We took a little break for Silver Week. Thanks for waiting. So, here we go again with this week’s jump off question. This week’s question may seem difficult at first, but if you use your imagination, I am sure there are MANY different answers you might want to share.

So, here goes:

If you could travel back in time to witness an event(s), WHEN and WHERE would you go?
もしタイムトリップをして過去のある出来事を目撃できるとしたら、いつ、どこへあなたは行きますか？
My answers:

I would love to travel back to June 12, 1952 and attend my parent’s wedding ceremony and wedding reception. I have seen old video tape of that day and have been amazed to see my relatives and family friends laughing, dancing, smiling and YOUNG! My parents seemed like they were only children. That would be incredibly fun to witness.

After that, I would travel to Washington D.C. on August 28, 1963 to listen to Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” speech for racial equality. It is considered a definitive moment of the American civil rights movement in the US and a great source of inspiration for me. If you don’t know about him or this speech, you can watch it here or ask me about it when we speak next.

And finally, I would travel to February 22, 1980 to an Olympic ice hockey game between the USA and the USSR. To non ice hockey fans, this is not a famous date in history. But to sports fans, this is the date of one of the biggest upsets in sports history. And for me, who in 1980, was 11 years old, this was the greatest night of my young life. The American team was not supposed to win—they were considered too young, too inferior and too inexperienced. They were incredible underdogs. However, the US team beat the Russian team 4-3 and then went on to win the gold medal two days later.

So, What what event(s) would you travel back in time to witness?

I will look forward to hearing your answers this week.

Be well,

Keith//

Some vocabulary help!

witness｜ 〜を目撃する
a wedding ceremony｜結婚式
a wedding reception｜結婚披露宴
definitive｜決定的な
racial equality｜人種的平等
upset｜ 〜を（予想に反して）打ち負かす.
underdog｜（ゲーム試合などで）勝ち目のうすい人；敗者.

Oops, sorry to be late for this week’s question...

This week’s question to consider: What is the most important thing you learned from your parents? あなたがご両親から学んだ一番大切なことは何ですか？

Of course, there countless things I learned from my parents, but “mental toughness” (精神的強さ) is probably the most important thing I learned from them. My father was very tough physically and even tougher mentally. My parents never told me to be tough, but by example, I saw them deal with different adversities and issues that come with raising a family of 8 kids and they always seemed to tackle issues “head on” (まっこうから問題に取り組む)—no whining, no complaints. I am probably not as tough as they would want me to be, but I do my best to follow their examples.

What was the most important thing(s) you learned from YOUR parents?

I will look forward to hearing your answers this week.
Be well,
Keith//

This week’s question is...

A genie has just granted you three wishes. You can wish for ANYTHING, except more wishes. What three wishes would you ask for? (you can look at the end of the blog to see important definitions (定義) to help you understand.)
ランプの魔人ジーニーがあなたに３つの願い事を叶えてあげようと言いました。あなたはどんな願い事をしても構いません。ただし、３つ以上の願いことをお願いすることはできません。あなたの３つの願いごとは何ですか？

First off, I would wish for good health for my mother. For the last few years, my mother has been having health problems and spends a lot of her time in pain or trying to deal with her aging body. I would wish for her health so she could spend her senior years ONLY having fun with her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Next, I would wish that my wife (Hiroe) would be a GREAT singer. When she was young, her dream was to become a singer and to sing in front of many people. She did sing and she was mildly successful but she never fulfilled her dream of one day becoming a FAMOUS singer. I would make that dream come true with my second wish.

And last, I would wish that all my English students all had the ability to speak English fluently. Of course, I would have to find another job, but it would be worth it to watch so many people achieve their goals.

What would you wish for?

I will look forward to hearing about your wishes when we speak next.
Be well,
Keith//


Key words:
GENIE/dʒíːni/名　詞〘イスラム神話〙魔神, 霊魔(jinn)；（ランプ瓶の中から出てくる）魔人.
GRANT ɡrǽnt | ɡrάːnt/ (動　詞•他動詞)
〈人の願いなどを〉かなえる；［grant A B/grant B to A］〈A（人）のB（要求嘆願など）に〉応ずる, 同意する, 〈AのBを〉聞き入れる；［III that節］〈…ということを〉承諾する
(Example: grant a request｜願いを聞き入れる)
(Example: grant a child his wish｜子供の望みをかなえてやる)
WORTH /wə́ːrθ/ 形容詞｟叙述｠｟動作を表す名詞などを伴って｠（…する）価値のある, （…に）値する｟doing｠
(Example: be worth the time｜時間をかける価値がある)
(Example: Learning a foreign language is very difficult, but it's worth it.｜外国語を学ぶのはたいへんむずかしいが学ぶだけのことはある)
(Example: What is worth doing at all is worth doing well.｜｟ことわざ｠ やる価値が少しでもある仕事はりっぱにしとげる価値がある.)