Keeping up with the Tanakas

There must be some comedian using this word as part of his shtick on Japanese TV because I have been hearing it everywhere. It is coming out of the mouths of high school students on the train, mothers at the school, the station master, and even my own daughter. I am not completely sure how they do it, but they manage to give the word four syllables when they say it. Something along the lines of "Wa ou uu wa!" It makes me completely insane! Particularly coming from my own offspring. I cannot tolerate it when she says "juan, tsuu, surrey!!!" or sings "ha pee baasu dey tsu yew!" If you are going to use English words, then please, PLEASE, use English pronunciation. That or stop making fun of the way my people speak Japanese.

There is a raging wind outside and I know it is beating down the cherry blossoms who were just daring to shyly show themselves after today's rise in temperature. It has been cold. The trees had not really gone into bloom and now, what petals were there will be strewn on the ground tomorrow. I understand that the allure of sakura is all about their fleeting loveliness, that they are a symbol of flux, a reminder of the cycles in everything. Still, I had been waiting for the glory of the cherry trees to renew my faith in the magnificence that exists in this world. I needed the blossoms this year. I longed for that week of stunning splendor. As I listen to the force of the wind rattling the house and the world around, I can feel actual anger rise up in me, met with sadness. Am I mourning flowers? I will try not to read too much into the fate of the cherry trees this year, and satiate my hunger for beauty with daffodils instead.