People with common interests will always meet someday [2024 Okinawa Reflection Diary 05]
▼ Stories so far
01■I can tell every cell in my body is rejoicing, I'm home, Okinawa
02■Please forgive my 35 years of neglect
03■Life is a journey of connecting, expanding, and nurturing the love and peace of each individual
04■Okinawa Ichiba Monochrome Sketch
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On the third day in Okinawa, November 2nd, I headed straight to 'Yanbaru' in the northern part of the main island in the car of Boo-chan, a kind-hearted bluesman famous for saying 'You're a bad guy, aren't you?'
But, but
Actually, this is the third time I've met Boo-chan!
Even though we still don't know each other that well, we're as close as if we'd been friends for a long time.
On the way, we just kept talking and talking to each other. Ah, it was so much fun.
A journey is better with company. It really is.
On the way, we stopped by Yomitan to visit.
Thank you. You're a bad guy, Boo-chan. I love you.
And so, around 5:00 PM, we arrived at Yanbaru Hot Cafe.
We exchanged greetings, set up the sound, and prepared our hearts.
They say the ukulele fever has been rising in this area of Nakijin recently,
and everyone seemed to be having a lively and fun time during the rehearsal.
The actual performance also started off nicely.
Boo-chan introduced me during his many MC segments,
and the bar was raised so high it disappeared into the starry sky...
🤭 It's hard to live up to that, haha.
But even while joking around in his MC, it's still unfair,
his song about the cat makes me cry.
You're a bad guy, Boo-chan. It was really wonderful.
With the heartwarming performances and songs from the local people, the owner Taiki-san, his wife Nori-chan, and their daughter,
my heart was filled with happiness.
And so, Teru performed these songs on the ukulele for everyone.
I hope you enjoyed listening.
↓
OP. Palm Fruit
01. Wings
02. Strait
03. Voice of the Sea
04. Madeleine
05. Crazy G
06. The Flower
07. Cute Person
08. Orion
09. Ideal
10-Encore. At the Beginning of a Long Journey
After the live show, I was able to talk to many people,
and I was truly grateful that they liked my songs and picked up my CD.
This is also thanks to Boo-chan, who connected me to this opportunity.
Thank you so much.
After school, while having curry made by the cafe owner's daughter, we had a 'yuntaku' (chat) and drank plenty of Awamori, which made me incredibly happy.
They are a wonderful family who possess rich imagination and the ability to execute, and who are exploring ways to achieve a better society and prosper together.
Their home, where they once ran an after-school care program using their backgrounds as an elementary school teacher and a chef, had a very great warmth that immediately conveyed how many people have visited and passed through there.
Inside the shop, there were various hints of rich and flexible thinking and imagination everywhere, and every free paper, item for sale, and posted notice
was very organic, and they were all interesting things that conveyed a desire to live carefully and honestly.
There was a flyer posted for a film about Setsuko Nakazato, who was at the center of the movement against the construction of the new Ishigaki Airport in the early 90s.
There was a flyer for a local festival featuring a photo of a friend who moved to Okinawa and mastered the hula.
There was a book titled 'Let's Go with Pacifism' written by the father of the owner, Taiki-san, who is from Nagasaki Prefecture.
At the beginning, it was written, "I wrote this book thinking about what we can do to ensure we never have another war."
All of these things resonated deeply with my own interests,
and each of those "coincidences" was clearly and remarkably certain,
connecting firmly together.
I have experienced things like this from time to time throughout my life,
and every time it happens, I am reminded of
what Mr. Moyer, whom I met at a marine environmental learning event when I turned 30, said:
"People who share common interests will always meet someday."
Those were his words.
This trip to Okinawa has been nothing but a realization of that.
I am feeling it intensely.
It wasn't just that I "came to sing,"
but that I was brought here
to meet these people through the act of "singing."
I felt quite convinced
that I had been guided here.
While continuing my journey through Hiroshima and Okinawa,
I never expected to receive the opportunity
to continue on to Nagasaki here.
I think that when you take action, good things happen.
Thank you.
Truly, thank you.
.....