Another Letter

Having had a good experience with superior letter sending in Japan recently, the very same subject came up on TV.

This time we are back to our favourite program, Night Scoop. The "detective" (seen here, below, on the left), was called in to help the skinny chap, sporting the military haircut, with a peculiar request.

20 years ago, haircut guy was an 8-year old school kid, and not very good at his homework. One day at school they were asked to write a letter, tie it to a ballon and send it.

And in his letter, he proposed a "man's agreement", writing: "To whoever finds this letter, please write me a letter back, and tell me what I should do with my life. I am useless with my homework, and I just want to give up. Then, in twenty years' time, when I am old enough to drink, and have some money, I will buy you a beer."

That isn't very extraordinary, is it? I mean, kids always write letters and pretend to be cowboys and things. However, someone found the letter and replied to it.

The letter said "Do not worry about your studies, just try your best. You never know what life will bring you. I am now 28, so when you are the same age as me you can buy me a beer and we can talk about how your life went."

So in order to help Haircut San keep his side of the bargain, the first challenge was to find the guy.

They had his name, Ota San, but he didn't put his return address on the envelope. However, they soon found his address because, coincidently, he lived in a building with the same name. And a big sign on it saying "Ota".

So, they try to make him remember without giving the game away. They start to give him hints, such as "do you remember entering into a man's agreement?"

"You what!?"

They try again - "Did you arange to meet someone twenty years ago?" - he answers : "I don't know what you're on about".

He thinks it may be something to do with a hernia.

Again they try: "Do you remember something, a long, long time ago, turning up, out of the blue, on your land?"

"Was it some rubbish?"

He eventually gets it, but not before they give him some more clues, such as "it could have started with a FU" (the first sound of "letter" in Japanese).

They go back to his house and try to jog his memory about what he wrote. They end up giving him some fairly heavy hints, and finally Haircut San brings out the posh booze he has bought for the occasion.

However, Ota San...

... doesn't drink ! (anymore)

And, actually, Mr Haircut hasn't drank for a year and a half.

So, they have a sip of the posh booze, Haircut San spills some on the carpet, and the whole affair is a mess. But, at least he kept his side of the bargain.

And this reminds me somewhat of the market.

Overly relying on the past can result in failure.