was sheer delight. Almost soundless on the road, nary a growl from under the hood. Like drinking coffee on an empty stomach, you spooled up horsepower for amazing acceleration. What is more, your eco-friendly nature made you me-friendly. Without that spirited personality in my life now I must grudgingly accept a ‘normal’ driving experience.

I remember the first time I saw your younger self, with your ample, rounded proportions. You’d been launched into this world for only a few months. I was tasked to drive you to an event near Oppama, Japan. I’d never seen you before.  But I’d heard how unique you looked, how fresh your outlook, how you represented a new era that would change the world. 

You were dressed all in white, glittering in the lights of our office parking lot where I picked you up. I was warned that you were quiet. Still, I couldn’t detect if your motor was running at first, but I quickly figured out how to begin our first date. I remember my focus on not making an embarrassing move;  I gingerly guided us toward our destination at a modest pace. I could tell that you appreciated my caution and concern for your well-being. But I wasn't mature enough, wasn't ready to commit. After a few dates, we drifted apart. When we were together, though, boy oh boy the metaphorical sparks did fly.

Truth is, I tried going out with other cars, to forget you. They were so noisy, so normal, and so sullied. I just used them and walked away.

Looking back, I see now that due to our work commitments you and I drifted in and out of each other’s orbit. Sure, we flirted with other partners. But I never forgot about you, always yearned for another chance. I knew instinctively your future was bright. I hoped to be with you again as you matured. Then one day I saw you hiss along a highway on my computer screen, a silver blur. 

I had butterflies in my stomach when I first laid eyes on you. How hot looking, how modern you’d become. The coltish curves had turned into a sharper silhouette. I was nervous, unsure of myself. How could I again make you mine? But it was more than physical attraction. It was both heart and head. From our first frolic together, I knew you were fun to be with, fun to travel together. Because you'd matured, I knew you'd have the energy and stamina to take me where I needed to go. I thought, how does this ‘new you’ present yourself on the tougher roads of today’s world?

I somehow managed to get back into your good books, sink into your seats. I love that your motor doesn't have to scream to move us faster and faster where we want to go. I love that I know we will have a long future together. I love how when I look at you, despite the troubles of the day, I sense that everything will be all right. 

More and more of your cousins are plying the roads of the Earth, to help make the world greener and more beautiful. Our relationship was part of that.

The vicissitudes of life and work have temporary separated us again. Yet I know that we will reunite somewhere down the proverbial road. Until then, know that I love you. I think you're a lively soul, and practical, and good—all the things you dream for in a motoring partner. So, the question, dear lovely LEAF, do you feel the same way?

Pushing pumpkins

I flash orange-tinged jazz hands to you all!

I don’t recall pumpkin patches being such a big deal during my youth in Ontario. We either bought them at the supermarket or my Grampa gave them to us. He grew lots of different vegetables as a retiree/gentleman farmer. The Rising Family™ has its own way of doing things: Embrace the Pumpkin Experience.

Yeah, I’ve got pumpkins on the brain. That’s due to the variety of pumpkin patch outings we’ve had since late September.

And the fact that it is Hallowe’en this evening.

This year, we first encountered the magical orange squash plants during a visit to Cheekwood. It’s an old-money family residence which now is botanical garden and historic estate.

We went there in late September for a Japanese cultural event. But we stopped in our tracks upon seeing this remarkable house made of straw and pumpkins.

Next, we ventured out on our 2nd annual trek to the pumpkin patches on local farms. The idea is to say goodbye to summer and welcome the fall by seeing the farms, enjoying the harvest, and briefly touching the pastoral life.

It’s healthy outdoor family recreation: go on a hay ride; feed the animals; navigate the corn maze; and sample pumpkin flavored foods and beverages.

Of course, during the visit you can also see hundreds of pumpkins. Different shapes, sizes and colors! A great chance to choose the perfect pumpkin for Halloween and Thanksgiving. Beats the supermarket every time.

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Summer 2019 Scraps

Courtesy of ed.com via Marian Wayan & Shutterstock

Summer is the greatest season. But it does end. According to the calendar, summer faded into autumn on September 23. In middle Tennessee, according to the thermometer, it was much later. Through the first week of October this year, Nashville's temperature surpassed the 90ºF (33ºC) mark nearly 100 times. Almost 25 percent of the year that hot? It warms my heart! 

That much heat, humidity and fine weather enabled a lot of activity. So here are a few more scraps of summer 2019--time well spent.

“Visiting with folks”

A few days before my family returned home from summer leave in Nippon, I took a solo trip to Tallahassee to see longtime bud Mike Penilski in his native habitat. He was on vacay with his family. I took the opportunity to take another long drive, always a pleasure for me, and visit them for a day. It was PG-rated, no buddy bacchanalia. 

Mainly this was a dip in Wakulla Springs, a taste of Florida panhandle hospitality, and cocktails on the boat deck at sundown.

The Rising Family came back to Music City in late July and the silly season continued. My brother and his girlfriend came to visit us mid-August. This enabled me to conduct a tour of downtown Nashville and fire up the BBQ. It was great to have other relations join my family here.

County Fair

We hit the Williamson County Fair with all the smells, sights and bustle that it entails. As my daughters grow up, they want to indulge in different carnival rides, and their taste in food changes. So this year stressed more exciting, adrenal rides. Less kiddie stuff.  It was the second year that we had major league fun. 

I love the agricultural origins of these fairs. They remind us of where our food comes from. And the families, flirting teenagers, doting grandparents—old time, uncomplicated fun. A source of youthful joy. Hard to come by as the world grows faster and more complex.

Kentucky Kingdom & Hurricane Bay + Louisville Slugger Museum

We took advantage of Louisville this year! Spent two days riding Kentucky Kingdom’s roller coasters and amusement park attractions, and dipping and zipping in Hurricane Bay’s water park. 

This year, I also convinced Marina Man to come with me to the Louisville Slugger museum tour in downtown Louisville. It was baseball heaven. With this visit and two ballgames under her belt this year, I am exposing her more to the joys of the summer game. The museum visit tugged at the heartstrings of history and was educational. I loved every minute of it!

Beyond the history oozing from the walls and dripping on the wood shavings, I saw staff making new bats for today's heroes from all 30 major league clubs including Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. (Blue Jays) and Joey Votto (Reds).

I closed the season underlined by a weeklong obsession with the song “Summer Girl” by the L.A. sister trio Haim. It’s right up there among the great hits about Los Angeles, but with clear nods to Lou Reed. It became my song of summer 2019.

It’s great to be alive, people.