“Hello. If you’re out there, please listen to me.” On a hill overlooking the ocean in Otsuchi Town in northeastern Japan is a phone booth known as the “Telephone of the Wind.” It is connected to nowhere, but people come to “call” family members lost during the tsunami of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. Many visit the phone booth including a mother and 3 children who have lost their father. This documentary looks at the unique role that this phone is playing in helping the grieving process of many.

KIND OF CHILLING, huh. . . ?
QUESTION:
WHO WOULD YOU CALL
on the Wind Phone

Kaze no denwa (phone of the wind)

curling whispers from the depths of the earth
carried by the wind
through every crack and crevice
finally reaching my ear

i’ve missed your smile
your warm glow
gentle touches
please come back to me

i want to hear your voice again.

in a little town
on the coastline of Japan
stands a white phone booth 
in a small backyard

in the booth is a telephone
rotary, the clicking numbers
line going nowhere 

but the wind carries words
of the lost loved to us
so we can speak to them again

“grandpa, are you well?”
“i won a prize in school today!”
“is it cold over there?”

maybe i can’t hear your voice
for real again
but
if for one instant
i could say “i love you”
i’d be happy.

In Otsuchi, Japan, there is a telephone booth with a rotary phone with an unconnected phone line. It was built by Itaru Sasaki after his cousin died in 2010 as a way to talk to him and have closure. Many from Otsuchi use the phone to talk to loved ones lost in the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. Some come for one long talk to say things they could not, and some regularly visit to talk to the deceased about everyday things. It’s become a way to connect to the past and the one’s they’ve lost, since many Japanese do not usually tell people that they love them often to their face. It’s a way to lay regrets to rest. Sasaki said that he wanted the line to not connect to anything, so that his words would be carried on the wind to his cousin. And so, the wind phone remains. 

. . .R E M A I N S
to let us know that
L O V E
is the one thing
IN AND OUT OF THIS WORLD
that CONNECTS US
and with or without a phone
it’s the clearest connection
you’ll ever experience. . .
Now,
about THAT Call. . .
get to dialing

It was in front of me

after traveling some 203 miles

and close to 3 hours of driving

just 3 miles from my house

at a red light—

I look up and

this license plate is right in front of me.          .          .

mind you,

if I wouldn’t have stopped to go to the bathroom

or even started off by going through that drive through

S T A R B U C K S

or taken anyone of three or four different routes home,

I would have never been at that light

at that moment

at that spot

a  t

T          H          E          R          E

but with long disbelieving in mere meaningless

coincidences

the license plate of

was smack dab in front of me

and the light was long enough for me to

get out the iPhone and snap

the shot.          .          .

SO  WHAT.     .     .     ?

BIG  DEAL.     .     .     ?

right,

well it kind of is.          .          .

Ever since I’ve been taking this Caring Catalyst thing seriously

and making it more of a VERB

than a mere noun

a more intent

P     E     R     S     O     N     I     F     I     C     A     T     I     O     N

than a simple

I D E A

stranger than strange things have been happening;

the RIPPLE

is literally

TSUNAMI – like

and uncharitable;

out  of  control.          .          .

It’s been more of a

FALLING IN

and so much less of any

FALLING  OUT

than I’ve ever had.           .          .

When I started

JUST BECAUSE’ING

in July

(i.e doing anonymous kind acts for unsuspecting, at times unknown people)

The Caring Catalyst in me

has been transformed so drastically

no mirror or photo lens could ever capture or reflect

and no blog post can aptly narrate.        .         .

it’s like a flame has been not been ignited but severely accelerated.          .          .

and this FALLING IN

has a FALL OUT

that is unmapped

and GPS-less.          .          .

it’s almost as if I don’t look for opportunities to

JUST      BECAUSE

someone.          .            .

they are seeking.     .    .

laser-direct zeroing in on me

and I’ve discovered once again

what has only in the past

been very fleeting

and mostly embarrassingly

been attempted to hide in the darkest of shadows:

I     AM    S  E  V  E  R  E  L  Y    SELFISH

JUST  BECAUSE’ING

is so intoxicating and addictive

I can’t wait for the next opportunity

because not only have I never given like this before

I have absolutely never

r         e         c         i         e         v         e         d

like this before

e                     v                    e                    r .            .            .

Gift Cards

A free Cruise

Dinners

Winning Lottery Scratch off Ticket

Refunds

Cavs Loge Tickets

and a host of everyday LITTLE THINGS

that have added up to huge benefits.          .          .

S T R A N G E :

Erin told me she talked with a person at our local CVS

on Wednesday who was a severely obvious

JUST  BECAUSE  CANDIDATE

.          .          .she had recently been sick and not being able to work for several weeks

and was worried about how

‘everything was going to work out’

she wasn’t asking so much for money or assistance

so much as baring her soul to another undressed soul who was willing to

ACTIVELY   LISTEN

and  not  just  h e a r.          .          .

I had just hung up the phone with Erin telling me this story

and my phone vibrated with this message:

Who needs a megaphone

with such a resounding message.          .          .

WHO.     .     .

who will benefit more.          .          .

the   giver

o   r

the just because’er.          .         .

Everyone wants to know

WHAT’S     THE     KEY

It’s   really   this   simple:

W h o   c a r e s   i f   t h e   K E Y   i s   i n   t h e   l o c k

i f   i t’  s   n e v e r

T          U          R          N          E          D

.          .          .Most spend their lifetimes

with key in hand

AND      IT      JUST      STAYS      THERE

GET      SELFISH

GET-FILTHY-LOW-DOWN-SKY-HIGH

S  E  L  F  I  S  H

UNCOVER THE MAGIC OF

 JUST BECAUSE’ING

FALL IN

FALL WAY DEEP DOWN IN

PROVE

YOUR

ABRACADABRA-NESS

Practice more than regularly

P R E E M P T I V E       C O M P A S S I O N

G            I            V            E

Before it’s Needed

Before it’s Necessary

Before it’s EXPECTED 

.          .          .Be   T H A T    SomeOne Who comes along;

Provide your own Personal

T  R  I  P  L  E      ‘A’      S  E  R  V  I  C  E

A V A I L A B L E

  A C C E S S I B L E

       A C C O U N T A B L E

DO  UNTO  OTHERS.        .        .

Classic one, huh?

Every major religion espouses its simplepurity

and its essence

B            U            T.       .        .

I don’t know if

it’ll inspire me to stay at the Marriott

when given a choice

more than who gives a better coupon/discount

B               U              T.           .           .

it has already made me think

and better still

A             C            T

not  just  about  victims  of  Hurricanes  Harvey, Irma

and possibly Jose

Charlottesville, Virginia

Mexico

but the countless people

on the periphery of my life

going through their own personal

d       e       v       a       s       t       i       n       g

hurricanes

earthquakes

tsunamis

tornadoes

hate crimes

floods

that I might not be able to change

or eliminate

but being a

Caring Catalyst

enough

to even at the minimal

i m p a c t

IF  I

B   U   T

w i l l.            .          .

Y            O            U ?

Now  that’s  a reservation

we  could  all  benefit

and honor.          .          .

Turn down   that  bedspread

puff up that   pillow

                           put out    that          piece of chocolate

and be the respite

be the refuge

be the fortress

be   the   l i g h t h o u s e

that’s desperately needed

not across the world

or to parts unknown

but right beside you.        .        .

He’ll never be in the

HALL     OF     FAME

but

Rocky Bleier

who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers

when they won their first four

Super  Bowls

knows how to make

W             A             V             E             S

that never end.      .       .

After playing football at Notre Dame

Rocky served his country

by serving in the Vietnam War

and was nearly mortally wounded

when he stepped on a landmine

that nearly crippled him for life.     .     .

but this Rock didn’t disintegrate

he learned to

crawl

hobble

walk

r          u          n

but his greatest

r            a            c            e

came after the

cleats here hung up

the crowds ceased to cheer for him

the football was no longer carried.           .           .

his truest life work

began;

his ripple

started;

his     w     a      v     e

commenced;

   h i s        T             S             U             N             A             M             I

never e n d i n g.     .     .

his tragic wounds

his determination

his story

has   become   motivational

for many.       .       .

most very recently

a friend of a friend;

When Rocky was made aware

that a horrible car accident made an innocent man

a quadriplegic.     .     .

a former quarterback from Marshall University

who is now trying to make the best of it

going through his

“t   w   o  –  d  a  y  s”

of therapy

has a very good friend

who contacted

Rocky Bleier’s personal assistant

and  Rocky

r     i     p     p     l     e     d

This ROCK

caused a  WAVE:

(Sorry to hear about the accident.  Things happen that we cannot control–what is important is knowing what we can control–Attitude is one of those things.  It’s a long road–you know that–so never give up—-With the support system you have–all things are possible—Rocky Belier)

I  know.      .      .

I  know.      .      .

that’s what

sports stars

celebrities

well knowns can do.       .       .

they can cause ripples

that become waves.       .       .

but so can

C      A      R      I      N      G              C      A      T      A      L      Y      S      T      S

We   don’t   have   to   be   a

w       a       v       e.      .      .

we just have to be in the many

m                      a                      n                      y

d   r   o   p   l   e   t   s

that makes up

The     W A V E;

When our love

our compassion

our kindness

our empathy

our sympathy

our very selves

become more

V       E       R       B       S

than

n o u n s

we add strength to

The  W A V E

not just to dive into

but actually become a part of—

to be endlessly

dripping wet

never-to-ever-be-dry-again-from.     .     .

it’s a rolling

unstoppable

completely wonderful

ongoing

W          A          V           E.          .           .

L     i     v     e     d

and now shared

for an ever

that is forever

n            o            w

B   E

T     H     A     T

C      E      A      S      E

R        I        P        P        L        E

THAT   CONTRIBUTES

TO   THAT   ENDLESS

W                    A                    V                    E

We   are   all   a

R     O     C     K

in our own ways

and the next big

T    S    U    N    A    M   I

awaits

Y   O   U   R

R i p p l e

Y   O   U   R

w        a        v        e

.          .          .y     o     u