Lyrics from the "Lee and Friends Go to Japan" Soundtrack Album

Rita Mathern has sent along copies of the words composed in honor of Shoda Masae-san, the "Lee and Friends Go to Japan" tour in general and Japan itself as performed at our Teseien banquet in Hakone and our Farewell Dinner in Tokyo.

Here they are, together with Tom Panke's digital images of the actual performances as they occurred, live and in person from Japan!

SONG FOR MASAE-SAN
(Beatles Tune: "I Love Her, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!)

Refrain: We love her, yeah, yeah, yeah!
We love her, yeah, yeah, yeah,
We love her, yeah,yeah, yeah, YEAH!

Masae-san is our guide, she keeps us all in li-ine.

No matter how we tried, she never lost her mi-ind...

She says she loves us, and you know that can't be bad

We love her, and we want her to be glad!

(Refrain)

Her English is superb, her knowledge is subli-ime.

The rose she holds up high, leads us from temple to shri-ine...

Oh yes, she loves us, and you know that can't be bad.

We love her, and we want her to be glad! OOOOOOO.

(Final refrain)

FRIENDS OF LEE
(Tune: By the Sea)

Friends of Lee in Japan, go from mountain to sea.

How to choose what to see, we just leave it to Lee!

We have traveled by train and bus, with Lee guiding us

through museums, gardens, temples and shrines.

O-saka, to Nara, Kyoto, Ohara,

Hiroshima, Kurashiki, Hakone, Tokyo!

We've had yakatori, but tofu we want no more-ee

32 raken, we...lucky friends of Lee!!

TOKYO DREAMIN'
(Tune: California Dreamin')

All their suits are black, (black or gray)

And the sky is, too (and the sky is too)

I've been a walkin' all day long.....how 'bout you? (how 'bout you?)

I'd be dry and wa-arm, (dry and warm)
if I was in Peru!

To-kee-oh Dreamin'.....I'm so full of tofu!

Tokyo Dreamin'...I will remember YOU!

PICASA Photo Album Index

The following digital photograph albums from participants taking part in the "Lee and Friends Go to Japan" tour have been edited and uploaded to the PICASA Web Albums site by Lee Makela.

Something to share with families gathered for the Thanksgiving weekend!

CLICK ON UNDERLINED NAMES TO GO TO THE INDIVIDUAL ALBUM

PEOPLE PICTURES
from -

Marcy Christian
Gail and Ramsey Coates
Bob and Linda Johnson
Jane and Don Underwood
Rosewitha and Ingo Bode
Lee and Heidi Makela
Mary and Jim Bright
Tom Panke
Tom Mathern


PLACES AND EVENTS

Marcy Christian
Gail and Ramsey Coates
Jane and Don Underwood
Rosewitha and Ingo Bode
Lee and Heidi Makela
Tom Panke
Mary and Jim Bright
Tom Mathern

Two More Haiku from a Zen Traveler

The Great Buddha

The Great Buddha sits
Gilt-free, all sins of Mammon
Long since washed away.










Fall Fields Near Kurashiki

Spaced like new transplants
On a bald man's pate: rice in
Anticipation.

Two "Thank You" Note Excerpts

In response to our Daruma "Roly-Poly" gift to Ann Eberhard, the Friends of Lee received the following:

Dear Lee and Friends -

Thank you so much for thinking of me in the midst of your travels! ... Since I was about four years old, I have had two small kokeshi dolls (from a friend of Dad's in seminary), and I will treasure this dharma doll just as much.

There is a favorite quotation of mine by Emily Dickinson - "Dwell in possibility!" It is in several places throughout my home, and this roly-poly will represent the same spirit for me.

... Thank you again - very, very much!

And in an email to Jane Underwood from Shoda Masae-san:

This tour was the most impressive one I have ever had. And every time I listen to the song "She loves you", I will think of Lee & Friends. The first Beatles' album [appeared in] my adolescence[;] I was just 15 years old. Thanks for that nice memory.

Just thought you all would like to know ....

Five (Not So) Ancient Haiku - Rich Gray

- from the author of “Seven Irreverent Observations of a Zen Traveler”

Supplicant’s green branch
Extended in thanksgiving
Mixes clouds with smoke

Red heron torii
Ankle-deep, resplendent, still
Stands up for the pair

At Hiroshima

Paper cranes unfold
To ascend with peals for peace
Reverberating

Thirty-two rakan
Soaking in temple culture
Celebrate drip-dry

Supple yukata
Incline to tatami mats
Better than old knees

Green Tea Soft Serve Ice Cream, Anyone ?

So far, Lee has uncovered photographic evidence of at least a dozen RAKAN enjoying green tea soft serve ice cream at some time or other during our two weeks in Japan.

Anyone else out there with similar proof is requested to forward it to him for appropriate inclusion in this slide show album presentation on his Picasa site.

A Desire Perhaps Shared by Many

THE FOLLOWING NOTE WAS PRESENTED TO ANN EBERHARD, ALONG WITH A DARUMA DOLL, TO RECOGNIZE HER DESIRE TO COME TO JAPAN WITH THE FRIENDS OF LEE TOUR; THE CLEVELAND SCHOOL SYSTEM WOULD NOT ALLOW HER TO MISS SCHOOL, HOWEVER, SO SHE ULTIMATELY HAD TO DROP OUT.

Daruma (more properly known as “Bodhidharma”) was a Buddhist monk, the Chinese founder of Zen, whose devotion to meditation supposedly resulted in the atrophy of his arms and legs. Today in contemporary Japan he is often portrayed as a red, round, roly-poly doll.

Here’s what Wikipedia has to say about the Daruma Doll:

Daruma dolls (達磨, daruma^?), also known as dharma dolls, are hollow and round Japanese wish dolls with no arms or legs, modelled after Bodhidhrama, the founder and first patriarch of Zen. Typical colors are red (most common), yellow, green, and white. The doll has a face with a moustache and beard, but its eyes only contain the color white. Using black ink, one fills in a single circular eye while thinking of a wish. Should the wish later come true, the second eye is filled in.

Because of their low centers of gravity, some types of daruma doll return to the upright position after being tilted to one side. As such, the daruma has become symbolic for optimism, persistence, and strong determination.

The Lee and Friends Go to Japan group thought you might like to have one of these dolls as a concrete expression of your wish to “someday” go to Japan yourself, to remind you to keep on hoping and planning for that opportunity.