takin' it easy

Hey Friends,

I think I've decided that I'm gonna take it easy for a while. I disagree with the economic theory that growth is necessary for a healthy economy. Sometimes growth is destructive and positive growth takes careful planning. I wish that all people had the luxury to take things a little more slowly too. Let us munch on our thoughts a little longer, digest them, make solid next steps.

So next year I plan to go to northern Japan, to the city of Sendai in Miyagi-ken where one very special, rare person will be teaching high school English. I'll continue to promote internationalization in all ways that I can, including teaching English as much as possible. In the city of more than a million life will be moving along much faster and there'll be more to do. "More input" as Johny Five from the film Short Circuit would say.

I will surely miss the country air, the small village surrounded by hills carpeted with trees, the best kids in the world, the cows, the cats.

Speaking of cats I found a cat outside my house today that had just been hit by a car. Its body was still in tact so I picked it up off the ground just as its mother would have and brought it to the side of the road where it wouldn't be smashed and splattered all over the place. Before leaving it I pet it a bit and wished very much that it could still be alive so that it could enjoy my company. When I first found it a fellow cat was trying to stir it back to life. It was all very sad but it was also kind of "deep" for me.

My next steps in life will come in time. I will let my interests marinate until they are ready for the cooking and then I will grill them with the choicest pieces of wood/charcoal I can then find. I will miss all of you guys, of course, but I will eventually find my way back to you all. The good news also is that Sendai is much easier to get to because it's only a few hours on the shinkansen from Tokyo. So please visit! Or better yet visit me on Kyushu while I am still here (through July).

I miss ya'll. Have some nice red wine and grilled foods for me. Enjoy the big trees of California, enjoy the Pacific coast. Enjoy the road trips and the burritos. And the Oregon firs. And the organic beers at Sundance in Eugene.