of course, the big change is Noriko`s Father`s return from the hospital three weeks ago. for him, for them, for me, nothing will ever be the same. it is hard to describe the situation here at home. i think only those who have taken care of elderly Parent in Noriko`s Father`s condition will know what i mean. i know everyone has a story (including me) but i don`t think this story will ever have a happy ending. moments are all we get. moments when it seems we are doing the right thing. moments like an occassional smile or laugh. moments may be all we have. moments after a lifetime of living. i have captured some of these moments with my camera and some day i may add one or two of these moments but not now. i will add some from my two walks today. the first walk was a short one to the obento-ya-san. i took photos on the way and while carrying Noriko`s Mother`s and my food. i did make a detour across the street from the obento-ya-san to a little jinja (shrine) to take some cherry blossom photos. i found a nice grandfather, grandmother, granddaughter and grandson having a ohanami (cherry blossom viewing) picnic. my second walk didn`t start until around 430pm. i thought i was going to see my friend Rits and her three dogs on the Sakura Tunnel Street but we never crossed paths. i did end up in a new area (new for me) on the other side of Rt. 171 here in Minoo. and then i finally made it to the row of cherry blossom trees under the Minoo Hospital. was it last year that Noriko`s Mother was there for my entire visit or the year before? i saw a nice big round orange sun and watched it set over the distant mountains. i did not have time to make it all the way to the row of cherry blossom trees but i took a few photos with my zooms lens. i saw a guy taking photos of the same cherry blossom trees i too was photographing but he was right underneath them. he seemed to be bending over but i could not tell what he was doing. he is in the photo i will add first. as i was walking back home, i stopped by Coop to visit the 100 yen store on the 3rd floor. and there sitting at a table was the guy i had photograph (from a distance) earlier. i recognized him by his yellow backpack. we talked and shared photos from the day. he showed me what he was doing when i saw him. i can`t remember what he called this angle (in Japanese) but i like it. i used that same angle earlier today and will show what i mean in another photo. i called Noriko and told i would be home soon. as soon as i can while capturing a few more moments.
Eison and the same Sakura
