Saying Good Bye To A Friend.....

Tonight we laid to rest a friend.....Stan Higaki. Stan passed away on Oct 16th at the age of 50. He leaves behind a wife and two daughters...ages 13 and 9. Stan died in a car accident while on business travel. Stan was a guy that I met while our kids went to Lotus Preschool....we would see eachother at school functions, birthday parties and scouts. He was a very dedicated father to his kids and a great guy to be around. He was always smiling....

I remember last seeing him in J-town during the summer. It was before a scout meeting and he was sitting on the bench with his dog and I sat down next to him and we talked about nothing in particular. After about 10 minutes, I had to run up to my meeting so I said, "all right dude, I'll see you later....". He said, "see ya". And that was that....nothing special....nothing earth shattering.....just two guys saying, "later on". Even though I haven't seen much of Stan since I've moved to Sacramento, I will miss him. Even though we were'nt the best of friends....we never "hung out" together....I will miss him. I know a lot of people will miss him. For the 10 years that I've known him...I never once heard him swear or speak bad of someone......and he always had a smile. It's funny how things turn out and why some people die when they do. Hard to figure out.....

His wife Janet told me, in one day, her life had been changed forever. Forever....

How she feels bad because she took so many things for granted.....

How her daughters will miss their Daddy.....

It's incredibly sad and it really makes me think. How your life can be changed forever in a split second. One minute you are there and the next...you're gone. Stan never awoke from his car accident and in a way, I'm glad that he didn't. He didn't have the opportunity to "think" that he may die and leave his wife and kids.....who I know he treasured. He didn't have the opportunity to "wonder" if everything was fine. And he didn't have the opportunity to "hope" that he may be okay....only to learn that he would not be.

But in his passing, he has given us all a gift that we should remember.

Live each day, live....

Take a minute to smell the air....

Appreciate all that happens....good and bad....

Don't take anyone for granted....

Treasure your time with your spouse and your kids....

Most of all....smile....

So thanks Stan......rest in peace and know that you will be missed......"All right dude....I'll see you later........"

Gila River Circa 1943

Here are some pics of the Gila River Relocation camp where my mother and her family were kept during the second world war. Not much of anything out there expect for desert and tumble weeds. But you can see in the picture how families tried to spruce up their surroundings by adding some trees and grass. Typical old school Japanese.....do the best with what you got and don't complain.

Close up of the barracks that my mothers family was in, it's the one in the first row with the door open.

That's What Friends Are For.....

If we are lucky in life....we get to meet that one friend.....that one friend that you know will always be your buddy. One kid that knows who you really are because you have never had to "be different" or "act like somebody you're not". No matter how much time or distance seems to pass, it seems like yesterday when you last saw each other. I have to say that this is something we all wish for but many of us never have....but Scotty is lucky. He has his buddy Mitchell. Mitch and Scott have been best of buddies since they were about 3 years old. When they went to pre-school together, Mr Brian once said...."as far as Scott and Mitchell are concerned...it's those two and nobody else....". Scott and Mitch have gone through pre-school together...basketball....scouts.....family vacations........you name it. Since we have moved to Sacramento, one of our big concerns was that the bond of those two would slowly go away.....that couldn't have been farther from the truth. Their friendship has continued to grow and they continue to make me laugh everytime I see them together. I can now say with confidence that their friendship is here to stay and they will continue to experience lifes challenges together with the assurance that they will always have a wing man ready to stand by you.....after all, that's what friends are for....

It's Almost Halloween.....

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