The N.R.B.R.A.??

Our ukulele thing this weekend was at the National Communications Museum and they had a bunch of 'exhibits' on the ground floor, of which we were one. The 'booth' to our left was this:
Could I have felt any happier? I think not, but in a country where guns are totally illegal, it makes sense that it would spawn this organization. In the display case were many different rubber-band guns (I won't even try to name the types because I'll just sound like an idiot, but there were many. You can see the MR-2 here) and next to it was a poster with the best painted portrait I've ever seen of this association's founder. One-hundred percent 70s cop style, replete with hair-do, raised eyebrow, gun-holster and green meadow in the background. See for yourself:It was so good, I took a picture. Feeling satisfied, I turned around and faced...the man in the flesh! Of course I had to take another picture. His painted portrait was not false-to-form in any way:If there was ever an obscure talent, it would be being gifted with a rubber-band gun. This guy, Mr. Nakamura, was a dead-shot. He had a 5 yen coin hanging from a string, and he could hit it with a rubber-band time and again, whether it was stationary or swinging and spinning all around. I was impressed. Plus, he designed and made all of the guns on view. I kinda wish he was my grandpa. Seeing how the kids flocked to his table, I think I am not alone in this wish. Why do guns draw kids like magnets?
Anyway, you may be wondering why this is appearing on mctm since thus far it has had nothing to do with my mom. But, this is where she comes into the picture.

Of course she wanted to try one out. She'd barely 'loaded' it before she discharged it in some random direction. See the look of abject terror on that guy's face? There are kids everywhere! I thought. Man, it was a good thing that it was only loaded with low-caliber rubber bands. The moral of this story, in the words of James Thurber, is 'Never allow a nervous female to have access to a pistol, no matter what you're wearing.'

Especially when she is your mother.

Amen, brother.

akkapajio

There was a police detective at our house today and all of a sudden my mom calls me down stairs. Apparently this detective speaks English because he spent time at the police academy in Davis (of all places!) learning about being on an american bomb squad, but now he gets most of his English from cop shows like 24 and movies like Columbo and Lethal Weapon. He also liked the show "Twin Peaks" and was asking my mom about this phrase, which in Japanese-English sounds like "akkapajio." So, my mom asks me what this is. Of course I draw a blank. Then he tells they said it a lot on Twin Peaks, like when they'd enter the police station or at a diner, "Gimme akkapajio" - then it hits me like a ton of bricks: A cup of Joe. My mom spent 37 years in the States and claims never to have heard this expression. Considering how much coffee she drinks, this is a big shocker. One time she was complaining to me over a cup of coffee about how thirsty she is all the time and I told her that caffeine actually makes you more dehydrated, so she should drink water when she feels thirsty. She mused, "Maybe I shouldn't drink so much coffee in the morning." I asked her how much she drank, and she told me, "Oh, usually just one pot."

One last thing about the detective. In the States, he'd always wanted to use the phrase: You're under arrest! but has had a chance to use it a few times here in Japan apprehending foreign petty criminals in gaijin-heavy areas like Roppongi. I just think it's hilarious to imagine this Japanese detective screaming "You're under arrest!" Maybe you had to see him to understand...