 | Follow us on | |||
Live Your Dreams: The Taylor Anderson StoryPOSTED BY JASON FETTERS, February 7, 2015 Share
Thoughts still linger –
But will those who have parted
Return again?
Evening is deep in the hills
Where cherry blossoms fall.
Shinkei (1406-1475)
The world is truly getting closer as vastly different cultures converge. The need for global understanding has never been more important. Some folks come along and really reach out to impact others and their communities. Taylor Anderson was a person whose brief life made a lasting difference to many lives.
Born in Richmond, VA, Taylor Anderson, was remembered by her parents as being curious and open to all the goodness in life. On a trip to an international food fair, her father recalls her wanting to try it all, unafraid and determined to enjoy. Such are the memories of the first known American casualty of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in 2011.
Growing up, Taylor began studying Japanese in 3rd grade, with a dream of one day visiting Japan. Even when she went to high school and sadly discovered that there was no Japanese language program, she still studied on her own. She got together with a few friends and taught Japanese.
Finally finishing high school and later on college, Taylor was going to Japan through JET as an Assistant Language Teacher in Ishinomaki, a fishing village in Sendai, where she taught children at several schools.
Her friends remember her having boundless energy and a good person to have a great time with. She worked hard for her student putting her creative ideas and passion into teaching English. Her students recall many good memories of their teacher.
Then on March 11th, 2011 an earthquake shook and Taylor helped led her children to higher ground. For some reason, she had forgotten her cell phone at her apartment nearby. She got on her bike because she wanted to call her parents and let them knew she was ok. Then the tsunami hit. Powerful waves sped down the street destroying buildings, boats, and cars. A few days later her body was found. She was only 24.
In Live Your Dreams: The Taylor Anderson Story, director Regge Life crafts an exciting documentary that is a combination of photos and video interviews with family and friends.
As each person has a story to tell, Taylor becomes alive again. All the wonder things she has done continue her life through memories and anecdotes by those who knew and loved her. This is not a sad and tragic tale but a celebration of a life well lived and a bridging closer together of the US and Japan.
I was lucky enough to attend a screening at the Jan Platt Library on Manhattan Avenue in South Tampa on Saturday with some friends and JET alumni. Afterwards there was a Q & A with Regge Life who enriched everyone in the room with his intelligent answers.
Check your local library for Live Your Dreams. You will be glad you did.
"The Asian Aperture" is ©2015 by Jason Fetters. All contents of Crazed Fanboy are ©2015 by Nolan B. Canova and Terence Nuzum.
Mr. Freedom (1969)
Hammer Files: The Brides of Dracula/The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll
Christopher Lee: Horror Icon
Stage Fright (1987)
Blood Diner (1987)
Horror Comics, Music and Conspiracies: An Interview with T. Casey Brennan
To All A Goodnight (1980)
Return to the 36th Chamber
Hammer Files: The Mummy (1959)
Hula Bay
House Of Dark Shadows (1970)
John Carpenter's Lost Themes
From Jets to Forgetters
Live Your Dreams: The Taylor Anderson Story
Takamoto's Toons
The Dragon Lives Again
Robert Kinoshita Tribute
The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan
So You Would Like To Start A Bruce Lee Movie Collection
Bebop on Blu-ray
The Creeps #1
Why I Love Richard Butler
Visions
Chinese Zodiac
The Slasher Movie Book by J.A. Kerswell
Tribute to AnimeNation
Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
So You Want To Become A Japanologist?
Podcast: Favorite Italian Horror Films
Hammer Files: The Revenge of Frankenstein
James O'Neill's Terror on Tape