Sept. 18^th

“Yep. Good ol’ recovery day. Time to chill out, and relax, and drink more water because of my slight headache. All will be well later, though, I’m sure.” That’s what I wrote for Sunday. Wasn’t even worth putting in it’s own entry.

So, today was another relaxing day. But…I had to something I’d been fearing for quite a while…wash my dreadlocks…in Japan. You see, Japan doesn’t really have the hair care products I need, and every time I do any kind of lock maintenance, it means I’m one step closer to the point of “roll with it, man…you really don’t have a choice”. So, I tend to delay as much as I can…space things out a bit. But after all that basketballin’ and hangin’ with smokers…my hair really needed washing. So…I bit the bullet.

A few nights ago, I went out and got myself a hairdryer. Normally, I sun dry my dreads, but a few days in Japan told me something – Sunlight ain’t all that frequent. It’s normally overcast and a bit muggy. That’s right, Japan looks mostly like a ghetto mixed with rice-fields, Las Vegas, and…a strip mall, and it’s almost always overcast. Really makes you wanna come visit, don’t it? Come on over! I like it for some reason. So, I got the hairdryer, thinking I’d need it. And lo and behold, the day I wash my dreads? Sunny. Thank you, Japan. Oh, but it didn’t stay that way. Somehow, during the time when I stepped into the shower, and the moment I stepped out, cloud rushed in and began droppin’ rain, Florida-style. Or, in other words, relentlessly. So I sat inside, and tried just lettin’ the dreads air dry for a while…even though I had the dryer.

Durin’ this time, began to wonder when my novelty would wear out here. I’m only a superhero because I’m new. When would my “new American smell” disappear, and when would they consider me just another part of the landscape? It was bound to happen eventually. Would that be when I stopped feeling like this place was normal? I tend to get weirded out by places once they actually accept me as one of their own…. Trust issues.

Apparently I thought for a while, because when I looked out the window again, the sky was clear, and the earth dry. But it was almost sundown. So, my dreads still a little damp, I went for a walk. This time, instead of going east, as that was all I knew…I went west. Little did I know, there’s a completely different world to the west. The stores and stuff just…stop, and suddenly, there’s a huge river (compared to what I’ve seen) and trees, and this really interesting path that leads out into unknown greenness… I really gotta walk down there sometime. And there’s a bridge! I love bridges over rivers. Used to hate ‘em, and now…it’s grand.

The wind was blowing gently, the sun was setting softly, and the sky was in beautiful layers of purple, orange and yellow, accented with blue clouds. I was wearing blue jacket #3, Baby Blue, and was very, very…solitary. I passed by families and friends who seemed to be enjoying walks as well. Again, that feeling of being the foreigner washed over me, but it didn’t sting like it does in America. Again, I began to wonder if this is simply how my life will always feel. I mean, apparently, I’d missed “home” as long as I’d been alive, but…I could never remember where home was. Most people would begin to feel depressed in this kind of situation and want to go home, but this was all I knew, and moving back to the US would actually make it feel worse. I still don’t understand how I can miss something I’ve never had. I don’t ever remember feeling like I was “home”, but…maybe I did, and my mind just can’t put the pieces together to remind me of when and where that was. Nope…this isn’t depression, this is simply David Williams as he’s always been. Which means I gotta be thinking way too hard. I’m overlooking something, and part of me had hoped that moving to Japan would help me remember what it was. But, I’ve only been here for two weeks. Lots more time to go, so maybe it’ll come to me then. If not…I’ll have to try something else.

And with that thought, I looked out over the purplish, swirling Kinu River one last time before heading back home. I took the long way back, past a public pool/bath house, and even swung by a liquor shop, but not for liquor. I was taking Matt’s advice again, thinking, “If the Japanese like liquor, they’re more likely to trust a man they see BUYING liquor.” So, I picked up a bottle of Bailey’s Irish Cream…because that stuff is simply tasty. The clerks seemed delighted by my presence. I think I’ll buy a bottle of Bailey’s from there every once in a while, so they’ll see me as a “regular” and know that I have a “usual”. Yes…my plans are falling into place. Wait…then I’ll just have, like, 8 million bottles of Bailey’s layin’ around. …Yep, genius.

D