"All around us are survivors who have endured the most extraordinary" wonderful essay Linh.
My dad was a combat veteran WWII, a pilot who took part in 89 missions. He told us: Always treat people with respect, because you don't know what they've been through. As a visiting nurse i encountered Philipinos who had survived Japanese prisons, Russians who described how they kept the dead bodies of their relatives in their beds so they could continue to get their rations during the siege of Leningrad, a Cambodian woman who quietly related her attempted escape with a large group of friends and family - they were caught and the men forced to dig their own grave as their women and children watched and then were taken to a camp. Her three sons died of starvation. Yes, people have endured the most extraordinary and it is a most humbling experience to be witness to their stories.
Thanks to you for this wise comment, and to Mr. Dinh for another interesting essay, with wonderful photographs. Every day in every way we should stop to realize how little we know about others -- and even about our own mysterious hearts and minds. Thank you again.
Just was reading about how the UK has hired a bunch of women to police on line behavior including private messages to make sure people are safe. The same people who want to take kids away from parents and butcher them want the kids to be spared mean words.
Anyway, one of the more eye opening aspects of spending time in developing countries is coming across people who have real problems and seeing how they deal with them far more resolutely and with a greater sense of humor than people in the West with so many of their invented problems
Wow. And I'm here complaining about a mere back pain and an increasingly uncertain future. Phuong's story is amazing. But then, everyone's is if you look deep enough. Except maybe mine.
Phuong being told "I've done all I can; now it is up to fate" reminds me of something I believe but with which few people have agreed when I have mentioned it. I truly think that whatever happens to a person, nothing else could have ever happened - whether for good or ill. The Jewjab killed AT LEAST one person I knew - he was a father of five, 49 yrs old and fit enough to participate in marathons. But a Jewjab in the late winter of '21 meant a stroke in the summer, and he was dead before the year ended. Why was that his fate? I do not know. I DO know many others could tell similar tales of woe. It is a strange time.
"All around us are survivors who have endured the most extraordinary" wonderful essay Linh.
My dad was a combat veteran WWII, a pilot who took part in 89 missions. He told us: Always treat people with respect, because you don't know what they've been through. As a visiting nurse i encountered Philipinos who had survived Japanese prisons, Russians who described how they kept the dead bodies of their relatives in their beds so they could continue to get their rations during the siege of Leningrad, a Cambodian woman who quietly related her attempted escape with a large group of friends and family - they were caught and the men forced to dig their own grave as their women and children watched and then were taken to a camp. Her three sons died of starvation. Yes, people have endured the most extraordinary and it is a most humbling experience to be witness to their stories.
Thanks to you for this wise comment, and to Mr. Dinh for another interesting essay, with wonderful photographs. Every day in every way we should stop to realize how little we know about others -- and even about our own mysterious hearts and minds. Thank you again.
Just was reading about how the UK has hired a bunch of women to police on line behavior including private messages to make sure people are safe. The same people who want to take kids away from parents and butcher them want the kids to be spared mean words.
Anyway, one of the more eye opening aspects of spending time in developing countries is coming across people who have real problems and seeing how they deal with them far more resolutely and with a greater sense of humor than people in the West with so many of their invented problems
Wow. And I'm here complaining about a mere back pain and an increasingly uncertain future. Phuong's story is amazing. But then, everyone's is if you look deep enough. Except maybe mine.
Our future is a valid point for complaint.I`ll take your "uncertain" and raise it to "horrible",hope I lose,but.
Phuong being told "I've done all I can; now it is up to fate" reminds me of something I believe but with which few people have agreed when I have mentioned it. I truly think that whatever happens to a person, nothing else could have ever happened - whether for good or ill. The Jewjab killed AT LEAST one person I knew - he was a father of five, 49 yrs old and fit enough to participate in marathons. But a Jewjab in the late winter of '21 meant a stroke in the summer, and he was dead before the year ended. Why was that his fate? I do not know. I DO know many others could tell similar tales of woe. It is a strange time.
Very nice and evocative pic of you lazing on that outdoor bed. "Enjoy the moment" indeed! Did a friend take that photo for you?
Hi JX Tan,
I had my camera set at 10 seconds. It took quite a few shots to get that right.
Linh
I[m curious. What were the people doing who were standing on the green patch? Hope you continue to heal. Blessings, P
Hi Peggy,
They were exercising together, but it wasn't tai chi. I caught them pausing like that to breathe deeply, I'm pretty sure.
Linh
another instructive article from the far east