Old Enough?

 We've been watching a few episodes of a Japanese TV program that Netflix recently introduced to this country.  It's called "Old Enough" and apparently has been very popular in Japan for a number of years now.

The premise is simple.  Young children are given simple errands to run and are followed by a camera crew to see how they do.  Some of the youthful participants are as young as 2 or 3 years of age.  Japanese culture values independence and the ability to overcome challenges, hence the popularity of the show.  We see, on occasion, that the kids are tailed by adults and cameramen on occasion so there is some sense of security. Nevertheless, there is something about watching a 2-year-old trying t cross a busy 4-lane street with nothing but a little yellow flag held out in front of him that gives one pause.

The show makes for some funny moments.  Often the kids forget to get something from the grocery store and have to go back.  They talk to themselves, get waylaid, drop packages, but often meet other helpful adults along the way.  They get a lot of freebies from local merchants who seem to enjoy these young shoppers.  

It occurred to me that this program could probably never be duplicated in this culture.  The streets are too dangerous in many more ways, and many American merchants probably wouldn't want to be bothered to drop everything to help a kid who seems lost or confused.  

Then there is the entire area of protection and overprotection of children.  I can hardly see an American mother, especially one of the helicopter variety, allowing any child of hers to endure this type of character building.  The entire concept is filled with cognitive dissonance.

What might be even more interesting than watching "Of Age"  is to witness a panel discussion of parents from all over the world watching the show and commenting.  There are moments of pure cuteness and adorability.  That and the fact that the music and animation that comes with the production values make the program very comfortable to watch.  They sure do like pink and yellow, orange, and turquoise blue in Japan.

History Rhymes

 My generation remembers how WWII was taught in history classes in high school.  Lots of "Good War" propaganda and black and white footage of kids collecting rubber and other recyclables for the war effort.  Of course, there was plenty of film footage of battleships, parades at home, and occasionally, some very grisly footage of American troops liberating concentration camps.

My high school history teachers, Mr. Rubenstein and Mr.Elcott were more like Jewish comedians who were very knowledgeable.  Elcott was a dead ringer for the late Borsh Belt stand-up comedian Jackie Mason.  When a student told him that he was doing his term paper on Indonesia, Elcott was dumbfounded because that was too general a subject.  He replied, "What about Indonesia?  Should they or should they not wear a G-string?"  Stuff like that you never forget.

It was Mr. Rubenstein, who had an equally strong sense of humor, and who inspired me to become a teacher.  He was one of the coolest teachers that were masters of his subject.  Hell, he lived WWII.  We all knew that he'd been shot down over Europe and had spent some time as a POW.  We knew, too, that when the time came to deal with Nazi Germany he became unusually distant for a few days.  But I'll give him major props for showing us some of that concentration camp footage.  It seared the reality of genocide into our brains.  

Having been born immediately after WWII, we all assumed that we'd never have to endure anything like that again.  We could not foresee the attempts at genocide that would follow in Eastern Europe, Africa, and parts of Asia.  

With the recent attempts at genocide in Ukraine, we can all count another attempt at man's ultimate indignity.  Given the improved quality of technology, I wonder how this current generation will receive and perceive these images of war?  They are already exposed to enough blood and gore just by watching the daily news or what sometimes passes for video games or entertainment, it's bound to be different.

I worry about that desensitization.  

The best antidote, in my view, for presenting this difficult history to young people is to let them figure out how it might be stopped.  That is: ended.  For good.

Bottle Up and Go

 The first week of April and the world still has eyes only for the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.  And why not?  It's much more important than "the slap" which will soon evaporate.  But with COVID seemingly on the wane, some things are emerging like the early blossoms and buds of spring.  

Here in the Northwest, we have a false Spring before we can even think about the turning of the seasons.  We get all manner of white and pink blossoms on the trees only to see them blown and then washed away by the cold rains of March and April.  But there are other signs that life is emerging.

Change is in the air, along with the pollen.  Fewer masks are worn and some restaurants reemerging give way to silent hope.  In my neighborhood, a new restaurant has graced the string of abandoned storefronts.  It's someone's dream, and with a name like the Rockabilly cafe, holds promise.  The trouble is I see far too few folks giving it a try.  I'll get down there before too long and I hope the owner is there.  That's because I'm still trying to find a home for my Elvis wine bottle.  It might look good sitting on a shelf surrounded by 50s memorabilia and a jukebox.  

Back in the late 70s, shortly after the death of "The King" I was picking up a few things in one of the Bay Areas' most upscale markets.  I chanced to see a display of wine and thought this bottle might be a collector's item one day.  I think I paid something like $15 for the promotion and was thrilled to find an original poem by "The colonel" on the label.  Col. Tom Parker, the former manager of Presely had apparently penned this masterpiece of trite imagery.  All in all, a good deal.  So now I'm left with finding a forever home for this bottle that still might find favor with some folks.  

If business is waning at the Rockabilly Cafe, perhaps a small museum on-site with artifacts of the genre might be just the thing to stimulate the popularity of the place.  I'd love to make this donation so that I could rest easy knowing that my Elvis wine bottle would have a home.  It's now or never.