Deb Lund ad lib

I could live in Sasebo. It has trees, water, and rolling hills. The land is lush — the kind of place where if you set something down, you might not be able to find it under all the new growth a few days later. It’s the home of Jason Rome, the boy who made this trip possible. He’s 11 now. When he was 8, he started emailing me — a young dinofan. Last November when I traveled with The Brothers Four on a week of their Asian tour, Jason and his parents joined me at a concert in Fukuoka. we tried to make a visit to Jason’s school then, but the timing didn’t work. I said “I’ll just have to make another trip,” not knowing that’s exactly what would happen just months later.

Jason introduced me to a room full of his peers during my school presentations. Kaj and Jason hit it off — two quirky kids with their own views of the world. After our day with school kids, Xavier, first grade teacher and husband of guidance counselor Nicole (who arranged this portion of my trip), took us out on one of his boats through the 99 islands. There’s more than 99 islands out there, but the term is a Japanese one meaning “a LOT” — like we might say “a million.” If I squinted, it could’ve been my beloved Boundary Waters in northern Minnesota, except for the beach shrine entrance…

It’s the stories we attach to places that make them come alive. Memories, descriptions, senses, all rolling and rippling through our lives. Wishing you good stories and calm waters…