About As Far From Home As You Can Get

Am I leaning? Are you leaning? Is that building leaning? Oooooh... dizzy!
Tokyo, Japan (Click picture to enlarge)

"One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things." ~ Henry Miller

Nyssa and my brother Stephen are the only family members that really seem to go "far from home" these days, with Nyssa in the western US and Stephen traveling all over the world. So, we have to live the life through their stories and pictures sometimes. Traveling is not what it used to be... perhaps partly due to the changes after 9/11 with help from an economy that tries to cram as many people into one flight as possible; or perhaps it is simply that the thin patina of glamour wears off quickly when one has to live out of a suitcase. Stephen has said that some days he wakes up and not only does it take him a few seconds to remember where he is, but also who he is and what he is doing there. Coffee helps him through this... lots and lots of coffee.

He just finished up a run in Tokyo, performing as Tristan in Wagner's opera, Tristan and Isolda. An opera fan with a cold did not have the common sense or concern to keep from spreading his germs and several of the cast came down with his cold. Add on a two hour bus ride to the airport and a fourteen hour flight to Vienna with the last hour circling over Vienna because of fog... and he was totally upside down. He sounded quite congested when he called on Saturday but said he was much better than he had been... no fever.. finally being able to sleep more than two hours... his biorhythm getting back to normal. Of course, he had to leave the next day for Dresden, Germany.. but at least they are on the same time zone. His traveling schedule makes me dizzy.

That brings me to this picture Stephen took in Tokyo... it makes me dizzy. I have lived in moderate sized cities and smaller towns all my life. Not really a country girl but not a city slicker either. I loved the two weeks I got to live in New York City and ride the subways and shop in small neighborhood grocers and the fact that you can order delivery for almost any type of food you want.. even steak. I loved looking at the architecture of the skyscrapers old and new and the tall apartment buildings in between. But it does give you neck cramps after a while.. all that walking around and looking up. From his pictures, it appears that Tokyo is even worse... with limited land space, the cities have to build "up". And the innovation... makes me dizzy too. This building looks curved. Could it just be the angle of his shot?

No, this building is really curved at the base. It is the Sompo Japan Head Office Building and houses the Seiji Togo Memorial Museum of Art where Van Gogh's famous "Sunflowers" painting is exhibited, although I do think that there are several versions of his "Sunflower" paintings as Van Gogh seemed totally captivated by them for a long while. A similar design in buildings can be found in the Chase Tower in Chicago and in both the Solow Building and W.R. Grace building in Manhattan, NYC. I know.. more information than you ever wanted to know. Just thought I would share the dizziness.

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Carmi's theme ~ "Far From Home"