No Puppies, Please!

It is wonderful that the season of giving is here again. Christmas holiday not only gives us time to reflect, and time to rest, it also gives us excuses to splurge a bit on ourselves, to surprise our loved ones on a lazy Christmas morning, and to make a long past due donation to a favorite charity. Luckily there are so many ways to show our love and appreciation for others. There are gifts in different shapes, size and uses. In lieu of tangible things, gifts can be in the form of promises such as offering elderly neighbors to shove the snow on their property. After all it is the gesture of giving that counts. Therefore, gifts in any shapes and forms are welcome in this festival season of the year.

However, we must never give live animals as Christmas presents. Owing a pet is a privilege that entails a lot of responsibilities that many of us are unable to commit to. Sometimes parents gave in to their children and let them have a four-legged pet they should not have. This is why there are so many precious former pets languishing in many animal shelters. We certainly do not want to add more to the abandoned pet population. So please think twice before deciding to give a live animal to your loved ones. - Ayee

Gift and Re-Gift

Santa Claus is coming!

This Christmas may be a lean and mean one for many of us. Even though we all have been good, our gifts from Santa this year may not be what we have asked for. But do bear in mind, a thoughtful gift is always the best one. It is the goodwill of giving that counts not what is in a glittery box.

The upcoming Christmas holiday will not only give us a sense of renewal. It will also bring us a much-needed respite from the gloomy news that we were subject to over the past several months.

I would say I am a very lucky person as far as gifts are concerned. I am grateful to my dear relatives and friends who had showered me with many gifts past and present. Unfortunately, some of the nicest gifts I ever received had no uses to me. This is why I like to "share" my gifts with others. So far I have been very good at matching the recipients with the re-gifts. In addition I do not do it clandestinely. I let my recipients know that I am sharing the gifts with them.

Now for financial and environmental reasons, this Christmas may be a good time to start re-gifting or giving smaller and simpler gifts to our loved ones. Happy Giving! - Ayee

Gabilan, the Red Pony

It’s Christmas. I should write about the happy celebration of the merriest season of the year. But I decided to write about a John Steinbeck's book, The Red Pony. It is about a ten-year-old farm boy, Jody Tiflin, who lost his red pony to strangles, an infectious disease. I wanted to write down what I thought I had learned from this sad story.

In this book, I feel the author illustrates how people react toward devastating losses. In addition, this story shows that bad things do happen to good people.

Gabilan was in an open corral enjoying a day of sunshine. But an unexpected down pour got it soaked wet and made it ill. The best cares the family’s experienced ranch-hand, Billy Buck, and Jody provided did not help the poor pony. It suffered a great deal before it died in few days. Both, Jody and Billy had the best interest of this young horse in mind. But the Mother Nature had the last word. She decided to give a young horse a cold and untimely shower. I can feel the pain this gentle boy and his friend suffered from their great loss of a healthy pet. This sad tale tells us bad things do happen to good people.

I nearly skipped the part of the book that tells what Jody did after he found his dead pony in the open yard. Of course, he was devastated. He killed the buzzard who was about to feast on the dead horse. What he did to that bird was so brutal. Perhaps this is what a devastated person will unconsciously do when facing the greatest pain of his life such as the death of his beloved pet. - Ayee

Simpler Life

Over the past few years, thanks to ample supply of easy money, we have spent, spent and spent on useless and redundant stuff. Imprudent lending practices are also guilty of damaging our otherwise reasonably sound financial system. This time the extent of financial losses around the world is humongous. They are in trillions. It will cause many of us unbearable hardship. In addition, it will take years before our economy can be restored to its old balances.

But there may be a silver lining under the gloomy cloud of an economic downturn. The current economy slowdown gives us some breathing room to rethink how should we adjust to this harsh reality from now on.

In a recession, many of us face the possibility of losing our jobs. The prospect of reentering the job market in a contracted economy is also very limited. To meet these challenges, we may want to tie our belts a bit and to live a simpler life.

It is also an opportune time for our governmental agencies to be frugal. They should spend less on administrative matters. So there will be some money left in the public coffers to spend on helping many innocent people who fall through the cracks under this man-made economic disaster. - Ayee

International Bully Awareness Week

Many years ago when we were in grade school we got to go home for a hot lunch with our father before the afternoon classes. Everyday after lunch when we, my younger sister and brother and I, were ready to go back to school, our brother always threw a tantrum for not wanting to go back to school in the afternoon. Since skipping class was never an option in our family, our dad had to play a tug-a-kid game to ensure our unruly brother goes back to school in the afternoon. Because it was the same embarrassing spectacle that repeated everyday in the neighborhood,I can never forget what my poor brother had gone through after a pleasant midday break at home.

Our parents did spoil our brother a bit. They assumed he was just being naughty. Our parents had never asked him why he did not want to go back to school after lunch. Miraculously, after we moved away from the neighborhood, our brother adjusted well at the new school. He went to school willingly morning and afternoon.

In retrospect, if our parents had known the reason why our brother did not want to go back to school in the afternoon, they might handle his aversion to afternoon classes differently. Now we know how prevalent bullying is in our society, I feel strongly someone, maybe a teacher, had made my dear brother want to avoid his afternoon classes at school. - Ayee

Rat Poison

I just learned my neighbor’s dog died of rat poison.

Everyone in our neighborhood knows "Sophie" and her elderly owner. They are frequent walkers in the area. We often saw the pair early in the morning, late in the evening, and many other times in between. For me, it’s always a pleasure to see a well-behaved dog on public streets. "Sophie" was so well trained that she never had to be leashed. She looked very much like any other good dog when walking next to her master on the street. But she became extremely protective of her owner if someone she did not know came close to him. She did annoy a few neighbors because sometimes she barked a lot. Quite often we could hear her loud and forceful barks a block away.

But I do not know if she was relegating her guard duties to a new kid on the block. We did not hear "Sophie" barking much after "Harley", a Chow, moved into the house near hers a couple of years ago.

"Sophie" died just days before her 10th birthday about a month ago. Her owner thought she caught a dead rat in the back yard.

Composting bins in the back yard attract rats. To get rid of the rats, many of us resort to deadly poisons that kill rats but also pets and even kids. While composting is good for the environment, putting rat poisons around composting bins is not. - Ayee

Bushy Tail Clowns

The antics of our back yard squirrels never cease to amaze me. They make me laugh. They are clowns. They also remind me of a pet squirrel I had when I was in grade school.

My dad bought me a little grey squirrel at a tourist shop on route to a birthday party in the country. My relationship with that squirrel was painfully short. It bit me when I tried to play with it. Then it escaped a few days later from a wire cage that I had set up for my new pet. Even though I did not have a name for it, I do think of this ill-fated squirrel now and then. To this day, I still wonder what had happened to it.

I think it is wonderful now we still can see squirrels, a variety of birds, raccoons, and even skunks roaming freely on their own in our backyards or public places. The sighting of these lively animals in a natural setting outside of cages or zoos makes me realize how foolish and inhumane I was when I removed a wild squirrel from its lush habitat to a treeless city as a pet. - Ayee

Good News and Bad News

There is good news and there is bad news.

The good news is that an abandoned cat has survived a 17-floor fall from a high rise apartment building. Now it is doing well at an animal shelter after surgery for broken teeth. It is a miracle that it gets a second chance to live the other eight lives.

The bad news is that many people left their pets behind when moving. This is one of the reasons why many landlords do not let their properties to pet owners. This also is the main cause that animal shelters everywhere are full of abandoned pets. And many of our parks are populated with unwanted rabbits.

Owing a pet is like having a child. They are blessed events in life that also inconvenience us and cost us a plenty to keep them. Both pets and kids come into our lives by our own choices. But kids leave when they grow up to have their own families or to pursue their personal dreams. Our pets for better or worse stay with us for life. We do not leave our kids behind when we move. Then why would we not want to do the same for our pets? - Ayee

“Noblesse Oblige”*

Just learned from a television news program what the president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Japan Airlines (JAL) did to save jobs and to keep his company stay afloat.

With rising oil prices and other operating costs, we all know airline industry is in serious financial difficulties. JAL, known for its generous cabin services in the past, is not immune from the dire challenges that other air carriers face. To avoid further layoffs of its loyal staff, its president and CEO, Mr. Haruka Nishimatsu, voluntarily reduced his own salary and cut all the perks that come with the job. His current annual salary of about US$90,000 may seem to be a generous one. But it is lesser than what JAL pays its pilots. Instead of using executive dinning room, he joins his employees at the company's cafeteria having some luke warm noodles for lunch.

Mr. Nishimatsu’s altruism over his employees’ well-being is unparalleled. He also lives up to a saying that "privilege entails responsibility."* - Ayee
*The Award Illustrated Dictionary (1984)

Empty Shopping Baskets

This afternoon, I went to the supermarket for my weekend paper. The store was so busy. There were long lines at every checkout stand. I thought I was smart that I picked the shortest one. There were only three customers ahead of me but our cashier got an item with no bar codes. It took him awhile before he got the right number to punch into the cash register and completed that order. In the meantime, a lady in front of me was unloading her groceries from the shopping basket onto the checkout counter. When she had placed all her groceries on the counter and wanted to return her basket, she could not reach the stack of empty baskets underneath the counter. Sometimes it happened to me too when I wanted to put the empty basket back. Since I was closer to the stack of the empties than her, I reached out for the stack and held it for her, just like many others did for me. After this shopper placing her empty basket onto the stack, she realized I had only one item to buy. Immediately, she offered to let me pay for my newspaper before her order. I did not think what I did for her was a big deal. But this lady did not take my simple gesture lightly.

My encounter in the store this afternoon does not seem to be eventful. But it does illustrate that kind gesture is infectious. - Ayee

Clearview Golf Club, East Canton, Ohio

Yesterday, I read about this golf club in The Wall Street Journal.

The story behind this golf club is remarkable. William Powell, an African-American , is the founder of the club. The very reason Mr. Powell decided to build a golf course of his own is to have a club that is open to everyone regardless of their skin colors.

Mr. Powell, now in his 90's, through his caddying jobs, learned to golfing during the time when discrimination against blacks in America was rampant. When he competed in golf tournaments in his teen’s, the tournament officials deliberately changed playing rules to disqualify his good play. Therefore, while growing up he was shunned from playing at many golf courses. He also faced discrimination during the war fighting the Germans in Europe. And he was declined a G.I. loan after the war. But he never let this wretched experience discourage him. Instead he built Clearview Golf Club that welcomes everyone.

After the war , funded by investors, Mr. Powell started to build his all-inclusive golf course during the night after his regular day job. He built the first nine holes with his own hands. And the rest is history. Many years ago, Clearview Golf Club became one of the Historic Places in America. In addition to many other distinguished recognitions the Powell family received over the years, Tiger Woods Foundation also has a scholarship in honor of Mr. Powell and his late wife.

Mr. Powell’s idea to eliminate racism is so extraordinary. He has set a great example for others who are either being discriminated or bullied. He fights back against racial discrimination with dignity and hard work so he can make the world a better one for all of us. - Ayee

My Old Chemistry Teacher

Over the last several weeks, I had the pleasure taking some writing lessons at a local community college. Unfortunately, the course did not offer exactly what I was looking for, I dropped out after six weeks of instruction. It disappointed me because I was truly looking forward to becoming a student again.

And back to school brought me many fond memories of my old teachers. They inspired me to learn. From them I acquired invaluable knowledge.

I remember one particular high school chemistry teacher who also happened to be our home-room teacher. It appeared she was a perfect match for the class. She terrified us. My class was made up with about 60 kids who were not keen learners. We were not troubled kids. But we were no book worms either. At that time we all thought our home-room teacher was an old mean bat. And none of us ever thought about going to college after graduation. But her acting like a drill sergeant in a boot camp transformed us all.

In our senior year, we studied hard so we could get into a university of our choice. We not only earned nearly perfect marks in chemistry. We also did well in other basic subjects like math and English. Many thanks to her, nearly everyone in our class passed the exam and entered university after graduation. What an accomplishment that is! - Ayee

Mighty Mouse

There is a news item I read in the paper the other day. It is about a tiny mouse bit a venomous viper to death after it was thrown into the snake’s cage.

It happened in Taiwan where the firefighters were looking after the snake they found in a local’s home. They got a big surprise when they witnessed a fierce fight between a tiny rodent and a 12-inch snake. It must be a gruesome scene to watch.

While I feel terrible for the dead snake, I respect this tiny mouse’s mighty instinct to survive. If there was a hall of fame for wild animals, I will definitely nominate this wee creature be inducted for bravery. - Ayee

Trick or Treat

Halloween is here again. It is a fun time for both kids and grownups. On Halloween night, many of us dress up in costumes we like and walk around the neighborhood in disguise. Pretty little girls are dressed in ballerina’s tutu. Curious young tots are seen in spider- man suit. And many others are in witch outfits. Like Christmas, many families decorate their houses with orange and black colored cutouts. For the occasion, their houses are protected by spider webs, diving vampires and scary skeletons. The houses also are lit with smiling pumpkins that welcome the neighborhood tricksters. In exchange for peace, the tricksters are treated with many goodies.

On Halloween night, there are people who like to light up firecrackers to rid of evil spirit but not tricksters. There were cases in the past that Halloween celebrations went out of hand and caused severe damages to people, pets and properties. Definitely, we can enjoy Halloween without deafening sounds from flying firecrackers or sacrificing a few live creatures. And it is good to know there are a few changes that help us celebrate Halloween safely. Now firecrackers are not welcome in many neighborhoods. In addition, pet stores and animal shelters do not adopt out black cats during the Halloween season. So no one will get spooked or hurt while others are taking advantage of the occasion to have some good times.

Now let’s enjoy a happy Halloween with great parties, friendly visits and happy goblins. - Ayee

Future Leaders

In my writing class, we are required to refer to Daniel Goleman’s book, Emotional Intelligence. Among many other things, the author, a Harvard Ph.D. and professor, finds high IQ scores do not correlate with on how well we do in life. How well individuals interact with others in life depends on how well they were taught about people skills, or emotional intelligence, when young. Because of inadequate emotional education, our children are becoming more violent, aggressive and self-destructive than their peers in the previous generations.

The author wrote Emotional Intelligence in the mid 90's. Today more than a decade later, the society faces the same reality when we see newspapers full of stories on young offenders who committed heinous and violent crimes. Just recently, a Finish vocational school student killed 10 innocent people before setting the school on fire then killed himself.

Perhaps, we, the adults, should be more vigilant on preparing young people to become more apt in emotional skills. So they can face their life challenges intelligently with self-control, empathy, zest and persistence. - Ayee

Monarch Butterflies and Pacific Grove, Monterey County, California

I do not know if Pacific Grove, a tourist town by the Pacific Ocean with about 15,000 residents, still celebrates the arrival of Monarch butterflies each year. According to John Steinbeck’s book Sweet Thursday (1954), each year Monarch butterflies stopped at Pacific Grove and got "drunk" on the resinous sap from the local pine trees. It appears these butterflies know better than humans. They not only do not "drink" and "fly," they also include in their migration route one of the most scenic spots in the world. They stretched out their colorful black and orange wings all over the town to sober up before leaving. And many of them did get stepped on or run over during their stopover at Pacific Grove. In the past, these butterflies had kept the town’s merchants in business. The locals would be devastated financially if they had to cancel their annual butterfly festival due to the lack of flying visitors.

Now let’s picture the amazing sight of colorful butterflies everywhere. Wow! What a treat! - Ayee

A Neighborly Tom

A few days ago, a kind person shared with me a story of her precious friend.

While shopping at a nearby store, at the pet supplies section I saw an elderly woman getting a package of treats for cats. The kind of morsel makes cats zoom through walls and jump up to second floor balconies.

When I walked by her, she said to me cat treats are costing more now. Then with a gentle grin on her face she told me she does not own a cat. She buys the kibbles for a neighborhood pussy. It visits her from time to time. She spoke of her furry friend fondly. According to her, her good-natured four-legged visitor has many "human qualities." This roaming Casanova seems to understand how she feels.

In the past, I had also been told other stories on cats who enjoyed lasting friendship with lonely or sick people. In one of the stories, the cat cuddled up with a bedridden cancer patient next door during the day while its owners were away. Many of the cat owners might have wondered what were their pets doing during the days when they were home by themselves. Now we know at least some of our cats held day jobs working to bestow unconditional love to our neighbors.

What a wonderful story! I am pleased this kind lady shared it with me. - Ayee

Who is smarter than a 5th grader?

Last week, Kathy Cox, a school superintendent for the State of Georgia, became the first $1,000,000 winner on "Are you smarter than a 5th grader?" She answered all 11 questions right without using any "Cheats." When it was her turn to provide answers, she verbalized her thoughts before she answered. By using the process of elimination, she got the right answer. She did not have to use any "Cheats" while she was vetting her thoughts. She refused to "Drop-Out" (one of the "Cheats"). She said on the show that she wanted to prevent her students from dropping out of the schools. So she would not want to do it either.
Ms. Cox’s appearance on the game show did stir up some controversies in the State of Georgia when taxpayers there questioned their school superintendent’s priorities. But I would say her participation to the show as a contestant had done some good for the kids in Georgia. Firstly, the show is fun to watch even for the grown-ups. Secondly, it suggests that knowledge pays. This may prompt learning. I would think all the students in Georgia are extremely lucky to having an inspiring and knowledgeable leader like Kathy Cox. Adding more icing to the cake, her students will also be benefitted from the prize money she donated to their causes. - Ayes

Failure and Success

Here is one of the late John Steinbeck’s profound observations on humanity. This is what he had said in one of his many great works:

"The things we admire in men, kindness, and generosity, openness, honesty, understanding and feeling are the concomitants of failure in our system. And those traits we detest, sharpness, greed, acquisitiveness, meanness, egotism and self-interest are the traits of success. And while men admire the quality of the first they love the produce of the second."*

Evidently, greed, meanness, self-interest and dishonesty will remain to be the timeless prerequisites to succeed. Today there are many high-profile business and political leaders among us. Many of them had followed the harsh Draconian path to lead. And some of them acted randomly and did whatever they pleased.
We know it is not easy to change human nature.

But on the other side of the humanity, loving and generous people do exist. There are many of them. Some are well known and some are not. For example, the down-to-the-earth people like Warren Buffett and Bill Gates had spent billions on their desire to make our world a better one. I doubt either of them had ever had to use any harsh measure while pursuing their success in life. It seems that people can be successful in life through their kindness and understanding toward others. - Ayee

*"Cannery Row," John Steinbeck, 1945

Canine Distemper and Cod Liver Oil

In the good old days when I was still in school studying, I had the good fortunate of discovering many great works by the late John Steinbeck (1902 - 1968). Recently, I decided to reread a few of his books. And "Cannery Row" was one of them.
My revisit to this hilarious book brought me great pleasures again. It was certainly entertaining. Among many other things, I have also learned good nutrition and cod liver oil can help to cure distemper in a dog. "Doc," one of the star characters in the book, was a biologist who collected life-animals for research labs. He helped "Darling," a pointer puppy, recover from the deadly respiratory disease. All her worried owners, residents of the Palace Flophouse, had to do was to feed her "strong soup, eggs and cod liver oil."
In future should one of my furry friends, young or old, suffer this fatal disease, in addition to proper veterinary cares, I will make sure to provide them with extra portions of "strong soup, eggs and cod liver oil." - Ayee

Rambo, a Very Lucky Budgie

During one recent hot day, Rambo fled the coop. While his people friends were looking for him in the trees and bushes around where they live, their beloved pet already found a comfortable perch in a house a half of a block away.

Rambo is not only talkative. He is a fast talker too. It did not take long for his two new friends, John and Diane, rolled out their digital camera and color printer. Many posters about a very worried budgie were on neighborhood telephone poles on the same day Rambo went AWOL.

In the morning after Rambo’s escape, his distraught owners thought out a different strategy to get their pet bird home. They put his cage on the steps leading to the front door of their house. They thought the cage adorned with mirrors and shining beads might help Rambo remember where his home was.

Then, a passerby was on her routing morning walk. She saw the telling posters on the telephone poles. She also noticed an empty bird cage in someone’s yard. That made her curious. So she decided to see if there was a connection between the posters and an empty cage.
Eureka! Now Rambo is home contemplating for his next excursion.

In this case, curiosity did not kill the cat but found a bird. - Ayee

What is our world made of?

It is made of with two types of people: one is gentle and loving but the other harsh and cruel.

A few weeks ago, I read in the newspaper about the trials of two young burglars for "nuking" a house cat to death in a microwave oven. Normally I do not believe jail times are effective punishments. But in this case, I do pray that the sentences to punish the guilty ones are a long and severe one.

Then today at a neighborhood pet supplies store, I am pleased to see the other side of our world.
At the store, a young good-looking fellow asked the proprietor for some bird foods. He told the store owner he found a badly injured bird on the street yesterday and thought it would soon die. Instead of leaving it die on the street, he took it home. This morning he did not find a dead bird but found the injured bird had drunk some of the water he put out for the patient. So he decided to get some proper foods for the bird. With a big grin on his face he told us he will release the bird when it is well enough to go.

Hurrah! - Ayee

Neighborhood Racoons

Neighborhood Racoons

One morning when I was on my way out for some errands, a huge mama racoon and four cute fur balls were looking at me with question marks in their big round eyes. A family of five was at the foot of a big cedar tree. To me the encounter was a pleasing surprise as in our neighborhood we do not often see racoons in bright day lights.

Once they saw me coming, the mother racoon frantically led the pack to escape from this human intruder. Mom and three of the kits managed to slip through the fence and scampered into the neighbor’s yard. The one left behind seemed to have a problem following what others did. Suddenly this little furry creature was seen on the top of the fence. When it scaled down from the high fence in such a hurry to join its family, it landed in the neighbor’s pool instead. Luckily the swimming hole was covered with thick plastic sheets. The poor thing had to skate on the wet and slippery surface before getting itself out of the pool and ran into the bush on the other side of the neighbor’s yard.

What I saw of this little ring-tailed neighbor was very entertaining. It also enlightened me to see how ingenious the wild animals are. A little "thing" weighed less than a few pounds knew exactly how to find alternative ways to protect itself. Perhaps we, the humans, can learn a few things from the wild animals. So we will also know among other things how to pull ourselves out of the harm’s way. - Ayee

To Speak Up or Not to Speak Up

To Speak Up or Not to Speak Up

A few months ago, I decided to follow up on an old insurance claim. Since I filed the claim in April of 2004, no one from my former insurance company’s claims department had ever advised me of the status of the claim. I felt the company did not play fair with me on this. And the insurer of my car did not reply to my recent reminder either. As a last resort, I wrote to its president instead. As expected, within weeks I got a call from the company’s customer services representative. She apologized profusely on how badly the company had handled my claim. She also advised me that a settlement check was in the mail. Now after four long years we can finally put this case to rest.

By all means, my experience in this case is not unique. I am sure many others also had to deal with their insurance companies for various reasons. Normally I do not make a fuss or "speak up," so I can get what I am entitled to. I do believe, though, we should treat each other fair and square, particularly if we are on the giver-side of the service equation. When we get whatever we have bargained for, then none of us will have to "speak up" to get what we deserve.

However, in this case, it pays to "speak up." - Ayee

Education! Education! And Education!

In a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal, Elaine L. Chao, the Secretary of Labor of the federal government, told the reporter that university graduates earned more than $1,400 a week whereas high school graduates earned $528. And unemployment rate among workers with a college degree was 2.2%. The same rate among high school graduates was 8.3%.

Although these numbers surprise no one, they are important to the many youngsters who are skipping classes or quitting school for good.

We all know in real life that well-educated individuals are likely to hold higher position on corporate ladders. Education instills good senses in us and enables us to exercise better judgement. Furthermore, what we learn at school improves our ability to meet the many challenges in everyday lives. We do not expect everyone with university degree to become a business tycoon. But with more knowledge under our belt, it is possible that all of us can lead a self-sufficient and productive life. - Ayee

In Pursuit of Happiness II.

I saw it on televison the other night.
I am glad to learn that many good people, who had suffered the greatest losses in life, become happy again. They forgave the persons who grieved them. By forgiving the criminals who murdered their dear family members, they released themselves from the burden of a tragic heart-wrenching experience. The act of forgiving enables them to put the tragedy behind and found closure and peace within. Although their lives can never be the same without the loved ones around, forgiveness also transforms them to be more empathetic toward others including themselves.
Apparently, besides being content, forgiving also brings happiness. - Ayee

A friend to remember

A friend to remember
One of my golfing bodies, Eric, passed away after he won a jackpot on June 18, 2008, at a local casino. He died of a massive brain hemorrhage, quick and painless. Ironically, it is exactly what we had wished for ourselves when we were joking about death and tax over coffee in the past. We, his family and friends, are sad because of his sudden departure on one hand. But on the other, we celebrate his passing as the "way to go."
I want to remember Eric as an unbeatable golfing opponent who won many community tournaments. He also was a "gentleman" friend to the three of us, his golfing bodies. He would help us when asked but never invaded our space when not invited. Eric was an honest and productive person. He earned his respectful living by offering his precise craftsmanship to restore homes and offices. He was an avid fisherman who brought many to smile when he shared his bountiful catches with them. Last but not lest, I also want to remember Eric as a self-taught individual who possessed amazingly astute business senses. Even though he had not left any noticeable footprint to the society at large, he did leave me a fond memory that makes me thankful that I have had a friend like Eric. - Ayee

Worm Huggers

The other day I was so pleased that I found out one of my acquaintances also a worm hugger.

With green grass everywhere around our neighborhood, rain or shine we often see earth worms in all sizes traveling on the concrete side walks. Unfortunately, some of them get stepped on by passers-by, become crows’ breakfasts or get dried out under the scorching sun before they can reach a grassy area where they can burrow themselves into the soil again. Certainly no one wants to see the gardeners’ best helpers meet their untimely death in this manner. So many of us become worm huggers.

We would not hesitate to interrupt these slow-moving crawlers’ journey. We move them off the side walks and place them to a more habitable area for worms. It’s interesting to note, the earth worm looks slimy but when touched, it’s very soft plus it will never bite you when handled.

So the next time when you see a little innocent wiggly worm in the wrong place, please do not hesitate to pick it up and relocate it to the place where it belongs!

Be kind!

Ayee

"In Pursuit of Happiness"

I learned the following from CBS’s "60 Minutes" last night.

According to a survey by an US university, people in Denmark are the happiest ones in the world. Not because Denmark has many more blondes than other countries, the Danes are content with their lives and do not expect much from others. With a 50% income tax rate on the middle income earners, its government manages well to take good care of all its citizens from cradle to grave. Its education system offers free schooling to everyone up to college. This amazingly generous program allows students stay at the university as long as it takes to graduate. For a starter, no college graduates in Denmark will ever have a huge student loan upon graduation. What a relief!

According to the same survey, while the Americans, citizens of the most affluent country in the world, are not the least happy ones, they are only happier than people in countries like Afghanistan and Pakistan. Being content may be boring as we have seldom heard any breaking news from Denmark. Perhaps we all should learn to be content and thankful for our good fortunate. So we all can be happier. - Ayee

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” Author unknown.

If we look around, we will find many treasures in our midst.
The above quote was one of the gems I noticed many years ago while waiting for the traffic lights to turn green. It was in bold black letters on a no-frill board like the ones we saw in many coffee shops. The printing business which shared this wisdom with the public has since moved to another location. But ever since I learned this timeless saying, I often wonder why we are living in a such complex world. Maybe now with the "green" movement in full-swing is the opportune time to simplify the way we live, the way we conduct business and the way our governments govern us.

To know or not to know.

The other day, my neighbor returned a piece of my mails that he opened by mistake. It happened to be a cable bill. Now he knows which television channels I watch. It was an innocent oversight. So I was not upset or uptight about this incident.
I did open one of my neighbor's mail in the past by mistake. It was his payroll statement and I returned it to him with an apology. Since I did not read the content of the mail, I never gave it a second thought afterward. So the case is closed. But I do wonder on how some of us will react if we learn some sensitive information on others through the misdirected mails. Ayee.

Before Your Dog Can Eat Your Homework---

Before Your Dog Can Eat Your Homework, First You Have to Do It: Life Lessons from a Wise Old Dog to a Young Boy
by John O'Hurley (Author)
If you have not read this book, please see if you can get hold of a copy at your library. It is fun to read and the author wrote some relevant life lessons to his baby son through his dog. It's fun to read his first book too titled "It’s okay to miss the bed on the first jump." But I like his second one better. In one of the advices he suggested that "more often than not, groups are less mature than the individuals in them because the heart of their purpose is to ostracize others," i.e. us versus them. This reminds me why sometimes religions are not for everyone.- Ayee

The Secret of a long life is everything in moderation.

I just learned a retired accountant told the reporter who interviewed him for his 100th birthday celebration that the secret of a long life is everything in moderation. This elderly gentleman’s insightful remarks remind me of Confucius. Many years ago, this well-known Chinese philosopher and teacher taught his followers to be "moderate." We certainly do not know how this principle of moderation benefitted the ancient Chinese society in the past. But the idea to be moderate certainly deserves a closer look in view of the extreme excesses we currently witness in our society. - Ayee