Steve Walker's Diary Notes from January 23, 1974

Dear Fellow Earthlings,

Here you see what I was doing 47 years ago today -- on Wednesday, January 23, 1974:

Dear Diary,

I'm so excited about the prospect of going to Japan to teach English! Today I sent a letter "special delivery" ( a term equivalent to today's term overnight mail ) to Executive Language Services (a company that no longer exists), which is interested in hiring me. I told them that I am currently applying for a U.S. passport and for a visa to enter Japan.

I had photos taken for my passport today. They will be ready on Friday. (Back in 1974 there was no such thing as "same day photo processing".) Also, as part of the requirement for obtaining a visa to go to Japan, I went to a doctor's office and got a small pox vaccination. (Even in 1974 most routine vaccinating for smallpox had ended -- and in 1980 the World Health Organization declared that smallpox had been eradicated.)

Tonight I went to the restaurant where I work early so that I could practice the piano there a bit before we opened our door to customers. (The restaurant where I worked as a waiter was called "Le Chateau" and specialized in French cuisine. I just wonder when Le Chateau closed its doors for the final time...)

I did rather well on tips tonight. In addition, as 10 o'clock came and went, most of our customers had left. So I asked my co-workers if I could go home a little early -- and I told them that they could keep any tip money that might have been meant for me. They said okay.

The reason I wanted to go back to my apartment early was that it was raining outside. Falling rain always relaxes me and makes me feel at peace with the world.

I felt quite content as January 23rd changed to January 24th...

I thank all of my readers for allowing me to share this day during my 26th year with you.

Steve Walker

Earthsaver and Jingles Creator

© 2013 Steve Walker, The Jingles-The Japan Foundation for English Pronunciation, Summit Enterprises.