The Swallows

Swallows team logo.

I wrote the green-highlighted post below just before Japan turned into the bible's Job. Naturally, I didn't want to put it up after that. But as I was reading all the latest terrible news, I chanced upon the fact that the cherry blossoms are blooming in Tokyo. This will provide a major lift for those living with grief and saddled with the extra burden of radiation fears. This simple annual occurrence will remind the survivors that life goes on.

So, in the spirit of believing that Japan is strong and will survive these disasters, and that rebirth lies not too far away, I'm putting up the silly post. It's about one of Japan's biggest virtues: their baseball teams. Here it is:

I'm so disappointed! A few times over the years, I've heard baseball announcers say that a player was successful in the Japanese baseball leagues, and they often mentioned a team with a really great name. I loved the name, or what I thought was the name. What I heard was the Occult Swallows, which sounds so cool. Wouldn't you like to be a famous hitter for the Occult Swallows? Woo, eerie! 

Unfortunately, I just bumped into the correct spelling of the team name. They are the Yakult Swallows. Awww, I'm so disappointed. Yakult is just the name of a city, so it's like they're the St. Louis Cardinals. Dull, baby, dull.

I still hope that I will one day see a game played by the Occult Swallows. But it's not looking good.

I hope reading this wasn't too jarring, given what's going on in that beleaguered area of the world. Japan's people will survive this -- and thrive. And then silly things like the above post will seem normal again. For the sake of the Japanese, I hope that time comes soon.