A new book Launching

 

 

December 3, 2022, at the end of the year party at the publisher’s 11 authors and I launched our most recent books. My book is entitled THINK, FEEL, SMELL, SEE, WANT. It was a grand event where lots of people showed up to give me a hug and buy an autographed book. Loads of pictures were taken. It was a very special moment especially because at the end of the year there are so many events (this day in particular, my brother-in-law’s birthday) going on and for sure I thought that no one would show up, but to my surprise many did.

 

The book is written in English; however, the Portuguese translation is at the end. It was illustrated by a former student of mine, Pedro Higa, a very talented young man with whom it was a pleasure working. The story is about a land where the people are Hearts, Noses, Pairs of eyes, Navels and one Brain. You need to read it to find out what happens on this specific day and at this special place.

 

On the day of the launching, it rained cats and dogs and I wasn't expecting a lot of people to show up, nonetheless, the turnout was spectacular and it made me my heart smile.

 

Written: December 5, 2022

Personal file

Personal File: Pedro, Regina, Bia, Maria and I

 

 

My First Award Ceremony

 

         December 1^st, 2022 will be a night to remember. After a long semester of organizing a national award contest for children and young reader books, the award ceremony took place. The prize was the book would be illustrated and published by a well-known publishing company besides the publicity involved in promoting the book. What a wonderful opportunity!

There were 207 entries and six judges three from USP (the university of Sao Paulo) and three from UBE (the writers’ union of Brazil), which I am a part of. Organizing and working on this event was a lot of work, but very pleasant and educational.

The award ceremony was streamed live from the House of Japanese culture at USP; it was the only auditorium available at the date. Although it was a pretty tense ceremony due to the fact that the 10 finalists (9 because one missed at the last minute due to covid) were there and the winner would be announced at the end of the ceremony, it was a very emotional evening.

The organization was done over several zoom videos which were pretty interesting. Once the candidates started sending material, then the fun began. The reading of the stories was fun too, but not so easy to choose from. The easy ones to eliminate from the pile were those which did not fit the criteria.

Since it was the first time the award would be given a trophy needed to be created and also participation certificates for all the finalists. My part in the award ceremony was to hand out the certificates; unfortunately due to the new COVID wave, hugging was not possible.

The winner was a sweet and talented writer from Belem do Para, northeast of Brazil, who gave an emotional acceptance speech which brought tears to everyone's eyes.

What a memorable evening! I'm surely looking forward to the 2023 award event.

Written: December 2, 2022

 

The man in the Wheelchair

 

“Son, can you drive me to the mini market to buy some eggs?” “Certainly mom”, this young man never refused any of his mom's requests. What a strong woman she was! In her early 20s, she was thrown on the train tracks after being held up. Having to live without a limb was not an easy task for her, however, she had more life in her than people who had two legs.

As they reached the mini market on this rainy day, they saw a relatively young man in a wheelchair trying to go up the steep street. He looked as if he were in his mid-30s. “Son, can you push my chair up the street? My arms are tired and because of the rain my chair feels like it weighs a ton”. How could they say no to this man? Better than pushing the chair up the street, the mother and her son decided to drive the man in the wheelchair home. For a person with two legs, walking to his house would be tiring, but not as hard.

During the drive, he told them his story. “I was in a motorcycle accident and one of my legs had to be amputated. I was abandoned by my family and the government won't give me a pension because they say I can still work behind a desk. However, no one will hire me. I sell these key chains,” he took them out of his pocket and showed it to them, “there is a man who gives me them so that I can support myself . I make enough money to pay for the room I live in and still pay a bit of child support; I have a young daughter”.

The mother’s and son’s eyes started to well up. “ I  have also lost a leg but decided to use crutches to help me walk instead of a chair”, replied the mother. “You were quite lucky crutches hurt my armpits. I was blessed to be given this chair. I leave my room early in the morning and stay out selling my key chains all day long. That's when I return home, but today, because of the rain, I didn't sell so many and decided to come home a bit earlier. Wouldn´t want to catch a cold.”

When they reached the house where he rented, he thanked them and asked the son to choose a keychain for he wanted to give him a gift. “That's OK, you don't have to pay me”. “I know that. I want to give you a gift. I cannot pay you for your kindness. Kindness is priceless”. After choosing a keychain, helping the man get out of the car and into his wheelchair, as they were saying goodbye the mother asked him whether people usually helped him out. “Not really. I usually don't ask but something told me I had to ask you”.

 

Written: December 8, 2022 - a true story that happened to a dear friend of mine and her son.

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