2012.3.27

It was fine. I took a compensated holiday to take my father to hospital for once a month check up.
In the morning I happened to see a friend of my mother who knows about me but I do not remember her. It's been almost 10 years since my mother passed away. She said my mother was a good sport and very clever with her fingers and often cared about me. I did not know that she talked about me to her friends. People can live in other's mind even if they do not exist any more.
At the hospital I happened to see one of my students who is already a father of a daughter after a long time. That is he is older now than I was his teacher of English at the junior high school then. He said "I think these days how I wish I should have studied English more when I was a student!" I advised him that it's not too late yet to start studying again. People can live in other's mind even if we do not see each other.

七月一日（shichigatsu tsuitachi）： July 1

Another month has just started. July is shichi gatsu(七月). The old name is 文月(ふづき：fuzuki or ふみづき：fumi zuki), literally meaning letter month.
July 1 is known as the opening of Mt. Fuji which is the tallest mountain in Japan. It is 3,776 meters high. I have once climbed there with my friends in the last summer of my university life. I got mountain sickness, and it was really hard to climb up after 8th station of the Mt. Fuji. We could see the top, but it was very far. Before climbing, I thought I would be thirsty so I brought the frozen drink. But it was a mistake. At that hight it is very cold. I should have brought something hot. At the mountain lodge, we were served a cup of Japanese hot tea. How delicious we could feel!
There is a shrine on the top. I drew a fortune slip called omikuji (御神籤). It was daikichi (大吉), very good luck. I was so happy that since that time I stopped drawing a fortune slip in other places.
There is a post office there. I like sending cards from the very special places so I sent a postcard from there too.
Nice memories, but for me once is enough.