89 seconds remaining

The other day we went to our favorite izakaya.
A person from a neighboring country was eating and drinking alone at the table next to me.
There was a simple English menu, but when he saw the dishes we were ordering he looked at them with a look on his face that said, “Which one will we get?” I want to be kind to travelers, so even though we both spoke poor English, we were able to communicate. He was a physician, a very dignified and good man. He said that he has a family but is traveling alone, and that now that his children are grown, it’s a journey of self-discovery. I told him a lot of things, but I told him what I thought was the most important thing. There are conflicts and wars happening all over the world right now. There is a risk that they could develop into something even more serious. Most of the people are good people. I told them that international exchange is very important because it can help prevent such things from happening.
Just search for “89 seconds left” and you’ll find the answer quickly.
It is clear that stopping this will not be easy, but this may be our last chance to think about and act on why we have studied and developed and why we are unable to stop the rampage carried out by a very small minority of people.
To be honest, I’m not feeling very good about looking at the cherry blossoms this spring.