Recently, memories from the past, that I hadn't considered in years, have flashed themselves into my mind. It has been happening so often that I wonder if my days are numbered.
For instance, I suddenly recalled the Sunday drives my Father would take us on (that being I and my two siblings). I then mentioned these recollections in a Speaker's Corner lamenting how no Chinese parent would do such a thing, studying being more important.
As Mid-September passes, it is feeling like Autumn outside. People have taken to wearing jackets. I am holding out a bit and still wearing shorts for my commute to work. (It is my habit to change into my monkey suit when I get to work.)
I was talking, on the phone, to my son Tony who was in his dorm room. I could hear boys screaming, in an annoying and immature manner, near to him. I then heard Tony tell them to STFU and then refer to them as knuckleheads. I wonder where he picked up the second bit of language. Anyway, I was impressed. I hope he is able to stand up for himself. In his Chinese public-school days, he was literally one against forty-three.
My wife Jenny then told me that she had just been told stories of how Tony was picked on, when he was in Chinese Public-School Grades One to Three, that made her cry. Tony was picked on by all apparently, even the teachers. In retrospect, it was to be expected because Tony was and is different, and Because-China. How this bullying has affected Tony is hard to say. He is a bit of a loner. Yet, he doesn't so much seem depressed as content to withdraw into video game playing. There is some strength in him. And yet, it is like father, like son. I was ostracized when I was Tony's age, and didn't have many friends in my junior high and high school days. And find myself in a similar situation in my mid-fifties
Anyway, with Tony in an international school, I hope that this terrible phase of his life -- his Primary School Days in a Chinese Public School -- is over and can be forgotten about while being taken account of as Tony moves forward. I just hope my wife can get over it. She has talked on reeking vengeance on those who picked on Tony those days, including the teachers.
Anyway. Another reason for me to look down on the mainland Chinese.
All the retired teachers who attend my Speaker's Corners have now told me that they are members of the Communist Party. When I mentioned the Chairman Mao 70 percent wrong, 30 percent incorrect statement that the party had proclaimed, they told me that I couldn't talk about Chairman Mao.
On WeChat, I got a message from an American, who I believe lives in the States now, expressing displeasure at Trump's decision to ban the WeChat and TikTok apps in the USA. I told him it was sad, but that it had to happen. China has been doing the GFW thing for a while now, so they really don't have a leg to stand on when trying to say it was unfair. Perhaps, China will try to say it was racist.
Later, the same American sent me a message saying that a court had halted Trump's order to ban WeChat and TikTok. I didn't know the details of the decision, but I did reply that I wish the Chinese had a similar court that would halt the GFW.
Riding the bus to work, I saw that a passenger had brought a live goose on the bus. I took a photo of it and you can see in my photo blog.
I went to a "NBA Style" shop at the Livat Shopping Mall. There was no Houston Rockets merchandise to be found anyway. The selection in the shop was like at the Mall's MLB shop: they only sold the merchandise of the very popular teams. So, no Timberwolves or Thunder stuff to be found.
I did a Speaker's Corners about heroes. The most extraordinary answers, I thought, were given to the question of who they considered heroes: Chairman Mao, Lei Feng, James Bond and Stalin. I didn't say anything in response to first mentioned name; to the second I asked if he was the fellow who was killed by a telephone pole; to the third I supposed that Harry Potter was a hero to her child; and to the last I gave a Latvian perspective on why Stalin wasn't a hero. Another person mentioned was a doctor who was said to have been heroic about the Covid-19 in China. They told me the name and were shocked when I said I hadn't heard of it. I told them that I was following the news about Covid from the West and was finding it hard to believe that any heroism could be coming out of it. It was just as well that I pleaded ignorance because the only doctor in Wuhan who was heroic was said to have been arrested by the authorities who wanted to cover it up.
The October Holiday is approaching. On the street by my apartment, they have put up the five-star PRC flag.
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