Nippon Beckons

I got a bit starry-eyed and nostalgic over my years in Japan today. I was cleaning out my drafts folder, where I save little things I mean to get back to, and I found an entry from months ago, reminding me to visit and comment on the web site for Mos Burger, a fast food favorite of mine in my Japan years. The thing that evoked the biggest smile was the marketing invitation: "Catch the latest MOS news and charge yourself with joy!!" I am delighted. Purely. If only all the world could know the pleasures of that fabled place. We always talked in high school about the fact that the burgers were mostly soy, and, yes, they don't really taste EXACTLY like hamburgers, but there was no denying our love for them despite. And washing it all down with a bright green draught of cool melon soda was a stolen bit of heaven in a primarily fish-eating world. I miss it, I miss it, I miss it!

Sometimes nostalgia is kind. Like a little vacation in your bedclothes. Other times, it is a cruel reminder of loss and failure and missed opportunities. Fortunately, nostalgia about fast food proprietors is seldom anything but the former. Even when it begets a longing for something oceans out of reach. It's okay to long for things. It keeps you alive.