Taro's Blog

Unfortunately, I have never been invited to the Tupperware party. I saw it in a movie or a TV drama. I wish I were. I was very interested in the 1950s-60s culture in the United States when I studied in Upstate New York 1988-92. Tupperware ladies, 1950s American diners, camping caravans, “Elvis has left the building”, CND symbol, the Beach Boys, weed (Cannabis), LSD, “Turn on, tune in, drop out”, tie-dye shirts, sexal revolution, hippies, “The Graduate“, “America” by Simon & Garfunkel, “San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)“, Easy Rider, Dennis Hopper, the Doors, and Woodstock.

I suspected that the interest was seeded in the early 1980s when I was a high school student. “London Calling” was one of my favorite songs. I also discovered the Fab Four. A girl I crushed (but never dated) was listening to “A Whiter Shade of Pale“. My favorite novelist was Kaoru Shōji (庄司薫), and his so-called “Tetralogy”, consisting of 『赤頭巾ちゃん気をつけて』 (1969), 『さよなら快傑黒頭巾』 (1969), 『白鳥の歌なんか聞えない』 (1971) , and 『ぼくの大好きな青髭』 (1977) were my favorite books. Back then, I felt I missed out the 1960s. I wish I were born in 1950, like the protagonist in the Tetralogy.

In 1988, I got into RIT as my plan B, because I would have to wait another year or two to be accepted into Cal Poly, my plan A. Back then, I thought studying hard and partying hard in San Luis Obispo, CA would be much nicer than in Rochester, NY!

The grass is always greener on the other side. What if I were born in 1950, I would wish I were born a couple of decades later. Now, I am happy with the year I was born. I am happy as a RIT graduate. I am happy with who I am, even though I have a few regrets, made a lot of mistakes, recently divorced, and my 14-year-old boy hates me, because I’ve lived my life in my way, not the Chairman of the Board’s way (Apparently, the singer had too much drinks before the show. He was performing in Tokyo, not Kyoto.), or Donald Trump’s way.