跟爸爸妈妈一起在网上看了60周年国庆的阅兵式。想起50周年国庆围着宿舍的黑白电视机看阅兵式的时候，相比起来，50周年的阅兵在人员方队上更盛大些，但是今年的战略武器展示要“酷”得多。女兵的方队依然令人惊艳。看到陕西的彩车装饰不仅有兵马俑，也有陕飞和卫星测控中心，历史的辉煌之外今天亦有拿得出手的成绩，令人欣慰。

游行的标语中，以黑体美术字为主。在各省的彩车标题上，则以毛体字为多，还有启功体和任政体的，安徽省的题头看上去大约是郭沫若的题字。我跟父母一个一个地看过去，这些字体，或汪洋恣肆，或行云流水，或秀丽端庄，恍然回到了当年，跟在父亲后头看大本《书法》杂志，练习描红的暑假。那些“手倦抛书午梦长”的夏日，那些天边火烧连云的傍晚，和着故乡溪水淙淙的声音，流过这些年的岁月，一直流到我的梦里来。

邻居小刘在院子里种了些冬瓜。小刘是个庄稼把式，这让我十分意外，在八零后并且读博士的一代人里，是比较少见的。

这冬瓜种下去的是四棵秧子。秧苗只有三四片叶子的时候，小刘很是兴致勃勃地指给我看过。我那时还曾经狐疑了一下：这错过了季节，能长得成么？想不到开蔓之后，很快绿色的叶子就铺满了平整出来的整个园子，金黄色的花在绿叶间耀眼地闪烁。在一个草叶上洒满露水的早晨，妈妈告诉我，“结了两颗瓜了。” 我们拨开绿色的藤蔓，果然，两个尚带着白色绒毛的冬瓜偎依在一起，乖得像两个小孩子。

After blooming, here come the melons!

My neighbour, Little Liu, planted some winter melons in the yard.  Liu was quite an expert in planting in the fields, which came as quite a surprise to me, especially for a guy like him, born in the 1980s, with a PhD degree coming under his belt.

At the beginning, there were four little young shoots.  When there were only three or four leaves on the strains, Liu showed his small squadron to me with great excitement.  I was suspicious: since they had missed the sowing season when first started, would they be able to make it?  My suspicion was alleviated when the vines began to crawl.  It did not take long for the green leaves to cover the soil of the whole yard, and the blooming flowers showing up abundantly every day with golden glows here and there.  On a bright summer morning, when the sun shone over the dews on the grass, my mom told me, "There are two melons already. "  We searched under the vines and leaves, and there they are! Two small melons were growing shoulder by shoulder on the same vine, with white fuzzy down on the surface, like two quiet little kids. 


Golden goblet 金盏


Growing up on the same vine 我们是一条藤上的瓜

2001年8月11日下午5时半，是我第一次踏上美国土地的时候。如今，在光阴的彼岸回望，竟已是八年的时光。

The other side of the ocean -- Eight years in America

On August 11, 2001, around 5:30 PM, I first stepped on American land.  Today, looking back through the intertwined time and space, it has been a transformation spanned for 8 years along the fleeting river of time and across the other side of the ocean around the ever-spinning globe.

To be continued ...

扶桑花开

几天前的傍晚，出门去跑步。小区有人家门口种了扶桑，花开的正好。几株扶桑，颜色各个不同，看来主人是颇花了些心思的。小蚂蚁们很高兴，忙忙碌碌地在花心里跑来跑去。



去河滨公园玩，瀑布墙下有一只小小的蔷薇在波光粼粼的水里打着转儿。

小任同学不日将离开孟菲斯，踏上去新泽西的求学之旅。今天一行人去亚洲园吃饭。吃过饭后，大家就很多焦点问题，广泛地交换了意见。席间讨论的议题包括未来的科技经济增长点问题，空间技术和气象技术，清洁能源，癌症的治疗手段，stem cell research，器官克隆，以及同性恋婚姻，并且对于在新的技术条件下人类社会形态将面临的新的挑战，进行了热切的展望和深刻的思考。

上网看到关于日全食的讨论。看到刘福玲同学拍的照片，([URL]: http://lfuling.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!D493BBA5794C13D7!342.entry)，十分壮丽，让我好生羡慕。想象如果今天是在合肥的话，就会有机会看到这个百年难遇的日全食了。天时不如地利，古之人诚不吾欺也。

周末计划去密西西比河滨公园玩。吃过早饭的时候发现手机里有一则留言，老乡说他们去米粒屯的桃园里摘桃子。我们于是驱车前往。天气非常好，蓝天白云，绿树浓荫。到了果园，桃树上果子结得十分茂盛，树下且有许多熟透的落果。现在正是水蜜桃的季节，树熟的桃子饱满多汁，吃起来十分香甜。

Jone's peach orchard in Millington

从桃园返回的路上，有大片的棉花田。棉株正开花，粉红粉黄的花朵不时在绿叶间闪现。有些田里种着豆子，翠绿的叶蔓蓬勃地生长。

Mud Island river park

After dinner, mom told me she wrote an English article, and asked me to check if there were any grammatical errors.  I picked up the piece of paper from her and read:
----------------
My family

There are six people in my family. They are my two daughther(s), my two son(s), Old Li and myself. Where are they? They are: my older daughter (is) in China, my younger daughter (is) in America; my older son (is) in Baoji, China, and my younger son (is) in Beijing, China.
----------------

My mom began learning English at the end of this April, literally starting from ABC, now she can write an article! I was so impressed. Great job, mom!

吃过晚饭，妈妈跟我说她今天写了一篇英文作文，让我看看有没有语法问题。我接过她递过来的纸，读了她写的英文作文。我很是惊诧：文章很短，但是结构很清晰，交待得很清楚。最近学到的There be句型，特殊疑问句试，反身代词，都用上了，而且都很合适。除了单复数问题，以及缺少be动词以外，整个文章清清楚楚。妈妈真牛!

今天跟父母去越南店买菜，发现里面有小龙虾卖。这些小龙虾们挤挤挨挨地堆着，十分活跃。有一只从筐里爬了出来，穿过了半个店铺，在地板上做起了体操。

伸展运动：预备—— 起


“I believe I can fly”

Three weeks in America

My parents arrived in Memphis on April 21.  It has been exactly three weeks.

爸爸妈妈４月２１号晚上到达美国，到今天整整三个星期。

爸爸妈妈收到的第一封英文信 This is the first English letter for my parents. 


爸爸妈妈在学英文，这是妈妈写的家庭作业。教英文的老师是一对会讲中文的美国夫妇，他们夸父母进步很快。
Father and mother are learning English now.  In their generation, they learned Russian in middle school, but no English education.  The English teachers are an American couple who can speak Chinese.  The teachers told me that my parents were making good progress.


母亲节的玫瑰。Rose bouquet for Mother's day

母亲节的时候爸爸买了一束玫瑰给妈妈，于是爸爸和我被狠狠地批评了一顿。后来有次我想给花换水时，不小心掉了片叶子，妈妈责备我：“这么不小心。”　其实叶子我本来是想扯掉的，想不到她竟这样珍惜。我想，虽然贬我已经成为她生活习惯的一部分，其实她对于这束玫瑰，内心还是有着小小的欢喜吧。后来，换水和剪枝的事情就是妈妈一手包办了。
On Mother's day, daddy bought a bunch of roses for mom, (and mom became angry, so my father and I had suffered/enjoyed a good criticism from her. ) Later, when I was changing the water for the bouquet, a leave fell down, my mom saw it and warned me: "Be careful. "  Actually I was about to get rid of some leaves, I did not expect that she cherished the flower so much.  I realized, although she had developed the long term habit of criticizing whatever I did for her, she was indeed happy about it in her heart.  Since then, changing water for the rose and trimming had become a daily routine for my mom.

妈妈说更喜欢盆花，因为盆花给呵护的人一份成长的喜悦和希望。我于是买了一盆小小的扶郎花给她。花是很艳的红色，叶子也是很绿的翠色。妈妈拿了花，仔细端详了一番，揪了揪叶子，说：“颜色真好，跟假花似的。”
Mother said she likes flowers in pot more than bouquets, as the growth of the plant brings happiness and hope for the caregiver.  Therefore, I bought a small pot of African daisy for her.  It was a scarlet color, and the leaves were fresh and green.  Mom examined the flower carefully, checked it out closely, touched the leaves here and there, commented: "Nice color, almost like fake. " :-)


我过上了吃羊肉泡馍的幸福生活。　这一碗是改良版，鸡肉泡馍。诊所的一个护士见到了我的父母，他就问我，＂你父母来，你是不是要给他们做饭？＂我回答他，＂他们做饭比我好多了，所以是他们给我做饭。＂对此文化冲击，国际友人眼中露出了十分友邦惊诧的表情。
Daddy and mommy are good cook, now I do not need to cook a single meal, but can enjoy fantastic food everyday.  A nurse in the clinic had met my parents, so he asked me, "Since your parents are here, do you cook for them? " I replied, "Although I am a good cook, my parents are much better. They actually cook for me. " What a culture shock to him. I can easily read the amazement in his eyes.

办公室的室友带来了糖果饼干让我和父母分享。糖果上面有俄文的标签。她还专门强调：“这些是给你父母的，不是给你一个人的。”嘻嘻
My officemate gave me some candies and cookies to share with my parents. There are Russian letters on the candies.  She emphasized, "These are for your parents, not just you. " I winked to her and smiled.

办公室的室友送我的圣诞礼物：一盒袋泡茶

我的玫瑰花茶喝完了，今天打开袋泡茶来喝。打开来是这样的。

室友带来饼干和糖果。

这个小鞋子也是室友送的圣诞礼物，是一满鞋子的巧克力。巧克力被我吃完了，现在装了酸梅糖。

人在旅途之出租车司机

出租车司机是城市里颇有意思的一类人。熟稔的出租车司机象熟悉自己的手掌一样熟悉城市的大街小巷。整日里在这些大街小巷穿行，对城市的掌故也颇为熟悉。健谈的出租车司机总会给旅途增加些乐趣。东半球的北京“的哥”如是，西半球的拉斯韦加斯“的哥”亦如是。

星期五去拉斯韦加斯出差。到达机场的时候是当地时间晚上八点半。浸润在霓虹间的拉斯韦加斯的夜晚有着白日里没有的流光溢彩的风情。坐出租车去开会的酒店。车前方的挡板上是出租车司机的执照，开车的司机叫铃木 (Suzuki)，看上去至少有六七十岁了。一路聊天，我问他是否日本人，他说他自己生在拉斯韦加斯，一直在这个城市生活，所以应该是“美国化”了的。父母是早年的日本移民。在他出生之前，他的父母曾辗转在夏威夷和德克萨斯的制糖厂做工。他的英文已经完全没有日文的痕迹。我问他是否会讲日文，他说父母还健在的时候在家里是讲日文的，后来父母去世，他的日文就渐渐地丢下，现在还能听一些，但是已经不能讲了。我问他有没有别的家人，他说并没有成家，这些年就是一个人在拉斯韦加斯生活。对于日本，他从来没有去过，日本在他的思维里也没有留下太多的痕迹。只是车座上放着吃了一半的日本团子，有着小巧精致的日本风格。也许是我自己的想象，我似乎觉得这些年在文化的夹缝里生活的他，单纯的语气里有着些许寂寥的痕迹。

返程从酒店去机场，是一个大胡子的白人的哥。他说在拉斯韦加斯生活了十七年，开了十六年的出租车。到拉斯韦加斯的第一年，在酒店里做事。后来开上了出租车，觉得更好些。“我不是一个乐于在室内生活的人”，他这样说自己。我问他来韦加斯之前做些什么，他说在芝加哥做警察。先是在警校接受训练，之后自己成为教练，一级一级训练下来。然后做警官，之后作侦探，作人质谈判员，在弗吉尼亚接受FBI特训之后作profiler。我问他profiler做些什么，他解释说就是根据各方提供的案情线索提炼嫌疑犯的信息，有时也参与抓捕。在警察这一行干了二十二年退休之后，就来了拉斯韦加斯。他举例子跟我说曾经抓捕过一个吸毒的，案情的分析，这个人有一段时间每日的现金净出大约有六千美元，这种不正常的消费行为，一般来说都是跟吸毒挂钩的。因为很少有正常的职业收入能够维持这样大的现金开销，所以很多吸毒的人因为入不敷出，为了维持吸毒的生活方式，犯罪行为就与之伴生。

到了机场，他帮我把行李从后箱取出来。我随身携带着为了开会作的海报，卷起来装在一个大纸筒里，他拿着纸筒开玩笑："Fly-fisher?" 我老老实实地回答不过是个海报。

On the road (1): Taxi drivers

Taxi drivers are an interesting group of people in the city.  A veteran taxi driver knows the road like the lines on his own hand.  Cruising among the streets and alleys in the city, they know almost all the anecdotes inside and around the city.  A talkative taxi driver can add quite some amusement for the road trip. (Has there ever been a non-talkative taxi driver? ) This theorem applies not only to the taxi drivers in Beijing on the east globe, it also applied perfectly with the taxi drivers in Las Vegas on the west globe.

I went to Las Vegas for a business trip last Friday.  When I arrived at the airport, it was around 9PM local time.  The Las Vegas at night in the ocean of neon lights can be more lively and sparkling than during the day. I headed to the hotel in a taxi.  There on the dashboard laid out the license of the taxi driver. His name is Suzuki.  In my eyes, he seemed to be in his sixties, or maybe seventies.  We began to talk on the way to the hotel.  I asked if he was a Japanese, he told me he was born in Vegas, and he grew up and lived here ever since, so he called himself "Americanized".  However, more precisely in a legal definition, he is an American by birth.  His parents were those had migrated into American in the early years. Before he was born, they were working in the sugar plants in Hawaii, and in Texas.  His spoken English showed no vestige of Japanese at all.  I asked him if he can speak Japanese, he said he was able to.  When he lived with his parents, they spoke Japanese in the family.  After his parents died, his Japanese also faded away.  Now he could listen a little bit, but could not speak the language at all.  I asked if he had family in Vegas, he said he did not get married, and was by himself all the years in Vegas.  As for Japan, he had never been there.  Japan, or Japanese, did not leave too much trace in his mind. Only the half opened snack rice cake on his car seat, exuded a sense of Japanese in a delicate style. It might be only in my imagination, but from the way he talked, living at the cleft between two cultures, his tone of speaking illuminated a great deal of naivete while tainted with occasional lonesomeness.

On the way back to airport, this time the taxi driver was a Caucasian with a big salt and pepper mustache. He had been living in Las Vegas for seventeen years, and had been a taxi driver here for sixteen year.  His first year in Vegas was in hotel management.  Later he figured out he liked driving taxi better.  "I am not an insider. " He summarized about himself.  I asked what he had been doing before he came to Vegas. He told me he had been working in Chicago police department.  He was trained at the policy academy, then became a trainer at the academy, after several different levels up the training and certification ladder, he became an officer, a detective, a hostage negotiator, later on a profiler at FBI after special training in Virginia. I was curious what a profiler did, he explained to me, it was a position to analyze all the leads to get the basic information of the suspect, to get the profile; sometimes he also participated in the arresting process.  He retired and came to Las Vegas after 22 years being in the police department.  He told me that he had arrested a young drugger once.  From the information gathered, this young man spent approximately six thousand dollars daily for some time.  Druggers were generally not hard to identify through profiling, as they would demand an abnormally high cash flow for their drug needs, which could not be met by any ordinary everyday job, therefore criminal activities to obtain cash for their drug needs entailed.

After arriving at the airport, he took out the luggage from the trunk for me.  I was carrying a poster for the conference, rolled in a long tube.  He joked with the tube in his arms, "Fly-fisher? " I was so squarely honest that I plainly told him it was only a poster. 

人在旅途之飞蝇垂钓

在洛杉矶转机，下飞机，等在门口的工作人员笑嘻嘻地问，"Fly-fisher?" 这次我到底培养了一点幽默感，于是笑嘻嘻地跟他说，“嗯，你答对了。”结果他居然笑嘻嘻地抱怨上了，“不想回答我的问题，就这么敷衍我哪。”遂大笑。

On the road (II): Fly-fisher

I needed to make a transfer at the Los Angeles airport.  Getting off the air plane with the tube on my shoulder, I was greeted by the security officer at the gate, with a big smile on his face, "Fly-fisher? " After the previous round of reinforcement learning, I finally developed some sense of humor.  I smiled back, "Yes, you are exactly right. " He began to complain, "That is a good answer to avoid my further questioning. "  The smiles we exchanged evolved into a good laugh. 

人在旅途之方寸间的环球人生

在洛杉矶机场等下一班飞机，中间要等三个小时的时间，于是打算打开电脑，把旅途中的见闻写下来。去找电源插座，找了一圈看见了几个从没见过的插座样式：类似电机电刷，换向器的样子，完全用不上。后来终于在兑换外汇的亭子间外面找到一个兼容的电源，把笔记本插上开始打字。

坐在外汇兑换处附近，于是就看见了些有趣的情景，听到一些环球范围的对话。一对中年男女来到柜台，头发修饰地一丝不乱。男人说，他有些澳大利亚元需要换成日元，同时要把一些泰铢换成斐济货币。他说着一口轻松流利的美式英语，寥寥几句，我的好奇心就狠狠地被勾勒起来。他们换了钱，在我漫溢好奇的目光里离开了。

又一趟飞机到了，这次来到柜台的是个瘦高个子的金发小伙子，扎个一个马尾巴，他说要把一些新西兰元兑换成美元，问了价钱之后，似乎觉得汇率太低，又问了一回如果买进是什么价钱。

再来的是一个矮个子的小伙子，穿夏威夷式的花衬衫，及膝的亚麻短裤，旅游鞋。他说要用澳大利亚元买些美元。我在机场坐了这一会，虽然穿着西装，已经觉得冷。于是看着这个小伙子的装束，畅想布里斯班的阳光海岸。

外汇兑换处的姑娘大脸盘，大眼睛，面部的轮廓却很柔和。机场的保安没有事干的时候，就靠着柜台跟她聊天。他们很快地说着西班牙语，时而也蹦出英文的单字来，带着西班牙文的跳跃和棱角。

On the road (III): Around the globe within a few square feet

Waiting for the transfer flight at Los Angeles airport, there was a three hour interval.  I intended to write about the trip on my laptop.  I went around to look for the power outlet, and found several below the pay phone. Curiously enough, the physical layout of the power outlet was one I never saw before: it looked like the brush in an electrical motor, with three intermittent arcs around a circle, it could not be used to hook up my laptop at all.  Finally, I found one "real" power outlet outside the booth for foreign exchange, I happily plugged in my laptop and started typing. 

Sitting within a few feet from the foreign exchange, I got a chance to see some interesting scenes and heard some dialogues within the range of, well, around the globe.  One middle aged couple came to the counter. Their hair were both finely trimmed and tidily combed. The gentleman said he would like to exchange some Japanese Yen from Australia dollar, and would also purchase some Fiji dollar with Thailand money.  He was talking with a fluent American English. Those two sentences later, my curiosity was totally aroused.  They exchanged for what they want, and left without noticing my following them with two eyes over-brimmed with curiosity.

Another flight arrived.  A tall and thin blond young man came to the counter, with his pony tail.  He was purchasing some American dollar with New Zealand dollar.  After asking for the prices, it seemed he was not satisfied by the offer he got.  He inquired again about the selling price, hesitated a little bit, eventually bought the money as he had planned and left.

Next came a short young man, with Hawaiian style shirt, knee length shorts, and Nike shoes.  He said he would like some dollars with Australian money.  I had been sitting at the airport for a while, even with my suit on, I still began to feel cold.  I admired the attire of the young man, while coaxing myself into visualizing the golden sunshine on the Brisbane beach.

The lady working at the foreign exchange had a round face of a Latin America, big dark eyes, with vivid lines around the corners of the eyes and the mouth, and a mellifluous contour of the face.  The security officers, when they had nothing to do, would lean against the counter, and talked to her.  They was speaking rapidly in Spanish, with occasional catapults of English words here and there. The English words, with their ambient Spanish, glowed the jumpy edge of a Spanish tone.

In the air (I) a FedEx cargo plane is flying with us

In the air (II) Memphis in a birdview

Touchdown at Memphis airport

Snapshots of spring


红妆 scarlet azalea


素颜 white dogwood


众芳暄颜 Tulip and pansy celebrate spring together.


独酌春绿 An Easter egg enjoys fresh green of spring alone. (My officemate gave me a nicely painted Easter egg. )

Different mentality, different life

Reading the biography of Leonardo Da Vinci, fantasies conjured up in my mind: how wonderful it would be to become a man like Da Vinci. He was energetic, he was a genius, and he had established himself in the exploration of nature, of science, of engineering, of design, of human anatomy, of psychology, of art, of innovation. Everything he did, everything he touched, shone brilliant light along the running river of history.  Even for something he merely played with out of simple curiosity, it still showed itself in a self-contained and elevated fashion.

Listening to a seminar from the boss, he mentioned about reading a biography of the Medici family at the airport during a business trip. Provided the wealth and appreciative taste for art and science of the Medici family, those geniuses could have commission opportunities to create such a brilliant piece of history. In such a time and space, those geniuses gathered together in Florence, and brought cognition of nature and science of human kind to a higher level, thus opened the door for the Renaissance in Europe, and ploughed the soil for thriving of new civilization.

Indeed, the big three in the history of Renaissance, their teachers, their peers, their pupils, a majority had been commissioned by the Medici family, and had been provided an opportunity to shine their own light under the support from the Medici's.

We can probably catch a glimpse of the way one thinks from the book he or she has read. For me, technicality is the first thing in my mind. To me, the ideal in life would be to be a visible hand, to create values in the process of creating tangible results, to have a role to play on the front theatre stage called life; for the boss, his mentality is to be an invisible hand, to create a soft environment for creation, to be a stage designer and director behind the theatre stage called life.

Technicalities or skills, those are important, but small things. To work on tangible things to provide food for oneself, is good; to work on intangibles and enable others to provide food, is greatness.

This maybe a narrow perspective to peep into the differences of the education systems of China and America. American education is more geared toward fostering social abilities, self identity, and leadership skills. With those goals in mind, more emphasis is placed on individualism and uniqueness, on personal selectiveness, do what you love; Chinese education is more geared toward acquisition of technical skills and knowledges, more emphasis is placed on technical capabilities, collective identity, and skills to be a good follower. The self identity is more or less weakened, in this way, these way of thinking are promoted, like being a best shining screw nail in the big machinery, and to love what you do.

Whichever is better, whichever is worse, there are many factors to be taken into consideration: time, place, and especially, the people within the framework of the time and place, it is hard to make a judgment for one time and from merely one aspect. However, it is the sharing of ideas that can open our eyes to different roads, to enable us to enjoy more richness in life.  The roads can be converging, the roads can be diverting, if we have been walking, thinking, experiencing the growing pain and happiness along the way, although we might regret never taking another road that diverts, at least we are not shameful, because we never shut ourselves off other possibilities.

人生境界之高下立判篇

读达芬奇传记，我于是在脑子里树立新的人生幻想：如果能成为达芬奇这样的人，该是多么精彩的人生。此人精力充沛，天赋异秉，于自然科学工程设计人体解剖心理探索艺术创新，皆有大成，放异彩。即使从玩票出发纯出于好奇的探索，也是自成体系自成高格。

听老板讲座，言及他出差时在机场读得美第奇家族传记，由于美第奇家族的财力和鉴赏能力，使得这个家族能够在历史的一个时期里为诸多天才提供工作机会，使得这些天才们在互动交流中将人类对自然和艺术的认识提升到一个新的高度，从而开启了欧洲文艺复兴的大门，对世界文明的新发展起到了极大的开拓作用。

确实，文艺复兴三杰，他们的师长同侪门生，很多都曾受雇于美第奇家族，并在美第奇家族的支持下获得大放异彩的机会。

从一个人所读的书里，大约可以看见其思维的出发点。崇尚技术挂帅的我，人生的至大理想是做一只看得见的手，渴望在实体创造中实现价值，在人生的剧目中成为有个角色的演员；老板的人生境界，则是做一只看不见的手，在软环境的创造中实现价值，在人生的剧目里做无角色的舞台设计或者导演。

技者艺者，皆小术也。劳力者食人，劳心者食于人，然也。

管中窥豹，或许这也是中美中小学教育体制的差别？美国似乎更侧重于社交能力，自我识别能力，领导能力的培养，强调个体的独立和独一无二，强调个体的主动选择，爱一行则干一行，中国则似乎更侧重于技术能力和知识获取的培养，强调集体认同能力，弱化自我识别，强调做一颗闪光的螺丝钉，干一行则爱一行。

孰优孰劣，亦赖天时地利人和，非一时一事可以定论。然思维的互通有无，确可以让我们窥见别样的路，走过更丰沛的人生。也许殊途同归，也许大相径庭，经历过，思考过，苦过乐过，或可悔，终无愧。

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当妈使人进步

I went to a colleague’s house during the weekend.  After dinner, a bunch of us gathered around the kitchen table, discussing the big and small things in life. The chit chat eventually went to the rail of education in the changing world and the always updating society. I sat there listening, and nodded to myself, “Yes, yes, if my parents have treated me so and so when I grew up, I could have been such and such.” All the colleagues around me were earnestly discussing how to treat the children appropriately if they want to be such and such when they grow up.

In a dependent, child-like thinking, if I can not achieve anything in myself, I blamed anyone else for having created those things around me, even blamed my parents for not creating me in the way I want, I grieve over the past, and the present becomes the past instantly. In an independent, adult way of thinking, if there is something one can not achieve, he will identify oneself, assess the current situation and observe the environment, to help the children grow while growing together with the children. To pave the road for the future, one would not grieve, he thinks through thoroughly when planning, while performs cautions when implementing.

秋色连波同学has said,  “It is a growing process being a mom (a parent)”. There is so much truth in it.  

周末去同事家吃饭，饭后一干人等坐而论道，大谈在新的革命形势新的世界变迁之下的教育问题，我如听天籁，频频点头，幻想着如果当年我父母如果能够如此如此，我现在岂不是能够这般这般；同事聚在一起认真讨论，如果子女想要将来做到这般这般，我们现在应该考虑怎样做到如此如此。

依赖性的幼儿思维，自己做不到则怨天怨地怨社会，实在怨无可怨还可以怨父母，为逝去的时光嗟怨不已；独立性的成人思维，自己做不到则察今察己察社会，在与子女共同成长中不断充实自己，为成全未来的路大胆探索小心求证。

秋色连波同学说，“当妈使人进步”，深以为然。

Into the same river, twice

Yesterday, I planned to go to Costco.  Around noon, Little Gu asked me if I could go shopping with Little Liang, I okayed her suggestion. Therefore, I went shopping to Costco with Liang.  During checkout, the cashier was a young man with large ear rings (literally ear rings, as the rings were embedded in his earlobe), we talked about the weather,  he wished me a good evening, and I checked out.

There was a performance at Bellevue Church at 2 in the afternoon, and I was about to see the show with Lea.  When I arrived in Costco, it was well after 1, so I hurriedly got out without too much shopping, thinking that I could come again with Lea after the show.  The performance was splendid, and I enjoyed the vocalists very much.  After the performance was over, it was around 4pm, and I went to Costco with Lea, AGAIN.

After going into Costco, I went to the fountain to quench my thirsty.  Curiously enough, I saw the young man with ear rings coming towards me, when he saw me, his eyes widened: "Are you still here?"

"Yes, " I replied, "and again. "  On this Saturday afternoon, I had stepped into the same river, twice.

二进宫

昨天是周末，我打算去Costco。 约摸中午时分，小顾问我能不能跟小梁一起去逛街，我说没问题。于是跟小梁一起去了Costco。结账的时候，收银的是一个戴着大耳环的年轻人（大耳环是非常写实的描述，他的耳环很大，嵌在耳垂里面），我们讨论了一下天气，他客气地说再见，我就结账出去了。

周六下午两点在Bellevue Church有一场表演，我计划了跟Lea去看的。当我到Costco的时候，已经1点过了不少，因为心急，很快就出来了，想着从教堂出来跟Lea一起再去一趟Costco就是了。表演很精彩，演唱的各个好嗓子，我听得心旷神怡。从教堂出来，大约四点钟的样子，我又跟Lea去了Costco，对，是又一次。

进得Costco，觉得口渴去喝水。好玩的是，那个戴耳环的年轻人朝着我这里走过来了。他看见我，瞪大了眼睛：“你还在这里啊？”

“对，”我回答，“我又来了。” 在这个星期六的下午，我真是好好地演了一出“二进宫”。

周末出去买东西，自然少不了去人民群众喜闻乐见的TJ Maxx淘宝。在卖杯碟瓷器的地方，一眼看中了一个骨瓷杯子，激动地去结账，没有看见杯子上的价格标签，就用收银员价格几何，收银员奔出去一圈，回来告诉我，这个杯子是跟下面托的小碟子一起卖的，价格标签在碟子上；然而，如果找不到碟子，是不卖的。我疑惑了一下，把手里能结帐的东西结了账，返回头去找碟子。找呀找，没有头绪，倒是在另外的地方看见了一个白色的茶壶，壶口有一圈细栏雕花，于是又激动了。在家居部转呀转，转了不知道多少圈之后，终于找到一个工作人员，她带着我，在一溜白色瓷杯里找，然后，火眼金睛地，从一个白瓷杯子屁股底下把这个托碟翻了出来。我由衷地对她说：“You are amazing. (你真厉害。)” 一看价钱，我更高兴了，骨瓷的杯子碟子，盛惠两刀。TJ Maxx 这么让人民群众喜闻乐见，果然是有道理的。

一回到家，来不及收拾东西，先洗了杯子烧水泡上菊花茶。晚上用新买的杯子喝了一壶菊花茶，觉得自己小资的人生追求又迈进了一步。(画外音：晚上用新买的两块钱的杯子，喝了一壶用价值七块钱的茶壶泡的，一袋价值不足一块钱的菊花茶，觉得自己小资的人生追求又迈进了多快好省的一步。)