Years ago, I was with a group of former Marines helping out a Marine’s ailing father manage farm chores in the Midwest. As a northern boy raised in the city, I had no knowledge of the management and difficulties of tending acres of corn, soybeans and vegetables, irrigation, and weed control. Tending to livestock, bailing hay, driving tractors, and milking cows were not in my skillset. Sitting for breakfast at 5 a.m. was a shock as I sat frozen, staring at a large slice of rhu

Recently, I was waiting for friends at a busy Tokyo train station. I arrived early; they were 40 minutes late. Resigned to my fate, I found a comfortable place to stand. Observing hundreds of busy people,  I wondered what their lives were like. Different ages, heights, weights, social status; some limping, some in wheelchairs, some blind, some disheveled or destitute. I was curious as to how they were surviving. Intriguing watching senior citizens smiling, bowing, greeting ea