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33. After 5 years in Tokyo
1977 to 80 is the President Jimmy Carter U.S.A. of higher than 20% yearly interest rates on bank lending. Eddie's bank adviser relied on the money market funds; and, then, investing conservatively, he managed an at least 10% interest on the principal, which, computed from $800,000, brought in c.$80,000 a year, By 1980, Eddie is a millionaire; no big deal for the average fool; but for a smart guy, who follows Physician's Notebooks, each dollar his income earns is worth many dollars to the usual dirt-dumb, greedy person in a society up to its gaping mouth in credit-card debt.
Eddie decides to marry Ryo to get permanent resident status in Japan as spouse of a Japanese, and also to allow him to place his foreign account in the name of a foreign passport holder. This is important because even though his bank maintained a strict bank secrecy, no one could predict the future. And since Japan had no curiosity about foreign accounts, the placing of the account in the name of a trusted non-USA passport holder was a good idea.
But before he decided to even discuss it with her, he thought much about his relationship with Ryo and her character and motives. These passed every test of loyalty and honesty and absence of greed he could think of, so he moved ahead and transferred the account.
Eddie pursues his idea to become a polymath with particular interest in discovering maximal happiness in day-to-day living and, once discovered, striving for maximum healthy life. Since Ryo and Yuko are important in Eddie's life now, he strives to keep Ryo healthy and prevent her aging, and to increase Yuko's education and practical intelligence. At the time of Eddie's return, Ryo is in her 60s, still with juicy vagina. Eddie, following his medical knowledge plus the chapter in Physician's Notebooks 8 on hormone replacement for middle-aged females sets about keeping Ryo from aging. But he needs to locate a cooperative Japanese physician. Patiently he learns his way around Tokyo asking Ivan and other expatriates, and locates the Jikei Medical School, not far from Roppongi's International House. It is known for its friendliness to English-speaking foreigners and for having the best English-language library. Eddie visits and soon has developed a good relationship with a librarian, Mrs. Kuriyama, and he meets her husband, Dr. Satoru Kuriyama.
Dr. Koori is just Koori, as Eddie familiarly calls him. His English is fluent but as he is not a native writer he often asks Eddie to edit and correct medical research papers he is writing in his position as Professor in the Internal Medicine Department. In return and as part of the friendship, Koori takes care of Eddie's medical needs and requests. Eddie arranges for Ryo to have a careful check against breast, uterus and colon cancer, and also her cardiovascular status, which are the risk factors that may worsen due to female hormone replacement treatment of menopause. Happily, the tests all come back negative, putting Ryo at low risk for female hormone treatment complications. Eddie arranges for her to take the lowest estrogen daily pill dose, c.30 mg conjugated equine estrogens, and she takes the pill the first 25 days each month. The plan is for her to take it that way for life to keep sexual tissues juicy and brain well hydrated, and to lower bad cholesterol in order to prevent her arteries in brain and heart from clogging as they do in the usual case of aging past 60. Ryo experiences no changes in her feelings from this dose but Eddie is satisfied because he knows it will keep Ryo for the rest of her life - hopefully her 100 years - at the physical age state of age 50.
Concerning, Yuko, Eddie does not wish to interfere much with the Japanese young woman. But he does convince her to take a 6-month English Berlitz he pays for, and he teaches her computer and buys a kit for her room, putting her in on the shortwave information highway he is setting up. She continues to work at job as low-paid clerk but gradually he is modernizing and somewhat westernizing her outlook. Yuko, without dramatically changing, is finding life at home since Eddie san is her foster father, better than ever, and she enthusiastically pitches in to help Ryo manage the household.
34. Eddie Develops the Information Highway - Dr John Edwardes Joins Expatriate Life
During this time, Eddie has enlarged his information highway network. It is based on shortwave radio connections. Initially Dr Stan and as years pass, many of the New People who make up this saga get connected in.
Eddie has Dr. Stan connect Miss Prissy and Dr John Edwardes. Both can hook into big libraries. By hooking in is meant the use of copy machine transmission and the new floppy discs in transmitting information from library material. Stan's wife Brenda has kept in touch with Miss Ali in Winnipeg with son Guy. Once the information highway reached Ali in Winnipeg, in 1978, Eddie learns for the first time about Guy.
Then there are connections made though Miss Ali with friends she knew in Tokyo before the War in 1939. It turns out, Olga & Boris have migrated to the Russian Far East and inherited the old Siber woman Mamka's house and property in Siziman Bay (See Slim Novel 4) with its shortwave connection. So they join the info highway. As does Kimi, now living in Sapporo in northern Japan, and Harumi the communist who is still in Tokyo and meets Eddie in 1979 for first time, as well as Kimura.
In 1979, Dr John Edwardes retires from the Sociology Department of Hunter College after 40 years service and now age 79. Eddie convinces Dr Edwardes to come live in Tokyo.
As 1979 ends, Tokyo is a center for the New People and is progressing the idea of communication via the information super highway.
End of Section. To continue next, click 16.35 Seminar: State of Affairs in 1980
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