“All eyes were on the backpack. The principal of Takata High School and a secretary both watched curiously as I pulled the bag onto the table.
They’d been told I had something to share. But weren’t sure what.
It had to be important. We’d come all the way from Portland, Oregon and a Japanese TV crew happened to be there as well.
As I opened the backpack and pulled out a brightly colored ball, the principal started to smile. He had a nervous giggle as he grabbed the ball to take a closer look. He turned it looking for a name. And there he found it in Japanese writing: ‘Takata High School.'”