Fly 飞翔

Feathered Fidelity

2007-10-12T05:50:00.000-07:00

WARNING~~ long story ahead but something worth reflecting. :)

I hope this message helps remind us to never be quick on giving up on those we love.

It's a sad reality.

All relationships start with love and promise, but all too often we see them weaken, crumble
and finally fail. It's too bad all relationships don't go to the birds.

I know that sounds strange, but read on.

Many years ago, when I was just a young boy, a small yellow bird hit our front door. When
I looked outside, I saw its tiny, unmoving body on our deck. I opened the door to see if it
was just stunned, or worse, dead.

I was kneeling over it when my mom joined me.

“Michael, I think it may be dead. I heard the bang on the glass. It hit pretty hard.”

“Mom, should we bury it?”

“I'm not sure, Michael. When I first looked out I saw another bird land beside it. It looked
like it was trying to pick this one up. I think we should let nature take care of this. Let's put
it on the roof of the car and see what happens.”

We placed the unmoving, little bird on the roof of my dad's car and went back into the house.

From our living room window we watched as the bird's mate flew to its side, carefully grip
the back of the dead bird's neck in its tiny beak, and with a strength only love and devotion
could provide, lifted its mate in the air.

It carried the body from the car, across the street, over the meadow on the other side and
into nearby trees. It flew only a few feet off the ground. Sometimes it would get up to six
feet high and then the weight of its companion would pull it lower again. Its struggle was great,
but the desire not to be parted from its mate was greater.

Thirty-five years later, I stepped out of my home on a warm summer morning. I looked toward
my next door neighbor's -- we lived in attached townhouses -- and noticed a single strand of
a spider's web strung from the bush by the corner of their townhouse to the wheel of one of
their cars. I thought it was strange for a spider to spin such a web, especially just one tiny strand.

I moved closer to investigate. When I reached down to break the web I discovered it wasn't
a web at all. It was a piece of fishing line. I gave it a tug and saw it was tangled in the bushes,
and the other end was knotted under the car.

One of the boys was sitting on the front deck of the house.

I remarked, “Looks like someone booby-trapped your friend's car.”

He came closer to see what I was talking about. I gave the line a tug. It was tightly jammed
under the wheel of the vehicle.

“Strange, it seems to go all the way under,” I said.

I walked to the back of the car and saw a robin. It fluttered to get away, but the line, which
was wrapped around its tiny leg, held it firm. The poor bird flapped around on the pavement with
only a foot of line for it to move.

Slowly I approached and reached to grab it. When my fingers first touched his feathers it
squawked and flapped away from me. I moved faster on the second attempt and managed to
get a grip around his trembling body. It squirmed and twisted its head to snap at me, but I held tight.

The boy came closer for a look, and then went for a knife. When he returned I realized he would
probably break the poor bird's leg when the knife pulled the string tight before cutting it through,
so I sent him for scissors. He came back and we carefully removed the string.

The bird was free, but I held him a little longer, so I could remove one last strand of the line from
his tiny leg. It made a great effort and escaped from my grasp. He flew low across the pavement,
under a row of mailboxes, and up into a tree.

It was free again.

Then I noticed a second robin fly down from a nearby tree and land next to the newly-freed robin.
It had stayed close by, as its mate struggled for freedom, and would not have left until freedom or
death ended their relationship.

The birds I witnessed mated for life and the struggles that come with it. Now don't you wish a lot
more relationships would go to the birds?

I know I do.

By Michael T. Smith

A visit to the Taiwan Theater Museum (Part 1)

2007-10-09T05:49:00.000-07:00

During my childhood, I have been exposed to Chinese opera; and oftentimes it leaves a funny taste in the mouth. Not bad--just funny. :D

Because, for one, the singing voices are different. The tones go up and down, sometimes with a questioning stance, etc., etc., etc.

Another reason is because the faces of the actors are heavily made up. And to a child's eyes, they can look beautiful and mystical at the same time.

The music is different also--so dissonant.

But when we visited the Taiwan Theater Museum in Yilan County, I really learned to appreciate this art.

Taiwanese opera is very much like Peking opera. The vibrant costumes, makeup, and music are there. But the dialect used is Taiwanese.

Taiwan has its own culture and art. Even though the people in Taiwan are Chinese, we must keep in mind that Taiwan is different from China.

And this theater helps emphasize that Taiwan has its own opera worthy of our attention.

Here are pictures of our stay in the Taiwan Thetear Museum.

The Age That I Wish To Go Back To

2007-10-07T05:49:00.000-07:00

I am now ___ years old. Hahahaha...

If you have been paying attention to my ever so narcissistic blog, you would know how old I am this year. :P

Guess...guess...I will give you a clue, go back to my archives and read my birthday meme. :)

I am very contented with my life and how things are running right now.

But if I have a time machine and am given an opportunity to go back in the past, I wish to go back to the time when I was 4 years old and start everything all over again.

Why so very early, you might ask?

Well, when you are 4 years old, the world is still very young. It is the age of innocence. You are just starting school. Everyone is happy, at least from your perspective.

There are some opportunities that I have not handled well. Although I do not regret anything at all. It might be just fun to see how things turn out differently.

If you could change the past, why not?

PS. Age 0 is so way super early. Age 4 is fine. :D

Now, what age would you wish to go back to?
1) Cometh
2) Kailoon
3) Levian
4) Littlepolaris
5) Sideduck

******************Start copy************************
Instructions:
Title: The Age That I Wish To Go Back To
Requirement: Write about the one age that you wish to go back to and why?
Tag Mode: 5 blogger
1st - You leave their blog and post link and add to the list below.
2nd - Let the blogger you want to tag know they been tagged by comment in their blog or etc.

The Age that they Wish to Go Back to:
Amidrin wish to go back to age 22 to correct back some mistakes in life.
Colleen wishes to go back to age 23 to spend more time with mama.
宝茹 wishes to go back to age 4 to start everything all over again.