I have floor to ceiling glass doors in the studio here, leading to a balcony over looking our street corner. Our second story location, on a rather large pedestal the way the land is terraced means I can also see out to Osaka down the valley.
I imagine other views, such as the quick water colors above, but this is a very different story.
Can hear ambulances every so often, and sometimes one comes into our area, a couple of streets either side of us. There are many elderly here, and mostly I can catch a glimpse of an Ambulance going up the next street away, between the houses. Also many small delivery vans, many to our house as my sister-in-law was rather involved with Mercari, and as I can't hear the front door bell ring from my second story studio, I rely on hearing the vans come into our street, then looking out the window to see if they stop out the front of our place. It is my job to handle deliveries here, but checking for that can show other things you didn't expect..
I can see in plain sight from the balcony window the house on the far corner. We live so close, but not a direct neighbor, so don't really know them. My sister in law had spoken a few times with the wife over the years as she was her housing group leader, not our housing group, a year or so ago, before we came back to Japan. They have a daughter in her twenties. The wife always drove the family car, and each afternoon when she came home from work, I could hear the cars unusual reversing alarm as she backed it into the narrow carport. She had gotten a new car in the last few months. She could park that car much faster than I could, was something I thought often.
A couple of weeks ago, before midday on a wet Sunday, an Ambulance stopped outside that far corner house. Siren stopped, but red lights flashing. The women (just around 50, young for this area) that lived there had been at that morning community meeting my wife attended, and had briefly chatted with. She seemed fine, always friendly, but maybe a little tired. I met her myself at a community meeting a couple of months ago. Struck me as young and community minded.
We saw her carried on a stretcher into the Ambulance. She must have been home alone, husband and daughter out, when she called for the Ambulance.
I have been taken off to emergency twice myself in the last 10 years, once for Kidney Stones and another for Anemia when I collapsed, so I don't see an Ambulance as automatically meaning a life and death situation. Just you can't get to the hospital on your own. They will probably be fine....
Three days ago was the first time I had ever seen her husband about. That seemed unusual. There was also a small gray van, from a funeral parlor, parked outside the home. Day after that I saw a Priest enter the home in the evening, when I went outside to bring shopping in from the car when my wife came home.
Yesterday morning a small gray van parked outside our place with his warning indicators flashing. Expected it was a delivery van, as sister-in-law was expecting a delivery and so she went outside, and the gentleman in the van got out and apologized as he was just here for a short time for part of the funeral proceedings.
A short time later 2 cars parked in our street and 4 or so people went into the house on the corner. Must have been her and her husbands parents. A larger gray van arrived, and the gentleman from the one outside our house went in too. The family members formed a kind of line between the house entrance and the bigger van, and the 2 gentlemen brought out a body in a white bag on a stretcher and put it into the back of the larger van. There was much bowing and the vans drove off.
It all happened in 10 days. From a young active community member, to gone.
As she was a part of the community committee, we will hear officially something about her soon, and why she is no longer on the committee.
Sad. You never know how long anyone has.
We can be found at ArtAndTechnology
No comments:
Post a Comment