Collective Responsibility -- Image Shiritori Started (#119)

(#118) If you sympathize, send money → 're' → Collective Responsibility

……Well, collective responsibility is part and parcel of being in an organization, but still.

'I wasn't on Earth at the moment the year changed! (≧▽≦)♪'

--to have us do that on a platoon scale.

Can we really protect the peace of Japan under this superior?

That might be…… a bit tough (￣∀￣)
Which way is the future of lost Japan headed?

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'Chairman (*1)! I wasn't on Earth at the moment the year changed!'
It's been over 20 years, but I remember receiving an email like that late at night right after the new year began.

The sender was a colleague at work about five years my junior, and the email had an attached image file of him jumping with his arms and legs spread wide, wearing a cheerful, beaming smile.

It's the so-called 'New Year's Jump', where you jump at 23:59:59 on December 31st and insist, 'I wasn't on Earth at the moment the year changed!'

……No, are you an elementary schooler? ^m^

I remember looking at that carefree image with a wry smile.
About five minutes later, a follow-up email arrived.

'Happy New Year! ＼(^o^)／♪ Looking forward to working with you again this year.'

--Wait, the order is reversed, isn't it? (lol)

He was a colleague with an incredibly bright personality who could do his job properly, but he had a bit of a scatterbrained side to him. Still, that's just like him ^m^, I thought.
Having a character you can't hate is quite an advantage in many ways.

However, I can't help but wonder, he didn't send this email to the section manager or the deputy manager, did he――? (￣∀￣)

That part, at least, made me a little anxious (・_・)

In the first place, just because you were jumping at the moment the year changed, does that mean you weren't on Earth? No, it doesn't.✋

It is often misunderstood, but being "on Earth" does not mean your feet must be touching the ground. The air is also perfectly fine as being "on Earth".

Conversely, saying you "weren't on Earth" also means you "jumped off Earth and were in space."

So, where is the boundary between Earth and space?

According to the definition by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, it seems that altitudes of 100km and above are considered space. Considering that NASA's Space Shuttle calls its return to Earth an atmospheric reentry at around 120km altitude, perhaps the point where atmospheric density has an effect is the rough guideline.

In other words, if you were jumping at an altitude of at least 100km above the ground at the moment the year changed, I think you could proudly say, "Hey, I wasn't on Earth at the moment the year changed!" At that point, it's almost like a world from "Dr. Slump" or something.(・_・)

Well, if "New Year's jumping" is childish, then bringing up NASA and the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale just to make a rigid counterargument like "you're still on Earth" could also be said to be immature on the same level...(^^ゞ💦

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By the way, what is the origin of this "New Year's jump" in the first place? That is the question.

I'm not sure if it can be called the exact origin, but the oldest one I could find within my research was a scene from the manga "Tsurumoku Dokushin Ryo".

"Tsurumoku Dokushin Ryo" is a romantic comedy that was serialized in "Big Comic Spirits" from 1988 to 1991, depicting the human drama between Shota Miyagawa, a new employee at "Tsurumoku Furniture," and the residents of the bachelor dormitory where he lives.

And here is the scene where the protagonist Shota's father is doing a New Year's jump.
(Volume 8, Part 14)

It is undoubtedly a "New Year's jump". It is a perfect "New Year's jump" that even includes the line after jumping, "I wasn't on Earth at the moment the year changed!!"(￣∀￣)

Somehow, this interaction between the clearly happy-go-lucky father and the mother who gently brushes it off with a "Yes, yes, I saw you," is quite a nice scene...
(*´∇｀*)♪ I think.

Furthermore, in the mixi community for this manga, there is a topic for doing a "New Year's jump" as if to pay homage to this scene.

Also, looking at the topic name "Are you jumping this year too?", one can imagine that they probably jump every year...^m^
(By the way, note that you can only see part of the link below unless you log in as a mixi user -- although, even just the part you can see should be enough to convey the enthusiasm for the "New Year's jump")

Looking at it this way, there seem to be a considerable number of "New Year's jumpers" just among those involved with Tsurumoku Dokushin Ryo (lol), so if you include the surrounding people who get dragged into jumping, I wonder if a considerable number of people are still enjoying New Year's jumps without any hesitation.

The carefree former colleague who sent me an email with an image first thing on New Year's Day might have been a Tsurumoku jumper too......(￣∀￣)

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Well then, today's song. Since the keyword is "jump"

The fifth song of the week, KARA with "Jumping"

As always, I watch their dancing while feeling nervous that they might throw out their backs at any moment. I suppose that just goes to show how much of an old man I've become (￣∀￣)

Oops, it's already this late tonight.
I have a nighttime trampoline class waiting for me today. Today is the day I'll jump all the way to the stratosphere (o^-')b♪ ← Before even talking about whether I can or can't, I'd just hit the ceiling, wouldn't I (￣∀￣)

With that said,
I hope tomorrow is a day where as many people as possible feel like jumping for joy and happiness✨
(And please, try to keep your jumps moderate so you don't twist your ankles when you land^m^)

■ Bonus

The car before this one in the image shiritori train (119th car). If anyone felt curious about the title "If you're going to sympathize, send money" and the joke image in the bottom right, please feel free to take a look when you have some time.