(508) Riddles about Three C's

  One of the key measures against COVIT-19 is to prevent occurrence of clusters. So it is very important to avoid "three C's" in daily life. The risk of occurrence of clusters is particularly high when the "Three C's" overlap.

1st C: Closed spaces with poor ventilation (密閉空間)
2nd C: Crowded places with many people nearby (密集場所)
3rd C: Close-contact settings such as close-range conversations (密接場所)

1st C: Closed spaces with poor ventilation
Be careful to choose a room to use.

Can you guess what room has no walls, floor, ceiling, or windows?

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A mushroom.

ceiling [síːlɪŋ] 天井、上限
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2nd C: Crowded places with many people nearby (密集場所)
Let me think of "number of people".

If two is company and three is a crowd, what are four and five?

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Nine.

ことわざ　Two's company, three's none [a crowd]
二人はよい連れ、三人は仲間割れ。
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3rd C: Close-contact settings such as close-range conversations (密接場所)
A doctor and a patient is one of close-contact settings. In this case an apple really works.

If an apple a day keeps the doctor away, what does a garlic do?

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It keeps everyone away.

一日一個のリンゴ、医者いらず。ではニンニクは？
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(507) In this town この街で

　　When I read an essay "Home with Jane" by Raisa Bruner of TIME magazine May 25, 2020, I underlined the next sentence.

It can be strange to reorient to a single place, to recognize that our modern transience-moving homes, taking vacations, mingling with strangers in bars-is in some ways a recent privilege.

It instantly reminds me of the massage;

「恋し、結婚し、母になったこの街で、おばあちゃんになりたい。」

"I want to be a grandma in this town where I fell in love, got married and became a mother."

This is the message we want to keep most in the 21st century. Matsuyama city collected many messages from all over Japan in June 2000. This message got Matsuyama mayor's award.

  This was an event twenty years ago, but I remembered the phrases. I often see this message at several public places in Matsuyama city. This is one reason and another reason is the song composed by Arai Man from this message. I often listen to this song from TV. Chorus groups like to sing along this song. I thought the heroine of this song can feel happy with living in the same place during whole her life. Under this coronavirus pandemic we experience long staying-home  and voluntarily refrain from inter-prefectural travels in Japan.

  Can you find any joys and domestic pleasures like the heroine of this song. At first this message sounded like an anti-globalization message to me. But this coronavirus crisis reminds me of this song and its message. I had a moment to think of this message. Staying at one place is one way of life.

(The rylics are printed on the floor tiles in Community Center.) 

In this town (この街で)

Born in this town, raised in this town

Then I met you here in this town.

I fell in love, and got married in this town

Then I became a mom here in this town.

Right next to you, always me

Beside me, you are always there.

I want to be a grandma someday in this town

I want to walk with you as a granpa.

Blue sky over the hill

One white cloud floating

Chasing that cloud chasing dreams

The joy and happiness in this town with you.

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