==JAPAN: KM== [Family]

My charming but naughty grandfather runs a Kimono company. Recently business has been very very bad and the number of Japanese who wear Kimono has been decreasing. So the Kimono business is much worse than other businesses. But this short, gray-haired man has worked hard and makes every effort to attract even those who seem to have no interest in Kimono. For example, he wove "Zenmai"(it is an edible fern with a coiled shoot) or gold into a Kimono, and produced as many as 365 kinds of Kimono which have designs based on the birthflower for each day of the year.
The type of Kimono that he has made is called "Tango Chirimen". It is made of silk and feels very smooth, in spite of a slightly wrinkled surface. Patterns are woven into the textures. And while it is being woven, it never feels soft. For during the wearing, yarns are twisted to create a unique feel. So the yarns are hardened by paste to keep in the twists. After it's woven, the fabric is still stiff. You can do "Origami" with it if you want. But once it is washed to remove the pastes, it becomes surprisingly soft as if magic was used!! The peculiar technique used to make it is very difficult, and many people in my hometown, which is surrounded by mountains, have made a lot of effort to learn it. The success story has been told for a long time there. He always says, "Our ancestors took such great pains, and who will keep weaving this Japanese culture if we don't?"
He is an ideal man in business, and a gentle grandfather for me. But according to others, he could also be very mean. One day, when my mother was a little young girl, all the family went shopping, and everybody enjoyed it. After shopping my grandmother said, "I have to buy groceries, so everybody go back to our car and wait together. I'll be finished soon." They waited for her, and after five minutes Grandpa lit a cigarette with his face distorted, and the children kept talking happily. After fifteen minutes the ashtray was full of cigarette butts, and the children tried having a happy talk with him to distract his mind. After thirty minutes his irritation reached its peak and he was likely to explode at any moment, and the children gave up trying to control his patience and kept quiet in order not to become victims. Then she came back, saying, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry." And she put some bags into the trunk and tried to get in the car. That moment he started driving away with great speed. Though only one foot had gotten in, the car jetted forward with a screech. But then she did an unbelievable thing. She jumped on the car whose door was open as if she was a stuntwoman!! What a dangerous family I come from.
Basically, his family liked new or strange things. When only a few people had cars, Grandpa wanted to drive a car and bought one. And he didn't want to have the same car as other people had. So he has always made his car weird. Originally his car was a common sports car. But first he thought his car's color was not good, so he painted the lower half yellow and the rest black. Secondly he thought his car must be conspicuous not only in the daytime but also at night. So he put two big lights on the top. He was satisfied with its looks, but in fact during the day his children didn't even go near it because they were embarrassed to be stared at. And at night the real headlights became very dim, so he couldn't drive it, because the top lights snatched the electric power. But he kept driving it stubbornly.
Being new-thing lovers, his family bought a television when the neighbors didn't have one. So then everyone came to their house to watch it. Because everyone only watched TV, my mother, who was about six years old, wanted to attract attention, so she tore the "Shouji" up, and stuck her bare buttocks into the hole!! Then Grandpa didn't scold her as usual parents would. Instead he said, "Ladies and gentlemen, a show which is more interesting than TV is starting!!"
He always entertains us with many strange deeds. He teaches many things (Only he believes them important). For example, we must patiently listen as he tells how to dry hair, how to make a secret fort, and how to make a twisted wet towel become a weapon. I love him more and more, especially because he doesn't have the strange car now.

"Getting It Together"

When you want to write about persons who you know very well, at first you may not be able to remember many things about them. However, once you remember even one thing about them, a lot of memories will come back quickly. So you won't have trouble with the topic. But, after choosing a topic, you'll be really distressed about another thing. What is it? That is how to connect different subtopics and episodes with essay. There is nothing more difficult than to connect topics that aren't related with each other at all. I'm not satisfied with this part. So if you write about someone important to you, I want you to pay attention to this point.