Alain Delon passed away on August 18. He was 88 years old. He was one of the most famous French actors of his time. I became a fan of his after watching “Purple Noon” (“Taiyo ga ippai” in Japanese). It was his first major role in a movie, and it is a great crime thriller. Delon plays a conman, the bad guy, who tries to steal everything from a rich playboy. Delon went on to become a big star in Europe and made movies with other French stars such as Jean Paul Belmondo and Brigitte Bardot. He even made a movie with Mifune Toshiro called “Red Sun.” He is best known for playing a tough guy in movies such as “The Samurai” and “Borsalino.”   (124 words)

We had a nature walk at Fujimae Tidal Flat yesterday morning, and seven families joined us. While we were walking along the levee above the tidal flat, the temperature was about 35 degrees. However, as we walked down toward the water, it began to feel cooler. We had to cross a channel of water. The water came up above the knees of the adults and above the children’s waists, but nobody complained. They enjoyed getting wet. On the tidal flat, the children found clams, small fish, and tiny shrimp. Some dug holes and got covered in mud. One child just wanted to stay in the channel and swim. It was so pleasant to feel cool on such a hot day!   (120 words)

This is the hottest summer that Japan has ever had. Nagoya has had more than 20 days in a row with temperatures of 35 degrees or higher. I try not to go out in the afternoon because it’s the hottest time of day. Some plants in my garden are dying, and the heat is even killing some trees. There is one kind of tree, however, that is doing great in the heat. It’s the crepe myrtle. A street that I sometimes drive along is lined with crepe myrtle trees, and yesterday they were in full bloom. Some trees had white flowers, some had red flowers, and others had pink flowers. They were beautiful. The heat doesn’t seem to bother them at all.   (122 words)

August is a great month to be in Japan if you like fireworks. In last Sunday’s newspaper, there was a beautiful photo taken from a helicopter of the Nagara River Fireworks Festival in Gifu City. Some of the best fireworks festivals are held around Japan in August. I’d really like to see the fireworks at Nagaoka in Niigata Prefecture and at Kumano in Mie Prefecture. The other day, my granddaughter put on a yukata and went to see fireworks at Inuyama, a city near Nagoya. I asked for a photo, but she sent me a video instead. I really enjoyed it! The fireworks started low, just over the river, but by the end of the show, large rockets were going up and bursting into huge balls of fire high in the night sky.  (133 words)

The Olympic Games in Paris have ended. I like watching the Olympics because I discover new sports and new athletes. Last Saturday, I watched the women’s sport climbing finals for the first time. I didn’t watch the first part of the competition, but in the second part, Mori Ai was amazing! She is one of the smallest climbers, and she has to compete against women with longer arms and longer legs. Even so, she got to the top of the wall, and she had the best score. There were three women after her. None of them did as well as Mori did in the second part, but they were much better in the first part. Mori didn’t get a medal, but she made a fan out of me.   (128 words)