Day: August 12, 2006

The rain forecast yesterday fell upon us.  In Joetsu, a violent wind and black sky obliged Serge and Mr. Koshita to take cover.  They went into a hotel to let the storm go by and the employees at the reception desk very kindly brought them towels so they could wipe their faces.  Another anecdote, we asked a company if we could park in their parking lot: no problem.  Serge could even use the toilets and we left with a gift: cherries marinated in salt.  This gesture touched us more than you can know.  The welcome we have received in Japan has been incredible, hard to believe.

Since he was featured on Fuji TV three days ago, Serge has not escaped notice.  People stop to give encouragement or have a photo taken with him or wave to him from their cars.  Visits on the road are accompanied by a gift: Japanese sweets, drinks, cookies, Tiger Balm.  The custom here is that every time you visit someone: friends, family, strangers like us, you take a gift (which is always beautifully wrapped).

Mr. Kenji Seki was waiting at the roadside and it was a surprise!  Serge recognized him “Kenji!” his face lit up as they fell into each other’s arms.  Mr. Seki accompanied Tomy on the Transamerica in 1993.  There were so many memories between them that nobody dared interrupt them.  Serge told us the following anecdote: “With Rudy, we were often together at the tail of the bunch and Kenji called us the ‘bad boys 1 and 2’.”

We made a date to meet in Tokyo: “See you soon!”.  Serge was beaming with joy, even though he doesn’t like to talk too much about the past and is more oriented toward the future.  Our future looks like a universe studded with ideas and projects.