2016年7月8日金曜日 - 
Tony: Time pieces
I
stood staring at my watches. I wanted to select one that wouldn't irritate my
wrist while I typed, but as I looked at the collection of thirty-odd watches
I've amassed I was drawn into their stories.
The
square face Diesel with a brown leather strap that my wife bought me on 5th
Avenue, New York City. She'd been studying there when the September 11th
attacks happened and witnessed the panic and destruction first hand. After
returning to Japan a few weeks later she hadn't had the heart to return,
despite her love for the city, until we went back to share in New York together
five years ago. That watch belongs to the new memories we built there.
My
treasured Seiko automatic dive watch: orange dial with luminescent hands and a chunky stainless steel bezel, case, and band. When my
father saw it, he complimented it so profusely that I gave him the same watch for Christmas.
That was seven years ago and he still wears it every day.
I
could go on, but you get the point. I was stuck traipsing down memory lane when I should have been strapping on a watch and moving along with my morning.
I'd resolved to make a choice when I heard my son's voice
beside me. He's four.
“What are
you doing papa?”
“Choosing a
watch.”
“Let me
see,” he said. I looked down and his arms were stretched wide, so I scooped him
up and together we peered
into my watch drawer.
“Why so many
watches?” he asked.
“Good
question, son. I like them. I think they're interesting.”
“Me too!” he
smiled. I smiled too. He had the infectious enthusiasm that's the hallmark of a happy child. An all-encompassing interest that eclipses everything else at that
moment.
“Do you want
to buy a watch?” I asked.
He turned
around in my arms and looked directly at me.
“Yes! Please!”
“Let's do
that tonight.”
“Yahoo!” and, with a
quick hug, he jumped down and ran to tell his mom. I smiled. Time to make a new
memory.
amassed： 集めている
luminescent： 蛍光の
chunky： ぶあつい
profusely： やたらと
traipsing： のろのろあるく
strapping： 革ひもで結び付ける
resolved： 解決した
peered： じっと見つめる
infectious
enthusiasm： お父さんの熱意が伝わること
hallmark： 顕著な特徴
all-encompassing： あらゆるものを含む
eclipses： 覆い隠す