Friday, July 10, 2009

Butterfly alerts

As a kid I used to collect and study butterflies quite seriously. My butterfly mania was quite famous in the neighborhood and school. One day, when I was eight years old, one of my class mate girls contacted me. Apparently, there were some interesting looking butterfly larvae in the garden of her house, and she was wondering if I wanted to come and have a look.

That was one instance of the many butterfly alerts that I used to get from people around me those days. When at home, I would sometimes get media related butterfly alerts. I had my room on the second floor, and I would be reading books, when my mother yelled "Kenichiro, come, butterfly's on t.v.".

I would rush downstairs, and if I was lucky, would get a glimpse of butterflies on the screen, either in a news or a nature documentary.

When your love is known, people would give you alerts, out of kindness, and you respond with quick moves. Butterfly alerts were highlights of my youthful life.



Myself as a kid (10 years old) waiting for the butterfly in the woods, possibly in the northern island of Hokkaido on a butterfly trip.

4 comments:

Utako said...

Thank you for an interesting essay and a beautiful picture. The boy waiting for the butterfly in the woods is cool and slim !

Butterfly alert must be a blessing on interest. When we have interest in a something and love it deeply, people around us somehow boost it. They seem to share the interest and produce joy together.

I would love larvae that metamorphose dramatically. My sister and cousins would bring me when they found them. I studied how to raise polliwogs and dragonfly larvae by reading books and listening to the elders.

Having interest and love may lighten not only us but others, and also the subject itself.

Einstein's Brain said...

I love butterflies. I recently followed a nice brown and white butterfly here in Korea.

Junko said...

"Butterfly alerts” 
I like the sound.

Last night, I started reading your new published book.
As I was impressed the episode that you had broken your thermos bottle when you had run after butterflies. At that time your father just asked "Didn't you hurt?"

Probably the photo was taken that day which one of your happiest days.

By the way,I would like to travel with your book!

砂山鉄夫(Tetsu Sunayama) said...

A 10 year-old boy is waiting for the butterfly. The boy is always dreaming about butterflies.

Possibly this beautiful scenery might be a dream a butterfly dreamed.....