Is there something we can do???

As I start this first entry, there are a few things that I want to get out of the way.

I think most people who know me understand my love and appreciation of my Japanese heritage and a bit about the journey it has taken me to get to where I am today. I have had the good fortune of working in scenarios that have involved extensive travel to Japan where I have deepened those feelings and made many good friends along the way. And just as fortunately I have been able to become part of a community that values this heritage, through respect, through friendship and through blood.

And so it was that my heart and a bit of my soul sank on March 11, 2011.

Like everyone else, I'm sure the footage of the Pacific ocean surging 10 kilometers over the fertile, populated lands of northern Japan was surreal and something out of Hollywood. But we all soon realized that the "shock and awe" campaign Mother Nature provided, and the devastation she left behind was real.

It was real.

Since then, I've donated, I've joined fund raisers, encouraged our son to bring donations in the form of coins to his school, but in the back of my mind I kept waiting for something else, something a bit more personal to allow me to give back, if just only a little bit...


And so it was with a muted, tenuous joy that I received word of Sho Dozono and Azumano's Flight of Friendship. To me, the stars had aligned, the kharma wheel was spinning in askance and giving me the opportunity I had been silently longing for. To erase all doubts, a timely phone call from a well-respected leader of the community provided further inspiration and sealed the deal.

And so I head back to the homeland, to see if we can lift sodden and shaken spirits and replace some despair with a little hope.

The world moves so fast and it is so easy to forget what happened yesterday, so it is also my hope that we can help remind others that this fight is not yet over and to assure those in the greater Sendai area that they are not forgotten.

I will use this channel as an opportunity to share the experience as well as to respond to the many questions and comments I am hoping the group receives. I will entertain questions and comments on SideStreet's Facebook page and Twitter feed　 and try to respond to them here.

Wish us luck and if you have any hope or well wishes you would like us to take over, let us know.

Cheers,

Sean 江草