This is something I copied down from a bar that we went to on Tuesday night.
"Life's journey is full of mountains and hills
At 60, when they come for you, say you're not home
At 70, when they come for you, say it's way too early
At 77, when they come for you, say, don't rush me, the fun of my older years is just beginning!
At 80, when they come for you, say, what are you talking about, I've got a lot of use left in me still!
At 88, when they come for you, say you just want to eat a little more rice...
At 90, when they come to meet you, say there is no need to be in such a darned hurry
At 99, when they come to meet you, say, I'm just waiting for the right time, but I'll probably start heading that way eventually.
Enjoy a long life...
Keep your mouth relatively closed
Your heart round
Don't get angry
Have patience..."
What do you think?
I understand these are all the ages when you would celebrate special birthdays here. I am not sure if this is Confucian, Buddhist or Shinto, but at 60, Grandpas and Grandmas get dressed up in a little red vest that ties in the front and a red hat like a beret (don't know where that came from) and the family all celebrates. It is quite an important celebration and the red to me indicates that it must be a celebration that is shared by the Chinese (hence my idea that it might be Confucian - showing respect for elders, the wise people). All of these special birthdays have names, and the one for 88 has the character for rice in it, so that is why the author is talking about eating a little bit more rice...
Anyway, I really liked it and thought you might, too.
This is us on the Kintaikyo Bridge, first built about 200-300 years ago and re-built about 4 years ago. They rebuild it every 80 years or so. Originally, there were no nails, but this time they used some. (They don't build things like they used to.) If you look it up in a book or on a webpage about bridge technology, I am sure it will be mentioned, as it was very advanced for its time.
