I promise to the father of this Taiwanese boy that I will feature his son in this column in about 2 weeks. It's more than a month now. So here it is. I asked him to check the Palau Chess Federation website http://palau-chess.blogspot.com because I write about music also at Tia Belau which I am posting also in this site. Sorry that I didn't get your names. (Photo by Roberto Hernandez)
A LETTER FROM A 5-YEAR-OLD
JAPANESE GIRL
WHILE playing piano at Waves Restaurant on Sunday evening, March 20, 2011, a 5-year old Japanese girl is watching me play. After finishing the song, I called her and gave her my card. She was very excited about it and showed the card to her mom and auntie.
There’s also a young Japanese couple with 2 kids (one is maybe one year old and the other is 3 years old). They’ve been regular guests at Waves and Breeze Bar in the last 3 days.
Minutes later, a group of Japanese came and have dinner in the wooden area. Five of them are in a wheelchair. One of them can ‘drive’ it without someone pushing it.
At past 8:00 pm, after finishing their dinner and paying their more than $700.00 bill, the group had surrounded me. The two wheelchairs with an old lady and a guy positioned to my right, one at my back and another 2 to my left. They like my rendition of Japanese songs. I showed them my Japanese song book and they choose and requested songs from that.
The old lady in a wheelchair to my right requested “Ai No Sanka”. She clapped enthusiastically after the I played that song. I gave her and the guy at my back my card. She appreciated it very much and shook my hand in gratitude.
The girl, Rin Kita, and the young Japanese couple with 2 kids, are watching those guests around me having a good time. After 3 more requested songs, they left. One of the ladies (not in wheelchair), gave me $5.00 tip and another lady gave me also $5.00 tip. I gave another card to the last guy in a wheelchair on my right.
After they left, Rin Kita approached me and talk to me in Japanese. She specifically said “Ashita”, asking if I’ll be at Waves Restaurant again tomorrow evening. I told her “Shigoto wa rokuji kara, kyuji made desu (koko) to kyuji kara juichiji made desu (Breeze Bar). Sui-yobi wa yasumi. (It means I work from 6-9pm there and 9-11pm at Breeze Bar and Friday is my day off).
Before 9:00, the Japanese guy and his 3-year old daughter approached me and gave me $10.00 tip. He said it’s their last night tonight and they will go back to Japan. I gave the girl my card. Upon reading it, he asked his daughter to say“Thank you, Roberto san.”
Another young Japanese couple farther away also enjoyed my music. Before going home, the lady gave me $2.00 tip and said, “Thank you for the very nice Japanese songs.”
At Breeze Bar, the Japanese couple with 2 kids proceed there and clapped after I played a song, whether Japanese or American songs. When it’s time for them to say goodbye for check out, a lot of waving from me and from them.
The next day, Monday, Rin Kita arrived with her mom and auntie. She gave me a home-made card with a letter written in Katakana and Hirakana. It’s my first time to receive a lovely note from a 5-year old girl. I displayed that note/card at the piano music stand trying to figure out what it is she’s saying in the letter.
A little accident occurred when she accidentally dropped a glass on the floor and a piece of broken glass hit her leg. She was treated with first aid kit by the new F & B Manager Edgie Garcia. When she’s waving goodbye to me while they are going out of Waves, I notice a little limping from her.
I showed the card to our General Manager Isao Takahashi and he translated to me--that the girl plays piano also and she’d like to see me again someday when they come back to Palau.
Source: Music and Me by Roberto Hernandez
Tia Belau Newspaper
Pages 8-9
Volume 21
Issue 56
August 16, 2012
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