Michael T. Miyoshi's Blog, page 28

Boogie Woogie

I like to play music. Guitar, mandolin, piano, even harmonica. I do not play any of my instruments enough, but I find myself drawn to them more and more the longer this pandemic rages on.

The more I think about music, the more I am drawn to the piano. I am not even sure why. After all, I have only taken a few lessons. And the one lesson that has stuck with me the most is the one day lesson that I took to learn how to play chords on the piano. That several hour course has stood me in good...

A New Movie, A New Thought

I like social media, but I must say that I have never really been sucked in by the whole thing. After watching The Social Dilemma, I think I will keep using social media sparsely, the way I have been since the beginning.

When I first signed up for my social media accounts, I was really just looking to find a few old friends. And to promote my writing. Not necessarily to those same friends, but to what I hoped would be a large audience. I have connected with a few old friends and I see my...

Dear Ronnie [1]

Ronald Lee Matsushima

(June 17, 1958 – November 14, 2020)

It is difficult to write about somebody who has just passed away. Difficult because we wonder why. We wonder at unfairness of it all. We wonder how we are going to get through it. And then even in the midst of all that wondering, we realize how blessed we were to have the person in our lives for even what seems the briefest of moments. Then it becomes clear what to write.

Dear Ronnie:

(I know you asked us cousins and other family...

Dear Ronnie

Ronald Lee Matsushima

(June 17, 1958 – November 14, 2020)

It is difficult to write about somebody who has just passed away. Difficult because we wonder why. We wonder at unfairness of it all. We wonder how we are going to get through it. And then even in the midst of all that wondering, we realize how blessed we were to have the person in our lives for even what seems the briefest of moments. Then it becomes clear what to write.

Dear Ronnie:

(I know you asked us cousins and other family...

Watching Old Movies Again

I do not choose movies very well. In fact, we end up stopping some of the movies I select after just a few minutes or so. Which is why instead of taking many chances on new movies, I end up watching the same movies over and over and over again. For at least I know I will like them. At least if I liked them before.

Despite the fact that I like to watch movies that I have seen before, some movies do not stand the test of time. I might have liked them before, but the story or the graphics or ...

My Latest Book

I finished writing my latest book in record time.

Now a book is not really finished until it hits the presses. Literally or figuratively. (It is available digitally on Amazon.) Even then, there are sometimes fixes that need to be made. (Next edition.) Still, I am amazed that I finished my book’s rough draft in a couple months. And the finished product in less than a year.

I suppose it actually took a bit longer than a couple months to finish my latest book. I actually had a running start...

A Cardboard Cutout

Same picture. Different story.

I decided I would make a cardboard cutout of myself for meetings. Not so I could slip out unnoticed, but to see if people are really paying attention.

I do not move much during virtual staff meetings (which is another story). I sit there and pay attention and try to soak in the information. Not that I am always successful, but I try. But after somebody pointed out that I do not move much during staff meetings, I decided that I would try something new. Actual...

Big Issues

It might be obvious, but most people only care about issues up to the point where they need to make a change in their own behaviors.

I do not normally write about big issues. Or even small issues. But I had an epiphany after watching a video about a big issue. So I had to share that epiphany. (I will share the video link below.) Even if my own revelation is already obvious to everybody else.

Issues stare us in the face all the time. Global issues. National issues. Regional issues. Loca...

7 Glorious Hours [1]

It might not seem that significant, but I got seven glorious hours of uninterrupted sleep a week or so ago.

Pain is an interesting thing. It makes you want to sleep, but it keeps you awake. At least that is what it does to me. Or maybe it is just that pain has kept me awake since the last week of August, and so I long for sleep.

(The next couple paragraphs seem to come out of the blue, but they really do fit. Trust me.)

I do not know if you have those conversations at supper, but we do. Th...

7 Glorious Hours

It might not seem that significant, but I got seven glorious hours of uninterrupted sleep a week or so ago.

Pain is an interesting thing. It makes you want to sleep, but it keeps you awake. At least that is what it does to me. Or maybe it is just that pain has kept me awake since the last week of August, and so I long for sleep.

(The next couple paragraphs seem to come out of the blue, but they really do fit. Trust me.)

I do not know if you have those conversations at supper, but we do. Th...