I made a business trip to New York for a week. Here is an episode that I got very impressed. At the night, the party invited by the customer was very crowded. Pretty bunny girls who may be taller than the average of Japanese guys were carrying cocktails busily. Here and there, cheerful conversations and laughters were heard. But I was silently looking at the skyscrapers out of a window because I could hardly have courage for sociability and for English speaking with strangers. Then, someone tapped my shoulder. He was a gentleman I acquainted just the day before. His name is Paul. Paul tried and tried to talk to me so patiently that my ear has become accustomed to his English. The minutes is as follows. It may not be correct in the words but it must not be wrong in the meaning. Paul: A famous street there. me: New York is beautiful. Paul: But it may look thin comparing with Japan and China. Don't you think so? me: No, I don't think so. I feel a kind of dignity of a modern age history. Paul: Each differing must be good. me: It is essential to admit each difference. Paul: It is important. --- Well, do you have any children? me: Yes, I have a son. He is an university student. And you? Paul: I have a daughter. She has already been graduated. Now she is a player of the roller game. Do you know the roller game? me: Oh, yes. It was also popular in Japan before. Paul: It is very popular in the US. me: It seems a very hard sports. It looks "skating wrestling", doesn't it. Paul: Certainly. My daughter often gets wounded. me: But I think women are basically fair players. I believe it because I'm a coach of a girls' soccer team. Paul: Oh, my daughter was a soccer player in childhood and I was a "soccer dad"! me: Does the experience of soccer help her in the roller game? It seems simular in body contact. Paul: It is useful, and it is also useful to know that 'respect' to the opponent is important. me: If we can respect each other, the world must become peaceful. Paul: That's right. It is necessary to pacify the world. Though I was not good at English, there is no border in the sports theory. In the crowd where the pretty bunny girls came and went, I and the gentleman were hugging each other. --- Jan.2010 delpi

July in 2011, Japanese female soccer team got the title of the champion of FIFA Women's World Cup. The opponent in final is the team of the US that the Japanese team had never won before. For the historical victory, Tokyo Tower was lighted up into the color of Japanese uniform. Then in New York, although the US team lost the title, the Empire State Building was lighted up into the color of Japanese flag to congratulate. As I saw the picture, I instantly remembered Paul and his advice. --- Jul.2011 delpi