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labingiTitle: "Love Letters"
Fandoms: Banana Fish, Death Note, Death Note--Bodyverse
Characters: Ash, Eiji, Sing, mentions of other BF/DN characters and OCs
Spoilers: All of BF, light spoilers for DN and DN-Bodyverse
Warnings/Rating: References to physical and sexual violence, swearing, PG-13 this section.
Summary: Ash goes prison, but he and Eiji write letters... for decades... and decades...
Letters 1987-1990 and Author's Notes
"Love Letters"--1994-1998
August 12, 1994
Dear Ash,
Happy 26th birthday! (お誕生日おめでとう!) Though you will get this late. I hope you had a good birthday. What did you do to celebrate?
This has been exciting time here. My big show will be soon, and Ibe-san's niece, Akira, has come from Japan to visit. She is 13, and Sing is teasing her like she is his little sister. They are already good friends! I'm glad Akira is able to visit. She has some hard times back home, not so bad but her father wished for a son and she always feels a little badly for being a girl. Her name is mainly boy's name, like Akira Kurosawa, and she is a real tom-boy. But she is very sweet girl and is enjoying her visit, I think. She doesn't speak English much, so Sing practices Japanese with her a lot. He's getting pretty good.
She is also very curious about you. I guess Ibe-san never told her a lot about you, because she thought at first that you were girl! I think she was jealous because everyone said you are so great. (Now, I am kind of sad she knows you are a guy and lost good female role model!) I showed her the big picture of you by the window in our apartment, but I don't put it in my show.
The other day, Sing said I am too sad for you. He gave me big hug and told me not to be so sad. I don't think I am so sad. I just wait for when you can get out of prison. Someday, you will. You may not believe this, but I do. I miss you. I wish that they will let me see you.
Happy Birthday! (I enclose some snap shots of photos I will use for the show.)
Your friend,
Eiji
***
September 15, 1994
Dear Eiji,
I ain't no one's role model. God help the poor sucker who thinks otherwise. Why exactly did Akira think I was a girl? What are you guys saying about me?? I'm glad Akira had a good time visiting NY. I can absolutely imagine Sing playing big brother. So how'd the show go? Your photos are great. God, I miss seeing trees and sunrises.
Sing is right: you shouldn't be sad for me, and you shouldn't be waiting for me to get out of prison.
I don't remember how I celebrated my birthday. I probably got up, had breakfast, did exercises, read, answered letters, had lunch, read, chatted with Bruno (that guard), stared at the ceiling, had dinner, stared, did exercises, read, and went to bed. It's not like one day's different from another.
Your friend,
Ash
***
October 20, 1994
Dear Ash,
You sound depressed. Are you okay? How do I not wait for you to get out of prison when it is such a waste that you are there? I talk to Max and George about your case. It is difficult because you confessed, but there is thing called "affirmative defense" that means you can be guilty but have extenuating circumstances. This is so true for you. You saved so many lives and stopped international incident by stopping Banana Fish. I know this was said at your trial already, but we need to talk about it again. I keep working on this. Don't tell me not to. I don't listen.
In other news, Sing is doing really well with his thesis. I'm proud of him. The other day, we went to Chinatown to see Nadia and the baby. The baby is surprisingly not fussy. I think Nadia is a natural mother. Did you know Alex got married? I had no idea. Kong told me the other day.
Your friend,
Eiji
P.S. Should I send more photos, or do you miss outside more if I do?
***
November 24, 1994
Dear Eiji,
Yeah, Max sent George to talk to me. I don't know. I guess it's worth a shot. I'd like to get out if I can. I've spent more than half my 20s in the slammer, and I guess it kind of hit me that that's just the start. I don't want to be here when I'm 50, 60, 70... So I'm working with George on it. Thanks for lighting a fire under me, you and Max both.
I didn't know about Alex. In fact, I've been meaning to ask you about him. His letters petered out a couple of years ago. That's not surprising. Letters are a pain to keep up with when you actually have a life. I figured that's all it was, but I was going to ask if he was okay. Guess he is. I'm glad he got off the streets. Hope he's with a nice girl; he was always a sucker for a pretty face.
Nadia sent me a picture of the baby (actually she sent 10). She's cute. It made me kind of sad though, to think Shorter's never going to see her. He'll never get to be an uncle; he'll never even get to be an adult. I really miss him sometimes. We met in juvie, you know. I'm sure I told you about it. I could tell right away he was different. He knew how to take care of himself, but he knew how to do it without being a rat bastard to everyone who wasn't part of his posse, and that's something most kids on the street never figure out. Shorter got it. Sing. Cain. Short list.
Shorter told me once that he used to jack off to this angel on this old Christmas card. I don't know why I thought of that right now, but I really liked that he said that. It sounded so stupid, and he was willing to say it to a kid he barely knew. He had that kind of confidence--real self-confidence. That's something you and him had in common. I'd like to aspire to be like that, but I worry way too much about what people think of me. I'm always afraid someone will see the real me.
Your friend,
Ash
P.S. Photos: not for a while, okay?
***
January 3, 1995
Dear Ash,
I miss Shorter too, even though I only knew him for a little time. Sing told me that, when he was a kid, he called him "Sorta Wrong," (not to face) not because he thought he was wrong, but because it sounds funny. I think maybe Shorter knew that but thought it was okay.
Ash, you are the most self-confident person I know. And you are, like Shorter, not afraid to look stupid or bad. You were even ready to show porn of yourself in order to expose corrupt politicians. That is extremely confident. You just think you are not so because you aim so high. You get unconfident sometimes but with things so huge that most people would never dare to try them, like responsibility for many others' lives.
I am glad you meet with George. You will get a new trial, and justice done. 頑張ってね。 I am confident. Also Alex said he will write with wedding pictures.
Your friend,
Eiji
***
February 8, 1995
Dear Eiji,
We all called him "Sorta Wrong." It's obvious. He had a thing for a while where, whenever he'd see me back off from something, like a rumble, he'd say, "Ash Blinks." I liked that; it was a good code for telling me when he thought I should reconsider. I didn't always agree, but after he died, I missed that perspective.
You are utterly predictable in your misinterpretation of who I am inside. No, I'm not confident. Sorry. But I'm not going to bicker about it. That won't stop me from pitching forward with the trial.
Got pics from Alex. I don't really care. Is that a horrible thing to say? He was a good friend, but I think the operative word for both of us now would be "was." Life brings people together and pushes them apart. Some friendships form because of who the people are, and some form because of circumstances. Alex is a great guy, but we were friends because of circumstances, and those circumstances are over. I hope he'll be happy though.
Your friend,
Ash
***
***
***
March 4, 1998
Dear Ash,
I am so tired. I feel that I'm unfair to say that; you must be much more tired. I can't believe they won't overturn your conviction. I can't believe it. Can't believe. I always believed that there is justice deep down, that there are many corrupt and horrible things, but justice is deeper. I guess it is so deep that we can't dig it up.
Probably, tomorrow I will feel better and will think of a new plan to help you. I will talk to George and Max. Right now, I can't think. It seems hopeless.
Your friend,
Eiji
***
April 9, 1998
Dear Eiji,
I've never heard you sound like that. You're taking this harder than I am. You need to take a load off. You just need to not think about it for a while. Then, if you need to, keep on looking for ways to get me out of here. If you need to, then do it. Butdon't you can't let your life be about that. Get some rest; that's what I'm going to do. I'm not going anywhere, and there's time to rest up and refuel.
I'm actually glad I've had this battle to fight, even though I lost it. It gave me something to work for these past three years. So it didn't pan out. It gave me some drive back to do stuff with myself. Now that the trial is over, I'm going to devote more time to the literacy program and the job skills program in here. If you want to help, we could use some of that cash you're good at raising for charity.
I'm also going to knuckle down and put some serious work into the Bosnia book. Dr. Renau has been on my case about how slowly my chapters are coming. They'd come faster if they gave me internet access, but oh well.
We do need more computers for the job skills program though. Even without internet access, we can teach word processing and spreadsheets and stuff. These are essential job skills today. It's criminal (ha) that so many people never even get taught the basics.
You 頑張って too. Be that plucky Eiji again. Nothing keeps you down.
Your friend,
Ash
***
May 14, 1998
Dear Ash,
I'm so proud of how you bounce back. It makes me think I have to bounce back too. I smile to see everything you do, even in prison. But I wonder a little bit if you say some of these things so I don't worry. Is it really okay? I wish I could talk to you alone. I wish we could write letters guards don't read. I almost wished not to see you at the trial because it was hard to see you but not talk except in courtroom. I want most of all that you tell me the truth, good and bad.
I am better because of your letter. I have idea about your case: presidential pardon. I know this sounds very far-fetched, but you have done great service for your country, and your case is famous, so you are a good candidate if friends lobby. (Also you are not a menace to society.)
When money comes in the for the auction next month, I will send funds for literacy program and job skills program. I'm glad you work on this.
Your friend,
Eiji
***
June 20, 1998
Dear Eiji,
Yeah, Clinton's going to give a presidential pardon who that guy who's co-authoring a book on how his policies in the Balkans are immoral and counterproductive to US interests. No, I'm not going to pull out on the book. But thanks for the thought. I appreciate your tenacity; I really do.
As for life in prison, nothing I've said about it is a lie. I'm glad to be working on the projects I'm working on. Of course, there's some shit I don't usually write about, which I guess you want to hear because knowing is better than guessing, right? It was worse when I was new here. In the beginning, I had to find a delicate balance between coming off tough enough not to get beat on but not hammering on people so much that I lose privileges and get sent to solitary. I actually kind of enjoyed that; it was an interesting puzzle to solve. The end result was I did get beat up once in a while, and I got sent to solitary once for breaking a guy's leg. Since I've been here, I've only been raped three times, and that was all years ago. I guess now I'm nearly 30 (Christ Almighty) I don't give off the everybody's-bitch vibe so much.
Actually, I've put on weight. I don't know if you could tell in court. My last checkup, I weighed in at 161, which bugs me. If I'm not careful, I'm going to end up a fat bastard like my dad. So I've been exercising more in my cell, outside of the exercise periods. They say it's good for lifting your mood too.
Speaking of getting older, when did you start wearing glasses? They make you look practically like a grown up.
Your friend,
Ash
***
July 26, 1998
Dear Ash,
I hate to break bad news, but no one is going to read your book. Americans don't care very much about the Balkans, so just a few professors and people with special interest will read. It will not be embarrassment for Clinton. However, giving you a pardon could spin as a big political win because when you fought the Banana Fish conspiracy, you fought a lot of conservative policies on Central America, so a pardon for you would be embarrassment for many Republicans associated with Reagan Administration. This is my angle. (I will read your book though.)
I started wearing glasses about five years ago. I get a little astigmatic, which is bad for the photographer! You are far-sighted, right? That helps with aim.
You worry too much about weight. You should not worry so much but eat well--as well as you can with prison food. I wish I could cook good Japanese food for you: nutritious and low fat. Lots of seaweed. No natto. Miso, but just once in a while to keep low sodium. Sing gets a little heavier too. He works out a lot too to keep fitness. As for me, I am naturally willowy, and so thumb nose at both of you.
Your friend,
Eiji
P.S. Thank you for telling me more what it's like.
***
September 1, 1998
Dear Eiji,
I hate to break bad news to you too, but Billy-Bob has no interest in embarrassing the Reagan Administration. Billy-Bob is Reagan-lite. By all means, keep working on it though. I'll get a lot of chuckles out of tracking your progress. Seriously, I've never heard you sound so Machiavellian. It's a little weird; don't go too far with it.
I didn't say I was eating less; I said I was exercising more. And you are not willowy. Willowy is tall, and that ain't you. Puny, maybe. Baby-birdlike?
Thanks for the money for the literacy/job programs. It's truly been a big help. We were able to hire a new teacher for fall and got two new-used computers. You are either the most fantastic photographer NY has seen in the last decade or you are a naturally gifted fundraiser. I'm betting it's some of each. Have you thought about doing non-profit work as a career--or addition to the photography?
By the way, I got a letter from Michael the other day. It was typed and all full of sideways smiley faces and frowny faces. I felt like I was reading a letter by a five year old. All his "I"s were lower case. And this kid is applying to Yale? Actually, writing skills aside, he sounds sort of qualified, must take after his mother. (Please feel free tell Max I said so.)
Your friend,
Ash
P.S. I am 30, Eiji!
***
October 9, 1998
Dear Ash,
I am 32, so there. Akira also e-mails with many emoticons. Japanese emoticons are better than English language emoticons. They are bigger and also the right side up, like this: (^-^) (Do I put period after that? I don't know.)
I'm sorry I sound too Machiavellian. I will try to find "delicate balance," as you say, between understanding politics and not being too deep in it. But Max and I do keep working on the lobby for the presidential pardon.
Yes, I do consider non-profit work. I am working with Sing on some ideas for higher education funding: mostly grants for arts and sociology. We will probably go to Japan for a while. I told Sing I'd like to show him Gizmo--oops, Izumo--and I would like to see my family again. Also Sing has a job opportunity for one-year lecture position at Akita University. So my letters may come a little slower, but I will still write faithfully, on pretty Japanese stationery.
Your friend,
Eiji
***
***
Japanese Notes:
お誕生日おめでとう! -- o tanjoubi omedetou -- happy birthday
頑張ってね -- ganbatte ne -- hang in there, okay?
Letters 2003-2004
Fandoms: Banana Fish, Death Note, Death Note--Bodyverse
Characters: Ash, Eiji, Sing, mentions of other BF/DN characters and OCs
Spoilers: All of BF, light spoilers for DN and DN-Bodyverse
Warnings/Rating: References to physical and sexual violence, swearing, PG-13 this section.
Summary: Ash goes prison, but he and Eiji write letters... for decades... and decades...
Letters 1987-1990 and Author's Notes
"Love Letters"--1994-1998
August 12, 1994
Dear Ash,
Happy 26th birthday! (お誕生日おめでとう!) Though you will get this late. I hope you had a good birthday. What did you do to celebrate?
This has been exciting time here. My big show will be soon, and Ibe-san's niece, Akira, has come from Japan to visit. She is 13, and Sing is teasing her like she is his little sister. They are already good friends! I'm glad Akira is able to visit. She has some hard times back home, not so bad but her father wished for a son and she always feels a little badly for being a girl. Her name is mainly boy's name, like Akira Kurosawa, and she is a real tom-boy. But she is very sweet girl and is enjoying her visit, I think. She doesn't speak English much, so Sing practices Japanese with her a lot. He's getting pretty good.
She is also very curious about you. I guess Ibe-san never told her a lot about you, because she thought at first that you were girl! I think she was jealous because everyone said you are so great. (Now, I am kind of sad she knows you are a guy and lost good female role model!) I showed her the big picture of you by the window in our apartment, but I don't put it in my show.
The other day, Sing said I am too sad for you. He gave me big hug and told me not to be so sad. I don't think I am so sad. I just wait for when you can get out of prison. Someday, you will. You may not believe this, but I do. I miss you. I wish that they will let me see you.
Happy Birthday! (I enclose some snap shots of photos I will use for the show.)
Your friend,
Eiji
***
September 15, 1994
Dear Eiji,
I ain't no one's role model. God help the poor sucker who thinks otherwise. Why exactly did Akira think I was a girl? What are you guys saying about me?? I'm glad Akira had a good time visiting NY. I can absolutely imagine Sing playing big brother. So how'd the show go? Your photos are great. God, I miss seeing trees and sunrises.
Sing is right: you shouldn't be sad for me, and you shouldn't be waiting for me to get out of prison.
I don't remember how I celebrated my birthday. I probably got up, had breakfast, did exercises, read, answered letters, had lunch, read, chatted with Bruno (that guard), stared at the ceiling, had dinner, stared, did exercises, read, and went to bed. It's not like one day's different from another.
Your friend,
Ash
***
October 20, 1994
Dear Ash,
You sound depressed. Are you okay? How do I not wait for you to get out of prison when it is such a waste that you are there? I talk to Max and George about your case. It is difficult because you confessed, but there is thing called "affirmative defense" that means you can be guilty but have extenuating circumstances. This is so true for you. You saved so many lives and stopped international incident by stopping Banana Fish. I know this was said at your trial already, but we need to talk about it again. I keep working on this. Don't tell me not to. I don't listen.
In other news, Sing is doing really well with his thesis. I'm proud of him. The other day, we went to Chinatown to see Nadia and the baby. The baby is surprisingly not fussy. I think Nadia is a natural mother. Did you know Alex got married? I had no idea. Kong told me the other day.
Your friend,
Eiji
P.S. Should I send more photos, or do you miss outside more if I do?
***
November 24, 1994
Dear Eiji,
Yeah, Max sent George to talk to me. I don't know. I guess it's worth a shot. I'd like to get out if I can. I've spent more than half my 20s in the slammer, and I guess it kind of hit me that that's just the start. I don't want to be here when I'm 50, 60, 70... So I'm working with George on it. Thanks for lighting a fire under me, you and Max both.
I didn't know about Alex. In fact, I've been meaning to ask you about him. His letters petered out a couple of years ago. That's not surprising. Letters are a pain to keep up with when you actually have a life. I figured that's all it was, but I was going to ask if he was okay. Guess he is. I'm glad he got off the streets. Hope he's with a nice girl; he was always a sucker for a pretty face.
Nadia sent me a picture of the baby (actually she sent 10). She's cute. It made me kind of sad though, to think Shorter's never going to see her. He'll never get to be an uncle; he'll never even get to be an adult. I really miss him sometimes. We met in juvie, you know. I'm sure I told you about it. I could tell right away he was different. He knew how to take care of himself, but he knew how to do it without being a rat bastard to everyone who wasn't part of his posse, and that's something most kids on the street never figure out. Shorter got it. Sing. Cain. Short list.
Shorter told me once that he used to jack off to this angel on this old Christmas card. I don't know why I thought of that right now, but I really liked that he said that. It sounded so stupid, and he was willing to say it to a kid he barely knew. He had that kind of confidence--real self-confidence. That's something you and him had in common. I'd like to aspire to be like that, but I worry way too much about what people think of me. I'm always afraid someone will see the real me.
Your friend,
Ash
P.S. Photos: not for a while, okay?
***
January 3, 1995
Dear Ash,
I miss Shorter too, even though I only knew him for a little time. Sing told me that, when he was a kid, he called him "Sorta Wrong," (not to face) not because he thought he was wrong, but because it sounds funny. I think maybe Shorter knew that but thought it was okay.
Ash, you are the most self-confident person I know. And you are, like Shorter, not afraid to look stupid or bad. You were even ready to show porn of yourself in order to expose corrupt politicians. That is extremely confident. You just think you are not so because you aim so high. You get unconfident sometimes but with things so huge that most people would never dare to try them, like responsibility for many others' lives.
I am glad you meet with George. You will get a new trial, and justice done. 頑張ってね。 I am confident. Also Alex said he will write with wedding pictures.
Your friend,
Eiji
***
February 8, 1995
Dear Eiji,
We all called him "Sorta Wrong." It's obvious. He had a thing for a while where, whenever he'd see me back off from something, like a rumble, he'd say, "Ash Blinks." I liked that; it was a good code for telling me when he thought I should reconsider. I didn't always agree, but after he died, I missed that perspective.
You are utterly predictable in your misinterpretation of who I am inside. No, I'm not confident. Sorry. But I'm not going to bicker about it. That won't stop me from pitching forward with the trial.
Got pics from Alex. I don't really care. Is that a horrible thing to say? He was a good friend, but I think the operative word for both of us now would be "was." Life brings people together and pushes them apart. Some friendships form because of who the people are, and some form because of circumstances. Alex is a great guy, but we were friends because of circumstances, and those circumstances are over. I hope he'll be happy though.
Your friend,
Ash
***
***
***
March 4, 1998
Dear Ash,
I am so tired. I feel that I'm unfair to say that; you must be much more tired. I can't believe they won't overturn your conviction. I can't believe it. Can't believe. I always believed that there is justice deep down, that there are many corrupt and horrible things, but justice is deeper. I guess it is so deep that we can't dig it up.
Probably, tomorrow I will feel better and will think of a new plan to help you. I will talk to George and Max. Right now, I can't think. It seems hopeless.
Your friend,
Eiji
***
April 9, 1998
Dear Eiji,
I've never heard you sound like that. You're taking this harder than I am. You need to take a load off. You just need to not think about it for a while. Then, if you need to, keep on looking for ways to get me out of here. If you need to, then do it. But
I'm actually glad I've had this battle to fight, even though I lost it. It gave me something to work for these past three years. So it didn't pan out. It gave me some drive back to do stuff with myself. Now that the trial is over, I'm going to devote more time to the literacy program and the job skills program in here. If you want to help, we could use some of that cash you're good at raising for charity.
I'm also going to knuckle down and put some serious work into the Bosnia book. Dr. Renau has been on my case about how slowly my chapters are coming. They'd come faster if they gave me internet access, but oh well.
We do need more computers for the job skills program though. Even without internet access, we can teach word processing and spreadsheets and stuff. These are essential job skills today. It's criminal (ha) that so many people never even get taught the basics.
You 頑張って too. Be that plucky Eiji again. Nothing keeps you down.
Your friend,
Ash
***
May 14, 1998
Dear Ash,
I'm so proud of how you bounce back. It makes me think I have to bounce back too. I smile to see everything you do, even in prison. But I wonder a little bit if you say some of these things so I don't worry. Is it really okay? I wish I could talk to you alone. I wish we could write letters guards don't read. I almost wished not to see you at the trial because it was hard to see you but not talk except in courtroom. I want most of all that you tell me the truth, good and bad.
I am better because of your letter. I have idea about your case: presidential pardon. I know this sounds very far-fetched, but you have done great service for your country, and your case is famous, so you are a good candidate if friends lobby. (Also you are not a menace to society.)
When money comes in the for the auction next month, I will send funds for literacy program and job skills program. I'm glad you work on this.
Your friend,
Eiji
***
June 20, 1998
Dear Eiji,
Yeah, Clinton's going to give a presidential pardon who that guy who's co-authoring a book on how his policies in the Balkans are immoral and counterproductive to US interests. No, I'm not going to pull out on the book. But thanks for the thought. I appreciate your tenacity; I really do.
As for life in prison, nothing I've said about it is a lie. I'm glad to be working on the projects I'm working on. Of course, there's some shit I don't usually write about, which I guess you want to hear because knowing is better than guessing, right? It was worse when I was new here. In the beginning, I had to find a delicate balance between coming off tough enough not to get beat on but not hammering on people so much that I lose privileges and get sent to solitary. I actually kind of enjoyed that; it was an interesting puzzle to solve. The end result was I did get beat up once in a while, and I got sent to solitary once for breaking a guy's leg. Since I've been here, I've only been raped three times, and that was all years ago. I guess now I'm nearly 30 (Christ Almighty) I don't give off the everybody's-bitch vibe so much.
Actually, I've put on weight. I don't know if you could tell in court. My last checkup, I weighed in at 161, which bugs me. If I'm not careful, I'm going to end up a fat bastard like my dad. So I've been exercising more in my cell, outside of the exercise periods. They say it's good for lifting your mood too.
Speaking of getting older, when did you start wearing glasses? They make you look practically like a grown up.
Your friend,
Ash
***
July 26, 1998
Dear Ash,
I hate to break bad news, but no one is going to read your book. Americans don't care very much about the Balkans, so just a few professors and people with special interest will read. It will not be embarrassment for Clinton. However, giving you a pardon could spin as a big political win because when you fought the Banana Fish conspiracy, you fought a lot of conservative policies on Central America, so a pardon for you would be embarrassment for many Republicans associated with Reagan Administration. This is my angle. (I will read your book though.)
I started wearing glasses about five years ago. I get a little astigmatic, which is bad for the photographer! You are far-sighted, right? That helps with aim.
You worry too much about weight. You should not worry so much but eat well--as well as you can with prison food. I wish I could cook good Japanese food for you: nutritious and low fat. Lots of seaweed. No natto. Miso, but just once in a while to keep low sodium. Sing gets a little heavier too. He works out a lot too to keep fitness. As for me, I am naturally willowy, and so thumb nose at both of you.
Your friend,
Eiji
P.S. Thank you for telling me more what it's like.
***
September 1, 1998
Dear Eiji,
I hate to break bad news to you too, but Billy-Bob has no interest in embarrassing the Reagan Administration. Billy-Bob is Reagan-lite. By all means, keep working on it though. I'll get a lot of chuckles out of tracking your progress. Seriously, I've never heard you sound so Machiavellian. It's a little weird; don't go too far with it.
I didn't say I was eating less; I said I was exercising more. And you are not willowy. Willowy is tall, and that ain't you. Puny, maybe. Baby-birdlike?
Thanks for the money for the literacy/job programs. It's truly been a big help. We were able to hire a new teacher for fall and got two new-used computers. You are either the most fantastic photographer NY has seen in the last decade or you are a naturally gifted fundraiser. I'm betting it's some of each. Have you thought about doing non-profit work as a career--or addition to the photography?
By the way, I got a letter from Michael the other day. It was typed and all full of sideways smiley faces and frowny faces. I felt like I was reading a letter by a five year old. All his "I"s were lower case. And this kid is applying to Yale? Actually, writing skills aside, he sounds sort of qualified, must take after his mother. (Please feel free tell Max I said so.)
Your friend,
Ash
P.S. I am 30, Eiji!
***
October 9, 1998
Dear Ash,
I am 32, so there. Akira also e-mails with many emoticons. Japanese emoticons are better than English language emoticons. They are bigger and also the right side up, like this: (^-^) (Do I put period after that? I don't know.)
I'm sorry I sound too Machiavellian. I will try to find "delicate balance," as you say, between understanding politics and not being too deep in it. But Max and I do keep working on the lobby for the presidential pardon.
Yes, I do consider non-profit work. I am working with Sing on some ideas for higher education funding: mostly grants for arts and sociology. We will probably go to Japan for a while. I told Sing I'd like to show him Gizmo--oops, Izumo--and I would like to see my family again. Also Sing has a job opportunity for one-year lecture position at Akita University. So my letters may come a little slower, but I will still write faithfully, on pretty Japanese stationery.
Your friend,
Eiji
***
***
Japanese Notes:
お誕生日おめでとう! -- o tanjoubi omedetou -- happy birthday
頑張ってね -- ganbatte ne -- hang in there, okay?
Letters 2003-2004
no subject
Date: 2011-03-11 10:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-12 07:09 am (UTC)