tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19108210.post113856933220470025..comments2023-07-22T06:42:24.121-04:00Comments on One foot in front of the other: FarmerMichaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15133620064728357184noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19108210.post-1138729558793580832006-01-31T12:45:00.000-05:002006-01-31T12:45:00.000-05:00Sweet LB,Thank you, thank you, thank you!!Sweet LB,<BR/><BR/>Thank you, thank you, thank you!!Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15133620064728357184noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19108210.post-1138726227526905462006-01-31T11:50:00.000-05:002006-01-31T11:50:00.000-05:00What a double whammy...photography and words...sel...What a double whammy...photography and words...<BR/>seldom can true artists do this. its priceless ;)LBseahaghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05797945283850468976noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19108210.post-1138646093807713212006-01-30T13:34:00.000-05:002006-01-30T13:34:00.000-05:00Thanks, Justin! I truly appreciate your feedback, ...Thanks, Justin! I truly appreciate your feedback, and I'm glad you take the time to visit me here.Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15133620064728357184noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19108210.post-1138645644854874632006-01-30T13:27:00.000-05:002006-01-30T13:27:00.000-05:00These are great little portraits - in words and pi...These are great little portraits - in words and pictures. What a cool blog!Shoninhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03635409886545725801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19108210.post-1138592596740697592006-01-29T22:43:00.000-05:002006-01-29T22:43:00.000-05:00Hi Greensleeves,I didn't see much poverty during m...Hi Greensleeves,<BR/><BR/>I didn't see much poverty during my years in Japan, but it was certainly to be found in the rural area in which I lived. I don't know the circumstances behind each example that I saw, so it's difficult if not impossible for me to voice an opinion.<BR/>I know, too, that the Burakumin also have a difficult time in reaping the rewards of Japan's economy. I remember the junior high school in which I taught devoting at least one day per year in promoting awareness of the plight of the Burakumin, but I found that this was a topic that was very difficult to talk about in Japan.Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15133620064728357184noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19108210.post-1138580674026098132006-01-29T19:24:00.000-05:002006-01-29T19:24:00.000-05:00Hi g,I met this woman on one of my many drives thr...Hi g,<BR/><BR/>I met this woman on one of my many drives through the very rural part of Japan where I once lived. She was a very nice woman. People in the West are surprised to learn that poverty exists in Japan. It's not something you see in the U.S. media (which does a very poor job of covering Asia, and the rest of the world in general). Japanese travel brochures certainly don't present this side of their culture. I extrapolated her life circumstances through looking at her surroundings, and may have taken quite a bit of poetic license in doing so. But, poor she indeed was. Still, she was a lot happier, and a lot nicer, than many people I know who live in comparative luxury (not that I'm trying to "glamorize" her meager existence; she was in her 50s at the time and had the wizened, worn features of a woman in her 70s. I can't gloss that over, nor would I even try).Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15133620064728357184noreply@blogger.com