(604) Elizabeth's pet chick

The miracle chick

Mom bought a chick from the market. I called it Chickadee, from an Enid Blyton book. We kept it in a paper box, covered with a towel at night. It cheeped the whole night long. Later, we learned our lesson and bought a pair at a time. Somehow, when we have at least two, they keep quiet at night, probably because they are not so cold and lonely.

One afternoon, as Chickadee was having its daily sand bath, we were careless, letting it get drenched in a quick shower. By the time we remembered and caught it, it was totally wet, pathetically frightened and shivering with chill.

Our chicken expert, Laurie of next door, advocated dry towel and hair dryer warmth. The old lady living near the Hospital shared about feeding crushed garlic to ward off the chill.



I simply prayed that my God would heal my pet chick. One day passed, the next went on and it kept growing, eating and pecking. Laurie was surprised and pleased. The old lady declared it a miracle.


* flower from myspace.com

(603) Fashion

I like to watch people. Sometimes I get very excited by a fashionably dressed back view of a lady. However, as she passes I realized it is a much older person. Ah! Anticlimax!

Why does a person dress a particular way? Taste? Money? To project a certain image? Indifference? I know of a woman, let us call her Veronica. Veron lost a significant amount of weight in her thirties. She was originally medium size. Now she is as trim as a teenager. That is exactly how she dresses too. I often wonder if she raids her teenage daughter's wardrobe. She is into really tight jeans and short tops. There are often holes in front or at the back of the tiny tops, we see fashionable glimpses of her shoulder or back.

Recently my crowd had a reunion. I met up with a grade school classmate, Yvonne, whom I hadn't seen for at least twenty years. She came to the reunion in a bright red flowery skirt a good three inches from the knees. I was a little taken aback. She used to wear neutral colours and mainly pants and shirts too.

There is a child hood friend, Wilma, whose youngest child finally joined a high school. Lately she is dressed in very bright colours. Most of her tops are pretty revealing too. All the years of breast feeding her brood really endowed her with a most attractive cleavage.

Veron married at nineteen and had her first child soon after. Yvonne got hitched at sixteen and had children almost immediately. Wilma was caught at eighteen, her husband is many years her senior. I wonder if these statistics have anything to do with their dressing style? When the rest of us were swinging single in our twenties, they were raising children. When we were wearing mini skirts and bare backs, they were in maternity attire. When we were dating different people, they were fixed with their partners and were managing households. Now that their children are grown and they have the time to shop, sufficient disposable income to indulge in their fancy and the freedom to be themselves, they have all chosen to go back in time and catch up with what they missed.

* a100561 0204 flowers xl.j from marthastewart.com

(602) The Client by John Grisham

This is my personal favorite of John Grisham. For many years we have owned The Firm and The Client. At some point one trusted friend borrowed The Firm and it was not returned. Now we maintain an up-to-date log of who borrowed what books.

I lost track of how many times I read The Client over the years. Yet each time I read it I noticed new details that I missed in previous readings. For instance during this particular reading I undertook for this blog, I am struck by how well Grisham described the ambivalent feelings Mark had towards the law enforcement groups, the court room personnel, the media sharks and how he reacted to his attorney Reggie Love and Momma Love.

One thing that stood out was how he got back with Detective Klickman by ordering many pizzas and Chinese take-away lunches in the latter's name with the free calls allowed by the Juvenile Detention Center. I laughed even though I have read it before this. Somehow it reminded me of how much spunk American children have in general. During college I did my fair share of baby sitting to earn pocket money.

If you have watched the movie and liked it, it is time to read the book. I am sure you would enjoy all the additional details.

(601) Occult 2

When I was living in Silver City, I attended this Life Group whose leader's wife grew up as a Catholic. For a period of two weeks, meetings were changed to other members' houses. For the first week, the assistant leader  run the meeting. The second week, the leader turned up.

The leader's wife hosted her sister who returned from UK. The visitor's daughter wanted to consult about her love life. The three women went for tarrot card reading. From what I heard, the medium used a pack of poker cards. She dealt out a hand with the co-operation of the seeker, in this case the niece, and proceeded to foretell the future. What was fore told was not disclosed.

As soon as the three women reached home, things began to happen! Objects fell down. Items flew into the air. It was almost like the movie Poltergeist! The entire house hold got no rest, whether it was day or night! It took the church's prayer team to go and cleanse the house.

Looking at incidences like that, it is easy to visualize the world as two sets or groupings. Group 1 belongs to Jehovah, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Group 2 is under the control of Lucifer. As long as any body in Group 2 plays around with the occult, it is of no consequence. But the minute any one belonging to Group 1 touches the occult, there may be consequences that could be detrimental to the parties involved.

(600) Dress code

This is kind of a continuation of "(585) Shortcomings". In 585 I recorded the experience of  a friend who has just overcome personal pain and a period of depression. Perhaps a person on an even keel emotionally may not have any problem in waking up early to shower and dress for church.

Elizabeth was feeling a little off colored one night and chose the thickest t-shirt to wear to prayer night. It happened to be a little faded and one of those cotton material that become a little uneven with washing - there were tiny balls all over the shirt.

Mei Fong was very observant. She pulled Elizabeth aside and asked if the latter had not enough clothes to wear. After all, it was public knowledge that Elizabeth resides in the Uni hostel on week days. Mei Fong kindly offered to give my daughter some clothes. Elizabeth, who has settled nicely and comfortably into manna economy, actually preferred rooting through big bags of second hand clothing than trying to purchase clothes on a limited budget. The following Sunday, a huge bag came. I sorted through and put aside seven short sleeve t-shirts for Elizabeth.

While all these worked out to be extra blessings to Elizabeth, it might have offended another sensitive girl who is not quite so confident! I still think a church ought to make up of a diverse group of people who talk differently, dress differently, some walk, some drive and some take public transport. Otherwise we would only attract clones like ourselves.

(599) Manna economy

The other day my bible study leader mentioned that she attended a lavish wedding reception in one of the oldest and most expensive country clubs in our city. As she looked around her, she saw diamonds and designer gowns all around her. Just as a hint of envy threatens to envelope her, she quickly gave thanks to God for keeping her on manna economy.

You see, those whom God keeps on manna economy gather only food for the day. Any extra gathered would not keep. The only exception being manna gathered on the day before Sabbath, that would keep for two days. That way no one needs to work on the Sabbath. I chose not to think of that as poverty, rather it is a way of living that is totally dependent on God as well as being daily mindful of God's providence and faithfulness. One is forced to be dependent on God and God only. A person privileged to live on manna economy could not be arrogant.

My bible study leader brought up five children and home schooled them. She held a secular job and after her retirement she served a term as missionary in Africa. She is a member of a indigenous group in the hills in Borneo. She is also one of the first of her tribe to matriculate and graduate in the nation's early universities. Granted that her goal has always been to serve God whether at home, in the office and at church, she had not focused on filling her barns with worldly goods. What I was particularly impressed with is the fact that there has never been a television in their house, whether when the children were growing up or now that the children are all grown.

Another thing of note is that they are rich in hospitality. They may not own much cash in the bank, but they are rich in God and rich in friends. Many are the times that I fellowship over a delicious lunch after our study and prayers. May God multiply their health and their years so that they can continue to be active and serving.

(598) A walk to remember by Nicholas Sparks

My youngest was working on a paper on this book today. I picked up the book and read it probably for the fourth time in six years.

I still cried. I know it is silly of me to cry over fiction. There is something so beautiful and pure about certain passages that I just know that the emotions portrayed in the book is real. My daughter read me what Nicholas said about this book, it was the only book that he cried over while writing it. Jamie was modeled on his youngest sister who died of cancer at the age of thirty two. And yes, there was a man who loved her enough to marry her in spite of the fact that she might not live long.

This is about as close to God's love for each of us this side of heaven! Will you pause for a moment and give Him a chance?

(597) Gods

I have forgotten where I heard or read this story. For many years, China went through a series of upheavals. The Taoist there could not practice their religion. As soon as it was possible, people went back to their old ways. One old lady wanted to find out what happened to her younger brother. She was illiterate and lost contact with her brother in Singapore.

She went to a medium and asked the guide to search for her brother by giving his name and birthday and year. The medium went into deep trance and I guess his spirit went across the seas to the island of Singapore. A few moments later he returned and described a big block of building. The medium could only tell the old lady that her brother was well. There was a black cross on top of his front door. He could tell her the number of the unit and even the design of the curtains. But he said he could not enter the apartment. There was a huge and tall guard in front of the main entrance. He said the old lady's brother believed in a God that is stronger than the medium's God.

A year or so later, some relatives returned to the old home town and managed to reestablish contact for the set of brother and sister. The elder sister asked for a photograph of the brother's front entrance, sure enough it was exactly as the medium said. The younger brother brought his family back to visit. They shared the good news with his aged sister, she readily accepted the bigger God who sent a heavenly guard (guardian angel) to look after her brother's family.

I wish all real life stories end as well as this. When I first chose to accept Jesus, I was the only one in my immediate family. This is more than twenty years later, apart from my own husband and children, also my maternal uncle's family, I have acquired a sister-in-law of the same faith in my father's family. My mother and siblings are still non-believers. I pray that many more years will be given to them so that they will have more time to choose eternal life over a certainty of hell in Taoism.

(596) In dwelling

This is a real story a friend told me. She in turn read it from a book of testimonies.

There was a boy who just accepted Jesus as his personal savior and Lord. He went to see the annual parade in honor of some sea god's birthday. There men from the various temples on the island would go into trance and do various penance. Some carry heavy structures as head dresses. Some pierce their cheeks with needles and pierce their back as well. Some have prepared for weeks praying and eating vegetarian meals in the temples for walking on live hot coals. Some would carry and balance huge flags on their fore head, shoulders, chest, abdomen ... while walking and dancing on the streets.

The funny thing is as soon as these participants come near the boy, each of them fell out of their trance and could not get back in until they have walked far enough away. The person who realized why explained that the spirits (or fallen angels who opposed God) could not manifest themselves within ten feet of the holy spirit dwelling in the small boy's heart. Since the boy was young, he did nothing to grief the holy spirit. There was no sin to block the spirit's power. I found that amazing!

(595) vegetarian diet

First of all I must state that I love vegetables. One vacation I spent almost a month with a North American white family who happened to be Hindus and they were on a milk-egg-vegetarian diet. It was a most healthy and delicious diet.

In Silver City, I met with a special need child whose father had been a hard core Buddhist in his youth. He actually spent a year in Bangkok as a novice monk. According to him, a few weeks after he went on non-egg vegan diet he started seeing spirits. They were told that the spirits were spiritual guides. A few months later he started donning the saffron color habit. With that "uniform", he could communicate with his guides, mainly at night.

After this man married and have a few children, his wife joined a church. At first there was a lot of friction between him and his wife over their religious differences. Then his baby was sick and almost died. He was very touched with the care, love and practical help given by his wife's church friends. Slowly he came round to accept her church. It took years before he would take part in his wife's Life group activities. As a volunteer to his child's therapy, I was invited to join his Life Group's special functions with receptions. I happened to be present when this quiet and unassuming man took the floor to explain that vegetarian diet is more than just a healthy way of eating, it has religious implications. He urged his friends to not give up meat. He suggested one meal on Wednesday of fish and one meal on Saturday of chicken. He personally believe that to be completely without meat is to give the devil a foot hold.

Here I must share how my cousin found "Tao" (The way) within a Taiwanese Buddhist sect and gradually ate more and more vegetables. Sad to say, her retirement as a Lower Court Judge gave her plenty of time as a speaker for this religion. She need not study any scripture, but by daily meditations and going into trance, she was used as an instrument to preach the sermons. She was involved in some pyramid schemes and gotten into loads of debts. She lost a house, hundreds of thousands of her personal money, her mother and her unmarried brother's life savings. After borrowing big amounts of money left and right, she was unable to repay her relatives, friends and former colleagues. After a year or two she stopped attending her Buddhist sect. Lately she started eating meat again and seemed a lot more alert and is more herself. When she went around borrowing money and telling people sob stories, she was such an accomplished liar and an excellent actress who could cry as if her whole family just died in an accident. As a well wisher, I certainly hope that she would return to her intelligent, sane and stable self.

(594) Delayed judgement

Three of us sat around, sharing tea and chatting about all sorts of topics. Amy said that her pastor has been lax for months and been hardly preaching the word of God from the pulpit. Granted that he was newly appointed the area leader of the denomination, surely he could preach less and let the junior pastors preach more often so that he could buy more time to prepare proper sermons. Cathy answered that a Senior Pastor could or would not let go of  the control of the pulpit, how could he chance losing the majority influence or give the junior staff a chance of replacing him. Well, I said that too bad for the new members, they were hardly being fed spiritual food if it was the case.

Amy related how her church had just produced a self sustaining new church. Shortly after that a group of people who wanted to build their own church decided to come under their umbrella. She wondered how could things be going so well when something as fundamental as pulpit preaching was slipping. Cathy said that God is patient and merciful, the fact that the church is doing well financially and seemingly numbers are growing does not mean that everything is perfect. Our long suffering God could be delaying judgement and giving the person concerned a chance or two to turn around.

(593) visionary

We have a chapter in our study book on Vision. The author defined vision three ways:-
1. the God given ability to see possible solutions to the everyday problems in life
2. the ability to see beneath the surface of people's life
3. the ability to catch a glimpse of what God wants to do through your life if you dedicate yourself to him.

We realize not everyone has the ability  described in 3. Even if one person has that, he may not find the support he needs from his church. One of us was a member of quite a large group in his previous church who did not find the sympathy and support in that previous church. As a result of the leadership consistently refusing to support them in their vision, gradually most of that large group left that church.

I happen to know of a retired man who had the vision of taking the advantage of favorable currency exchange rate and his spare time to bless the hill tribe Christians in Northern Thailand. His Pastor did not share his vision. Neither did the group of leaders in his church. This old man was not discouraged. He prayed about it and with the support of his wife and children, he went on solo trips to his target area and started with repairing the houses of widows and orphans and elderly folks with the blessing of hill tribe pastors. Gradually, he attracted like minded friends who may contribute money, expertise or time. Last year, he had been lending a helping hand to people in the economically backward hill countries for  seven years. A Chinese newspaper featured him and his group of cheerful local and foreign helpers in the completion of a church building.

Perhaps there is only one Mother Theresa. Yet many among us could be a source of blessing like the elderly man described above, if we dare to dream, count the cost and step out in faith.

(592) Saving Faith by David Baldacci

This is an interesting fiction that combined the FBI and the CIA. I am more familiar with the Fibbies. Perhaps because of TV series and movies. I don't know how true it is that there may be tension between the CIA and the FBI.

Saving Faith is as compelling a read as Last Man Standing. Personally I prefer the latter. That could be because of the hypnosis  involved in the latter. Both books are well written. From the human interest angle, L M Standing has an open ending but S Faith offered a happy ending.

It is easier to believe that such a story as Last Man Standing could be true. If a person as rich as Danny Buchanan wanted to help the poor, surely he could continue to lobby for money and contribute as an individual.  I find the fact as robbing the rich to pay the poor and breaking the law in doing so a little difficult to believe.

(591) Suzanne's dairy for Nicholas by J Patterson

When I saw the book in my friend's book shelf, I was expecting an exciting read. While it is not a bad book, I was disappointed. It is of a romantic genre. It was also written much earlier than Hide and Seek, Along Came a Spider, Black Market, and Jack and Jill.

Personally, I would prefer any of Nicholas Sparks over James Patterson in love stories.

(590) Holy land

A good friend just returned from a visit to Israel. For the citizens of my country, a person would have to produce proof that he is a Christian before he could apply for a visa to take a pilgrimage to the holy land.

My friend went with a group of middle age men and women. One of the women was rather blur and walked into the wrong lane in the immigration area in Israel. She was abruptly ordered to sit down and await further orders. After the entire group had gone through immigration procedure, they waited at the other side for her. Finally the two tour guides: one from Israel and the other from my country, had to go and plead with the authorities to release her from the indefinite wait. Before they approached the authorities, they have instructed the hapless group to be calm and quiet while waiting. Apparently it was not unusual for such groups with one person incurring any wrath to wait for hours before the authorities finally release the culprit. Meanwhile, the journey is disrupted and they may miss visiting a place or two and be hungry. Lately I have come across many of my friends and contacts visiting the holy land. Such trips are not cheap. Much have been said about the land that was supposed to be flowing with milk and honey, yet this is the first time I heard that border crossing could be such a complicated affair there.

(589) Alcohol 2

A group of people read 1 Timothy 3. We noted verse 2 and 3: A bishop must be ... Not given to wine ... Also verse 8: Likewise must the deacons be ... not given to much wine ...

It was interesting that no two people around the table interpret it the same way. I quoted from the authorized King James version. Since different people use different versions, it is noted that in other versions bishop was replaced by elder or overseer. For readers who are not familiar with churches, deacons are the second tier leaders who may be called council or committee members.

The church I attend right now takes a tough stand against alcohol of all forms. Hence my younger children do not touch alcohol at all. My husband and my eldest son would take beer or wine in moderation. I grew up sipping whatever my father was drinking at that moment. Yet my father drunk sparingly and most of the time for health purposes. Since my allergic reaction to wine at the age of eighteen, I have avoided alcohol of all forms. Two times I was taken in; once was in the form of mint liquor in an ice-cream dessert, the other was a Chinese dish with rice wine added but not taken to boiling point. Were it not for the unfortunate allergy, I would have been a confirmed wine lover.

Jesus turned water into wine at a Canaan wedding as recorded in the second chapter of John. Most wedding receptions in the East would serve wine or liquor. At my wedding reception, no alcohol was served. That was not unusual for Christian couples in my country. Actually for that reason we registered a gain of a few thousand dollars for throwing the dinner reception. It is customary for guests to such wedding receptions to give cash gifts to the newlyweds.  

While I find nothing wrong with folks who can control their intake of alcohol to acceptable levels, I am mindful of the fact that a certain percentage of the population is genetically prone to alcoholism. In fact the family who took me in as a guest for my first Christmas found out tragically that their son turned alcoholic in college. Since one of the grandmothers was adopted, there was no way for them to even guess at this unexpected legacy. Interestingly everyone from both sides of the family could handle alcohol. Some drink socially and some abstain, my college friend's brother was the only one in the entire clan with the risk factor and drunk to his own detriment. I am happy to note that he has been dry for many years now.

(588) Speech therapy

One of the mothers in my church sent her daughter for speech therapy. It is true that the girl is already three years old and can only speak in single words or phrases. But I suppose there are children who start speaking early and there are others who are a little late.

Among my children, Michael started saying sounds with meaning at age seven months. At one year old he was fluent in sentences. Surprisingly he can be rather quiet now. I was rather worried about Denise, who did not start talking until age two. All I knew then was that she was not a deaf mute, for she could say a few words at eighteen months. For a girl, she was silent as a toddler. Now I could not even get her to shut up, she can chatter whole day long.

Ever wonder how a speech therapist work with a three year old? According to the mom, there are lots of toys in the therapy room. Until the child say," Panda, please!" The therapist would not let her touch the lovely panda soft toy. I suppose stay-at-home mums do that with their toddlers all the time, perhaps that is why my homemaker friends and I worked on our own children daily. For a career woman who works long hours, there is no choice but to seek expert help when the maid she hired does not talk to her daughter much.

(587) Murder

Recently I heard this real life story. A white man left his home country and went to serve God in another. Well, nobody is perfect! In his youth he had an illegitimate child with a tribal girl. He had a local man to mediate on his behalf; after paying the requisite compensation he went on his merry way.

A year or two ago, he touched another minor and soon she was with child. I guess this time he was no longer young nor ignorant. One day he was shot execution style. The villagers blamed outsiders, the police pinned it on bandits, the underworld pointed their fingers on the military... The murder was not solved. It became one of the many cold cases.

For outsiders, even fifty years of living among the tribal people anywhere in the hills does not mean they truly understand the custom, culture and justice system of the tribe. We should not take their good will and tolerance for granted.

(586) "Shopping basket" aunt

In response to the sudden interest from my Russian readers in stories regarding spirits, I am making an effort to recall incidences and memories from my childhood. Happy reading!

As a child, I used to live in a tiny unit in a long row of wooden houses with zinc roof. There were many families living in each unit. Hence it was a densely populated area with lots of poor citizens. One Sunday morning my buddies called and a whole bunch of street urchins moseyed over to see a group of adults calling down what they called "Shopping basket" aunt.

What actually happened was they found a young man to dress a round cane basket in a lady's shirt (it happened to be an old samfu top, a short sleeve blouse opened in front with fabric Chinese buttons). Then with some plant fibers a ladle is tied to the handle of the basket. Two sticks were then tied to the handle of the cane basket.  Two young men were chosen to hold the basket by the two handles. Neither of the basket holders was supposed to touch the ladle.

An old lady chanted and called down spirits. Soon the ladle moved on its own accord. It knocked the side of the basket repeatedly. A take charge lady respectfully addressed the spirit and arranged to have it knock once for yes and two times for no. And so the session started. I remember wondering how the two young men conspired to swing the basket into causing the ladle to go up and knock down. I looked this way and that, the holders did not seem to be up to any tricks. The ladle seemed to genuinely move on its own. All those present inquired about something or some one in the future.

All these happened at least forty odd years ago. All I remember now is that the spirit refused to leave. In the end the two holders had to take it to the out house. It was so smelly there that even the naughty spirits did leave after an hour in the dirty place. My brothers and I went home and asked my grandma how such sessions worked. She told us that "Shopping basket" aunt usually called down spirits of females who were killed or die because of ill treatment. Many years ago, poor families would give their daughters that they could not feed to other families as future daughters-in-law. Such girls were generally badly treated and used as unpaid house hold helpers. They were beaten and starved by the future mothers-in-law. My grandma cautioned us not to meddle with such spirits. We were told not to go and witness any other such activities as harm could come from malicious spirits.

(585) Shortcomings

I was chatting with a church friend over lunch. She confessed that there were Sunday mornings she could not drag herself off her bed to dress for church.

What about going to another church in old t-shirt and jeans? Her answer was she could not face being welcomed and being the target for answering getting-to-know-you questions. I suggested slipping in after service started and sneaking out before it ended. Oh dear, she said that meant she had to do some research ahead to find out the exact timing.

Thinking about that, I had to admit that there are some comfortable but rather faded clothes that I still keep but would not wear them to church. Generally I am far from being a sharp dresser. Most of the time I hardly care what folks think of me or else I would not put recycled clothes to use. Yet I do not want to stand out like a sore thumb. My goal is usually to blend in and attract no attention.This is indeed a serious shortcoming: our churches cannot and will not attract a wider spectrum of people across the socio-economic divide if we continue to behave like upper middle class country clubs.

I know I am meeting the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords in church on Sunday. I do dress up a little out of respect. But I still think that God loves me the way I am, a little untidy, perhaps not every hair in place and not dressed to the nines.

(584) Yin Yang eyes

My mother's elder sister has yin yang eyes. Since young she could see spirits. To her it is such a common state of affairs that she hardly stops to think about it. She is not scared, neither does it bother her. She claims that spirits go about in their own business and does not come into human spheres much during the day.

When she was a child, she would talk about it more. And she found it unusual that her brothers and sisters could not see what she could. My grand ma related how she brought her brood of children to hide in the jungle during Japanese occupation. They lived in caves and roamed the jungle looking for edible plants and trapping small animals. One day they were crossing a stream and my aunt pulled my grandma's sleeve and whispered about seeing an aborigine woman leading two small children across the stream. My grandma turned and could not see anybody. As an answer, she told my aunt that aborigine folks also need to look for food, times were hard.

I used to visit this aunt during the school holidays. Around that time was a temple feast day. Everyone in the village would turn up in the temple to have a free vegetarian meal. I particularly like the vegetarian pig intestines cooked in mild pineapple curry. One year, I went with my aunt and family to join in the feast. After the meal, she hurried us home way before sunset. Normally, we would stay on to see the opera. As soon as we got home, she closed her main door and drew all the curtains. The next day, she explained why we could not stay, there were spirits idling in the vicinity of the temple. A few days later, children from the neighborhood who lingered on after dark fell ill and did not recover even after they finished the medication doctors prescribed. One of them had to be taken to the temple medium for healing.

*yin means of the moon, yang means of the sun
Here in South East Asia, Taoist, Hindus, Animist, even some Buddhists deals directly with spirits.

(583) Survival of the sickest by Dr. Sharon Moalem

I am impressed with the author's qualifications. He is a scientific researcher while finishing his medical training. The few people I know with such background in my country are raking in millions as the founders in multi-level marketing firms selling health products.

The first chapter I read was fascinating. His grandfather and him both suffer from hemachromatosis. This is a disorder that allows the body to keep building up its storage of iron until an overload may damage the pancreas and the liver, leading to death. His grandfather has been donating blood for most of his life. That apparently is a way to off load iron without harming the body. He went on to describe in details how people with the genetic aberration were favored to survived the Black Death in the middle ages. That was why people descended from Europeans have a one in four chance of inheriting this gene. Not everyone with this defective gene display all the symptoms which would lead to death if untreated. Hence the penetrance of this disorder is low.

The second chapter explains in detail how our bodies react to extreme cold. This in turn has something to do with the way we metabolize glucose. Here I learn of the Hunter's Response: when a person is faced with life threatening cold, his blood vessels would constrict to keep his vital organs warm; after some time in the cold, the constricted capillaries will dilate briefly, sending  a rush of warm blood into the numbed fingers and toes before constricting again to drive the blood back into the core. This intermittent cycles of constriction and release would protect both the core organs as well as keeping the limbs from permanent damage. People from warm weather populations do not have this natural ability to protect both their limbs and core at the same time.

In chapter 3 we find him explaining how the sun simultaneously enables us to make vitamin D and destroys folic acid which is required in the making of red blood cells. To protect folic acid, dark skin people has melanin which prevent ultra violet rays from wrecking havoc. To ensure sufficient vitamin D is produced, a gene called ApoE4 cranks up the the amount of cholesterol flowing through the blood to maximize whatever sunlight penetrating the skin. It is interesting to note that ApoE4 is present too in northern Europeans to ensure what little sunlight there is would be fully utilized to make vitamin D.

A common enzyme deficiency, G6PD, is explained in chapter 4. Apparently over many centuries, people carrying G6PD genes were better at surviving malaria. The reason is that their red blood cells are not condusive to host the plasmodium, the shorter life of malformed red cell also disrupts the life cycle of the parasite. Therefore even though folks with G6PD reacts badly to eating fava beans, a staple in Africa and southern Europe, natural selection dictates that this defective gene gets passed onto millions of individuals.
         
There are four more chapters, each more interesting and thought provoking than the last. This is the first time I encounter evolutionary medicine and it certainly will not be my last.              

(582) Buying a property in old age

One of my children is renting a room near his university. Just the other day I bumped into some one who owned a low cost flat in his area. When she heard that my son was the acting maid in his apartment, she happily offered to lease her three room  flat to him for the same amount of money he was paying for one room with a condition that he should not sub let. My son, Michael, went and viewed the flat. He said it is near his uni and it is a nice property. But it is basic. He could not afford to move. Well, now he shares water, electricity bills with four other guys. His chief tenant pays for the unlimited wireless connection. He merely taps into it whenever no one is using it or when his own prepaid service is used up. The landlord made available a fridge, a micro wave oven, a washing machine, hot water heater for shower and fans in every room as well as furniture. Even if he gives up all the conveniences to move, he would have to fork out more dough for wireless, water, electricity and maybe laundry service.

My friend Christine heard about it. She came from that university town. She is going to hitch a ride with us when we drive up to fetch him home. We will visit the lady key holder and request for a view of the flat. Christine will pretend to be a prospective tenant. Actually her interest is to see the design and location of the flat, she wants to find out the current selling price. If everything is satisfactory, she may just purchase a unit to keep as her retirement home.

By now, you know I am a story teller. I related all these to my mother. Much to my surprise, she asked me quite a fair amount of details. Subsequent to that, she said she too is interested to purchase a unit if the cost is around thirty five to forty thousand. I asked her what is she going to do with a flat that is two hours by car away. She said she would put my son in it with token rental. Then my son can sublet to a friend of his and she would collect whatever going rate. There is a third room, she would reserve it for her own use. It would be good to have a holiday home within walking distance to a supermarket. My! My! And this is an idea from a woman who will be eighty years old next year. I am impressed! Well, if these flats were built only three years ago as I was told, were sold first hand at twenty-five thousand each, there is just such a chance that it may be within the purchasing power of my aged mom.

(581) Biological clock? Hormones?

Years ago I used to debate  with my father over many topics. One of them has something to do with feminism. My father was educated by private tutors from China. While he was growing up in a rural area, there was no government nor private school. A few families(who cleared virgin jungle to plant rubber trees) banded together to bring in a young man from Southern China to educate the young boys. He was of the opinion that women should be married. I, on the other hand, is of the new school who believe that a woman could remain  single. Well, after all, she could be well educated and work at a career that pays her well enough to own a house, a car and maybe a viable retirement plan.

After much bringing foward points and countering with other points, he merely said,"Wait till you are older, then you will understand what I am trying to tell you now!"

He has passed away quite a few years by now. I am finally old enough to see what he was trying to tell me. Everything was well and good for a working woman until she reached a certain stage ( I suppose each woman may hit the point at different times), then she may be desperate to find someone and be married. I saw with my own eyes my best friend who was swinging single suddenly decided to get married. The eligible single girl who seemed to be heartless and kicked away many suitors: engineers, accountants, lawyers, managers ... suddenly she did not mind the fact that her beloved is fifteen years older than her, earns only a third of her pay, educated  six years less than her, came from a small village, came from a poor family ... It was the biological clock, she suddenly realized that should she delay further, she may be childless.

Now I am watching helplessly as my other friend throws all cautions to the wind and pin her hopes on her internet heart throb. She does not mind him controlling what she wears (it is funny to hear of her beloved telling her not to bring much clothes there, as he would take her shopping and show her how to dress to fit in with his crowd). She does not mind cooking Western food for him while she cooks her curry or laksa that she occasionally craves. She would not mind being the main bread winner while he sits at home. I suppose she knows that this is the last chance before she hits menopause. My father is right, women may be capable financially and in many ways. But when it comes to the biological clock ticking and the hormones rushing, they may cleave to the wrong guys and suffer for the rest of their mortal lives or be robbed of their entire life savings in their autumn years.

(580) Jealousy

I went visiting with my mother. She has a friend who brought up six children as a widow. Five of those children are married and live away from her. That is the normal state of affairs. The strange part is that the unattached youngest son chose to live in a company hostel (which is not far from where the mother lives). This old lady lives alone in a house bought by her third daughter.

By now I recognize the pattern: a difficult old woman would automatically see the nearest child as the worst of the lot. No matter how good the offspring is to her, she would expect more as she is totally self-centered. Therefore the one who lives the furthest away would undeniably be the best of all her children. True to form, I heard her praising her eldest daughter, who lives in another town, for buying a large amount of health products for her consumption. While she said little about her third daughter who visits her often, even though it is the latter who takes care of her daily expenses.

The most interesting part came when I commented that her third daughter moved into a lovely detached house. Her countenance altered immediately! She looked like an ancient witch who was angered. Yet I thought I said nothing wrong. I merely complimented her third daughter's new home. She disagreed and stated that the daughter's old house was nicer; at least the rooms were bigger. I kept quiet, it is not smart to argue with an elderly person. Much later I brought up this little segment of the conversation with my mom. Could it be that she was jealous of her daughter living in a better house than hers?

My mom and I walked around the neighborhood and admired all the vegetables and flowers the old lady planted. She planted in five little plots of back yards her neighbors are not using. We looked at her beautifully stitched patch work quilts. Every one of her cushions were covered by painstaking patched together pieces of cloth she salvaged from her factory. We spent hours looking at photographs taken of her visits to many parts of the world. Bearing in mind that she used to tap rubber trees, rear pigs, clean factories and houses, she has been definitely more successful than many people who are from economically higher spheres. But sad to say, all that enterprise and success does not make her an easier person to live with. I doubt I would ever desire to visit her of my own accord. It is not true that I dislike her! I just do not have any special liking for her.

(579) last man standing by David Baldacci

My first impression was there are lots of names and references to note. After a while I realised that it is a well written and researched book, in the league of the Bourne series.

This book touched on the spouses and the serving members of FBI needing psychiatric therapy. Of course there is a rogue psychiatrist who lined his own pocket while selling information obtained in hypnosis. The plot was tightly woven with many characters, it was difficult to tell which was good and which was bad. An entire team of HRT was gunned down in a supposed drug bust except Web London who for some reason froze the precise moment his team mates ran towards the ambush. While dealing with survivor's guilt, he worked at unraveling the layers of deception wrapped around a victim's mother who exacted her revenge by killing using explosives and gun.

(578) journey to the south by Annie Hawes

To me, Italy is a developed nation. It was fascinating reading how Annie who resides in the north sees the south of Italy.

Apparently the north is considered sophisticated and the south is wild. Even after years of pouring in millions of  lira into the southern region, it is still an underemployed area. Annie's boy friend almost opened his restaurant in the south but for the interference of the local mafia. Instead he opened it in the North where it is free of such influence.

Separated by less than a thousand Km, a married woman who immigrated northwards did not visit her siblings for twenty five years. It took the passing on of her brother to inspire her return for his month wake. While Annie was in for another steep learning curve in the intricacies of Italian rural life, it makes for me an interesting read. Finally I understand why there are so many Italian descendants in some parts of America. It was either living on little with sponging on the Government subsidies or outright immigration!

(577) Occult

A neighbour of mine consulted a medium. She inquired about her son. The medium rightly told her that her son was very intelligent and a few other true facts. What was strange was that he commented that the son would retire before the mother does. But how could that be, since the son is in his early twenties and the mom is almost fifty?

It is a good thing that this mother is taking it very positively, she thinks her son must be earning big money fast, so he could afford to retire early. However, her mother (the grandma of the son) kept this in her heart and worry that the grandson would turn out to be a lazy bone who would not work. Now I see why it is not a good idea to look into the future. Although some may say that they would not believe the bad things predicted. Unless such predictions were strictly kept to those who would not be adversely affected, else others may suffer unnecessarily.

(576) Jack and Jill by James Patterson

This is the fifth book I read in this series. It is a chilling thought that above any Government, there are political, economic, military powers that could and did liquidate any upright leaders that advocate reform from a corrupt system.

In this book the killers who called themselves Jack and Jill assasinated a few Washington's rich and famous folks before shooting the President. It is not by chance that the President and the First Lady were code named by the secret service as Jack and Jill too.

To confuse things further, a few contract killers of the CIA were brought in as suspects. As the bodies piled up, these killers seemed all powerful. Then the hero Alex Cross found his break with his painstaking many hours of tedious search.

(575) Hide and Seek by James Patterson

It is an interesting peek from the angle of the wife of a famous sociopath.

Maggie Bradford seemed like a born victim. One after another, she was tricked into marrying men who had mental issues and took it out on her physically. But unlike the run of  the mill of  abused wives, she had talents and did make it to the top of her chosen profession. She became an internationally known song writer and singer.

My peasant grandma had a saying:"the first bowl of rice may contain grain with seed coat, but the second will contain sand". It rightly or wrongly pointed to the chances that a woman would make good in her second marriage.This saying came from China since hundreds of years ago. It may no longer apply to a Post-Mao society, But I notice that within limits, it is generally true. Of course there are exceptions to the rule in these modern days.

Interestingly, in the book we find Maggie did not marry the only good man whom she had a son with. Her second husband was more evil than her first. The first one merely wanted to kill her in a rage. The second one staged his own murder by killing his younger brother. He made sure the wife went through a long and drawn out murder trial. It is a marvel that the defense team could find out the new evidence to declare the first case as a mistrial. This way she escaped a long prison sentence. Later she was acquitted in the second trial. I actually expected the monster, Will to be killed. But James put in a better ending: Will was to face life confinement in a mental facility, it was sweet justice that he was aware of everything but was unable to talk.

(574) Story from my childhood

I grew up with a grandma in my house. We lived in a squatter area with wooden houses. Down the road was a family who was rich enough to rebuild their house with half brick walls and proper roof tiles instead of zinc sheets. There were many people coming and going at all times of the day and night for a few months. One day I heard wailing and keening from that house. I ran there with a group of children.

Apparently a man died. Soon a wooden coffin was delivered. That night the children were all present to witness the Taoist rituals to bring the departed to the desired level in hell. In those days, coffins were huge and ornate. They were carved from gigantic tree trunks. The top was curvy and I imagine a few bodies could fit in if the trunk was really hollowed to create maximum space. We saw the Taoist priest leading the family round and round the coffin. We also saw the children of the deceased carrying water containers all around the wake area and later poured the water into a basin placed under a small wooden bridge. There were musical instruments being played and the priests took turn to sing out what was required.

The next day my grand ma grabbed hold of the situation and taught us a lesson about how the man died. It seemed the deceased was a trader. He spent a good part of his earlier life living in two countries. He brought goods from Siam to his home town and also other goods from his home country to Siam. I guess today we call it export import business. Except in those days roads were narrow and winding, goods were mainly transported by boats. Like many Chinese business man, he set up two house holds. Since he was constantly on the move, he spent equal amount of time with either family. It seemed a logical approach, that way he was taken good care of by two wives. Since he was able to support both families quite comfortably, neither wife minded the fact that he had two sets of children.

All good things eventually came to an end, he grew old and wanted to retire. He chose to pay off his Siamese wife and gave part of his estate to his children there. No one knew if he was mean or fair to them, he never revealed much. But it seemed the Siamese wife told him that if he did not return after six months, he would not live beyond the next six months. He scoffed as he was in excellent health. But true to what the woman claimed, he fell ill on the dot of six months after his final return. After spending much money, he would seem to recover with each type of treatment only to fall more seriously ill the following week. Ultimately he did not live long enough to celebrate the anniversary date of return.

My grandma said that Siamese ladies were pretty and charming. It was extremely easy for Chinese from out of Siam to woo and marry them. They made excellent wives too. But woe to the man who desired to return to his homeland, the wives would  not follow. It was customary that through the years he would have swallowed some form of black magic, it would not hurt him as long as he kept returning to his foreign wife. But should he decide to leave for good, he would not be able to live for long whether he believe or not in black magic. Of course all these were tales from fifty or so years ago. But I do remember that the poor man had a long illness and died of a distended belly. It was a painful and drawn out death. Could that be co-incidence?

(573) Pontianak, Kalimantan

Last night I chatted with an Indonesian cleaning lady from the southern part of Borneo. I asked her why her hometown was known as Pontianak. As far as I know, Pontianak means a female ghost seeking revenge.

She sat down and told me the following story:- She came from another part of Kalimantan. When her husband was courting her, she was very afraid of his home town. She thought that town must be filled with ghosts. Her husband explained that his home town once had  another nicer name. But one man seduced a young girl who became pregnant. He lied about taking her back to his family. But he killed her with his friends. The spirits of this poor girl went around seeking to pay back the murderers. As more and more people heard and saw the apparitions, the town was referred to as the haunted town, hence it became known as Pontianak.  I asked her if the spirits were still haunting the town. From the many years she spent there as a married woman, she said she did not hear of any present day haunting. She believed that once revenge was exacted, the spirits dissipated.

From the Christian point of view, the spirits were demons which are fallen angels whom left heaven with Lucifer.

(572) Closing doors

Last year I met a lady with a lot of physical ailments. Listening to her I sensed a lot of fears. I took some time to share with her how events of the past might have opened spiritual doors that allowed her to be attacked which resulted in physical complaints. All it would take is for someone to guide her in prayer to tell God she was sorry that she was ignorant in the past and asked him to close those doors.

I was not telling her anything new. She seemed very knowledgeable in the area. I promptly changed the topic and moved on to other more social issues. Recently I heard from a common friend that the lady in question was fully aware of the fact that her bitterness acted as an open door. She knew she has to forgive to be rid of the bitterness. It was not true that she did not want healing. At this present time she is still working at her emotional turmoil.

Meanwhile, she has back problem, diabetes, leaky gut syndrome, retina detachment, trigger finger ... I truly feel sorry for all her pains, dietary restrictions, mobility limitations. She is a practising Christian who is rather sincere and kind. Yet it is crucial for us to forgive others before we can appropriate God's blessing for us. Jesus already healed us at the cross two thousand years ago. We have to claim the healing and bitterness is a block in the conduit!

(571) Super natural

A young mother related how her one year old girl would wake up in the wee hours, screaming as if she was being beaten. The mother spent quite a few nights walking the floor of the bedroom to calm the child down. Yet the strange thing is that the child would sleep through the night in the nanny's house, each time the exhausted mom bunked her there.

I shared with her how my own young daughter was able to see spirits from her first floor bedroom window, when I looked out I could see nothing except a beautiful moon-lit night. (this experience was blogged in (654) Ghosts?) I went on to say that a bad smell was present that one visitor could not sense in that particular house. Here the young mother excitedly told us how she could sense a foul odour where her daughter sleeps but her husband could not. For my problem, my pastor came with a team to read scripture, sing praise songs, pray and anoint each doorway and window of my old house with olive oil. Subsequent to that, nothing else untoward occurred. All that happened thirteen years ago.

Brenda also described how her young son would have recurring nightmares and screeched. Then he would be shouting for something not to come near. Typically it would happen when the father was not at home. Brenda returned to her church around that time; as she prayed and cover her household with the precious blood of Jesus nightly, the nightmares occurred less and stopped eventually. Her son is fifteen years old now.

Brenda went on to tell me that her niece could even communicate with the spirits. The girl's mother called it the little girl's imaginary friend. Through the years, it happened less. Lately the girl (about twelve now) was seen visiting our Children's Church.

* Read also (130) Woke from death

(570) Change of stat

  Here I am recording for your convenience the ten top blogs:
134 Upbringing
374 Interesting building 62
160 Upbringing 20
155 You Changed My Life by Max Lucado
395 Hearts of gold
562 Fruit from an earlier investment of time
211 Upbringing 24
206 Learning difficulties 9
150 Upbringing 13
389 Genetic variation

Thank you for your encouragement, my first commentator from The Retirement Group. You have made my day!

(569) lady's fingers or ocra

My sis-in-law loves dessert. When she tested high in blood sugar, she trawled the net searching for folk cures. For almost a complete year, she soaked sliced lady's finger (one medium size) in cooled boiled water over night. The next morning she would drink the sticky water into her empty stomach and discard the vegetable pieces. After three months of continual drinking, she found her blood sugar slowly dropping even though she continued her merry way enjoying her many desserts. A few months ago she stopped taking the sticky solution and enjoy both sweet food and a normal blood sugar level. Though she tests her sugar level periodically just to be sure it is good.

My husband started this routine, within the first ten days, his blood sugar level remained unchanged but surprisingly his LDL dropped for the first time in ten years. He had been on cholesterol controlling drug for at least 5 years. On top of that, he takes raw soaked haba(an Indian spice) as well as cooked oatmeal every morning for at least a year. Now my husband in turn trawled the inter net for explanations. What he found is that the fibre in lady's finger absorbed LDL in the lower gut and so LDL is passed out of the body. You see, my thrifty husband could not bring himself to throw away his hard earned money -- the pieces of lady's finger. And so he ate them up every morning as a matter of course.

Recently I accompanied my mother to visit unwell elderly relatives who live hundreds of miles away. While chit-chatting, we brought up the above testimonies. My elderly aunt by marriage is a diabetic with lots of complications. She decided to try this folk cure, after all lady's finger is cheap and readily available round the year where we live. Two nights ago, my uncle called excitingly to let my mum know that her blood sugar dipped after just one week of the new suggested remedy. This really is the most dramatic result I have heard, for most folks, it takes months to see effects. Some give up too soon to see any benefits. Of course a diabetic has to continue her medications, to take tests as prescribed by a physician over regular check ups.

(568) Coconut rice 2

I attended a farewell gathering in honour of a friend who is returning to her home country. The theme of food was local delicacy. We had coconut rice, two types of jelly, a fresh cake, Cantonese style noodle, Siamese rice noodle, sambal prawns, Thai style fish curry, pork puffs, fried brinjals nyonya style, and six types of desserts made in the northern nyonya style.

(for most of my readers who are not conversant with the term "nyonya", it is a word that denotes Chinese who settled in my country for hundreds of years who no longer speak any Chinese dialects nor language. Their dressing is distinct from the Chinese and the local. The cuisine is a blend of southern Chinese and the local tropical spicy and coconut style close to Indonesian cooking. My paternal great grandma was a Nonya.)

While we were exclaiming  over how fragrant the coconut rice was, everyone was asking every body else for different recipes. Most googled  for theirs except for one or two who cooked according what was handed down from their grandmas. That was the first time I tried coconut rice cooked with ginger, lemon grass (root), onion and pandan leaves (screw pine leaves) on top of coconut milk. It was a meal to remember!

In the conversation, I mentioned how I was surprised by how much rice was given by a street side peddler selling her coconut rice 70 cents a pack a few days ago. She gave half a boiled egg per pack, which is unusual for this day and age. Then my friend said that our neighbours are not as mercenary as Chinese. She too was floored by how little her caterer charged her for some delicacy she booked for her daughter's birthday party. Perhaps the ingredients are cheap, but it involved hours of tedious preparation. Still, it is human relationship that our non-Chinese neighbours value above money.

(567) Alcohol

Elizabeth was working at placing some advertisements in my blog few nights ago. I refused cigarettes adverts but said beer and wine is OK for me. When she asked why, I had to stop for a moment to think of an answer.

I grew up in a typical Chinese family where my father drinks sparingly either in social occasions or privately for health. Since as young as I can recall, I would hang around my dad if I see any beer bottle being opened. I love the bitter clear taste of beer. Children are allowed a sip on ordinary days and maybe a few mouthfuls during festive days.

When I was eighteen, I went to my first party with alcohol. A dear friend's brother brought back a bottle of red wine from Australia. I was greedy and accepted a second glass. It really tasted heavenly. The same night I broke up in hives all over my body. Even a full course of anti-histamines did not chase away the itchy bumps. Finally my family doctor had to jab me.

Since then I avoided all forms of alcohols. Some friends pointed out that I may be allergic to fermentation products and not to pure alcohol. But my stand is why should I try liquor when it may adversely raise my level of allergy to a life threatening reaction? Perhaps God is being kind to me, I would not become too fond of the bottle like my maternal grand father who died  drunk at the age of forty nine by either a stroke or a heart attack. He groaned and fell dead in the midst of a shower leaving behind a young widow with five young children.

(566) Black Market by James Patterson

If I remember correctly, this is the third Patterson book I am posting about. By far, this is the best so far.

To put my feelings into context: I have been watching the happenings in Wall Street via CNN news while I was reading the book. It is sad! What I saw on TV screen was not the USA I knew in the eighties. To think that I was planning to work and settle in the States then, I shudder to think where and what would I be doing now if I did not come back to my home country twenty over years ago. Would I be one of the protesters being man handled by the uniformed personnel?

What happened to the Land of the Free? And the Home of the Brave? I do realize that Black Market was written as a fiction. But many things recorded in it sound plausible. You may call it conspiracy, but how could things changed so much within two decades? The poor lost their means of livelihood. The middle class is shrinking. Yet the rich are becoming super rich at an unrelenting pace. Is certain parts of America becoming more like Bombay and Kolkata?

(565) A Parrot in the Pepper Tree by Chris Stewart

My brother paid $12 for this delightful volume. I was able to read it without paying a cent. I am extremely grateful for this privilege.

Much as I tried to recall, I was not sure if I have read his earlier book: Driving over Lemons. Just maybe I did read it a few years ago and the book ended up in my cousin's private library. One day I will hunt for it in her piles of books ...

I really admire Chris' courage in chasing after his heart's desire. I may like watching a Flamingo dance and love to listen to a Flamengo music number. (Am not even sure I got the terms right!) But I would never dare to save up some money, then go to study it in Spain. Perhaps generations of poverty in Southern China had instilled in my genetic ties and blood lines that one has to be down to earth and practical in life.

Really, Chris did everything that would bring horror to my parents and fore bears, yet the beauty of it is he has obtained a way of life that many of us (my extended family members) would not dare to dream about  in our wildest moments. Well, we count teachers, lecturers, bankers, engineers, advertising exec, accountants ... in my clan. All of us live in smog filled, traffic congested suburbs and hardly have much time to look at any clear blue sky and smell the roses.

Perhaps the next generation, with a little financial stability, may aspire higher than mine.

(564) Chasing the Devil by Tim Butcher

I must admit my complete ignorance about all things African. Apart from one fellow college student of mine from Kenya (many, many years ago), I have had absolutely no contact with any African whatsoever since.

It was an eye opener for me to read about Sierra Leone and Liberia in this book. What little I knew about the occult (voodoo) came from my Jamaican friend from college days. Right through high school, little was taught about Africa. But I memorised lots about North America and Australia to pass public examinations. Neither do I know much about the history of these two countries except from an isolated article or two of Time magazine I picked up in a public library.

The author must have a love for the continent to want to walk through these war torn zones. I would never dream about even visiting such places. Not that I have no interest, but I would be too fearful to venture there.

The good folks from England must have good intentions when they established Sierra Leone as a place for freed slaves to return to. But I suppose good intentions are not enough. America had poured in tons of aids into Liberia apart from sending many freed slaves there. Yet the end result is pretty deplorable. For the present generation of citizens in these two countries, they could not help being born there.

My grandparents and parents have suffered at the hands of the Japanese occupiers during Second World War. My husband has spent a considerable amount of time in Japan as an exchange student. I have met with one or two of his host families when they visited my home town. They are wonderful people. I suppose it is easy for me to treat them as ordinary people, since no one in my extended family was killed by the Japanese soldiers.

Reading this book changed my views completely regarding how I feel about TV news coverage of war and unrest. What happened in these two countries would be far worse than what happened in Indo China. We have seen Vietnam rising up after years of war. Even Cambodia seemed to be doing better these few years when my friend went there to volunteer their services. Only time will tell if Sierra Leone and Liberia will rise up out of the ashes.

(563) Food?

Someone I know threw a cut lemon into the drinking water and expected the water to be drinkable 24 hours later. I suppose she was thinking of her mum using dried lemon to flavour plain water. Or maybe she could do that and get the expected result in her home country that is much cooler than the equatorial climate here.

Come to think of it, the preserved vegetables from China like salted vege and mui choy may be considered by nutritionist as non-food. But Kim Chi from Korea is good for health because of the enzymes it contains. My deceased grandma who was a peasant in southern China practically survived on preserved vegetables in the cold seasons many years ago. Now my brother and sister-in-law would not even touch such food with a ten foot pole. I actually have nothing against preserved food but since my poor health twenty years ago, I have been allergic to any food containing too much preservatives. There was not much choice for me apart from avoiding such food like plague.

From whole grain to white rice...from molasses to white refined sugar ... from fresh noodle to instant noodle ... some how we cannot escape from the changes brought by industrialization. Neither can we regain the activity level of the farmers in the by gone days as we sit in front of our computers in our air-conditioned offices or home.

(562) Fruit from an earlier investment of time

I met up with a previous child I helped thirteen years ago. She is twenty five years old now. I am pleased to note that she chose to teach in a city with little or no help for special children. Although she could cross the border and teach in another city that would pay her more than twice what she is getting now, she felt strongly that her place is in her home town where those suffering children need her.

It is a wonderful feeling to see that a "gamble" I took years ago bore fruits. I visited her family and noted that she was being treated differently by her mum and siblings. As she lives a few hundred miles from me, there is little I could do for her. Her family is Mandarin speaking. I offered to take her home to teach her English. Actually the real aim is to change her reactions to the shabby treatment she received at home.

During the three weeks she was with me, I showered her with lots of attention and filled the days with new experience and fun. We went swimming, we took walks in the park, we visited libraries and shopping centres, we went to see shows, and she met many families we are close to. Whenever I was alone with her, I would talk  and get her to open up and tell me things that bothered her.

The main thing that gave her a patient suffering look in her eyes was the fact that she was being treated as an unpaid work horse at home. While she was the eldest and had to help with chores from a very young age, all the younger ones tend to escape scot free. It took me quite a while for me to convince her that she was being well trained for life while her brothers and sisters are really being short changed. She was twelve and I explained that she may come out to work at age eighteen. By being compliant and obedient for another six years, she would at least not be beaten and sent to solitary confinement in her bedroom. I impressed upon her that education is her only way out of this domestic drudgery. She promised me that she would work hard in Mathematics and Chinese language, subjects she likes. I made sure she understood the need to pass other subjects too in order to get a presentable certificate for the job search after leaving high school.

She has been working in private kindergartens. Lately she was being promoted to become the Assistant Principal. She has found a loyal boy friend who supports her goals in life. She has even completed a Diploma related to her field of work. I congratulated her on all her achievements. She has come a long way from the waif who looked pitiful. The only thing that I could see her improve on is her relationship with her family members. Overall I told her that she out performed what I hoped for. For an eleven year old who had to bite her arm to remind herself which one is her right hand, she has done excellently.

(561) Channeling water

Recently I watched a program in Discovery which showed in great details how water from the wet south is being channeled to the parched north in China.

It is a great and difficult engineering endeavor, the targeted completion date is 2014. I was awed by how miles of canals were dug, tunnels were made, pumping stations erected, and dams were employed. Each geographical section's Head were brought in front of the camera and in turn they told their own struggles with a slice of the mammoth project.

I was most impressed by the water purification project that involved many research students and their Professor. If aquatic plants and tidal species could reduce the level of pollutants to the minimum allowable levels of safe drinking water, there is yet hope for our future generations in this troubled earth.

(560) Ice-cream in the snow

One night during my first few months in America, I chatted with a dorm mate. Out of the blue she asked me if I wanted to do an ice-cream run with her. We were both walking back to our rooms from the bathrooms after brushing our teeth. Since I was ready to try new things, the idea sounded exciting.

I was prepared to get dressed again but she said we could put our winter jackets on top of our night gowns. After all we need not get down from her car. We were going to a drive by counter. And out we walked to the faraway car park through a foot of snow. We had fun scraping snow and ice from the wind screen. To her who came from New England, it was a matter of fact dealing with the winter elements. But that was a brand new experience for me from the tropics.

She had a brand new sports car. It was a bright yellow two seater. That was mind boggling for me who came from a family who did not own a family car. Among her set of friends from private school, it was no big deal being given a new sporty model for going to college. She laughed it off by saying her old man could not be outdone by his contemporaries.

We chatted and giggled through licking the icy cones. Some how she was able to drive with one hand. From my limited experience of being a front seat passenger, she was a good driver who did not cause my heart to beat any faster in fear. As I thank her for the treat, she jokingly said that someday I would be able to tell my grandchildren about one crazy American girl who took me for an ice-cream while it was snowing at night. That was many years ago! I do have children in their twenties, but I am no where near the point of having any grand children yet.