Uncle Tokuji

A few weeks ago, after our snow and ice, J-Ma's cousin called to ask us to check on her dad. He had slipped on the ice and hurt his leg. The cousin lives across Japan in Kanazawa. Her dad, Tokuji Ohira (last name, first name) lives less than a mile from where we live. We dropped by and found him moving very slowly. He's 78 years old so I really didn't know how fast he normally moved. He was cute and seemed cozy in his blue long johns. He is a retired fireman. I think J-Ma's dad was a fireman too. He was also in WWII. All I know he went to Russia. He could still remember how to say "Thanks." He had about 100 bonsai in his front yard. He also had a little greenhouse that was full of cacti. I had never (and have yet to) seen so many bonsai in one person's yard. Many houses have anywhere from 1 to 20 arranged around their yard. I can't wait to see some of his when Spring comes and they bloom. Yesterday, we went to see him again. After I posted about that visit in my other blog, I was reminded that I had these pictures. To see more about Tokuji and see his picture, click on the following link:

http://aikisearch.blogspot.com/2006/03/tokuji-san-family-heirloom.html