Free, lonely, and impractical. -Murakami radio-

         I've been driving a convertible in this for about fifteen years now. It has only two seats and a manual shift. It's not a very practical car, but I've managed to coax my wife into letting me drive three of them. Once you get used to living with this kind of car, it's hard to go back to the way you were before. What's the fun in a convertible? It's obvious, but there's no roof. Because there is no roof, when I look up there is the sky. When I'm waiting at traffic lights, I usually put the car in neutral and look blankly at the sky. On a clear day, I can see the blue sky and birds crossing it. There are various trees. There are many buildings and windows. The landscape changes little by little with the seasons. I realise once again that we hardly ever look up at the sky in our daily lives. We know a lot about what's going on around our feet, but surprisingly little about the landscape above our heads. But the most beautiful thing of all is watching the clouds drift by. Where do they come from and where do they go? When you are aimlessly pondering such things, waiting at traffic lights and in traffic jams is not so painful. It's not uncommon to be so absent-minded that you don't notice the traffic lights changing and getting honked at by the car behind you, though.

However, convertible cars are not very popular with women. The wind messes up your hair, you get sunburnt, you attract attention, it's cold in winter and hot in summer, and it's difficult to have a conversation when you enter a tunnel. This is why I have never had many people sitting in the passenger seat of my car. Generally, I'm always alone, gazing up at the sky. It may look fancy, but a convertible is a surprisingly lonely vehicle. It's all right, though. When I was in high school, I saw a film called 'Harper' starring Paul Newman. Newman plays Lou Harper, a private detective living in Los Angeles, who drives a hunky Porsche convertible. His wife has left him, his job is not good enough, he is approaching middle age and even runs out of coffee grounds first thing in the morning. He is invariably hungover and wakes up in the morning to find that the TV has been left on since last night. But when he rides in his peeling convertible in the California sunshine, his hair blowing in the ocean breeze, he feels like he's alive again. Then he puts down his sunglasses and smiles a cool smile. At least I'm free, he thinks. Such an opening scene was impressive. I watched that film many times. Needless to say, I'm a long way from Paul Newman now and then, but I know how he feels. To be free, even if it is only a fleeting illusion, is still an irreplaceably beautiful thing. I often listen to and often sing along with, Eric Burdon & the Animals' 'Sky Pilot' while driving my convertible. It's really good, that's what it is.

This week in Murakami

Driving along the Joshin-etsu road, I saw a sign that read 'Brake for your heart, maitake mushroom for your health'. It was quite difficult to understand.