Humor Saves the World!

Strange…

The door is open.

I can hear some strange sound from within the room.

People are chatting, talking, and singing a song…

Who is it?  Burglars, maybe….

I made up my mind and dared to opened the door!

It was more than thirty years ago, when I was a college student of University of California, San Diego. My major was counseling psychology. I studied the subject in the graduate school. I had been staying in the same dormitory room during the period. And I did enjoy my stay there. Just then I had that incident.

Now, let’s go back to the scene I have just mentioned.

I opened the door…and…there, I saw more than a dozen young American girls are chatting, talking, and singing there…and that they are almost half naked!!

At first, I could not believe my eyes. I thought as if I were in the Paradise!!

But just then a sudden scream of the girls brought me back to the reality. One of the girls who seemed to be the oldest and a chief came running up to me.

We had a talk outside the room.

I said,

“Very sorry to have surprised you so much, young lady, but this room is mine.”

She replied,

“No, no no, this room is ours. This morning we did check in officially and we have finished bringing our baggage inside the room!”

Yes, there must have been a big mistake in the rooming list of the dormitory office.

So together with her, I went to the office. The person in charge of dormitory affaires is a young lady named Jane. I knew her very well. I explained the situation we were in and asked her to cope with the difficulty we were having.

Jane seemed puzzled and went backside of the room in order to check the list and to have a talk with her boss.

Seemingly it would take some more time; I was just waiting for her at the counter.

While I was waiting, I felt relaxed and kept calm, because I had done nothing wrong.

Instead I felt very sorry for the girls in my room. The mistake is on the office but the girls are required to move to another room in another dormitory building. It will take a lot more time and it will very troublesome. I felt very sorry for them

Just the Jane came up to us with her boss, an middle-aged woman with a very serious look on her face. The boss sad to me,

“Mr.Toyama, we are very sorry not to have let you know our campus schedule.  This week All America Cheerleaders Contest is going to be held on this campus. So more than two thousand five hundred cheerleaders, girls, are supposed to gather and stay on this campus for a week… Just think of two thousand and five hundred…we do not have and empty room available for you.  We are very sorry, Mr.Toyama, to ask YOU to move into another dormitory building outside the campus…”

My dear fellow members, suppose you are in my position, in my place at that time, how do you react to this situation? How do you respond to her statement?

I my case… I laughed!  Laughed and laughed and laughed… until tears came down from my eyes.  The ladies around me looked at me in an amazement and bewildered. They must have thought, “Oh, no, this Japanese guy must have gone crazy!”  But that was not true.

I said to them,

“My dear ladies, I thank you very much for this very rare occasion!  I am sure this must be a very good souvenir story for the students who are waiting for me back in Japan! Just think of it!  Two months ago, I came all the way from Japan to this university. Why? Just in order to be kicked out of the dormitory room by American cheerleaders!!

What a funny story this is! They will love my story very much. Thank you again. I move to another room, so do not mind!”

I seevery well how relieved they are! The boss of the office said to me,

“Mr.Toyama, we really appreciate your sense of humor…!”

From that moment of that day in my youth, more than thirty years has passed. During this time, I have had many hardships, difficulties, hard time, and tough periods. Whenever I have to face hardship, the sense of humor which I leaned at that moment thirty years ago, has supported and helped me to cut my way through the difficulties.

How?

Sense of humor is not just something to make people around you laugh at you.

Sense of humor is something

to let you look at the hardship you have

from a different standpoint,

from a different angle,

from a different perspective

and it gives you a different and renewed meaning of the difficulties.

That renewed meaning will always help you, support you to survive the hardship.

Ladies and gentlemen, let’s have and love the sense of humor, and it will surely love you back, and will support you always to survive the hardship you have in the future.

Thank you

(864words)

So many men, so many English(es)!!

Good evening, my fellow members.

Every year the Christmas season reminds me of one of my personal experiences in the first university. Christmas season memory as it was, it was anything but being romantic! Or I should say, it is very “practical” memory. You’ll see what I said “practical” at the end of my speech.

I entered my first university in the year of 1974. My major was English and American literature. I studied very hard but towards the end of the freshman year, there was a big “awareness”. That is, in the university curriculum, the number of practical English class is very limited, almost nothing, I should say.

In those days, English conversation school was not so popular, so I had to find a chance for practicing daily use of English inside the campus. One of my friends belonged to ESS and she referred me to the president of the club. I got in touch with President and got an appointment next week.

On the day of the appointment of interview, I went to the club house and visited the room of the ESS. I knocked the door, hearing “Come in!” opened the door and went in. After my introduction he said, “OK, Mr Toyama, we welcome you. Here is the rule for being accepted as a full member of the ESS. First you are supposed to visit and observe the activities of four sections, that is, subgroups of the whole ESS. Those are “pronunciation” section, “discussion section”, “dram” section, and “debate section”. After observing each section’s activity, you are required to decide to which section you are going to belong. And next week you are to come back to this room with the name of the section you decide to be a member of. That is what the admission is all about.”

“Easy.”

I thought.

So on the next day my journey began.

The first day, I went to the “pronunciation section”. I knocked the door of the section, hearing the voice of “come in!” from within, opened the door, entered the room, and introduced myself to some of the senior students in there. The section chief, I think he must be, said, “We welcome you, Mr Toyama, but to my regret, your ‘r’ sound has some difficulty. Also your ‘f’ and ‘v’ sounds have a bit of strange accent. So by the next time you come to observe our activity, you are required to practice ‘rabbit’ for ‘r’ and ‘five’ for ‘f’ and ‘v’ at least five hundred times!”

I said,” thank you” and left the room, thinking I would never be back again to the room.

The next day, I visited “discussion section”.

I knocked the door of the section, hearing the voice of “come in!” from within, opened the door, entered the room, and introduced myself to some of the senior students in there. The section chief, I think he must be, said, “We welcome you, Mr.Toyama, and what you said will be accepted as the first opinion. Is there anyone who would give the second opinion? “  The students sitting next to the chief said, “I will give the second opinion. Mr. Toyama said his major is English and American literature, so I wonder whether being a member of “discussion section” of ESS would be of importance to his study.” Section chief said again, “OK, Mr. Toyama, could you develop your opinion further as the third opinion, please?”

I said ,”thank you for your kindness. Give me some more time” and left the room, thinking I would never be back again to the room.

The next day I visited “dram section”.

I knocked the door of the section, hearing the voice of “come in!” from within, opened the door, entered the room, and introduced myself to some of the senior students in there. The section chief, I think he must be, said, “WELCOME!!!! WE REALLY REALLY appreciate your interest in our section. COME OVER HERE! And have a cup of COFFEE!!  HOW WOULD YOU LIKE YOUR COFFEE, black or white. OH! You want it BLACK! THAT’s great!”

I said ,”thank you for your kindness. Give me some more time” and left the room, thinking I would never be back again to the room.

On the fourth day I was almost tired of visiting such strange group of people. The students of the previous sections seemed to me as those who came to the earth from another planet.

But anyhow the promise is the promise. I visited “debate section”. To tell you the truth, the word “debate” was new to me, so I had a little bit more of interest.

As always I knocked the door of the section, hearing the voice of “come in!” from within, opened the door, entered the room, and introduced myself to some of the senior students in there. The section chief, I think he must be, said, “We welcome you, Mr. Toyama. Just have a seat and I will let you know what debate is and what you are supposed to do if you belong to our section. If you have any question, please feel free to ask any time you want.”

At last, I could see a man of common sense!

I enjoyed chatting and talking with him and other members in the room. I felt very relaxed and just then when I noticed it began raining outside. I just said, “Oh, it is raining outside!”

Just then, the section chief saw me with a sharp look, and said,

“Mr. Toyama, you said it’s raining outside, didn’t you.

I answered taken aback by his sudden interrogation.

“Ye…Yes, I did…”

“You said it is raining outside, but let me cross-examine you. Have you ever seen raining inside?”

Ladies and gentlemen, this is the “practical” memory of Christmas season of me. This experience taught me a lot about English learning. I realized English is just the language and it should be different according to the message we put in it. We don’t have to afraid of being different as long as we have a clear message worth communicating and sharing with others.

Lastly, my fellow toastmasters, which section, do you think, I chose. DEBATE. That was the very beginning of my almost ten years’ journey with dabete.

Thank you.

(1049words)

The Way of the Heart returns.

The Way of the Heart returns.


Ms toastmaster, distinguished guests, my fellow members, and ladies and gentlemen.

I hope you remember the title of my speech I made a month ago. Yes, it was ‘The Way of the Heart.’

A month ago when I was making that speech, I had an impression that the phase “the Way of the Heart” is a little bit so vague and ambiguous for some of you and it might be kind of hard to understand the real meaning and content shown by that expression. 

So tonight using this chance, I would like to try to explain, demonstrate, and clarify the meaning and the contents of the phrase, “the Way of the Heart.”

I hope you are not worried. I am not going to give you any sophisticated and philosophical argument, or any abstract definitions of the phrase.  

I would like to give, rather, share with you some very concrete examples that show “the Way of the Heart” clearly.  That is why I gave to my speech today the title of “the Way of the Heart” returns

Several years ago, a student from the University of California went swimming with his girl friend at the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge. While the boy enjoyed swimming at a distance from the shore, the girl, she herself was an excellent swimmer, was playing in the shallow water near the shore. 

It was a sunny day. The temperature was so high and a little bit humid, so an ideal day for swimming. They were enjoying swimming and playing in the water for some time.

Just then, the girl heard the boy shout at a distance to her.

“Shark! Get out of the water! Now! A shark is coming!”

The girl searched him and saw the boy being attacked by a huge shark. 

At the moment, instead of making for the shore, she began swimming towards him, hoping she could save him at the sacrifice of herself.

Strangely, the shark swam away at her approach, but I am sorry to say that it was too late. The boy had been severely bitten by the shark and rapidly losing his blood.

Swimming with all her strength, she managed to pull him to the share. She knelt　just beside him, prayed together. The boy opened his eyes and said in a weak voice, “Thank you very much.” Soon he lost consciousness and died from loss of blood.

At the moment of serious danger, the boy had never thought of himself, but of the girl.

At the moment of real danger, the girl had never thought of herself, but of the boy.

Ladies and gentlemen, this IS the Way of the Heart.


Just one hundred years ago, in the year of 1912, a great tragedy occurred. Over one thousand five hundred people lost their lives in a moment. 

The big ocean liner, “the Titanic”, which had been considered ‘unsinkable’, sank beneath the waves of North Atlantic Ocean. 

It was very unfortunate, as the ship had been thought as ‘unsinkable’, there were not enough life boats to save the lives of all the passengers.

So the captain of the ship ordered women and children to leave the sinking ship in the life boats as soon as possible.

At the last moment, Mrs. Straus, the wife of a rich New York merchant refused the order.

Although Mr. Straus, her husband, urged her to get on the life boat to save her life, she said,

“No, we have been together for more than forty years. I won’t leave you. I stay here with you.”

Ladies and gentlemen, this IS the Way of the Heart.


The Way of the Heart seems very heroic, but it is also quite ordinary. 

It is the mother sitting up all night taking care of and watching over her child who has been sick in bed.

The Way of the heart seems very wise, but at the same time, it is quite foolish. It is Jesus Christ praying for his enemy who nailed him to the cross. He prayed at the last moment, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

As you see, I have given you some examples. You can understand very easily that the examples of the Way of the Heart are just around us. We can see so many examples and instances of the Way of the Heart in our daily lives. You see, it is quite obvious.

BUT, and this is the big but in capital letters, it is impossible to explain up, demonstrate up, clarify up the real meaning and contents of the Way of the Heart.

Why?

Because, my dearest friends, it is “LOVE”.

Such is the Way of the Heart.

Thank you.

(794 words)

The Way of the Heart

These days it is next to impossible to live even one day without seeing, hearing,or using the woad "communication". But once we take time and begin to think what real "communication" is, we get nowhere.  What is the communication, to begin with?  Is there good communication or bad communication?  If there is a good communicator, what is the criteria to tell the good one and bad one?  It might be almost impossible to find a clear definition.

Well, a small, personal experience I had more than fifteen years ago, would give us an hint toward a big question, "What is communication"?

In 1990, my younger son and I were spending our holiday in a small village in the eastern part of France during the Christmas period. The final day of our stay happened to be Christmas Eve.

As you might know, the Mass of Christmas Eve is usually held at midnight. So when the Mass was over and we went out of the old Gothic church building, it was after midnight.

The sky was clear, so many stars were shining in the dark night, and, yes, everything around us was just "Christmas". We liked the atmosphere of the Christmas time of the village very much, except one thing: temperature!!

The air was so clear and shivering cold.

A grown-up, I was OK, but I felt very sorry for my younger son who was just eight years old.

I looked around to fine a restaurant or cafe where we could get something hot to drink. But it was such a late time that no shops were open.

But just then we were lucky enough to find a cart just in front of the church building with a bit sign of "Hot Chocorate!" on the top of it.

My son and I dashed to the cart.  Inside the cart there was a young girl doing some dishes.  As I didn't understand French at all, with gestures asked her to give us two cups of hot chocolate.

The young girl was so kind as to give us such big size of cups of chocolate.

In the small village, in the dark, silent night, and hot chocolate... we felt so happy with the young lady seeing my son, smiling that we felt we became just one!

I pull out my wallet and was going to pay for the chocolate, the young girl said to us.

"No, no, you don't have to pay. Tonight is the Christmas Eve. On Christmas Eve everything should be a present. The chocolate is a small present from me to you and your son.  Have a nice Christmas and have a nice journey!!"

We felt happy again hearing this, and said, "Thank you very much. The same to you!. Good night!"

We turned around and began walking toward our guesthouse.

A few seconds later, I realized something strange had happened...

Yes, that young girl said so, I am sure, but WHAT language did she use then?

The village we were in was located close to the border with Germany, so she must have spoken in French with a strong German accent, which language I did not understand at all.

But..but, she said so!   Or was that all my imagination?

In order to make sure, I ask my eight-year old boy.

"My dear, what language did that kind girl speak to us?"

He answered simply,

"Papa, I don't know. But she is so kind, and said to us 'You don't have to pay for the chocolate and have a nice Christmas!  I like her very much!"

Yes, there WAS communication between us, without any common language. There really was communication between us!

How come it was possible?

The answer is "The Way of the Heart."

No matter how many words use, no matter how elaborate expressions we use, without The Way of the Heart, no communication is possible. No communication is satisfactory.

Why?

Because it is LOVE!

Such is the Way of the Heart!

My ice-breaking speech

Knock! Knock!

Sudden knocks on the door.

It was almost eleven o'clock at night.

Dr.Kitagawa, wondering who it was, put down his coffee cup on the desk and opened the door.

There were two men standing there, who said,

"Dr.Kitagawa, we are from Tokyo Metropolitan Police department. We are sorry to say, Doctor, you are under arrest."

At the police station, the officer explained the reason of his arrest in detail. One of his patients died just after his operation. Dr. Kitagawa, chief surgeon, and his colleagues did their best but they could not save the patient life.

Doctor and the hospital office explained the medical situation in which the patient was in and that they did their best as health care professionals, but the patient's family did not satisfied with it.

They  laid a complaint before the police. Then the police decided to accuse Dr.Kitagawa of  ”Negligent homicide”.

That was the very beginning of the long story.

It took more than 4 years to prove there was nothing to be accused on the doctors' side.

And Dr.Kitagawa, through his tough experience of the legal matter in the court, made up his mind to devote the rest of his life to the establishment of "MADR" in Japan.

Ladies and gentlemen, have you ever heard of "MADR"? It is a shortened form of "Medical Alternative Dispute Resolution”"which works as a mediator between the doctors and patients and tries to find the resolution not by the court struggle but by discussion and compromise.

He did his best for its establishment, but just after the handing down of decision of his innocence, because of the hardship of the legal battle in the court, Dr.Kitagawa suddenly passed away.

Some years passed after his death.

One high school student came to visit my school. My school is a Pre-Med school. Our job is to take care of the students whose hope is to enter a medical college to become a doctor in the future.

The student, whose face I vaguely remembered, asked me to let him enter the school. When I asked his name, he said, "My name is Kitagawa."

I said, "Oh, you are the only son of Dr,Kitagawa. I saw you when you were a kindergarten boy!"

"Yes, it's me. Mr.Toyama, I want to be a doctor. Can I enter your school?"

"Of course you can, if you like. But... was that your dream to be a doctor? I remember Dr. Kitagawa said you were going to be a jurnalist?"

He answered, "Yes, that was my dream. But after my father's death, I changed my mind. I made up my mind to be a doctor and will realize Father's dream to establish MADR here in Jpana."

##########

Ladies and gentlemen, in Japan, medical tradition is handed down from generation to generation like this. I am very proud of my position as a director of the Pre-Med school and being able to help and support them to be a good doctor in the future.

Thank you very much.