My clients are wonderful, and I appreciate them. I try very hard to serve my clients. My people are almost always very acknowledging of that. Some say, "you can never retire, Rick." Or, "I wish I had known you were there." I am so complimented and flattered when I am told these things. I don't let it go to my head, but it is a comforting reasssurance.

The above contrast of photos shows Richard Nixon, 37th president, then a candidate, at a shopping center in Paoli, Pennsylvania in 1968. The photo on the right, of course, is the 47th president of the United States, Donald Trump. And the photo was taken during the 2024 campaign at an event in Norristown, Pennsylvania. It was one where he "worked" at a McDonald's.

YouTube video by Traffic - Topic

I just wrote about Japan's National Pension Fund the other day. As a US tax preparer here in Japan, readers of me know that I living through a personal hell, or it's just work and another tricky day for me. Besides tinnitus, and insomnia, I have had the Latin Mass playing in my jingle channel. I have been thinking about how I get myself back in good graces with the Roman Catholic Church, which is going to involve penance.

Regular readers of me know that I am a former fan of Ben Tanaka's since the days when he was posting as "Sendai Ben" Ben Shearon, up in Sendai. How long ago? This was easily before the tragic 2011 earthquake. Ben subsequently built some sort of unregulated consulting or "coaching" business, called RetireJapan.com. Tanaka-san then went into the business of offering advice to US citizens in Japan on matters of US taxation and US tax planning.

At the annual international festival in Narita New Town, I was asked to make a speech. The invitation came from the Japanese-language practice club chairman, Mr. Okada, who has been organizing the routine sessions, I am told, for the last thirty years. There are several dedicated volunteers who are the "sensei". But it is not a formal course, and it is not competition to the actual Japanese schools that charge tuition.

A post about back home in Pennsylvania, which is home when I go there. I am originally from New Jersey, and feel more like a New Jersey person. I forget what percentage of Pennsylvania residents were born in New Jersey, but it's a high percentage of the state. Quite often, it's retirees from New Jersey. But Pennsylvania is a state that keeps a lot of its native-born state residents there for their entire lives.

I am dealing with insomnia this morning, so I have to phone today's blog entry in. This a clip coming from our hanging out on September 27.

When I was talking about Rena Nounen and her talent agency screwing with her, in the post from the other day, it led me to think some more. In the days of the early internet, and this would be maybe 1999 even, a woman in Japan who caught my eye was Mamiko Mise. In those early days, promoters would put out thumbnails, and you could end up being a "follow" of someone for the most tangential of reasons.

As I was heading through JR Station Saturday morning, I saw a group of people who looked like a scout troop in beige uniforms. When I figured out it was a collection, it didn't feel right to just pass by, so I gave a modest donation. It's the Akai Hane Kyōdō Bokin Undō (赤い羽根共同募金運動), which I learn is a charity fund raiser of the Central Community Chest of Japan.

The Holy Father has quicky become a very popular man in the world, much in the way that late John Pauls did. And there, too, Pope Francis in his own way. On the Sora the Troll stream last Saturday, I received so many wonderful compliments from the stream participants and regulars. One commenter early on said, "THAT'S POPE LEO HAHA".