An 83-year-old Junior Highschool Student ８３歳の中学生

８３歳の中学生

先日テレビの「心に沁みる夜汽車」を見た。いい番組であった。

大坂に住む８３歳の老人が電車に乗って夜間中学に通う話である。彼は戦争のため中学に進学できなかった。子供に学歴をつけさつせようと思い、運転手として懸命に働き、子供三人を高校や大学を卒業させた。

ところが、阪神淡路大震災の時に、妻と子供三人を亡くした。その後、彼はヴォランティア活動に専念するが、途中で止め、酒、煙草に浸る生活に落ち込んだ。

８２歳で脳梗塞になり、どうしようもなくなった時、亡くした家族の声が聞こえた。「お父さん、しっかり生きて」

彼は、夜間中学に行くことを決心した。夜間中学は無償で小学校しか卒業していない人達のための学校である。生徒は彼と同じぐらいの老人が数名である。

彼は、今、毎日生き生きと楽しく学校に通っている。

 An 83-year-old Junior Highschool Student    

The other day, I watched a TV program, “Kokoroni Shimiru Yogisha”(a moving incident in a night train). It was a very good program.

It depicted an 83-year-old man living in Osaka, who commutes to night junior high school. When he was a boy , he was unable to go to junior high school because of WWII. 

He worked hard as a truck driver so that his three children would get academic background. As a result, they graduated from senior high school or university.

Unfortunately, however, he lost his wife and all his three children in the Hanshin Awaji Great Earthquake. He devoted himself in volunteer activities for some time, but he quit them and began to indulge himself in drinking and smoking. At the age of 82, he suffered cerebral infarction.

When he became helpless, his lost family members’ voice encouraged him,  “You’ve got to be strong.”

He decided to go to night junior high school, which is free and open to those who failed to study in junior high school. He had about 10 classmates, who were about as old as he.

Now, he commutes to night school every day. He says he is enjoying his life.