Today is Earth Day. This is a day to think about the environment. I found a list of a few things that everyone can do to help make the Earth better. 1.Plant a tree. Trees stop the rain from washing away the soil and help make the air fresher. 2. Carry your own water bottle and your own shopping bag so that you use less plastic. 3. Become a vegetarian. That’s a little difficult for me because I love meat, but I am trying to eat more vegetables. Farmers use a lot more land, water, and energy to raise animals than to grow plants. 4. Walk or ride a bike as much as possible. Then you won’t need to use gasoline. And finally, 5. Remember that you can do these things every day. You don’t have to wait until the next Earth Day comes. (144 words)

Everything starts in April in Japan. There are entrance ceremonies at schools and companies. My daughter became a junior high school student this spring. She goes to school by bicycle. It’s about a 20-minute ride from our house. School started this week, and I’ve been going with her because she is not familiar with the route yet. On the way to school, there is a shrine with many cherry trees. They are in full bloom now and are very beautiful. I enjoy seeing them every day. This morning, after going with me for a week, my daughter said that she could go to school by herself. I asked her to let me go with her once more because I wanted to see the cherry trees. On the way back home, I took pictures of them. They’re still beautiful, but the blossoms will start falling next week. (145 words)

What is Japanese money made of? The Bank of Japan prints yen notes on a special paper that is made from “mitsumata.” This plant grows in the mountains. Farmers take the bark off the plant, beat it, and dry it. Making “mitsumata” is hard work, and these days there are fewer and fewer Japanese farmers who produce it. The company that makes the special paper needed a new source, and they found a plant like “mitsumata”  in Nepal. The company taught the Nepali farmers how to make the fiber, and now Nepal is selling the fiber to Japan. Japan’s new yen notes are coming out in July, and they will be made from this Nepali fiber.　　(116 words)

I stream a lot of movies at home, but I really like to go to a movie theater. I love the smell of popcorn. I always buy some and a nice, cold soft drink. I enjoy sitting in the movie theater and waiting in suspense for the movie to begin. Last Thursday, I decided to go see “Dune, Part 2” with my son-in-law. We had already seen Part 1 when it came out, and we were impressed with the special effects. Dune is a planet of sand, but people fight over it because it has a very valuable product called spice. Giant worms live in the sand and make Dune a very dangerous place to live and work. The special effects are great, especially the giant sand worms. (128 words)

Akebono was the first person born outside Japan to become a Yokozuna. He was one of the tallest wrestlers at 203 cm and one of the heaviest at 233 kg. His coach and mentor was Takamiyama, the first great wrestler from Hawaii. Akebono was a powerful wrestler and became Yokozuna in 1993, the year he won four of the six grand sumo tournaments. He won 11 grand tournaments altogether in his career, In the early 1990s, his rivals were the brothers Takanohana and Wakanohana, and together the three of them made sumo more popular than ever. After he left the sumo world, Akebono went on to do kickboxing and pro wrestling. He passed away this month at the early age of 54. His mentor, his rivals and other sumo wrestlers came to say goodbye at his funeral in Tokyo on Sunday. (141 words)

After work last Friday, I went to the barbershop in my neighborhood. There are usually two barbers there, but one of them had already gone home. The barber who was still there showed me a chair. He shaved me, cut my hair, and gave me a shampoo. Actually, I prefer the other barber, not because he is a better barber but because he is a better talker. This barber didn’t talk much, and I fell asleep while he was cutting my hair. Then I started to wonder what the women in my family thought. My wife said that she preferred talkative hairdressers. My daughter felt the same way. Only my granddaughter said that she preferred quiet hairdressers. Why? Because she likes to fall asleep when she’s there.