In a Sentimental Mood

Killing some time between lessons, working on this great Ellington ballad. Played on my student Alan's Steinway.

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Ben at Garage Wed. & Puppets Fri.

	Benjamin Healy will perform at Garage Restaurant & Café with the Andrew Hadro Quintet Wed. Aug. 12th 10:30 p.m. - 2:30 a.m. 99 Seventh Ave. S., New York, NY 10014 garagerest.com Puppets Jazz Bar Benjamin Healy Trio Fri. Aug. 14th 6:00 - 8:30 p.m. 481 5th Ave. Brooklyn, NY 11215 puppetsjazz.com Please visit my website for upcoming performances and information about private lessons (now accepting students) Subscribe to my calendar

Stout & cheesecake

At the Sometime Jazz Club in Kichijouji.

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KFC

Wa-fu chicken cutlet. Much better than American KFC!

Aika and Wake

Aika and her dad. She has a book we gave her.

Atsuko and Mitsuki

Mitsuki, daughter of our friends Wake and Naoko

Noodle chef

Slicing udon

Yumiko

Yumiko ordered clams.

Performer

Entertainment at Koshigawa kourakuen

Bridge

Strolling in Koshigawa kourakuen

Wake and Aika

Atsuko and I visited our friends Wake and Naoko in Kamakura this weekend. Here is Wake and his oldest daughter Aika, who is holding a book we gave her about visiting New York City (subtle hint, you might say).

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Koishigawa kourakuen

Park at center of Tokyo

Travel log: Flight and arrival

I arrived at the airport with plenty of time, so of course there was
very little wait time for check-in or security. After sitting at the
gate for awhile they announced that the flight would be making an
unscheduled stop in Los Angeles to get more fuel. Apparently a volcano
had erupted on Friday north of Japan on a Russian island and the ash
it was spewing was in our flight path. An alternate route would
require more fuel. A few minutes later it was announced that the
fueling would be done in Atlanta. I boarded the plane, but we just sat
at the gate. Then it was announced that the flight was cancelled.
A special flight would be made the next day, all bags would be kept on
the plane, and accomodations arranged at the Ramada Inn. I wasn't sure
if it would be easier to go to the hotel or just go home. I settled on
the hotel so that it would be easy to get back the next day.
The hotel experience was not the best, but the breakfast buffet was
decent and it was easy to return to the airport. Of course, check-in
and security took much longer this time. After some more anxious
moments waiting on the Tarmac we finally took off. I watched movies
the whole way, about six of them, as the flight was 17 hours.
Atsuko met me at the airport and we took trains to Musashi Koganei
where her father picked us up. He drove me to Big World 21, a hostel
in Fuchu. The place is painted very colorfully, which gives it a
certain charm. The room is small but comfortable. The bathroom down
the hall is quite smelly, and the showers are only on the first floor.
Still, the place works well for me as a cheap rental (we had to
reserve it for a month, even though I'm only here for two weeks, and
it's still cheaper than a hotel). I took a shower, ate a bento box and
slept through the night.