7月18日、土曜日。空は薄曇りだ
一夜明けて、明け方の朝活でカメラを構える頃には、今にも泣き出しそうな空から吹く冷たい風が、火照った体を優しく冷やしてくれた
先日、東京都のバス協会らしきところから、シルバーパスの案内を知らせる封書が届いていた
機械から吐き出されたPASMOには、小さく私の名前が打ち込まれていた
今日もまた、まとわりつくようなムシムシとした一日になるのだろう
#シニアライフ #朝活カメラマン #シルバーパス #ノスタルジー #何気ない日常 #ファインダー越しの私の世界
Memories of a Distant Summer and a Small Silver Pass
July 18th, Saturday. The sky is slightly cloudy. I was quite surprised by the sudden rain yesterday afternoon. A sharp flash of light was accompanied by a loud noise; lightning must have struck very close by. The thunderstorm, which I thought had stopped, began to rage again in the middle of the night, raining heavily. Thanks to that, however, the night after the rain was so cool and peaceful that an air conditioner was unnecessary.
When morning came and I set up my camera for my morning routine, a cold wind blowing from a sky that looked ready to cry gently cooled my warm body. But that was only temporary; by the time I finished shooting, a highly humid, sticky wind began to cling to me.
The other day, I received an envelope from what seemed to be the Tokyo Bus Association, containing information about the Silver Pass. Thinking I would apply this year, I read the guide carefully and found out that starting this year, the Silver Pass must be registered onto a PASMO card. To register my name on an unused PASMO card I had on hand, I took several buses to a station on the Seibu Haijima Line. JR's Suica card cannot be used; only PASMO is accepted. Furthermore, it must be a personalized card. Swaying on a relatively empty Saturday bus, I arrived at the station and inserted my PASMO into the ticket machine to proceed with the registration. I had checked the steps beforehand, so the process itself went smoothly, but since there were so few ticket machines, the waiting time was much longer.
On the PASMO that the machine spat out, my name was typed in small letters. The rest of the application process will be done at home, but with this, I will officially join the ranks of Silver Pass holders from October. Getting home is also quite a task. I could have taken the train, but because I had errands to run and groceries to buy, I took buses again, taking detours on my way home.
It will probably be another muggy, sticky day today. For the rest of the world, today marks the beginning of a three-day weekend and the start of the summer vacation season. In my youth, I used to travel a lot, my heart dancing with excitement when this season arrived. Just as boys and girls holding their breath in the corner of a classroom are enchanted by the magic of summer and aim for the stars in the night sky, we innocently chased after small lights back then. But what about now? Gazing at the small, personalized pass in my hand, I wonder. Will there ever come a day when I can travel far away again, just like in those days?
#SeniorLife #MorningPhotography #Nostalgia #SummerMemories #DailyLife #ThroughMyLens

