Monday, August 10th...the third day of Mina's week off...and by the old Japanese calendar, the second day of autumn (!). The real summer weather had arrived late, and with a vengeance. It must have been 37C by noon...a scorcher. We were both trying to digest all the disturbing news of the last few days, and decided that we needed a distraction.
With the daily numbers for Nagoya consistently coming in at around 200, I'd been trying to figure out ways to cut the risk of potentially picking up and propagating infection...short of just locking myself up in the apartment until it was finished.
An earlier; obvious 'no-brainer' had been to flat-out stop using public transportation.
Somehow, I'd actually managed to get Mr. Insecthead over at the kindergarten on board with this, and he'd agreed to provide me with class schedules a couple of months in advance, so that Mina could arrange her days off in a way that would enable her to drive me out there on the intermittent Tuesdays and Fridays that I was to give my 'performances' - thus enabling me to avoid the crowded trains, and disease hive that is Nagoya Station.
Nagoya Station is actually considered the 7th busiest rail hub in the world (based on the number of people passing through the facility and onwards every day), and no matter how masked up and 'careful' everyone is, it's going to be pretty near the top of the list of places to avoid if at all possible at the best of times, not to mention during a full on pandemic.
This apparently wasn't lost on Mr. Insecthead; nor was the need for more effective risk reduction, to mitigate the possibility of yours truly inadvertently packing something of a potentially school closing nature over to his learning facility. Wonder of wonders. For perhaps the first time in nearly a quarter century, we were actually on the same page.
Yet, try as one may to get his or her ducks in a row - there's always going to be a random to throw the odd, figurative 'wrench' in the works.
In this case, there are occasionally 'compulsory' hospital meetings or conferences that Mina can't get out of. She had one such commitment coming up the last Tuesday of August, and I'd either need to bite the bullet, and use the mass transit system, or take my bike out to the kindergarten. Another no-brainer. Surprisingly, I'd actually never bothered biking out there before, so had no idea how long it would take, door-to-door. It's usually a 20 minute drive, depending on traffic. We checked Google Maps, and it turned out to be a fairly paltry 5km, which was surprising, considering the amount of time it usually takes me to make the circuitous and stressful trek out there every other week - or the nearly ¥1000 ($10, give or take) that it puts me out of pocket each time.
We decided to get out on our bikes - which we hadn't done in months - and time our ride out to the kindergarten - just to get an idea of how long it was going to take. The early afternoon sun was blazing, the unusually clear sky was a gorgeous azure blue, and all the way out to the school, we were buffeted by a brisk, warm, dry wind. Of course, Mina was complaining about the scorching heat; though it was definitely hot, we really couldn't have asked for a better day to go for a ride. It was nice to get out together, and go somewhere other than a supermarket or home center for a change. It seems that most of our shared days off are invariably spent getting household stuff in order for the next week...so any kind of outing that involves doing something even slightly different is a welcome change.
It came out to almost 25 minutes, door-to-door - an easy ride. It seemed 'the Force' was with us.
Mission accomplished, we decided to ride out a bit past the nearby Aonami Line Station, and have a look at the 8th century Arako Kannon Temple complex, one of Olde Nagoyaland's four principle Kannon Temples (dedicated to the Goddess of Mercy, Kannon), and home to the oldest surviving wooden structure in Nagoya, the Tahoto Pagoda, which dates back to 1536.
Things like this boggle my mind. A wooden structure - the self-same one that was erected just shy of 500 years ago - standing essentially unchanged, while the landscape around it remains in constant flux, having been completely transformed countless times in the intervening centuries by the often devastating forces of nature, or destructive hands of men.
Twenty-eight years older than William Shakespeare...and made of friggin' WOOD.
Amazing.
Mina wanted to get a couple of calligraphy-signed and stamped 'official seals' done up on special cards by the priest (for her collection), which must have set us back ¥800 (around $7.00). Apparently they'll help to ensure we don't go to HELL at end of our brief journeys on this plane of existence, so I suppose it was a bargain we couldn't pass on. Seals in hand, we offered up a couple of appeals on behalf of Mayumi and her husband to the resident Goddess of Mercy, then unlocked our bikes, mounted up, and set off back for the more familiar environs of our usual stomping grounds over in Atsuta.
Only a few other parties ventured into the temple compound the thirty minutes or so that we were there. Not too many people out on the go, it being a Monday afternoon...and those not at work were likely exercising some common sense (a rare commodity in these parts), and sheltering indoors, under their AC units.
On our way back, we passed by a masked up Uber Eats rider standing by his parked bicycle on the boulevard of the busy thoroughfare, dong out in the blazing afternoon sun. He was ever-so casually taking a leak into some shrubs, as cars and scooters whizzed past...with apparently nary a care in the world.
'UberEats'
Mina looked back at me.
"Jesus Christ..."
These riders have become a pretty common sight here in Losersville over the last few months, what with the dine-in situation at restaurants having become somewhat precarious. Of late, they've also become regular fixtures on the tabloid style mid-afternoon 'news' programs on TV - often being featured in viewer submitted digital dashboard cam footage, engaging in all kinds of unsavoury hijinks and douchebaggery on the roads and byways of Deadbeat City... raising the hackles of common drivers, J-cops, and discerning retired TV viewers alike.
Japanese TV viewers love a bit of 'outrage du jour' with their afternoon tea and rice crackers.
This was a new one, though.
We'd actually just been discussing taking advantage of all the recently expanded take-out and delivery dining options, but hadn't enlisted the services of Uber-Eats, as yet.
I guess we should have stopped and thanked the human sprinkler for making our minds up for us.
That'll be a hard pass.
You can always count on the denizens of ye Olde Losersville to keep it classy.
A few hours later, Mina got a call from her sister, who was resting in a private room in the COVID section at the hospital. The Avigan therapeutic anti-viral that she'd been given was apparently having some effect, and her nearly two week bout of diarrhea had finally resolved.
Needless to say, she was drained, and while a full recovery was still a bit of a ways off, they were going to be releasing her to quarantine at home for two weeks (with the rest of her extended family) the following day.
She'd been in touch with her husband, who was in the ICU over at the Red Cross Hospital. His situation was a little more worrisome. The attending physician had spoken to him about what he wanted to do if they decided to recommend putting him on a ventilator. It seemed that his oxygen management and persistent high fever/pneumonia were becoming more of a concern. Naturally, he was scared. Things had taken a rather serious turn quite suddenly; I'm sure worst case scenarios were racing through his head. it's all so nightmarish and terrifying. The COVID ward is a lonely place to be. While most manage some level of recovery, and are inevitably discharged, a few will never see their loved ones again. She told him not to panic - just to rest, and wait to see how things play out toward the end of the week - and that if going on a ventilator was what they thought was necessary for him to make a full recovery, then it was probably going to be the best idea. It's hard to say how reassuring this was. Were it me, I can only imagine how petrified I'd be.
In any case, he did seem to be relieved to hear that she was being released to home quarantine. They would be in touch as the situation became clearer.
From here on out, to say that it felt like we were living under a perpetual black cloud would be an understatement.
Mina always says that doctors tend to give patients (and their families) the worst case scenarios, just to prepare them - in the event that things do go south. We were telling each other that he'd be alright...though I'm not sure that either of us really believed it, or knew what to think. We've all seen the stuff on TV, and online. Heard the heart breaking stories of people dying alone and scared, separated from the comfort of loved ones. These were people we didn't know...and things like that don't happen to us. Best not to jinx a situation with negativity.
Still....
"He'll be alright"
The weather remained clear, and scorching hot. High summer had arrived about two weeks late. It was Obon, and the day of my wife's father's memorial service. As there would be no gathering at her Mum's place this year, we decided to get creative. Mina got out her tablet, and did a search. She managed to find an almost suitable reading of the Namu Myoho Renge Kyo sutra on YouTube. It wasn't exactly the same as the one the local priest reads out (the sutras used by different sects vary), but it was close enough. She lit a candle and set up some offerings on our dining room table, and we did the prayer at around 11 am.
Mina called her Mum after we were done, just to touch base, and let her know that we had done the service remotely. Mayumi had instructed us not to mention a thing about what was going on to their Mum, ostensibly to 'prevent her from worrying' - so their conversation centered on the YouTube sutra, the heat, and what Mum was having for lunch.
Secrets.
Back home, news like this would have spread through my family grapevine like a California wildfire. There would be no question of even considering trying to hide it. Doing so would be unpardonable. The truth of any given situation inevitably emerges. Had my late Mum been kept out of the loop, only to learn about it down the line through a slip of the tongue, or when it was impossible to continue hiding, she would not be impressed. Nor would I, were it concealed from me. Forgiveness would not be immediately forthcoming. Western families share the joy...and the misery.
Usually it's quite a bit more of the latter than the former.
Sure, we're all human, and share a lot of common ground...but there are stark differences in the way things are done over here. I'm not sure if all Japanese families do this, as I haven't experienced anything comparable to this situation in my nearly thirty years over here. I understand the reasoning...to a point. Considering their Mum's age, fragility, and removed location, this type of news may not be a good thing. The last thing we need to do is give her a heart attack. There's basically nothing she can do, anyways. Just worry. We all know how much good that does.
Still...
I remember years ago, when my Mum was diagnosed with pleural effusion lung cancer. We hadn't talked for quite awhile, then for 'some reason' she'd started calling me periodically. I'd suspected that she and my sister were probably on the outs; hence she was looking for an audience. She was coughing a lot. It was February, as I recall. She wasn't well, and knew it. It sounded like she had bronchitis. I was concerned that it might be pneumonia, as the basement suite she was living in on the ground floor at my Gramma's was damp and cold. She also smoked like a stack. After some prodding, she finally relented, and went in to get checked out. The news wasn't good. As I had suspected, she hadn't been in touch with my younger sister for some time. Those two were close, but feuded intermittently, and routinely went for months (or more) without speaking to each other.
This seems to be a theme that persists in the remainders of my family over there to this very day...yet, I digress.
I remember the morning she called and gave me the bad news. My heart sank.
"Don't you dare tell your sister"
We went through the back and forth. I guess they really hadn't spoken to each other for some time. Maybe some months? Whatever had gone down between them, Mum was put out, and had her back up in the air. She wasn't backing down. I went through the litany of responses.
"You can't NOT tell her", "Don't put me in the middle of this"...etc.
All to which she responded that she was 'confiding' IN ME... 'FOR NOW', and that, 'FOR NOW', she didn't want my sister to know anything about it. She wasn't ready - but insisted that she would inevitably tell her when she thought, 'the time was right'. She wanted it to come from her mouth. Anyways, as I recall, it wasn't much more than a month later that my sister got in touch with me.
She was a bit put off that I hadn't told her; but I had promised Mum that I would keep my mouth shut...and I did.
My sister and I typically weren't in touch regularly, anyways - so there wasn't really much of a high stakes cover-up to engage in.
Mina's Mum video calls here at 9 pm every evening, without fail. When I'd say 'hi', I felt bad.
Like I was part of a deception.
We tried to make the most of Mina's days off, but the topic of conversation inevitably came back to what was going on with Mayumi and co. She was in rough shape...physically spent, and attempting to rest. According to the background noises during my wife's phone calls, the rest of the extended family seemed to be fairing better. All but the 10 year old boy had tested positive, but were either virtually asymptomatic, or only experiencing sensory deficits like loss of taste or smell. Nobody was expiring.
Friday, August 14th...the last day of our six consecutive days off together, and the high summer heatwave was in full effect. We'd talked about driving out of town, and making a shot down the Chita Peninsula, to the seaside...in lieu of being able to go anywhere else. Not exactly the translucent blue waters and pristine beaches of the Yaeyama Islands - but better than the proverbial 'stick in the eye'. It would be our one shot at summer 'proper'. All of our beans in one basket. Everything riding on one afternoon. We got up early-ish, had a light breakfast, and got our beach stuff in order. The weather was perfect. I decided we'd soundtrack the drive out with the new 'X' album, Alphabetland, and Aftermath, by The Rolling Stones.
Good choices.
We stopped in at the local 7-11 on the way out, grabbed some junk food, beer, tea and onigiri rice balls - and hit the highway. It's a roughly 45 minute drive out to the coast. Traffic wasn't a big deal, and, tunes cranked, it was smooth sailing. We hadn't been out of urban Nagoya in what seemed like ages, and it felt good. The veil of stress and darkness started to lift, ever so slightly. It felt like a set of heavy curtains was being drawn. As streams of long absent sunshine poured in, we felt relieved and illuminated.
We needed this.
We drove up and down the scenic seaside road, taking it all in, before we settled on a spot, and managed to slide into a good free parking spot relatively easily. Almost unheard of at this time of year. It seemed 'the Force' WAS with us. Despite the 'level red' raging pandemic, there were actually a fair number of people out enjoying the seaside, and gorgeous weather...and somehow all relatively well socially distanced.
We waded in to the surf, and took some pictures...horsed around a bit, and took it all in. This would be it. Summer 2020. To think, I had been on the verge of bailing just the night before...
After a bit, we grabbed the car and moved down to another spot, again finding free parking with little difficulty. After nosing around and snapping a few more pictures, we decided to get something to eat...and hit a tiny 'drive-thru' Mos Burger a bit further down the way. Mos is a popular fast food chain out here...and formerly, a main rival of Mc D's. Now it seems to be more of a niche market joint. The natives all insist that it's 'more healthy' than the fare at Rotten Ron's - but it's also more expensive, orders take ages to prepare...and the burgers are tiny. Oh, yeah - their food also never fails to give me at least one big, fat pussy zit. 'More healthy' than Mc D's'.
Right.
No matter...we weren't going to be throwing the dice on any sit down eateries, so this was what it was going to be. We loaded up, and drove another few km down to what seemed to be a popular fishing spot, found a semi-acceptable parking spot, with a wee bit of an ocean view, and ate in the car. Probably the tastiest Mos Burger meal we've ever shared.
(and the next day, I did get that zit...)
It must have been getting close to 3:30 pm by the time we were done, and decided to call it a wrap, and hit the highway back to Nagoya. Smiles all around. It had been a good day. I turned to Mina,
"This has been the best day of the year"
Indeed. The best day of the year.
As we pulled out, and plotted our way out of the beach area, Mina's phone rang. It was Mayumi. She took the call on the car's speaker phone. They spoke for a couple of minutes. Their tone was hushed and subdued.
Her husband had been put on a ventilator.
Just like that, those heavy dark curtains were pulled back into place. The sunshine was gone.
To say that we were were massively deflated would be an understatement.
That 'best day of the year' was suddenly a thousand miles away.
It was pretty quiet drive back into Nagoya.
TO BE CONTINUED...
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