不便になった倉賀野の街中

　私が子供の頃と比較し、満開の桜の時季は1週間ほど早まってます。当時の小学校入学式の記念写真を見ると、桜咲く校庭を背景にしたクラス写真です。入学式は４月８日頃でした。満開の桜は日本独特の風景と言えます。このため、諸外国と異なり、日本では学校や会社で４月から新年度が始まるのは、昔から桜咲く頃が「日本の自然界では１年の区切り」と考えられたのでしょう。

　私が今までに感銘した群馬県の桜の名所は渋川市の「佐久発電所」付近であり、ご覧の通り、桜の下には直径数メートルの導水管がその北に位置する利根川から引いた池より発電所に向って設置されてます。導水管周辺には約100本の桜が植えられ、私は記憶してるだけで３回ほど訪れてます。ここはお薦めです。

　ということで、桜咲く４月が始まり、私の目標の一つは今まで同様に地域社会の人たちとの交流です。昨日は、この気持ちに沿うに一通の手紙が届きました。それは倉賀野地区協議会からで、５月に開かれる「支え合いサポーター交流会」のお知らせで、ぜひ参加してくださいという趣旨です。内容は、1、見守りや「地域で気になること」の意見交換、2、どんな見守りができるか、3、見守りができる地域についてなどです。

　私は年令を重ねても、地域のために役立ちたいので参加を予定してます。地域で気になることはいくつかあります。それは倉賀野の中心部に警察の派出所がなくなったこと。群銀がなくなり住民が不便になったこと。倉賀野駅に駅員が殆ど見当たらず、駅に時計がなくなったこと、東京行きの切符が買えないことです。何より街中に食料品の店が殆どなくなったことです。車を運転しない高齢者にとって、こんなに困ることはありません。

Dear my friends who are crazy about admiring cherry blossom

　Compared to when I was a child, the peak blooming season of cherry blossoms has shifted forward by about a week. Looking at the commemorative photo of my elementary school entrance ceremony, the class photo is set in front of cherry blossoms in school yard. The entrance ceremony was around April 8th. Full-blooming cherry blossoms are a uniquely Japanese sight. Therefore, unlike in other nations, the start of the new academic year in April for schools and companies in Japan likely stems from the long-held belief that the cherry blossom season marks a significant turning point in the Japanese natural world, I guess.

　The cherry blossom spot in Gumma Prefecture that has impressed me the most is near the Saku Power Plant in Shibukawa-City. As you can see, beneath the cherry trees, a water conduit several meters in diameter runs from a big pond fed by the Tone River from the north, towards the power plant. Approximately 100 cherry trees are planted around the conduit, and I've visited there at least three times. I highly recommend you to see it.

　And so, with April and the cherry blossoms beginning, one of my purposes remains, as always, to interact with people in the local district. Yesterday, I received a letter that resonated with my feeling. The message is from the Kuragano District Council, announcing a "Mutual Support Supporter Exchange Meeting" to be held in May, and urging me to participate. The topics covered include,1) exchanging opinions on community watch and "things of concern in Kuragano-town," 2) what kind of community can you watch possibly, and 3) areas where community watch is feasible.

　Even as I get older, I plan to participate because I want to be useful to the community. There are several things that concern me in the community. These include the disappearance of the police station in the center of Kuragano, the inconvenience caused by the closure of Gumma Bank, the almost complete absence of station staff at Kuragano-Station, there are not clocks at the platforms in the station, and the inability to buy tickets to Tokyo. Most importantly, there are almost no grocery stores left in the central Kuragano-town. For elderly people who don't drive, there's nothing more inconvenient than this.