Gilbert Becaud moment,
pronounced, nuanced,
entry into room

People, socializing,
sharing positive energy

Words as notes,
filling measures

Refrain,
therapy by friendship

REMEMBERING THOSE WHO GAVE, LEARNED, AND SHARED..

A journey to Trader Joe's usually involves sampling the latest end-cap items, picking up things you did not have on your list, and friendly staff.  The unexpected greeted me yesterday, as I went to pick up some non-essentials.

Walking down the frozen appetizers section, I noted an older man with a hat that had "WW2 Veteran" on it. 

"What theater of operations were you in?" I asked.

Bernard Weiss was a breath of fresh air, a tribute to the nonagenarian spirit.  Having been assigned to the Seventh Armored Division in Europe, he was relocated, much to his consternation, to the Pacific theater of operations, where he saw bloody action in Guam and surrounding areas.  I asked him whether taking Japanese prisoners was the exception rather than the rule.  "Absolutely," he replied.  "We would secure islands where the army needed to build air strips; we captured very few Japanese, as surrender was considered shameful."   He spoke at length about his experience, at one point pulling out his wallet, from which he took out a black and white photo, taken in 1945, where he is pictured with a smiling Japanese POW.  "Why is the prisoner smiling,"  I asked.  "Because he is alive, and I let him keep his wedding band,"  replied Bernie, who had no problem communicating with the prisoner, as the latter was originally from California, having gone back to Japan before the beginning of the war.

Proudly awaiting his ninety-third birthday, Bernie told me that he married Ingrid, a former German diplomat stationed in Washingon, in the 1980s, and that they travel to Munich often. 

I thanked him for his sacrifice and for sharing his life with me.

My day was ever more enriched, as was my life.


Odysseus
May 24, 2012 

Pandora’s Hope vanishing..
Σβήσιμο Πανδωρικης Ελπίδας...


Ορίζοντας χαλαρός,
 εκρήξεις κοντά και πέρα 

Horizon, 
appearing tranquil , 
as it implodes nearby and beyond; 

Poetry, 
expressing enigma,
of human nature and void;

Ποίηση,
εκφράζοντας αίνιγμα,
ανθρώπινης φύσης και κενό·

Triumvirates of holy trinities, 
past, present, future (?)

Τριανδρίες άγιων τριάδων,
παρελθόν, παρόν, μέλλον (;)

How  long will our sanity last?

Έως πότε;

in saecula saeculoru
Εις τοὺς αιώνες των αιώνων
Unto the ages of ages




* Forever and Ever

OM
8 May 2024

Cocoa, in  the  paper cup
life,  function of quick turnaround 

Constant movement, 
no time to sit and reflect

Society, sterilized 

OM
9 April 2026
From gelateria on Grant Street,
San Francisco

Have Humans Matured?

Writing serious poetry,
as  hegemony provides
 script for tragicomedy

Envisioning nuclear holocaust,
life singed to create “peace”
Where are we?

Fasces of mind and behavior,
individuals living in sandbox 
of naive ignorance

Numbing of masses
to the destruction of humanity
As mainscream media
pontificates aerologies*
slanting the narrative 

Chambers of reason
asking the questions,
exposing hypocrisy 
Heirs of Aristophanes and Socrates
providing light

Is truth manifesting?

Η ελπίδα κλαίει, αναμένοντας ειρήνη Hope is crying, awaiting peace

OM
8 April 2026
on Shinkansen
towards Hiroshima,
and at Hiroshima ground Zero

*aerologies, from αερολογίες 
words pulled  out of the air

Buddhist introspection 
Shinto celebration
Temples of reflection 
Shrines of rejoicing

Mass tourism
cacophonous and consuming
Moderation waived
In favor of validation

Human spirit
in the balance 

6 April 2026
On Kinketsu line
Nara to Osaka

Time’s fluidity
marked  in our trajectory
As bullet train
slashes distance

Different cultures
commonalities and differences 
Salad of vibrancy’s combustion 

4 April 2026
On the Shinkansen
towards Kyoto

https://give.fightingblindness.org/team/816274

Twelve years ago, my vision began deteriorating and I was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa (RP). It started with night blindness, then my peripheral vision disappeared over time. I was told by some doctors that I would eventually become completely blind. Research was in the early stages, and the doctors said that I needed to adapt to my changing circumstances and learn to live with it.

Fast forward twelve years, and research for RP and other retinal diseases has improved and increased with some major breakthroughs.

I am happy to say that research is progressing, slowly but positively.  I am optimistic that one day there will be more therapies and cures for RP and other vision impairments. The more investment in research, the faster cures can be found for me and thousands of other visually impaired individuals.

Every year, the Foundation Fighting Blindness organizes Vision Walkevents nation-wide, focusing on awareness and fundraising.  The local Raleigh-Durham Triangle chapter of the Foundation for Fighting Blindness is holding the event on Saturday, April 18, 2026.

The FFB has been instrumental in funding research, focused on finding cures for blindness.

I respectfully ask you to consider donating by clicking on the link below  (Odysseus Quest) to support the ongoing research, in the hope of bringing back vision to so many people. Any contribution will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Odysseus

Access team page “Odysseus Quest“ by clicking on the following:

https://give.fightingblindness.org/team/816274