Who is GoriSan?

My name is Steve Henneberry, and I moved to Japan in 1998 to pursue a career in English teaching. I am an empty nester with two beachside homes on the Japan Sea, one for me and one next door for my my mother-in-law. My wife teaches English in the second house, rents a few rooms via Airbnb, and runs an English library on weekends. She returns home to our home in the evenings, where we spend time with our dog and her cat.

Why “Gori-san”? The simple answer is, “Because my wife chose it.” My wife and I have been together since 1999, and for most of the time, she has called me Gori. This is short for gorilla (ゴリラ, GO-RI-RA) in Japanese. I never thought to take offense or ask why; the name just stuck. My kids now call me Gori, and I seem destined to become Grampa Gori, so there you are.

This newsletter is simply a place for me to share my writing. For years I was convinced I hated writing, perhaps due to a “D” I received from Mrs. Smith in junior high English, but I have found it is more of a love/hate relationship. I see it like climbing a mountain; the hike is exhausting, painful, and may involve a fair bit of sweating and cursing, but the view from the top makes it all worth it. However, the more one hikes, the less one sweats and curses and finds the time to enjoy the journey. So, welcome to my journey. I will try to keep the sweating and cursing to a minimum.

The Context

This newsletter will include my ideas and insights into the nature of Santa Claus through various perspectives and explore the concepts of joy and happiness in thoughts and actions. On the other hand, it will also include the hurdles faced in pursuing the above when hampered by the burden of Mental Health issues. Being Santa Every Day is not easy for the happiest of people, and my attempt is hampered by struggles with ADHD, Anxiety, and Depression. As you can imagine, this creates quite an inner conflict.

I aspire to embody the personification of kindness and giving but sometimes struggle to get out of bed.

It makes for a bumpy ride, perhaps an interesting adventure, depending on how you look at it.

This Newsletter will essentially cover two issues: my current reality, and my ideal reality. I refer to these two states as the Gorilla and the Every Day Santa. It is pure luck that the name my wife gave me over two decades ago aligns so well with this newsletter. Gori-San is half of Gori-lla and half of San-ta, which makes it the perfect name for the path ahead of me. I hope you join me while I share my stories along the way.

• The Gorilla articles will discuss mental health issues and strategies to overcome them. The goal is to always end on a positive note, as that is a core principle of the Way of the Every Day Santa; always leave them smiling.

• The Santa articles will cover my broader understanding of Santa Claus and how one can apply it to one’s life. I envision this as The Way of the Every Day Santa. That is, to be Santa Every Day, not just your standard Everyday Santa, who dresses up for Christmas and puts the suit in storage the next day. The Every Day Santa embodies the values and traits of Santa Every Day. More to come on that, I promise.

The Goal

The goal of this newsletter is two-fold.

1. I hope to deliver weekly articles defining the Way of the Every Day Santa, as walked by my grandfather and as I envision it.

2. I will, on a regular basis, document my struggles as I try to walk that path.

3. Occasionally, I will toss in off-topic articles like a bit of ‘spice in the soup’. (Yes, this is three, and I clearly said “two-fold”, but my grandfather always said “give ‘til it hurts, and then give a little more.” As such, I prefer to under-promise and over-deliver.

Why subscribe?

Subscribe to get full access to the newsletter and website. Never miss an update.

Stay up-to-date!

You won’t have to worry about missing anything. Every new edition of the newsletter goes directly to your inbox.

Join the crew!

Be part of a community of people who share your interests.

To learn more about the company that provides the tech for this newsletter, visit Substack.com.