wh5 = who, what, where, when and why. The five basic questions that are the structure of any story. Explored in "Who says what, where, when and and Why: Context in Conversation." An introduction to Sociolinguistics through Conversation Analysis. wh5 is the blogsite of the book published 2008 by Nanundo-Phoenix, Tokyo.
Three rabbits on the ferry were also off on a motorcycle road trip. They were unconcerned about Typhoon 30. We’ll wait until it weakens and passes, they said. Riding off the ferry we sheltered in the same inn then set off up Route 322, a mountain road through arches of camphor trees. I diverted to visit friends in Fukuoka, they rode on seeking Saga sōmen. Buon viaggio, WHITE RABBIT, WHITE RABBIT, WHITE RABBIT!
Checking in at Registration…
Sophia: George! When did you fly in?
George: I didn't fly. I came by ferry.
Sophia: By ferry? From Tokyo? A long trip?
George: It definitely was. Twenty-one hours. Departed Yokosuka nearly midnight.
Sophia: How was the voyage? Rough?
George: Well, typhoons send waves up from the south so some big waves rocked the ship during the night. We raced past some container ships. Some motorcyclists were aboard and their bikes were double-lashed down.
Sophia: Did you get seasick?
George: Woke up a bit queasy so I took an anti-seasickness candy. Grape-flavored.
Sophia: And did it work?
George: Worked for the nausea. But the side effect made me take a six-hour nap. And by the time we arrived at Shin-Moji, the seas were calm.
Sophia: Calm before the storm. Nice timing to get in ahead of the typhoon. My flight was the last one to land today. A lot of cancellations tomorrow. Tomorrow could be rough.
George: It's supposed to lose some steam.
_____________
Voice-over
The conference went ahead, the keynote showed up but some presenters didn’t make it. The typhoon did weaken. Braving a tempest brings confidence of conquering a challenge.
A weather warning…
Ricardo: A typhoon? Steven, you're on two wheels. What are you thinking? Is a bucket list item really worth risking that?
Steven: Well, if a bad system moves in, I’ll pull over, find a local onsen, and wait it out. Part of the adventure is adapting. Play it by ear.
Ricardo: I suppose you can always hole up somewhere. And I get it that you’re taking a ferry to avoid the nasty roads. Why don’t you just take slow trains?
Steven: When you’re in a train, it’s kind of passive. On a bike, you feel the temperature drop when you enter a forest, you smell the ocean. It's immersive.
Ricardo: Immersive is one way to put it. Specially if it rains. Navigating is what would drive me crazy. The signs outside major cities get incredibly confusing, and if your GPS cuts out in the middle of some mountain road, you're going to be hopelessly lost.
Steven: It’s a concern. But getting lost can enter the itinerary. Take a wrong turn and end up at a hidden roadside shack serving great udon. Local people can be very kind.
Ricardo: What about the ferry? And getting seasick if the weather turns bad.
Steven: Well, if I don’t get sick it could be a nice rest.
Ricardo: The cost? Wouldn’t a train be cheaper?
Steven: Nope. Fare for the bike and me is like twenty thou and a bed for the night, the train nearly double and no bed. I’m sure there’ll be moments where I say what possessed me but it’s all about the challenge.
Ricardo: Well, stay safe out there.
Road trip and sea trip
_________
Voice-over
Typhoon 30 is heading for Okinawa between Friday and Saturday. Departing Yokosuka at 23:45 on Friday night, the eye of the storm is still way south. However, long before a typhoon arrives, it sends massive swells rolling up the Kuroshio Current. For a long-distance car ferry cutting straight across the open ocean toward Kyushu, the atmospheric pressure drop and sea conditions suggests a wild crossing.
Mobike will not go…
Andrew: Battery is flat and won't hold a charge. Bike is only two years old. Shouldn't the battery last longer than that?
Orlando: Depends how the bike is treated. Has the motorcycle been sitting unused?
Andrew: Yeah, well, it did sit for about three months straight while I was traveling.
Orlando: A lead-acid battery sitting will sulfate. That is, sulfur crystals build up on the lead plates, harden, and reduce the battery's ability to hold a charge.
Andrew: Hmm. The bike sits around around a lot. How can I prevent the battery from going flat?
Orlando: Couple of options. The simplest is disconnecting the negative wire from the battery terminal when you leave, which stops the electrical drain. A better option is using a small battery tender attached to a pigtail.
Andrew: Disconnecting the wire makes sense. But a pigtail?
Orlando: A short wire harness that connects permanently to the battery terminals. The other end has a quick-disconnect plug that peeks out from under your seat or side panel so you don't have to remove the battery cover every time.
Andrew: Oh, convenient! So I just leave that harness attached all the time, and then what do I do when I store the bike?
Orlando: Exactly. When you park the bike for a while, just plug the battery tender directly into that quick-disconnect plug. The tender will monitor and automatically maintain the charge without overcharging it, preventing sulfation.
___________
Voice-over
Use it or lose it. A battery can be gone in three months if unused. Could go a dozen years if under constant use.
Gen Z don’t read books?
Gen Z: But I’m Gen Z and I read. Books.
Boomer: Glad to hear it. Encouraging. Books are good, they have heft.
Gen Z: Can you suggest a good book?
Boomer: I can suggest one I’m reading at the moment. For me, with my memory, I only recall the book I’m currently on. I can remember the title at least. Augustus.
Gen Z: The Roman emperor?
Boomer: Exactly. This is a good one. By Allan Massie. Not just a historical account. Gets inside the head of Augustus and interprets his motives and dilemmas. And as the book and his life progress, his losses mount. Like happens to us all.
____________
Voice-over
Brilliant 1986 account of Augustus’ maneuverings and workarounds to deal with setbacks and blowups, while the spectre and reality of loss close in.
Nurse Cleo dials down the panic…
WHITE RABBIT, WHITE RABBIT, WHITE RABBIT. October’s elderly rabbits live on an estuary. Volunteer Birdwatchers for the Department of Conservation. Counting migratory species, travelling in threes to give luck to the birds on their journeys. They said nice place you have and I said, well the view is good, the birds sing, the house is JUST robust enough to see us out. Not everyone appreciates it, maybe a bit too nostalgic for many urban folks.
Margaret Thatcher was a grocer’s daughter…
George: I was just reading an article about Naomi Eaton, the movie star. Seems she grew up in the same town as you.
Rupert: Yes, though she was a bit older than me.
George: The article noted she passed away at the relatively young age of 60 several years ago. Did you ever know her or run into her?
Rupert: I didn't know her personally, but I remember her family because her father was the local butcher.
George: No kidding! Where was the shop?
Rupert: Right down the road from our house. My mother used to send me down there sometimes to buy sausages.
George: Fascinating. Do you have any memories of the shop?
Rupert: Her father was always draped in his blue striped apron, with rows of sausages hanging from ceiling hooks. And he had tattoos covering his forearms. Maybe from his time in the Navy, dunno.
A pretty straight example…
Wolfgang: I bought it 25 years ago. It’s been mostly garaged, so it’s aged gracefully.
Björn: Hard to find many NBs this good. Why are you an MX5 fan?
Wolfgang: When I was a kid, I read The Red Car by Don Stanford. It was about restoring an MGTC. The MX5 felt like a modern iteration of that spirit.
Björn: Design concept similar, hmm.
Wolfgang: Yeah, lightweight, open top roadsters. Simple, driver focused machines, not weighed down by excess.
Björn: No frills. The MGTC had that raw charm, just sticking to the road.
Wolfgang: Had to be a bit careful. They could roll. A friend’s one did. I like the camaraderie of the MX5 community. But I also like the MX5 without any aging creaks and puddles underneath.
Björn: Like you have keeping a TC. Got it. Maybe you could do a remake of Stanford's book, about restoring an MX5?
Wolfgang: If I did, it'd be about the MX5 community, and the garage like yours.
____________
Voice-over
A manual MX5 with rear wheel drive, classic styling, long bonnet, shortdeck just like the MGTC. Mazda studied the old British roadsters when designing it. The MX5 carried that ethos forward.
Taking a call…
Cousins talking…
Antonio: The front façade, that classic CT Natusch Tudor style. Properly proportioned, steep gables, timber detailing.
Jocelyn: The front is the strongest part. It’s the kind of house you’d stop and photograph. But once you scroll through the photos… well, the story changes.
Antonio: The interior surprised me. All that rimu. Warm, honeyed, still intact. It feels like stepping into 1893. But then the back of the house… it’s like someone stapled extra rooms on without thinking.
Jocelyn: Yes. The section is narrow, and the further back you go, the more it looks like a patchwork quilt.
Antonio: The price though, half a mill, is tempting. For a Natusch original, that’s almost a bargain. But is this a restoration project or a money pit? The back looks like it would need structural reconsideration, not just cosmetic work.
Jocelyn: And Masterton isn’t exactly booming. You’d have to love the house for what it represents, not what it currently is.
Antonio: True. It’s not a strategic investment. It’s a sentimental one. A heritage one. A ‘great-grandfather built this’ one.
Jocelyn: Sentiment doesn’t pay for rewiring, replumbing, reroofing, and re-everything-ing.
Antonio: I wonder if the front could be preserved, and the back rebuilt entirely. But that’s a major undertaking. And probably wouldn’t be allowed by Heritage rules.
Jocelyn: And you’re not living in Masterton. You’d be managing a heritage restoration remotely.
Antonio: The front is stunning, but the whole property feels like a compromise.
Jocelyn: I agree. If the back were even halfway sympathetic to the original design, I’d say go for a look. But as it stands…
Antonio: …maybe it’s better to let someone else take on the project. Someone local. Someone who wants a challenge.
Jocelyn: So to conclude: not to buy, and maybe not even a look-see. We honor the history, but we don’t inherit the renovation.
_____________
Voice-over
Sentimental value doesn’t outweigh the structural, financial, and logistical realities. The house’s front is a treasure; the back is a burden. Admiration without acquisition becomes the elegant choice.
Crewman guiding pilot to landing near trees…
S 70A 9
Crewman: Tail clear of trees, 15 feet. Hold hover.
Pilot: Holding. Nose up 8. Blind below.
Crewman: Roger. Start down, easy. Trees tight left.
Pilot: Coming down. Call feet.
Crewman: 30 feet... 25... drift right, come left 2.
Pilot: Correcting left. Tail clearance?
Crewman: Tail's good. Lock pitch. 20 feet... dust rising.
Pilot: Roger. Call drift.
Crewman: Drifting aft! Forward 2, forward 2!
Pilot: Stopping aft. Pushing forward.
Crewman: Good stop. Stable. 15 feet. Blades 10 feet from branches.
Pilot: Copy 15. Continuing down.
Crewman: 10 feet... 5... right above... hold pitch...
Pilot: Holding.
Crewman: Mains down... tail down. Ground. Drop collective.
_________
Voice-over
Patter between pilot and aircrewman landing pretty close to trees. Landing nose up means pilot can’t see, so crewman watching out the door relays guidance.
White rabbits altruistically share their lunar dose of luck with lookalike bilbies. Leader Lapin tells the bilbies: “We come in peace. We like you. Use this luck we offer to stop your species going extinct. WHITE RABBIT, WHITE RABBIT, WHITE RABBIT.”
The rabbits may think they have found a cousin. Both have long ears, hop and dig. But it’s just convergent evolution. Rabbits are placental mammals, bilbies are marsupials.
Showgrounds equestrian arena…
