今までに何かを盗んだことはありますか？

From now on (これから), I am going to change the order of this blog and give you the important vocabulary first（まず大切な用語から先に紹介して、ブログの内容に入ります）. Therefore, please check the vocabulary and then read the question and my answer.　

This Week’s Key Vocabulary:

THERAPEUTIC
形容詞治療（法）の；治療力のある、セラピーとなる

STEAL（stole /stóul/, stolen /stóulən/, ～ing）他動詞
1［III名　詞（副　詞）］〈物を〉（場所人から）（こっそり）盗む；〈アイデア作品などを〉盗用する；…をこっそり奪う｟away/from ...｠. ⇒ROB
stolen goods｜盗品
steal away all the money from the safe｜金庫から金を残らず盗む
A thief stole his wallet.｜どろぼうが彼の財布を盗んだ
He had his wallet stolen. ［＝His wallet was stolen from him. ］｜財布を盗まれた.

OOH
間投詞•名　詞｟驚き喜びなど｠おおっ, わあっ；おおっ［わあ］という叫び声.
━━動　詞•自動詞•他動詞（おおっ［わあ］と）叫ぶ.
ooh and aah
驚き［喜び］の声をあげる.

SEX EDUCATION
性教育

OK. This week's question is on that you MIGHT not want to answer but may be fun (or, maybe therapeutic...) to do so.
（今週の質問は、答えたくない人もいるかもしれませんが、楽しいと思ってくれる人もいるかもしれないな（ある人にとってセラピーとなるかも．．．）、というものです。

The question is, Have you ever stolen anything?
（その質問とは：今までに何かを盗んだことはありますか？）
My answer:

YES!

When I was about 14 years old, I stole a nude magazine (ヌード雑誌) from one of my friend's house! Thinking back, I can't believe I did it but I did! I remember oohing and aahing with my best friend, Jeffrey, since we had never seen such things before. It was a kind of sex education for teenage boys!

Of course, our fun ended one day when my mother FOUND my magazines hidden under my bed and WOW, was she ANGRY!!! She never asked me where I got the magazines, but she told me that I was too young to have such things. I didn’t think so, but I didn’t argue with her—she was my mom. I felt embarrassed about it when I was a kid but looking back, I find it very funny now.

And, earlier this week, I asked Hiroe the same question—has she ever stolen anything? She quickly answered, YES! She said she once, when she was 19, stole a hair dryer from a hotel in Nagoya. I can’t believe she did that! Maybe we are not as honest as I thought we were.

Now how about you? BE HONEST: Have you EVER stolen ANYTHING?

I will look forward to hearing your answers.

Be well,

Keith//

一番最初にお金を得た仕事は？

What was your first job?

（一番最初にお金を得たお仕事は何でしたか？パートタイムでも、フルタイムでも、お金を得た経験のある最初のお仕事について教えて下さい。）

Whether it was a part time job, a summer job or a full-time job, most people clearly remember their first job and their first payday. I certainly do and I will look forward to your story about your first job when we speak next.

MY first job:
I got my first job when I was 13 years old. I worked in the summer of 1982 for a company called, P.A.W., a landscaping, lawn care and snow removal company.

I got paid (US) $5.00 an hour (about ) and worked between Monday to Friday, from 7:00 AM to about 5:00. My main job was to cut grass at different businesses and apartment complexes with a riding lawnmower. I also did some landscaping, drove a tractor, a sometimes got to drive a dump truck! It was a great job for a kid because I got to be outside all day, listen to music, and use all kinds of equipment. It was a boy's dream!

My first payday was a day to remember. My boss paid me $500. He paid by cash and gave me four $100 dollar bills and five $20 dollar bills. I felt like a king! That summer, my mother helped me open a bank account and my brother helped me take care of my money. I worked at P.A.W. for three long Minnesota summers. It was a great learning experience for me and something I will never forget.


Some Key Vocabulary:

landscaping:
ぞうえん【造園】
landscape gardening; the art of landscaping


lawn care:
lawn 名　詞芝地；（庭園公園などの）芝生
mow the lawn｜芝生を刈る.

riding lawnmower
芝刈り機｜a lawn mower

snow removal:
じょせつ【除雪】
派生語 除雪する｜clear ｟a street｠ of snow
合成語
除雪機［車］｜a snowplow; ｟英国用法｠ a snowplough
除雪作業｜snow-removal work

bill:
｟米国用法｠紙幣, 札（さつ）（｟英国用法｠note）；｟米俗｠100ドル札
a dollar bill｜1ドル紙幣.

apartment building:
｟米国用法｠共同住宅；アパート (｟英国用法｠a block of flats).

日本の典型的なものについて

I’m not an expert about Japanese culture—you are much more qualified than I could ever be. So, this week’s questions are going to require some thinking about Japan and Japanese culture. However, first, there is a vocabulary word you need to know:

quintessential/kwintəsénʃəl/—クィイントエッセンシャル—
形容詞｟形式的｠真髄の, 典型的な
(example: the quintessential Japanese movie｜典型的な日本映画.)

So, the questions this week are:

What is the quintessential Japanese meal?
典型的な日本食は何ですか？
What is the quintessential Japanese clothing?
典型的な日本の服装は何ですか？
What is the quintessential Japanese pastime?
典型的な日本の娯楽は何ですか？
What is the quintessential Japanese drink?
典型的な日本の飲み物は何ですか？
Is your hometown or home prefecture different? In your hometown (or home prefecture), what is the quintessential food? clothing? music? pastime?
あなたの生まれ故郷、あるいは出身の都道府県で、典型的な食べ物、服装、音楽、娯楽は何ですか？

Since I want you to answer about Japan, I will answer the same questions for America.

I think the quintessential American meal has to be a cheeseburger, french fries (フライドポテト) and a Coca Cola. I used to eat this a lot when I was younger.

I think the quintessential American clothing is blue jeans and a T-shirt. I still wear jeans and a T-shirt almost everyday...

I think the quintessential American pastime is baseball. The greatest sport ever invented.

And the quintessential American drink is beer (or perhaps, “Coca Cola”). And I love them both!

My hometown is Saint Paul, Minnesota. Like most places in America, each city or area has different characteristics. Because of that, my answers about Minnesota are different from the answers for America. For example:

I think the quintessential Minnesota meal has to be “hot dish” a kind of casserole that can have many different kind of ingredients. If you are interested to know more, ask me when we speak next.

I think the quintessential Minnesota clothing is a flannel shirt. In the fall and winter time in minnesota, most men (and women) wear these warm and soft shirts.

I think the quintessential Minnesota pastime is fishing. If you are from Minnesota and you don’t like fishing, people think you are a little strange.

And the quintessential Minnesota drink is milk. Minnesota has a lot of dairy farms so there is a lot of good milk, cheese, and other dairy products from local farms. DELICIOUS!

I will look forward to hearing your answers or questions when we speak next.

Be well,

Keith//

Some important vocabulary

pastime (pǽstàim | pάːs-/ 名)　詞娯楽, 気晴らし, レクリエーション. ⇒PLAY[類語])
Golf is my favorite pastime.｜いちばんの気晴らしはゴルフだ.

dairy farming らくのう【酪農】彼は酪農に従事している｜He runs a dairy farm. 合成語
酪農家｜a dairy farmer
酪農産物｜dairy products
酪農場｜a dairy; a dairy farm

casserole (kǽsəròul/ 名　詞)
蒸し焼きなべ, キャセロール；｟主に英｠シチューなべ.

flannel (flǽnl/ 名　詞)
Ｕフランネル, ネル, フラノ；（綿）ネル；｟主に米｠綿布.

誰と友達になりたいか？

This week's question focuses on best friends. So, here's the question: If you could be friends with anyone (living or dead), who would it be?
もし誰かと友達になれるなら（生きている人、亡くなった人問わず）、誰を選びますか？

My answer:

If possible, I would love to be friends with Benjamin Franklin, American newspaperman, scientist, inventor, philosopher, politician, and diplomat. Considered to be the greatest public servant in American history, it seems everything he did, he did with focus, purpose and a sense of duty for others. Of course, I would have to travel back in time since Franklin was one of the key people to help create the country of America—over 230 years ago. Franklin was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 17, 1706 and died on April 17, 1790.

Franklin lived his life (as best he could) based on what he called the Thirteen Virtues (フランクリンの十三徳 [編集]). He developed these “rules” when he was 20 years old and tried to live by them until he died. It is written that he focused on one rule each week and leaving the others to chance.

His Thirteen Virtues in English are:

"TEMPERANCE. Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation."
"SILENCE. Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation."
"ORDER. Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time."
"RESOLUTION. Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve."
"FRUGALITY. Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing."
"INDUSTRY. Lose no time; be always employ'd in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions."
"SINCERITY. Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly."
"JUSTICE. Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty."
"MODERATION. Avoid extremes; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve."
"CLEANLINESS. Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, cloaths, or habitation."
"TRANQUILLITY. Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable."
"CHASTITY. Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dullness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another's peace or reputation."
"HUMILITY. Imitate Jesus and Socrates."

His Thirteen Virtues in Japanese are:

節制　飽くほど食うなかれ。酔うまで飲むなかれ。
沈黙　自他に益なきことを語るなかれ。駄弁を弄するなかれ。
規律　物はすべて所を定めて置くべし。仕事はすべて時を定めてなすべし。
決断　なすべきをなさんと決心すべし。決心したることは必ず実行すべし。
節約　自他に益なきことに金銭を費やすなかれ。すなわち、浪費するなかれ。
勤勉　時間を空費するなかれ。つねに何か益あることに従うべし。無用の行いはすべて断つべし。
誠実　詐りを用いて人を害するなかれ。心事は無邪気に公正に保つべし。口に出ですこともまた然るべし。
正義　他人の利益を傷つけ、あるいは与うべきを与えずして人に損害を及ぼすべからず。
中庸　極端を避くべし。たとえ不法を受け、憤りに値すと思うとも、激怒を慎むべし。
清潔　身体、衣服、住居に不潔を黙認すべからず。
平静　小事、日常茶飯事、または避けがたき出来事に平静を失うなかれ。
純潔　性交はもっぱら健康ないし子孫のためにのみ行い、これに耽（ふけ）りて頭脳を鈍らせ、身体を弱め、または自他の平安ないし信用を傷つけるがごときことあるべからず。
謙譲　イエスおよびソクラテスに見習うべし。

I think Franklin would have made an incredibly interesting, exciting, deep, enlightening and loyal friend. Besides that, he could be a great teacher.

To learn more about Benjamin Franklin in Japanese, do a simple search on Google for ベンジャミン・フランクリン here.

So, how about you? Who would you like to be friends with?

I will look forward to hearing your answers this week.

Be well,

Keith//