rest in peace good buddy... 

he was a good car, a good friend, and yesterday i had to say goodbye to this dear companion. 

there once was a dream that was cecil... 

"Do not burn yourself out. Be as I am�a reluctant enthusiast...a part time crusader, a half-hearted fanatic. Save the other half of yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure. It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it. While you can. While it is still there. So get out there and hunt and fish and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, encounter the grizz, climb the mountains, bag the peaks. Run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for a while and contemplate the precious stillness, that lovely, mysterious and awesome space. Enjoy yourselves, keep your brain in your head and your head firmly attached to the body, the body active and alive, and I promise you this much: I promise you this one sweet victory over our enemies, over those deskbound people with their hearts in a safe deposit box and their eyes hypnotized by desk calculators. I promise you this: You will outlive the bastards."
� Edward Abbey 

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this one's for you, ellen! 

love that rice 

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if i leave the house between 4 and 6, this is the typical greeting party. 

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and now for a few more images from around town. i will truly miss the beauty of this place. 

i did some swimming, much to the utter shock of my students...here's a lot of the baseball crew who i practice with. 

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last tuesday, instead of classes, i headed to kiyogahama with abu and fukuga chu's for a little beach clean up; not a bad way to earn some cash. 

the team went four and one! 

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just adorable... 

their other two kids, aoi and ayumu, are adorable as well... 

megan has some terrific neighbors on suo oshima. last weekend, we went to iwakuni to watch their son, shoki, play some ball... 

and one more thing. i'd like to welcome summer back to the ken. i've been frequenting the beach in the afternoons and watching the fireflies at night. i'm looking forward to the final months... 

but at least NO ONE in abu boasts hair like this! good lord... 

i've been practicing with them every week so it was a little hard watching them get destroyed by two other schools. 

and last tuesday, instead of classes, i went to watch my abu chugakko play a little ball. 

alright ladies!