OBSERVATIONS

THE YEAR OF THE TIGER

Millions (billions?) of Chinese people are celebrating "the year of the tiger."  

I once learned, from a Chinese-American employee who was scared to tell me, until I pressed, what a certain Chinese phrase translated to in English:

"China is a giant tiger waiting to devour the world!"

Scary?

THE YEAR 88 OF JOE VAUGHAN

As I recently mentioned, my Aunt Mary would always reverse her age so that she would feel younger. For instance, when she was 71, she claimed that she was 17.

That has worked for me from my 81st birthday to my 87th birthday.  Well, tomorrow will be my 88th birthday and that number can't be manipulated.

The sad thing is that I feel and sometimes act as a teen-ager!  When I survived the Hospice program, I was "born again," so to speak. (At least physically, if not religiously.)

RELIGION?

As a recovering Quaker/Baptist/Unitarianist/Atheistic/Agnostic, I would confess to being an adherent to the teachings of the Dali Lama, such as:

"Our purpose in this life is to help others.  And if you can't help them, at least don't hurt them."

"Be kind whenever possible.  It is always possible."

SOMETHING NOT KIND

It bothers me that some school boards are banning books such as "Maus." Are we living in Nazi Germany or Communist Russia?  All books are important. 

May I pick a few statements from an excellent Opinion Piece by Viet Thanh Nguyen that was carried by yesterday's Sunday New York Times?

"... Books are inseparable from ideas ..."

" ... A book can open doors and show the possibility of new experiences, even new identities and futures."

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