Iwish I knew about this sooner but it’s a relatively recent (2010) idea.

The Phone of the Wind was created in Japan by Itaru Sasaki. He came up with the idea after losing his cousin to cancer. Sasaki purchased an old-fashioned phone booth, set it up in his garden, and installed an unconnected rotary phone so he could use it to keep a ‘connection’ to his cousin and find comfort amid his grief.

Itaru gave his phone booth a name, Kaze No Denwa (風の電話), translated as The Phone of the Wind.

A year later a powerful earthquake caused a tsunami with 30-foot waves that obliterated the coast of Japan, destroying entire towns and killing almost 20,000 people. Many of those killed were swept out to sea, their bodies never recovered.

The city of Ōtsuchi, where Sasaki’s phone was located, recorded the highest number of missing persons. The tsunami’s catastrophic ocean waves destroyed the town; its people were left in ruins by a tsunami of grief.

Sasaki was able to salvage his phone booth and relocate it on a hill overlooking the Pacific Ocean at the foot of the Kujira-Yama, next to the town. He welcomed mourners to visit his booth to make calls to loved ones lost in the great tsunami. His hope was that they would find a connection to help them cope with their grief, as it did him. It wasn’t long before hundreds of people came to use it.

The idea of a Wind Phone took off and today there are numerous booths located all over the world. I’m fortunate enough to live knowing the last words my daughter said to me were, “I love you Dad.” Today I have so many things I’d love to share with her about my life now, where we’ve traveled, how we managed to carry on with love in our hearts and heal. I think finding a Wind Phone would go a long way to make that happen.

“Hi, Rae, it’s dad. Krista is here with me too. We miss you and we have so much to share…”