Journals Books

If there is anything this book has taught me, it is that there is no escape from the human condition. No matter if you are living as a monk in the woods or living in the midst of 9-5 city life, there is no real sanctuary from the struggles of humanity. Merton's writings on his struggles to reconcile his desires and remain true to his vows are enlightening. These are the struggles that all of us face, in one form or another. You can't help but love and appreciate Merton, the man, found in this journal.

This was actually the first I ever read or heard of Merton. I read this book at a time when I was going through a bit of a struggle myself in regards to who I was and what I believed. I was raised Catholic, but no longer felt that I had any place in the Church and then I felt guilty for having those feelings. What Merton does so beautifully and bravely is to show his own struggles and his own humanity to the world. He struggles with the idea of being a hermit vs his desire to change the world; with his love and devotion to the Church vs his love of a woman; with his need for solitude vs. his need to be surrounded by other intelligent, compassionate minds. It's a fascinating read. I think one of the things that struck me most about it was how unselfconsciously he writes about what he's going through. It's not a book overflowing with self-judgment or condemnation. On the contrary, it's a book filled with the idea that he is as human as the rest of us and has the same flaws and desires, yet what he does with those flaws and desires is really up to him. That's no small discovery. It's one we could all stand to make about ourselves.

"Learning to Love" captures the ache of forbidden love better than any work I have ever read. Merton's honesty, as mentioned in the other reviews, sets the gold standard for how we should converse with ourselves and with God. Ultimately, through meditation and prayer, Merton decides that his affair has opened his heart so that it holds a greater love for God, and the experience of going against his vows humbles him.

Anyone who is a true believer, who struggles to live that belief in daily life and who tries to reconcile the faith and the heart will enjoy this book. I can also recommend this book to people who are interested in journaling, as a example of "getting to the heart of matter" (Graham Greene) and to people who want a good introduction to Thomas Merton. I have gone on to read a number of his journals and his other books. He is most well-known for Seven Story Mountain. The Merton in that book is far younger and more naïve than the erudite and humble Merton displayed in these pages. Had I read Seven Story Mountain first, I never would have picked up another Merton book. Luckily for me, I picked this Merton book up first.

here is the volume that was much anticipated, the volume of Thomas Merton's diaries that dealt with his "love affair" with a young nurse, Margie Smith. By this point in the diaries, Merton has become a full time hermit{as someone once remarked, the busiest,most voluminous hermit in history. Or,as Merton wrly titled one of his diaries, A VOW OF CONVERSATION}. Moving further away from the obdient young novice of volume 2,Merton as always in full tonged battles with his Abbot,James Fox,,has been exploring eastern religions,trying to find the center which unites all. Then, he goes to a louisville hospital to have back surgery,and falls deeply in love with a young nurse. Always honest with himself,Merton knows where this is heading, and knows, even in his early entries, that this will not end well for her. There is a sweet episode when Joan Baez arrives,and after Merton tells her about his new love, insists that they drive straight away to Loiuisville to go to her{they do not.}There is nothing salacious here,and Merton comes to grips with his poor treatment of woman in his early life{he had fathered a child in London, and mother and son had died during the blitz in WWII},and finds another side in himself. Interspersed within this is the usual Merton gold, the ability to see through modern problems for what they are{fleeting}, and come up with crystalline insights{his commenst on his prayer life while he is essentialy leading ,for him, a compromised life, are very interestin.] This is top flight Merton, now on the top step, cleansed and looking east,where on the horizon, is the next and last volume, and the Asian journey. Essential,non-sensational,always edifying.

As usual, his journal style leads me into deep contemplation, but his honesty in dealing with all issues reminds the reader that he is a man before a monk or priest. I reccommend this book to all Seminary Students and those seeking quiet prayer and contemplation.

Bowwow is so cute if i ever meet him i will fate right in frot of him.And i would like to know him better.

The Lil'BowWow Scrap Book is siimply Off Tha Chainz" It has exclusive information avaliable only to you! From letting the fans know what type of gurls he like to bangin pics and pin ups; the Lil'BowWow Scrap Book should be the first thing you should cop. Start of your year 02' right and support this multi-talented pup. You will definitley need to get the second edition to this 'Hangin With Lil'BowWow' Scrap Book! Support BowWow 4 sho!

I think that Lil Bow Wow scrapbook is great book. It saws you pictures and tells you about him. In this scrapbook you can find and learn a lot of things about him and how he came in to the rapping bussiness.His scapbook is amazing. If you are just one of his fans who don't know nothing about him but just likes him becuase his cute well you can find out things about him.I advice you to get this book it tells you and shows you every thing that you need to know.Everything you need to know is right in his scarpbook.This is a wonderful book.I will give this book five stars. I think that it is one of the best books. For all of Lil Bow Wow's fans I think that yall should get this book it is so good.

THE BOOK WAS GREAT. I THINK HE SHOULD HAVE ANOTHER ONE COME OUT VERY SOON. I LIKE BOWWOW SO I KNOW WHEN HE DOES THINGS YOU SHOULD ALWAYS EXPECT THE BEST.YOU SHOULD EPECT THE BEST CAUSE HE REALLY LOVES WHAT HE DO. THE BOOK REALLY GIVES YOU HIGHLIGHTS OF WHAT HE IS LIKE IF YOU DONT ALREADY KNOW SO I THINK ITS REALLY GREAT FOR FAN WHO CANT REALLY GET OUT TO SHOWS AND STUFF. I MAKE IT TO ALL OF THEM SO THIS BOOK IR REALLY LIKE A REVIEW FOR ME AND I KNOW AS WELL AS TO OTHERS.

Lil Bow Wow is hot from is Cornrolls down to his Air 1's. No one can deny his talent for music and Basketball. And now that is first book dropped his reputation has gone sky high. If you like the book you will love "Beware of Dog" and "Doggy Bag" Also Bow Wow will be staring in a movie called "Like Mike". The book is blazing. IF there's something you don't know about Shad Moss you can find it in the book...

Beautiful book. I couldn't leave it. I had to read it to the very end.
Inspiring and moving autobiography. The story of a genius. A unique human being and yet a common human being, you can identify yourself with him.

This happens to be an extraordinary story written by an even more extraordinary man. He has been classified as a genius. I remember very clearly the day that he stepped into my parents' home in Union, New Jersey for the very first time to meet and date my sister, Elaine. It is still so vivid in my mind. His works are not to be believed. Seeing them in the book is one thing; however, seeing them in person is absolutely mind-boggling. How one man could come to this country literally broke and become a self-made millionaire proves that he has the mind and motive to make his life a huge success. Congratulations to my brother-in-law, Olle. I'm thrilled you put your story into print.

Donna J. Smith

Wasnt sure I would like the book simply because the author is in his seventies and of a different generation when so many came up thru the rough roads of life. In fact most men of that era came from a work ethic where you had to work hard if you were to succeed. But I read the book and its a good read.

Have family members who have family roots that go back to Skein Norway, and growing up in the Seattle area, I knew all about the Scandinavian way of life, and the no nonsense approach to life.

One thing I would like to see different is the books cover of the author standing next to a Rolls Royce/Bentley. Would like to see a more modern cover.

Overcoming obstacles is perhaps the theme of the book. Making success out of nothing is what Eriksen did and what he shares with the reader. You'll take away ideas and a new appreciation of his generation and for the human soul and strength.

Highly Recommended.

-Susanna K. Hutcheson

Growing up you hear all kinds of stories about your family - usually bits & pieces or the "when I was your age" stories. Reading about your own father in his own autobiography is amazing. There are things you never realized no matter what you've heard over the years. It's rare to get such an insight into the life and soul of someone you care about when they're still around every day to ask questions. It's ironic that when you're growing up you really don't want to know much about your parents when they're ready to tell you everything. Then when you realize you should know more they're getting older and start to forget. Well, now I can read and ask questions!

This journal has prompts that help children know what to look for in the outdoors.

This is a fantastic journal for children. It offers great ideas for journaling and has nice pictures and is arranged in a delightful way. I am pleased with this purchase for our homeschooling family. It is a perfect addition for the Charolette Mason nature walks.

What a great intro to nature journaling! I bought this book for my daughter and she absolutely loves it. I intended to have my older son use a plain sketch diary for his nature journal, but after looking through this one with dd-I'll just have to get one of these for him, too. There are so many great ideas to sharpen our "city eyes". The Scavenger Hunt pages were a big hit and will help my children become more observant, I'm sure. The perfect amount of handholding for a first journal!

We purchased this book for considerably more while visiting the Great Okefenokee Swamp. My 7 yr. old daughter has filled the pages in the months since. It is very informative and a good introduction to nature journaling.

We found the book about a month before embarking on a two-week journey from south-eastern Georgia to the Kitsap Peninsula of Washington. Along the way we visited many of the ecosystems noted in the book and my daughter was able to experience them in a much more robust way thanks in part to this book.

I highly recommend this book.

We've only had this journal for a couple of weeks but it is already an essential part of our day. My 7-year old daughter truly cherishes this journal and loves to share it with others. She even sleeps with it tucked under her arm. When a question comes up about ocean life, spiders, moths or wildflowers, she shouts, "I know! I'll look in my journal." If the answer is not found there, you can be sure she will add it once she finds it in a field guide, encyclopedia or from one of her nature buddies at the Dept. of Natural Resources. I was afraid that this journal would be stiffling but it is perfect for my youngest daughter. Her older siblings use blank journals for their entries, as do I, but this is just perfect for the younger set and it is lovely to flip through.

I'm a member of a lot of Disney message boards, but wanted something in print that I could take along with me to the parks. This book is perfect. I love that it is three ring bound and so I can add pages to it. They show you with color-coding anythign that has been updated for 2008. I love the organzation pockets in the back.

Very helpful for information and organizing trip to WDW. Information is well presented and current.The ability to plan out day & event iteneraries is great!I would recommend this for anyone planning a vacation to WDW.

I buy one of these every year for our Disney trips. Although we are Disney Vacation Club members and do not NEED all the information packed into this, it is a great keepsake for us. Every year I fill it out with all our plans and trip information. I save ticket stubs and such in it. From year to year I look back at past trips to help plan our upcoming trip. The thing I like best is there are maps of all the parks and from time to time things change or attractions open or close in the parks, and my family will have Passporters to look back on in years to come.
For people planning their first trip to Disneyworld this Passporter is loaded with helpful information. The Passporter and the latest copy of "Disneyworld With Kids" is all you need to plan a successful trip.
I did buy the regular version, not the "leather" edition last year and the information was all there, but the binder was harder to add things into than the 3-ring binder styling of the leather edition, so this year I did the leather version again. Mind you, the leather version is pricier and if you're not hanging on to it "forever" like we are, the regular edition is a great value and chuck full of all the same helpful information.

I loved this handy leather luxurious guide because it is choke full of information at my finger tips and an organizer in one. The leather three ring made it easy to keep my family organized before, during, and after our vacation. I am a scrapbooker (creator of family and friend photo albums) and honestly I don't always remember to write everything down while on vacation. Each day has its own envelope that you can put all types of items inside and there are spots all over the envelope to fill in what you did all day long. From where you went and did; to where you ate. I give this guide my two thumbs up for ease and convenience.

This guide is so unique and is yearly created very lovingly by Disney lovers Jen and Dave. This deluxe edition is leather bound and comes with a pen. The guide itself has major info on all the parks, restaunts and detailed reviews/opinions on all restaurants. They give important facts plus ther opinions.

This all makes the book worthwhile but most importantly the book becomes a souvenier guide for your trip. It comes with maps, checklists, envelopes for your air tickets, photos and momentos plus stickers and so much more.

Your trip will forever be a magical memory with this guide. And you can always purchase extra forms and aquire updates from their web site.

Thanks Jen and Dave for making Disney even more special.

I own pugs. I love pugs. So to me these notecards are perfect. Photography is wonderful. Quality of the cards is excellent. If you love pugs you'll love these notecards too!

..but enough about me.. These cards are beautiful and endearing shots of what have to be some of the cutest critters on earth. Each portrait gives a new insight into the manifold features of the pug and is sure to delight pug lovers everywhere. However there are in effect only 5 photos (one of them being the one displayed on the box) I bought the product assuming there would be 20 different ones rather than 4 of each. Don't get me wrong each of the photos is excellent and a joy to behold but at over $2 a photo you may be better off downloading one of the many photos on the net or shelling out for the authors book. For those people intending to actually send out cards rather than hoard the photos themself this would undoubtably deserve at least 4 stars!

Whether you are a pug owner or friend of a pug owner great for writing your own personal notes or as a gift for someone who has a pug! This is the only set of "Pug Notecards" I have seen anywhere!

Pug shots is a good pack of pug notecards. There are many different pug photos on the fronts of these cards, and they have a blank inside to write anything you want to anyone!!! I love pugs alot. I can't explain how much. Anyway, for any dog or pug lover, these cards are really cute. Each one has a cute little pug, (or pugs), on it and they are sure to make you smile. Here's an example. There's one pug "shot" that has a tan pug on steps, with a long scarf around its' neck. It's totally cute, and i feel really happy when i look at these. They're almost too cute to send! If you look at all of the different pug shots, you'll see some black pugs, some tan pugs, and pugs doing just...things! Either posing for a picture or just fooling around, the pugs in pug shots will make you feel really happy. Pug Shots rocks!!!

I love pugs and these notecards show my enthusiasm for the breed and my love of the breed. I get a big kick out of sending these notes out to my friends for thankyous and other messages. They are of high quality stationery--they are glossy and heavy and the pictures of the pugs are so cute. I've gone to other pug card sites and these are the best I've found. I hope the photographer makes another batch of cards for the public to buy. The cost is also reasonable

I agree with another reviewer that allowing the heart to express itself on paper can be a tremendous healing benefit. One of the most important tasks in life is to maintain a connection to our heart. Writing as a practice encourages the heart to speak and uses our right brain to create solutions. This is a beautiful practice from Henriette Ann Klauser along with her other book: Write it Down/Make it Happen.

This book is full of great ideas on communicating with the ones you love. It is a book not only about being heard but hearing what loved ones have to say to you.

I love being a Mailbox Aunt! In this world of techno, gotta-have-it-now, instant gratification world, writing is underestimated. This book gives you ideas on how fits into fits into and can enrich many areas of your life. My sister's kids have never known a world without the Internet, cell phones and e-mail; however, one of the biggest highlights of their week is receiving an envelope in the mail box (yes, snail mail) from Aunt Donna. Writing as a form of communication has become a lost art. I highly recommend Dr. Klauser's book by the same name of this book's Chapter 14, "Write It Down, Make It Happen." That is my favorite book by Dr. Klauser.

As a writer, I find this book of imformative and creative ways to get your thoughts on paper, fabulous. As a mother who has had a child die, I found the chapter, 'Easing The Pain of Death' to be of interest. While I don't like the term 'recovery' for I feel a mother never recovers from the loss of a child (losing a child is not like breaking a bone, the bone does heal completely and there is recovery. The pain from a child's death will always remain), I was encouraged to read the message that writing does bring healing. I have found this to be true in my own experience. As an advocate for 'writing it down!' I recommend H. A. Klauser's book. ------Alice J. Wisler, author "Slices of Sunlight, A Cookbook of Memories".

This book is a treasure trove of ideas, inspiration and many many reasons
to remember and ACT on "Putting Your Heart" on paper.

Klauser is an extremely engaging writer. I found myself smiling in
response to what I thought were personal inside jokes like a lyric
from "Sound of Silence" being weaved into a paragraph about the
impact of the vocalization of a baby upon a group of tired, unengaged
adults.

This is a book I find myself continuing to return to over time. I don't

think I ever read through it front to back. Instead, I go to the Table
of Contents to find what calls to my spirit and then I usually find
myself reading a couple chapters before and after that chapter.

I can't imagine any reader coming away with less than 49 ideas to
try out and implement, much beyond what Klauser calls "Now You"
when she specifically asks you to apply what is in the chapter.

Read this book, treasure this book. You will soon notice it is becoming
weathered which is an honor bestowed upon books which are truly loved.

Absolutely hilarious. I enjoyed this book immensely. Milt Pupique has truly revolutionized humor as we know it. I even bought copies for my family.

This book makes you expand your mind and think in directions that you may have never gone. Very humorous and enjoyable.

One truly incredible book, a major tour de force in humor.

Simply put, the creation of this book lies well beyond the capabilities of the human mind as we know it.

Ergo, Mr. Pupique must be an extraterrestrial... and a mutant one at that.

I bought REVELATIONS thinking that it was a good religious book. In this day in age of uncertainty, I was looking for some answers. But it seems that this book is not religious; it is not even serious.

I gave it to a friend in the hopes that someone might enjoy it. She seems to love it, and keeps quoting me passages. The 4-stars above are an average of my review and hers.

This book gives no answers, only jokes: humor-jokes.

One truly incredible book, a major tour de force in humor.

Simply put, the creation of this book lies well beyond the capabilities of the human mind as we know it.

Ergo, Mr. Pupique must be an extraterrestrial and a mutant one at that.

It is a great book. I used it for building a covered porch and found it indispensable.

Well when i got the book i was amazed on the amount of diffrent Roof Framing situations that are in it . Stuff in this book not to many people know how to do. Even if i just use the book once to refer to the 20 i spent on it was worth it ... If you are Into cutting rafters and find the Common Gables and Hips fun to do then you would love this ....

This is the best book currently available on roof cutting. It is enhanced through the authors extensive experience and inspirational passion for his craft. It is written for those who already have an understanding of framing and would like to grow in their knowledge. The layout makes it an easy to use quick reference guide for the particular aspects one might wish to inform themselves about on any given day.
I was impressed and encouraged by Will Holladay after purchasing his book. He showed me the joy, the satisfaction, and the excellence that can be achieved by doing what one was created to do.

Very detailed with corresponding illustrations. My favorite construction book out of 10. Covers all variations of complex rafter roofs. Also check out Roof Framer's bible for tables and corresponding math if u hate those construction calculators.

This book really helped me work through some issues I was having with cutting
a complex roof. I don't know if I could have done it otherwise. Beginning framers would also benefit from the book as it offers some advice in that area as well. Be sure you get the Journal of Light Construction edition NOT the edition published by Craftsman Book Company. I don't think there is a better book for advanced roof cutters.

The Smell of Freedom
Carl Nomura is an honest recorder of life. His memoir, Sleeping on Potatoes, is a frank and often revealing celebration of experiences, and hopes for more of them. He examines his childhood, education, marriage, his children's childhoods, his jobs and his seniority.
His title refers to a life-molding time when, soon after Pearl Harbor, at 18, he and his Japanese-American family were incarcerated at Manzanar, an internment camp in a dusty high-Sierra desert of California. He detested the insult of the camp and escaped by volunteering to help worker-short Idaho farmers. It was exhausting stoop labor, thinning, weeding and topping sugar beets in the fertile crescent of the Snake river.
When the job ended eight months later, instead of returning to Manzanar captivity, he volunteered for potato warehousing work in a huge root cellar. He sorted and bagged potatoes, and at night slept on the filled bags. He recalls wriggling the spuds into a form-fitting mattress, and the awful smell of rotting potatoes. But, he writes, "After only one day, we got used to the odor and never smelled it again."
Well, I drove my family through southwestern Idaho, years ago. Crossing the Snake river from Oregon, we came on a "Welcome to Idaho" billboard and were at once engulfed by the stench of rotten potatoes. My kids screamed, "Phew, Idaho!"
At Nomura's words I smelled it again myself and wondered how he could acclimate to, or ignore, that awful scent while I can still smell it. Of course, as he hints a page or two later, what he smelled was different from what I smelled.
What he smelled was better than Manzanar.
This honest book holds many revelations of significance in Nomura's life, and in our own lives as well.

Sleeping on Potatoes:
A Lumpy Adventure from Manzanar to the Corporate Tower
By Carl Nomura

2003 Erasmus Books
ISBN: 0970194730

Reviewed by George Katagiri
Portland, OR


Carl Nomura's writing style brings to life his unique perceptions of growing up and encountering his world. His descriptions are so vivid and captivating that it is often difficult to put the book down.
Nomura tells about being born in a boxcar somewhere between Deer Lodge and Three Forks, Montana. At retirement, he is the Corporate Senior Vice-President of the Honeywell Corporation. In between these two events are numerous adventures of (1) growing up in poverty, (2) climbing the corporate ladder, (3) rearing children, (4) getting along in marriage, and (5) the joy of loving and being loved. It is the journey along the way that is captured in the book.
Noteworthy are his memories of growing up. The descriptions of living with a domineering and abusive father makes one wonder how he survived his childhood. His drive to succeed stems from his ninth grade algebra teacher, who suggested that his mental capability was marginal and that he should not enroll in geometry but pursue courses in the manual arts. This spurred him on to teach himself mathematics, which became one of his favorite subjects.
Later in life, he encountered problems in his marriage. After consulting with marriage counselors and trying to gain insight through group therapy, he finally gave up on external help. His children got together and conducted sessions which resulted in the most constructive advice in solving his problems.
Carl Nomura is an exceptional person. Rather than following the footsteps of others, he blazes his own path. When he retired, his counselor advised him to wait a year before making any major decisions. Most people would heed this advice, but not Nomura. Shortly after, he held a huge garage sale in Minneapolis, sold his house and moved to the West Coast. The descriptions of how he makes decisions are consistently humorous and reflects the maverick character of a man who achieved much satisfaction and success in life.
Besides being amusing, this is an inspirational book.

I've known Carl Nomura for 20 years, seen various versions of this book and watched him grow as a writer. With this book, he's really done it. Sleeping on Potatoes is humorous, touching, poignant and readable. I particularly love Carl's description of his childhood as son of Japanese immigrants. Equally facinating are the years of internment during World War II. Never bitter, often whimsical, Carl gives us a touching picture of people unfairly interned. Ultimately Carl went on to earn a PhD and a postion as executive in a large corporation -- an amazing leap from his early lumpier bed.

Nomura's sparse style of writing is not unlike the character of a differential equation expressing the essential. He cuts to his distilled memory and leaves the residue of honed understanding through the filter of life experience. His life is an engaging tale; to me it seems a Horatio Alger story of the Japanese American community. He was born in a boxcar in Montana, was dislocated to Japanese internment camps and made the journey to Corporate Senior Vice President for Honeywell Corporation. Now he contributes to his community in Port Townsend, Washington in very beneficial ways, besides enjoying his own interests, family and travel.

His story brings greater understanding and deep appreciation of the diversity of our American culture by his unflinching exposure of his own family history. Nomura recounts with accuracy the emotional pain, isolation and dislocation from traditional Japanese culture in the struggle for the promise of a better life in America. He voices his life experience with insight and humor, which is the great expression of the commonality of the human experience seen through the filter of a kind mathematician.

He tells his story, even including poetry, which supports understanding and intimacy through his selected descriptions of challenging moments about his cultural heritage, marriage, family and career. In the end the real meaning and importance of life is about relationship.

But most of all I think this book, Sleeping on Potatoes is worthy of recognition for his dedicated and talented effort to build links of understanding between cultures, family, relationships and the poetic spirit of a curious mind.

`Sleeping on Potatoes is the metaphor for the bumpy and lumpy ride I had in my formative years,' Dr. Carl Nomura explains in the preface to his debut publication Sleeping on Potatoes: A Lumpy Adventure from Manzanar to the Corporate Tower (Erasmus Books, Washington, 2003). Nomura then extends this metaphor into a vivified mosaic of his life's experiences by bringing them to view through the eyes of a child and all the way up to a person with aspirations.

Starting informally with his mother Mizuko's story, a Japanese woman who married Nomura's father because `she heard that in America everyone was tall', Dr. Nomura creates a series of true, non-fictional, real life stories that border on the line between short story and personal essay. Reliving in linguistic light the hardship of poverty, a heartless father, the humiliation of being forced to move into relocation centers during the Second World War, and the travails of disease and bereavement, Nomura throws his readers into a joyous shock with the amazing optimism of his attitude and his lively humor that arises spontaneously from the interaction of situation and language. One instance is from his school days: `we thought her name (Sister Perpetual) fitted her because she beat us perpetually'. Certainly not to overlook the fun of fishing and poker, and giving smoking up for good when an angry woman comes inches from your face and calls you a `polluting pig.'

Though a doctor of philosophy in Solid State Physics, and an important figure in the corporate world of technology, it is Nomura's flair of seeing things as matter of course that lures one to appreciate his magnanimity. Not going a braggart, he opens a window to the philosophy of life-contentment, be it a doctorate in physics and excellence in management of small businesses, or using a bathroom 200 feet away from his bed in a trailer. Life is joy if you have your guts tuned to its frequency of vicissitudes.

Marking Sleeping on Potatoes as a book to amuse would be a reader's pitfall. It is a book enormous in its scope, though not in its volume (250 pages). By no means is this the adventurous story of a single person, reflecting on his past. It is the story of many characters that endured and fought against social injustice and untoward circumstances-from women like Mizuko and Louise, to the sufferers in relocation centers, and the motherless litter of cats who were lucky enough to make it to Nomura's house. His heart touching memories of Mox, the neighbor's dog, harbor all the richness and beauty of life. Nomura traces the causes of discontent in marital life, discusses issues associated with terminal illness, and informs on linguistic and the cultural relativism of English and Japanese native speakers.

Now in his eighties, retired and coping with prostate cancer, Nomura's lumpy ride has not come to a pause. It is bumping all along with new interest in learning and doing things and new ways of adding to the richness of his life. With his new wife, children and grandchildren, pets, garden, books, and the untamed freshness of mind, Dr. Carl Nomura lives as if he is immortal.