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THE SPRING OF 2002 IN THE FAR EAST
Can it be possible? The entire coming and going has turned into leaving and returning. 2001-2002. I
have thought about the magnitude of the year 2001 and will not attempt to reflect on the global history this year has brought.
Instead, I will reflect on the minute details of my singular adventures. The little things I remember.
The big things of 2001-2002 I still grapple with AND well they are too big! Maybe one day I will be able
to wrap my mind around it. But for now,
I remember:
Reuniting with Buddha after a trip to the mainland. OH! what a joy for me. She endured until I returned.
She is like "Wilson" (you know the "personified soccer ball" in the movie Castaway starring Tom Hanks).
Had she drifted out to sea, I would have cried out in anguish, having lost my only connection to sanity in foreign lands. She
is my only compainion sometimes for weeks. Oh yes the return to Asia and Buddha that was number 1 on the list.
I remember leaving home...again!!! That was bitter-sweet. Does it ever get easier? I flew out on United
Air September 7th. Four days later the entire world became a different place. No, it never get's easier.
Home is where the heart is. I think some of us are born with spirits not unlike gypsies or native Indians who roam the
plains, we die without that freedom. We are torn apart if our love for the world is restricted to one corner.
IN THE BEGINNING- 2001
A weekly log page includes entries in reverse chronological order. I might move my
daily log page entries to a weekly page to archive them, or I might just write new entries on this page as the week goes on
and then add a new page for each new week (remembering to update my "most recent posting" link on the home page whenever I
do, of course).
I might not include an entry for every day - it depends on what occurs to me!
FRIDAY, APRIL 13 2001
It is Friday the 13th here in beautiful downtown Asia! It is a day that the superstitious
among us take care. Then there are the rest of us who don't pay too much heed to such things. AND then there are those who
think "hmnnn...it is little matter what I believe", when it comes to such things as superstitious beliefs. (I would belong
to the latter group). I opened no umbrellas inside, crossed under no ladders, and spilled salt over my left shoulder for today
at least. I have not broken any mirrors in seven years! This is a good year for me!
I did move into a Japanese style
abode in China during August of 1998. I have not forgotten it. August is considered the "Month of the Ghosts". The superstition
says that this is a very bad time to be making housing moves, among other things. Everything that could go wrong, went wrong.
The back of the building eventually blew up due to a gas leak in my hot water heater. That was right after the earthquake.
(My first!) Call it coincidence but these days I am real low key during the Month of the Ghosts. I barely move myself. I can't
tell you the last time I felt the Earth move. In India, I think, but that is another story.
My father was born on
a Friday the 13th. I always think of him as such an incredibly lucky man. What a life he had! Whenever the 13th falls on a
Friday, I always think more about him. I feel like he is a lot closer to me on these days, a lot nearer. I feel like whatever
happens on those days, that I have a guardian shielding me from my ignorance of all "that could occur" while I continue my
fumbling and rumblings about in the world.
There has been a tremendous amount of tension blowing down from the Siberian
front and the plains of China. The flight out of the 24 American crewmembers of the surveillance plane was a breath of fresh
air for many American ex-pats in the region. It is so easy for human beings to be discounted and to become merely symbols.
It could be a mistake to think foreign travelers carry no responsibility for what they may represent to others. Standing tall
in hostile winds as they blow furious and hard is a another travelers task. It is part of a price to be paid, when venturing
out into the unknown.
All in all this week has been a good one. At the end of it all a smile, of the Mona Lisa kind,
passes over my gaze for a time as I reflect on the gut wrenching intensity and the wondrous relief at knowing, I remain free,
alive, and eternally curious like my cat. She sits now looking out the window, a half moon is shining in the distance behind
her. She looks at me as if to say "I am dreaming of butterfly's". Butterfly's are symbols of good fortune in China and should
never be chased away. Butterfly's are meant to be free, I think.
MONDAY APRIL 2, 2001
The grand opening of the new airport in Seoul took place this past week. International flights
will now be leaving from Inchon. Kimpo is no longer the route out. I will be leaving from Inchon in a couple of months to
return to the US.
In the meantime, I must make arrangements for my "pet travel". The cargo carrier is Asiana Airlines
for Northwest Airlines. The arrangements must be made directly with Asiana. I have been told that no LIVE shipments are being
made out of Seoul until after April 15th. (now that's a scary thought...does that mean...well what does that mean?)
Is
this a ploy to keep me here? Oh woe is me! How could I leave my best friend behind? The one who has shared my life for all
these times? The one who speaks purrfect English. The one who has listened to my every word fixedly, with the greatest of
interest, and who has never failed to meet me at the door to ask "How was it today?" The creature who has shared my laughter,
my tears, my bathroom and my meals?
HECK NO! WE WON'T GO! HECK NO! WE WON'T GO!
Do you ever wonder what happened
to the good old days of non-violent, non-participation? Shall I don my cat-gurl suit in silent protest in support of all "pet-people
owners" (PPO) everywhere? While chained irrevocably to the main cargo gate with my scotish plaid tartan deluxe pet carrier,
shall I merely purr and hiss my message in support of our most beloved of all companions, the PPO's?
LET MY PPO GO!
LET MY PPO GO! LET MY PPO GO!
Hey! It could happen!
This is mysterious exotic chaotic Asia after all.
 
SUNDAY APRIL 1, 2001
As I create my entries for each day, I'll also include pictures and other Web Gems to illustrate
my points and to make the entries more fun to read.
PHONE HOME~HELLO? PHONE HOME~PHONE HOME~PHONE ....
Here's
a picture taken on a recent trip.
Dr. Who where are you?
(There really are red telephone booths across the pond!)
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