Well , I thought it was a done deal and that I did my rare boy scout act by saving
some curious brat's fingers or pecker from being blown sky high and making a mess of my living room window in the bargain .
Alas . It wasn't over . Will these things ever be ?
As I passed by my local fire station on my way to the train station , somethi
ng weird caught my eye . I should have seen it earlier since I pass by that place hundreds of times a year .
But this time I was in no particular hurry and turned my gizmo around and went to check it out .
YESSSS . I found a place I though I would never see inside Tokyo's 23 wards :
A fire extinguisher graveyard !! And right behind the local fire station too .
It caught my eye because it was just outside the fire station wall but not quite .
Like many things in this country , like tobacco vending machines inserted in pharmacies walls , soapland with typical Korean name like Arirang right next to a Yaki Niku restaurant , the fire extinguisher junk / graveyard was in the yard of a run down house next to the fire station servicing my area . Not hiding from passersby eyes either . Just broken down shards of old red extinguishers and their entrails strewed in a semi-organized bone yard of sorts .
Bits and pieces everywhere . Some of those extinguishers carcasses were used to block the rusty shutter of the place's garage that had seen better days .
Hell , I though , why it took me more than a week and a lot of shoving and calling while right nearby the very same fire station that so willingly gave me the run about till I got nasty and the bloody sucker got taken way amidst hush , hush like charade ?
All I had to do was go to the fire station and either " cuddle " those nose picking schmucks into picking that babe up , or , like in the old days , risk my own hand , take the damned thing and throw it at their feet or ring Tanaka's old door bell ( Tanaka is the resident there CEO ( I presume , of the " company " specialized in tearing the extinguishers apart and leaving them strewed about for ages ) . Better still , play the Itabashian game of sneaking by others places and throw the damned thing , over the wall into the yard early morning and wash my Gaijin hands of the whole affair .
After all , what is another rusty old fire extinguisher amongst dozen others ?
Maybe I DO have a conscience . Maybe I still believe in doing the right thing . Maybe I still think that somewhere in that rotten Itabashi ward office there is some decency left amongst them greedy fat arsed so called public servants and that by playing by the rules of common decency others might just get inspired and do the same . Or maybe I am just an old fashion fool .
No matter what , there was no need for me to go thru all that stressful sham while less than 500 meters from my place the " Fire Extinguisher Graveyard " stood there .
Wanna bet that accordingly to the Itabashi ward's rules of engagement and protocol , TANAKA is the name of one of those fire marshals in that tiny Fire Station ? Better still in the main fire station by the ward office ? Wanna bet too that the Tanaka's have been getting a regular fat pay check for ages from the Itabashi Fire Headquarters for the " good deed " just like the Road and Traffic Safety Authority pays for the empty tents ( out of suckers they finned the season before . Ever wondered why these so called " Traffic Safety Weeks " always happen BEFORE company bonuses are paid ? ) where old biddies and their CHONAIKAI good for nothing maggots sit ( if the weather is nice , just now and then drinking tea , beer or sake , bored to death since not much to gossip about anyway , while pretending to keep an eye for road safety infractions twice a year ( Spring and Fall ) ?
Some just have it too damn sweet . If only they pretended hard to care for others instead of being greedy slobs , Itabashi Ward or better still Tokyo , would be a much better place to live .
So , next time you find an old dusty fire extinguisher around your area , first take a walk around your local fire station and you most probably find a " Graveyard " like the one I found . Then just step right in and tell them to move their arses and pick the dangerous gizmo ASAP before somebody , you included , gets hurt , and take care of the stupid red tape afterwards for f$%K sake .
Koko dake no hanashi .
