My son-in-law has relatives in Ehime Prefecture, and they always send his mother mandarin oranges at this time of year. He got a special kind called “Red Madonna” (“beni Madonna”) this time, and he gave us some. They were delicious! The fruit was soft like jelly and very sweet. They say that the red Madonna is as sweet as a mango or a pineapple. One thing I didn’t like about this kind of mandarin orange was its peel. It is thinner than other mandarin orange peels. In fact, it is so thin that you can’t peel it with your hands. I had to slice it in order to eat it, but it was very, very good! (116 words)

Japan did very well in the 2024 ISU Grand Prix Final and the Junior Grand Prix Final over the weekend in Grenoble, France. Japanese skaters got the silver and bronze medals in both the men’s singles and the ladies` singles in the senior division, but Japan’s young female skaters in the Junior Grand Prix Final were the best. They took all three medals in the ladies’ singles. The gold medalist was Shimada Mao. She is only 16 years old, but she now has won the Junior Grant Prix Final three years in a row. When the next Winter Olympics are held in northern Italy at Milano and Cortina in 2026, I’m sure we will see her there! (117 words)

I had the chance to visit Hawaii for the first time. Hawaii is home to Pearl Harbor, where the Imperial Japanese Navy, led by Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, a native of Nagaoka, Niigata, launched a surprise attack in 1941, marking the beginning of the Pacific War. I also learned that the battleship Missouri, now docked at Pearl Harbor, served as the venue for the signing ceremony that officially ended the war. This makes Hawaii a symbolic place representing both the beginning and the end of the war. Interestingly, Nagaoka and Honolulu, the capital of Hawaii, are now sister cities. Each year, Nagaoka’s famous fireworks are featured at the Honolulu Festival, symbolizing peace and friendship. As December 8 marks the anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack, it serves as a reminder that the peaceful days we now enjoy came at a great cost. Many lives were lost during the war. (148 words)

What is the first song that you remember hearing? I don’t mean a song for children. I mean a popular song that you can hear on the radio. I remember hearing “Hound Dog” by Elvis Presley when I was three years old. I didn’t hear it in my own house. My sister and I were too young to listen to popular music on the radio, and my parents didn’t like rock ‘n’ roll. However, there was a girl living next to us who loved Elvis. She had a small record player in her garage, and she played the song almost every day. When I became a teenager, I was the same. I was crazy about the Beatles and listened to their records all the time! (127 words)

There is a new series on Netflix called “A Man on the Inside.” The main character is a retired professor. His daughter is worried about him because he has been staying at home alone since his wife died. She wants him to go out and do something new. He gets a job, but it isn’t an ordinary job. He becomes a spy for a private detective agency. They need him because one customer is an old woman in a home for seniors, and someone stole her necklace. He goes into the home as a guest and starts to look for the thief. If you like comedy, mystery, and a little sadness, I think you will like this series. (118 words)

Today is Giving Tuesday. It comes after Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving, and it is the beginning of the Christmas shopping season in the U.S. These days, you can find Black Friday sales in Japan, too. Cyber Monday is the Monday after Thanksgiving. It is a great day for online sales. Some people thought that spending so much time on shopping was making people selfish, so they started Giving Tuesday in 2012. They wanted people to think about helping other people at this time of year. You can help people in many different ways. You can give money to charities, do volunteer work, or even just give up your seat to someone on a subway. Show some kindness and help others today. (129 words)