A Winter's Evening
The strength of the human spirit continually amazes me. I have a tendency to whine occasionally, and feel sorry for myself. I have friends, however, who are generous enough to share their stories, thoughts, and lives, with me. They remind me what a lucky man I am, and also that my inconveniences are very small. I am blessed to know these people, most of whom I only see once or twice a week for a couple of hours at a time. Their dedication to learning the English language, their willingness to sacrifice themselves for their families, their strong desire to improve the lives of their families as well as themselves, for all these remarkable reasons I feel honored to know them.
Seventeen years ago, I became sick with an immune system disease. The life I had been living came to an end. It took many years just to be able to live on my own and take care of myself again. There were a number of times during those first several years when I didn't want to go on living. It was my love of reading, and a small bossy cockatiel, Harry, that helped me through the rough spots. Even after I was able to move out on my own again, I felt alone and disconnected from the rest of the world. One of the ways I found to have more contact with other people was becoming a tutor for Literacy Volunteers. It was one of the best things, maybe the best thing, I had ever done. In my life I try to be an optimist, always trying to hope and work for the best, but in observing the actions of humankind, I have always felt pessimistic about the future of the world. When I spend time, however, with the wonderful and remarkable people I have met at the Otis Library, I feel that there may be hope for the future of the human race after all. So, for those of you who share your lives with me, you know who are, Thank you.

Saturday Afternoon with Edgar

Before starting to take my Chinese Mandarin Class, Saturdays were always my sleep-in and be lazy days. I don't get very many of those anymore. I had a chance to have one today, but my sister is down from New Hampshire this weekend to spend time helping to care of her mother-in-law who is sick, and giving her sister-in-law a break from doing the same. So today I went with my Mother to meet my sister Cate, my brother David and his daughter (my niece) Janet, and Janet's friend Emily at Borders Bookstore. There we shopped for books, had a snack at the coffee & tea bar in Borders, and had a very informal celebration of Janet's and my birthdays. Janet's birthday is only three days after mine. She is now 10 years old. Almost as old as Edgar who is 14. I had plans to do some cleaning around my apartment, but I am now feeling tired, and yes, lazy as well. It is a beautiful sunny day, and it was nice to be out and about. Since my Mother drove to Borders, I got to be the chauffered passenger. I did my best to not be a backseat driver which is not always easy for me because she drives much slower than I, but even though that makes me nervous, she is a better driver than I (I have to say that since she will probably read this). It was a very pleasant time. When I arrived home I called Winnie Lo to give her some information I had for her, and left a message. She called me back as she was driving Hui Ling home from shopping at Walmart. So right now Hui Ling is busy packing for her trip to Taiwan. I believe she is very happy to be going back for a visit. I could tell by her laughter on the phone. I am very happy for her, but she will be missed very much. I told her to bring me back a rich and beautiful Taiwanese woman, but she said it would exceed the weight limit for her luggage. Oh, well. So, what about the rest of you? What are you doing this Saturday afternoon? For the rest of the day I am going to lie on the couch, watch tv, finish reading a book, give Edgar lots of head-rubs, and contemplate the meaning of life, love, the universe, and why there are fish. (No, not you, Yuki.) After all, the cleaning will be here to be done tomorrow, so why do today what I can put off until tomorrow? I cannot think of one good reason. To Hui Ling: we are all flying with you in spirit. Enjoy your wonderful visit, and indulge your heart. Until we see you again. As for the rest of you, as long as the world doesn't end tomorrow, and as long as it doesn't snow all week (there is a possiblity of a lot of bad winter weather this coming week, so be forewarned) I expect I will see you in a few days. Maybe I'll even have something else to blog about before then. I do talk a lot, don't I? Don't answer that...

The Jig is Up...(See if you can find what that means)

My true identity will soon be discovered. I was minding my own business, having a wonderful time at the Chinese New Year celebration, when someone brought me to the attention of a newspaper reporter. Now they not only have the name I've been using, but a picture of me to go with it. I can only assume it will not be long before the FBI and Interpol (an international police organization) have my real identity, Charles Klugenhofstartski (try saying that 3 times fast), the famous bank robber of Iyfangotstand (a relatively small and unkown country) who disappeared after his last bank robbery ten years ago. English is the national language in Iyfangotstand, so it was easy to pass myself off as American. To make matters worse, they know my partner in crime is the infamous Edgar the Bald, a cockatiel bandit who was forced to flee the law in Australia. Now we both have to run again. As I write this, Edgar is busy packing. I will have to leave most of my possessions including my car, since they will be able to trace the license plate with the name I've been using. We will have to steal and hotwire a car, after which we will head for Mexico. If we can slip across the border we might be able to work our way down to South America. It was a wonderful party with a lot of delicious food. Little did I know it would be my goodbye party as well. If you have to blame someone, blame Hui Ling. It's all her fault for bringing me to the attention of the reporter. I hate long goodbyes, and Edgar is telling me we have to go (he's very scared because he doesn't want to be taken back to Australia), so I will just say, I love you all and will miss you very much. Happy New Year!

Another Snow Day, But Different

I do love snow. Jogging this morning was very scenic. I wasn't able to enjoy the view as much as I would have liked, however. Jogging in the snow is more work than jogging on snow-free road, and today was more difficult than usual because the roads were not plowed well. I also have to watch cars more closely in case they come a little too close since they have less control in the snow. All the same, it was a beautiful snowfall. In my mind the New England seasons reflect the cycle of life. In winter life has gone "underground," retreated into hibernation. Snow to me is a promise of life to come, and Spring will give birth to that new life. It takes winter to make us really appreciate the arrival of spring. Today was a different kind of snowday for me. I had no time to goof off and just enjoy myself. I had to do my laundry, which I had put off for so long that I had to rent a truck to haul it to the laundry room. Just kidding. I paid ten strong men to carry it for me. I had to wrap & package four books to go into the mail, and yesterday I got a new phone so I had to spend time programming it. (No. Not a cell phone). My car also went into the shop yesterday so the dealership could do major work on the brake system today. My Mother was kind enough to take time out of her day yesterday to bring me back home after I dropped my car off, and to bring me back this afternoon to pick it up. I also had to wait around at the dealership because they forgot to do the emissions test and had to do it while I was there. I arrived back home with just enough time to take the books I had packaged to the Post Office before it closed, after which I went to the supermarket to get the Italian desert I was going to bring to the Chinese New Year Celebration tomorrow. In a very disappointing turn of events, they didn't have any in the store, so I had to settle for getting a cookie platter. Finally, I went home and ate lunch. Well, actually it was probably more like dinner since it was 5:45. So you can see, this was a very different kind of snowday than the last one I wrote about. It was a very productive day, but also a very tiring one. Now it is 6:44, and my only plans are to relax on the couch and drink a cup of green tea. After that, who knows? Maybe a fairy princess will swoop me up and take me to live in a castle happily ever after. Hey, stranger things have happened...

It would seem we have a lot in common with animals, although sometimes it seems animals get along better than humans do. Ask anyone who has had to spend a night in a barn with several different species of animals. Then there was Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, who were supposedly brought up by a wolf pack. Now, if Romulus and Remus had been wolf pups found by humans, the humans probably would have killed them, not taken care of them. Of course, predators do kill and eat their prey. Law of the jungle, afterall. Man doesn't kill man for food, but for other insidious (evil) reasons. We still, however, use many expressions that compare ourselves to animals. Someone might say they are sick as a dog. Men (usually not women I don't think) can be called dogs because of their promiscuity and unfaithfulness. There is also a "wolf in sheep's clothing", referring to a man who uses his charm to prey upon single or available women, or sometimes referring to a criminal who preys on the innocent. If you go too long without food you might be ravenous, a word we use for some extremely hungry animals; or you might be "hungry as a bear." Someone who eats large amounts of food in a fast and messy manner we say eats like a pig, although I have heard pigs are actually well behaved and clean animals. You could say they got a "bad rap." People also say "I could eat a horse" when they're hungry. There are so many expressions using traits of animals to describe people. We sometimes call women who don't play nice with other women, "catty." When two women are fighting (physically usually) it's called a cat fight. When someone is single or unattached, becomes single or unattached, or gets out of prison, they might say they are "free as a bird." A husband who is always nagged and bossed around by his wife is said to be "henpecked." When someone is afraid of another person and will not stand up to that person, they are said to be "cowed" by that person, which many times refers to a wife who is cowed by her husband. Then there is the expression "happy as a clam." I had no idea a clam could be happy. People sometimes say "You look like the cat that swallowed the canary." Other descriptive phrases are "swift as a hawk", "eyes like an eagle", "reflexes like a cat", "ferocious as a tiger", "runs like a gazelle", he is a "bear" until he has his morning coffee, and just way too many others to list. I don't believe we give animals all the credit they deserve. I think they are much smarter than most people think, and they are a very important and valuable part of the world. Personally, I feel great love for animals. One of my favorite Mel Gibson (an actor) lines in a movie goes something like, "I can't shoot a dog. Ok, people I can, but not a dog." On that note, Edgar my feathered friend is asleep, and it is time for me to go "hibernate" for the night. Until next time, sweet dreams.

Well, here it is, Chinese New Year's Eve. What are you doing this evening? Are you doing something incredibly exciting? Or are you just relaxing and enjoying yourself. This is the last day of the year of the Ox, and tomorrow is the first day of the year of the Tiger. The Chinese New Year is a celebration of the coming of Spring among other things, and although personally I like winter, I will be glad to see Spring arrive. In Spring everything starts turning green, the birds sing with happiness, or so I imagine, and people seem friendlier as well as somehow more attractive (I hope I don't have to explain that one to you). The world just seems to be a much more pleasant place. We all know the world can sometimes be a hard and cold place. Bad things can happen to good people, good things sometimes seem to happen to bad people. But as my friend Hui Ling has written, our "mind is the leader". Our thinking affects how we live and the course of our lives. If we expect good things to happen, they might not always, but they just might more often than not. Generally, if we expect bad things to happen, they do. Hope for the best, but be prepared for the worst. Being the beginning of a new year by the Chinese calendar, it is appropriate to wish and hope for good things for our families, friends, and for ourselves. So, for all of you, I wish health, long life, that you be surrounded with love, and of course, may much wealth finds its way into your pockets. Chun Jie Kuai Le! (Happy New year!)

Snow Day

When I was a kid a snow day was an exciting magical event. Not just because of the falling snow, but also because we got to stay home from school. We could go out and play in the snow, doing things like building snow forts and having snowball fights. Once we were cold and tired, and with our clothes saturated (soaked) with melting snow, we would go inside for hot chocolate, eat cookies or other usually sugary treats, and watch tv or read something we wanted to read for fun. No homework. We felt free to really enjoy ourselves. I am not so young anymore, but falling snow is still a beautiful sight to see. The world seems new and strange all covered in white. I no longer go out to play in the snow, but I love to see it out the windows of my nice warm home. Since I have no obligations thanks to this marvelous snowstorm, I am free to do whatever I want within the confines of my apartment: read, write, watch tv, and hang out with my feathered friend, Edgar. Snowfalls have always been a part of my life, and I can't help but feel excited and happy when one is taking place. When a snowstorm comes close but misses us, there is always a part of me that feels regret because a magical event has passed us by. When we do have a snowfall, like today, it's as if the world is put on hold. We stand in the eye of a timeless moment. Hocus pocus, and presto! Magic. Tomorrow we will have to dig ourselves out, clean off our cars, and deal with the complications of traveling to wherever we must. But not today. I hope you enjoy your snowday as much as I am enjoying mine.