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Michael Grothaus Biography

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“Neotnia translates his words: ‘When I was a little boy, my parents didn’t dance, but they loved to take me camping. I remember being around a campfire much like this one and gazing at the stars with them. I noticed how some showed brighter than others, and some twinkled at different rates. I asked what they were, and my parents told me the stars were kami. “Beautiful, shining kami in the sky. All different. All unique. Just like us.” I had never heard the word before, so assumed “kami” was simply another name for“people”. After that, whenever we went camping, I would always tell my parents I couldn’t wait until nightfall so I could see the beautiful shining people in the sky.”

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Book:Beautiful Shining People
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“Approaching the Cenotaph again, we stop so a group of school-children can stand for an unobstructed photo by the shallow memorial pool. Each holds a paper crane in their hands, and they all look so proud. It reminds me of the class photograph from 1945. The children in today’s class also look no older than five or six, and their smiles beam just as bright. And hearing their laughter as the teacher tries to get them to settle long enough to take the photo, I recall something Mom said years after she returned from Angola: ‘No matter what language you speak or what nationality you are, tears and laughter always sound the same.”

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Book:Beautiful Shining People
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