人が老いて、町もまた老いて。
2026/08/19
十河 智
お盆には娘が一家4人で帰ってきた。孫が大きくなって、もうすぐこんな機会も少なくなるだろう。 大阪はこんな片隅の町でも食べ物は多種多様でおいしいらしい、一通り外食を巡りたいらしく、ラーメン、一膳飯、お好み焼き、ハンバーグ、リゾット、カフェ、ほぼ昼夜は外食。まあ楽といえば楽なのだが。私の作るものもおいしいよ、と、叫びたくなる。娘の帰省中に家での食事は、実家から出て、それぞれ大阪近郊で暮らす弟の二人の娘、姪たちもきて、賑やかになる。
年寄り2人の日常とはだいぶ違う。これも五十年物のホットプレートが、大活躍する。この家も一度だけキッチンと水回りを改築したが、両家の親類に建築関係の者が多く、しっかりと頑丈に建てて貰ったので、びくともしていない。
五十年はあっという間で、百歳も実現しそうだ。しかしながら、いったいいつまで生きるのだろうかという不安もないことはない。友人たちの中には、認知機能の衰えた人がいる。 町内会も老人二人暮らしの家ばかりになっている。 私たちが築き上げ、育ててきた町、盆踊りも大掃除もいつの間にかしなくなった。引き受け手がなくて、町会長も何年も同じ人だ。九十歳台の夫婦二人の家もあって、お買物はご近所の助けで暮らしている。
思えば、私の小さい頃、年寄りは孫子と暮らしていた。アメリカのドラマで見た夫婦単位の暮らしのスタイルがとても新鮮だった。年寄りが車を駆って、週に一度、町へ買い物に行く、まさか自分の老後がそうなるとは思っていなかった。娘が帰ってくるようになると、田舎への墓参はしなくなった。私たちのお墓はどこになるのだろうか。コロナ禍で人との交流がないことで、逆に町内で亡くなる人が減ったように思う。ここしばらくお葬式がない。人が老いて、町もまた老いて。
the persons ate old, the town is old.
2026/08/19
SOGO Tomoko
In the period of the Bon Festival, the daughter's family of four came to us.In the the future it will decrease to make chances for us like this to meet at our home, because our grandsons grow up. Here in a corner of Osaka City where a large variety of foods are, ramen, rice, okonomiyaki, hamburger, risotto, coffee, daughter's family want to go around to eat for lunch or supper.It is easy as for me, but I'd like to say loudly it is good dishes which are made by me. Two nieces of mine, daughters of my younger brother, each one living in Osaka independently came to my home and became alive, changing our daily life of the two old.The griddle used for fifty years did well to cook meat.The wet area of this house was rebuilt once. Many builders are in my relatives, they built this house very solid.
It passes so short for fifty years, and a hundred years come soon.
Some freinds of mine are suffering from senile dementia.
Many lives of the two old , husband and wife are in my community.
However how long shall I live? It's an anxiety of mine.The town we build and developed has Bon dancing no more, and recently has no general cleaning day of community.The president of residents' is the same person for lomg term.The home husband and wife of nimeties live helped shopping by the neighborhood
Thinking of my childhood, the old lived with their children and grandchildren.The life style maked by the unit of husband and wife was very fresh feeling.The old person drives a car to go shopping once a week, I had no idea of these old days of mine.
As I become to accept my daughter coming home, I stopped to visit the graves in my hometown. Where is a good place for our graves?
The Corona Misfortune decreased the interactions among persons,and the number of deaths in the community. We have not attended the funerals for a lomg time.
the persons ate old, the town is old.
