Dedicated to Toshimasa Ishii
This book is an homage to my friend, Toshimasa Ishii, with whom I worked from 1985 to 1988. As a teenager, Ishii survived World War II in Japan before dedicating forty years of service to the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy. He loved limericks, and over the years he inspired me to appreciate them as well.
This book is dedicated to his memory.
Ishii was a friend of mine,
At Atsugi we did our time,
We worked in the lab
And damn, was I glad—
He was my partner in crime.
Limericks were Ishii’s thing,
A book of them he’d bring,
When work would slow,
He’d give ‘em a go,
His laughter made my heart sing.
I dedicate these poems sublime,
He’d say, though it’s past his time.
“I’ll take the written word,
And if not too absurd,
I’d like ‘em in five lines that rhyme.”