Jackpot!
So I wanted to do a chronological thing here with the blog, however that means that it would be time to talk about Christmas and I'd really l don't want to talk about that anymore. Depressing. To sum it up in a sentence or two, we had guests (my Dad and brother) and it seems everybody was either sick or injured, then more sick. We had no doctors yet and the communication with the Japanese doctors at the local clinic wasn't going well, we were given improper medicines and on and on. Pneumonia, twisted ankles, non-stop coughing, fevers... But it's over. All are well and we now have a fantastic German doctor in Tokyo who I am completely loyal to. And anyway I want to write about two great things that happened this weekend...
First, we had decided to go back to Colorado for a portion of the summer. But our house is rented by friends, so, no where to live. Looked and looked for a house rental via internet---not easy to find a fully furnished house in or near our neighborhood for only 7 weeks, and the corporate housing 2 bedroom apartments were off-the-charts expensive. But! One of my girlfriends found a place, right next door to her, the lower level apartment of a house. fully furnished, has everything and it's in our neighborhood and it's dirt cheap. Relief. Thank-you Aileen!
Secondly, just around the corner from our house here in Japan, is a really, really old falling apart house, where a 102 year old woman lived. She passed away around 3 years ago, and nobody ever came to claim anything in it (or not much). The house and all of its contents was starting to be bull-dozed on Saturday, so my German neighbor Markus came over after a portion of it was torn down and the dozers left, to go, you guessed it, looting. We put on our thug hats.
I can't believe what was in that house. First of all, it was a bit dangerous because parts of the wood floor were torn up, and some boards were loose so you had to watch where you steppe
d and hope that a weak board didn't cave right under you. It was like a haunted house-- cold, really dusty, mouse turds, webs, creaking floors... But the stuff! Hundreds of old books, blankets, linens, furniture, Japanese arts/crafts, a full kitchen of everything--glasses, plates, stacks of Japanese sake and tea cups and pots, even several old bags of dried up, cracked up noodles. Hundreds and hundreds of antique Japanese photographs, the kind with women in real authentic kimonos. Tons of ephemera for collage, old tins and tools...I could go on and on. I had quite a rush, flying through all of this stuff, occasionally dropping things and peeking out the busted windows hoping the nearby neighbors were not catching a glimpse of this very odd, very non-Japanese behavior, possibly calling the police. It was also quite sad, in a way, to see that this is how all the belongings of this old woman ended up--in big dirty,dusty heaps, being stolen by gaijin. (foreigners). I mean, didn't she have kids or grandkids that at least wanted those lovely old 
photos that are really in superb condition?
We hauled all of the goodies we wanted to a big pile near the entrance, and then later on, after dark, went with a flashlight to carry them home, hopefully unnoticed. One day later and no knocks on the door....We will divvy it all up soon. I got 3 nice pieces of furniture. They need a bit of fixing up and I started sanding today. Lots of old 'bits'...don't know what I'm going to do with 'em, but they are old, with character, and from Japan. Groceries are pricey here but no, I didn't take the noodles.
I really enjoyed looting and can't wait to do it again one day.
The goods
Ira here...
Ethical question: Is it wrong to bring a 14-month-old to a looting? Being from the Bronx I didn't give it much thought, but afterwards it struck me as perhaps something most people might frown upon.
First, we had decided to go back to Colorado for a portion of the summer. But our house is rented by friends, so, no where to live. Looked and looked for a house rental via internet---not easy to find a fully furnished house in or near our neighborhood for only 7 weeks, and the corporate housing 2 bedroom apartments were off-the-charts expensive. But! One of my girlfriends found a place, right next door to her, the lower level apartment of a house. fully furnished, has everything and it's in our neighborhood and it's dirt cheap. Relief. Thank-you Aileen!
Secondly, just around the corner from our house here in Japan, is a really, really old falling apart house, where a 102 year old woman lived. She passed away around 3 years ago, and nobody ever came to claim anything in it (or not much). The house and all of its contents was starting to be bull-dozed on Saturday, so my German neighbor Markus came over after a portion of it was torn down and the dozers left, to go, you guessed it, looting. We put on our thug hats.
I can't believe what was in that house. First of all, it was a bit dangerous because parts of the wood floor were torn up, and some boards were loose so you had to watch where you steppe
d and hope that a weak board didn't cave right under you. It was like a haunted house-- cold, really dusty, mouse turds, webs, creaking floors... But the stuff! Hundreds of old books, blankets, linens, furniture, Japanese arts/crafts, a full kitchen of everything--glasses, plates, stacks of Japanese sake and tea cups and pots, even several old bags of dried up, cracked up noodles. Hundreds and hundreds of antique Japanese photographs, the kind with women in real authentic kimonos. Tons of ephemera for collage, old tins and tools...I could go on and on. I had quite a rush, flying through all of this stuff, occasionally dropping things and peeking out the busted windows hoping the nearby neighbors were not catching a glimpse of this very odd, very non-Japanese behavior, possibly calling the police. It was also quite sad, in a way, to see that this is how all the belongings of this old woman ended up--in big dirty,dusty heaps, being stolen by gaijin. (foreigners). I mean, didn't she have kids or grandkids that at least wanted those lovely old 
photos that are really in superb condition?We hauled all of the goodies we wanted to a big pile near the entrance, and then later on, after dark, went with a flashlight to carry them home, hopefully unnoticed. One day later and no knocks on the door....We will divvy it all up soon. I got 3 nice pieces of furniture. They need a bit of fixing up and I started sanding today. Lots of old 'bits'...don't know what I'm going to do with 'em, but they are old, with character, and from Japan. Groceries are pricey here but no, I didn't take the noodles.
I really enjoyed looting and can't wait to do it again one day.
The goods
Ira here...
Ethical question: Is it wrong to bring a 14-month-old to a looting? Being from the Bronx I didn't give it much thought, but afterwards it struck me as perhaps something most people might frown upon.
posted by Katrina at
4:45 AM
7 Comments:
"I have wondered, several times, since we moved here ..... why I again signed up for this madness.
Will somebody please tell me???"
Okay---, (as you probably remember)you said your reason for going to Japan was so your kids could experience a different culture, and it looks like they're enjoying it. You Szyszskowskis have always been culure addicts- seems you were always bringing these exotic looking strangers to Christmas Eve at the lake.
Good thing you've taken up the American custom of looting so you can have some fun!
Ira: I will consult the Mishnah and appropriate commentary in the Talmud (preferably thye Babylonian Talmud, it being a tad more liberal?) and give you a definitive answer. Pray to God Katrina won't have to be killed.
Great story Katrina. But remember those Japanese jails...!!
Betty suggested you might want to use Steve's metal detector to see if there is any gold or silver stashed away in the old place. As you know, he found several quarters and dimes and a few pennies on the Hollywood beach with his $600 instrument.
Wow...in one fail sweep you went from the "glamorous life" to "thugs in the hood", a Japanese hood at that! However, I'd have done the same thing. To address Ira's question re: is it ethical to take your baby looting? I think if you look at it as "salvaging" instead of looting, it's actually rather acceptable. Ok...so that's a flimsy rational, but who cares. Especially if the stuff Kat looted, I mean salvaged, was good.
I see danger lurking here, Katrina. Soon you might find yourself looting stuff and then putting it on sale somewhere, just as your father once did at ye ol' Harbour Shoppe not so long ago.
If you find anything interesting, like, for example, anything to do with finnish grammar, grab it for me, OK?
I love all things Japanese. I would have been there right next to you.
I need to find a way to get to Japan...
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