The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference. Robert Frost (1874–1963)

Upon Toastmaster Joy Chyr's request, I stayed at her place overnight for the first time after our last movie & dinner gathering in January was over.

It was only nine after when most participants left for home. Joy was eager to show me an array of popular TV stations in China she downloaded on her i-pod. I watched one video clip after another to get a picture of entertainment industry in China. Much to my astonishment, I was overwhelmed with the diversities and varieties of TV shows in China. At home, I don't watch TV except the 7 o'clock evening news over dinner.

Since my husband was out of town, I needed not rush home. I felt elated to stay up late indulged in women's talk at Joy's. We took a bubble bath after we decided to retire for the night, followed by a slumber party for two nudes! Joy certainly had a lot to talk in the dark, my eyes felt heavier and heavier in no time. Before I could hear anything from her, it was late Sunday morning when I woke up.

The last movie & dinner gathering started at 3:55 p.m. Saturday afternoon, January 26th. It was another splendid movie gathering to compare two greatest Japanese movie directors Akira Kurosawa and Itami Juzou!

We watched "To Live (生きる)", a 1952 Japanese film co-written and directed by Akira Kurosawa. It's a story about the struggles of a middle aged government employee and his final quest for meaning.

Kanji Watanabe(Takashi Shimura) is a section chief in the city government. He has worked for thirty years. His wife is dead and his son and daughter-in-law live with him. After learning he has stomach cancer and less than a year to live, he is lost until he meets a young female subordinate who seeks for resignation to start a new life..

Watanabe has a dramatic change in his behavior from passive bureaucrat to passionate advocate. He eventually turns a mosquito-infested cesspool into a children's playground. In the end, Watanabe died sitting on the swing, gazing lovingly at the sparkling snows falling from the sky, singing  ゴンドラの唄 Gondola no Uta.

いのち短し　戀せよ少女 朱き唇　褪せぬ間に(life is brief, fall in love, maidens, before the crimson bloom fades from your lips
熱き血潮の　冷えぬ間に 明日の月日の　ないものを(before the tides of passion cool within you, for those of you who know no tomorrow

いのち短し　戀せよ少女 いざ手をとりて　彼の舟に (life is brief, fall in love, maidens, before his hands take up his boat)
いざ燃ゆる頬を　君が頬に ここには誰れも　來ぬものを (before the flush of his cheeks fades, for those of you who will never return here)

いのち短し　戀せよ少女 波に漂う　舟の様に(life is brief, fall in love, maidens, before the boat drifts away on the waves)
君が柔手を　我が肩に ここには人目も　無いものを(before the hand resting on your shoulder becomes frail for those who will never be seen here again)

いのち短し　戀せよ少女 黒髪の色　褪せぬ間に(life is brief, fall in love, maidens, before the raven tresses begin to fade)
心のほのお　消えぬ間に 今日はふたたび　來ぬものを (before the flame in your hearts flicker and die for those to whom today will never return)

For dinner, Linda donated a big wok of fried noodles, a plate of vegetable pickles, and a plate of scramble eggs with tomato. Mei made a pot of vegetable and mushroom soup. Joy prepared corn on the cob.

After dinner, we watched "The Funeral(お葬式)", a 1984 Japanese comedy film directed by Juzo Itami. The film shows the preparations for a traditional Japanese funeral. It mixes grief at the loss of a husband and father with wry observations of the various characters as they interact during the three days of preparation.

Due to the bad quality of the VCD of "The Funeral", we didn't finish the film. Mr. Hung agreed that I could take the VCD home to watch it. Without delay, we began our chocolate fondue party during our panel discussion. I saw satisfied smiles on ladies when they dipped strawberries, grapes, cheese cake chunks into the pot of chocolate fondue. I was so happy that the chocolate fondue was a triumph to win hearts of our ladies friends.

Joy and I had Sunday brunch at Cafe' a la mode on Yung-ho Street, in the neighborhood of late Liang Shih-chiu. Joy ordered Italian rizo, I had German sausage & scramble eggs with South African black tea. When Joy asked me what I was after in life. I told her my story of the road not taken.

Like the protagonist Watanabe in Ikiru, I was a section chief at Department of Health when I decided to leave the government post two decades ago. For me, life is not for the pension and retirement. Life is to discover new possibilities. Life is to get connected with the world. Life is to realize our full potentials.

Many thanks to Mr. Hung for selecting many inspiring and thought provoking movies for the theme of the month--Life and Death in January! We shall resume our movie & dinner gatherings in March with the theme of month—Love & Sex. See you in March!

PS: I finished watching "the Funeral", the award wining film funeral by Director Juzo Itami the following day. It's educational and entertaining about Japanese funerals. Director Itami played a prank by choosing "the end" to begin his movie career.