All About Four Seasons: A Tribute to Founder, Takashi Kiyokawa
		Ice Cream is a Separate Stomach     Four Seasons Language School and Cultural Center was founded in 1980 by Mr. Takashi Kiyokawa and Mr. William S. Anton (Bill) to promote the learning of foreign languages, as well as foster intercultural awareness and understanding.  On March 10th, 1998, 16 days before his 52nd birthday, Takashi Kiyokawa died of a heart attack.     Most FSers knew this man as K-san.  That was short for Kiyokawa-san.   He was so named by a by a Four Seasons teacher who was tired of typing his full name out over and over in her letters home.  He was such a major part of life at FS, that he appeared frequently in her stories.  She started typing it as K-san and the name stuck.  He became K-san even to most Japanese who knew him.     How can we pay tribute to this man who meant so much to so many?   It should be a big, grand tribute, touching on all the things he's done around the world. It should be a joyous tribute, sharing the laughter and the memories that we all delight in, reminding us of his tremendous love of life and how much he just simply enjoyed all aspects of living, from eating chocolate to playing tricks to exploring the world around him.  It should express our many losses, and offer some comfort that he is not forgotten and that his gifts to us remain. It should celebrate his life, his smile, his love of all the world.  Through this one page on the internet, we hope somehow to bring him back to life for us, just for a moment more.      Once asked to describe his love for some his family and friends, he said, "They are like air.  I don't even think about them, just like I don't think about breathing, but I can't live without them. They are all around me, always with me. They are air to me."     K-san was air to many of us at FS.  He was always there to help us, protect us, love us without judging or questioning.  He had the biggest heart in the world. His friendship came with no strings attached. He offered unconditional love, no games, no rules, "you do this and then I'll do that."  His absence has left many gasping for breath at odd times for something they had never really thought about.     People have written to his family about their memories of him and the way he changed and touched their lives. They recall favorite stories, tricks and jokes. They look at where they are now, and trace their present to their past with him.              "I am here…                      We are together…                              I am doing this…  ...because of him."      Some have called him an inspiration, a hero, a saint.  Others called him their father, their brother.      Some people really do change our lives in very obvious ways, regularly changing the lives of most of the people they meet.  And Takashi Kiyokawa was one of those people.  From him you could trace changes, large and small, rippling out into the world, redirecting our lives in unexpected ways. Seemingly innocent meetings resulting in unexpected futures: temporary jobs gotten and new people met, leading eventually to new careers, marriages, or lifetime friendships.     We look around at ourselves, at our lives, and we ask, what mark have we left?  We can count our trophies or awards, look at our careers and our money. But what we really should count are the positive influences we have had in the lives around us.  What mark could we make that would last longer than the mark on another person?     The best tribute we can give him is to live our lives the best we can, joyously, helping people as he helped us.  If each of us reflects on the moments in which he changed our lives, and understand in turn, that we can have that same power with others, perhaps we will tread more carefully through each other's lives.  If each of us can do one good thing in his name, help one stranger, make one child laugh, then he lives on.     We cannot pay tribute to Takashi Kiyokawa in words. We can only do so in action.  We must live our lives better to honor his.  And because he lived his life always with a smile, we should end with one lesson from his life to make you smile.      Remember that there is always room for one more good thing in your life, always one more chance to enjoy the world around you. You can always give a little more, love a little more. You can never be too full for one more pleasure.   For as he often said, Even if you are too full, never refuse dessert.  You'll have space because Ice cream is a separate stomach.