If animals ate junk food ~~~

今年第一條蛇已經報到了。晚上回家時，大門前有一條龜殼花，六十公分、瘦瘦的。用竹竿推開時，鑰匙環上的手電筒突然暗了，所以不確定去哪。大概很冷吧，十四度而已，可能回家睡覺去了。The first snake of the year has arrived. When we came home, there was a thin little viper by the front door, about 60 cm long. Just as I pushed it away with a bamboo pole, the flashlight on my keychain failed, so I don’t know where it went. Probably back to bed, because it was pretty cool for a reptile: 14C.

In the preceding post, I mentioned that we enjoyed immensely a performance of the Songs of the Wanderers by Cloud Gate Dance Theater with the Ensemble Rustavi of Georgia. The Rustavi sang superbly, a perfect complement to the dance. But what on earth were the songs about? I have a sneaking suspicion that here is a translation of what they sang:

"We have come a long way to sing,
But probably nobody understands our language.
If you understand Georgian, please clap your hands.
Does anybody in the audience understand Georgian?
Of course nobody in this part of the world understands Georgian.
Please clap your hands if you understand this language.
As I suspected, nobody understands our language.
People in our own country don't understand our language.
So it is.
Since nobody in the audience understands this language,
permit me to tell you that
the food they served on the flight over was
barely edible.
But we bravely ate it
because we were hungry.
But can you imagine?
The flight was delayed for four hours,
and they never gave us an explanation.
Speaking of explanations,
can anybody explain why those people are prancing about on the stage?
We don't dance like that in Georgia.
But they are nice people,
so we will keep singing.
We enjoy watching them prance about like that.
Would anybody like to hear me gargle?
Do you think I can make the others in this choir laugh?
Would anybody like to hear me yodel?
Please, choristers, do not show a smile,
or somebody might guess what's going on…”

with apologies to the Ensemble. It was really a beautiful performance, but I just couldn't help wondering.

"Amis" rhymes with ah-GEESE, and is the name of a tribe of Taiwan aborigines, living on the east coast. With 140,000 people, the Amis are the largest tribe in Taiwan, but modernization is taking its toll. Sawtoy of the Amis Kakeng Ensemble is working to bring new life to the culture through music. He studies, builds, and plays instruments that have not been seen for decades. So when he told us he was going to revive a "secret instrument" that had been extinct, we jumped at the chance and planned our trip to Taitung, but unfortunately, at the last minute, something came up and he was called away. We decided to go anyway. It turned out to be a very rich trip.

Actually, you could say the week started to get interesting on Tuesday when we encountered a wandering Jew. 我們星期二下午到臺北，看到一位穿迷彩褲、袋禮弁、長鬍的猶太人在街上闊步走，自言自語。等紅燈時，他衝上去問一位小姐，「妳不會英文吧」，把小姐嚇壞了，我就接手。「你幫我送到Citibank，因為提款卡不能用，找不到公用電話，我要打給銀行，對方付錢，上帝真是考驗我這個遠離阿根廷的家的牧師~~」果然不能用。快五點了，銀行沒開，請他明日早一點。「那你教我怎麼回飯店。」「哪一家飯店？」「大的那一家。」還好，我猜對了，是凱撒，指指點點教他怎麼走。

星期三我們坐飛機到臺東，在原生應用植物園吃火鍋，吃完幾乎走不動。去看駝鳥吧。消化了一些，到卡地布部落參觀高獻庭刻的禮刀，傻眼~~~他的工、設計、沒話說，真是奇才！星期四先去拜訪旮亙的少多宜團隊，然後到都蘭月光小棧見韻儀與兔子，祝他們印度行平安。剛好卑南木雕大師倚命也來了，還有兩位他的朋友。下山到東河舊橋看展，然後到黃師傅打鐵店選購雅美族斧頭。接著到臺東糖廠選排灣琉璃珠，要串項鍊，秀慧叫我們乾脆自己做做琉璃珠看看。難！難！卑南巨星剛好在臺北，但推薦我們到鐵花村聽斯乃泱唱歌，天樂！

星期五「有人在家」民宿的官官建議我們到丹寧象素食館吃；老闆娘愛象，到處都是象，但不是真的象。凡所有象，皆是虛妄。吃到一半立榮打電話來說飛機誤點。正好，我們到海邊走走。到了臺北，到中正堂，吃春水堂，晚上看雲門流浪者之歌。撼！You don't see a lot of yarmulke in Taiwan, but on Tuesday afternoon, when we were in the city, we saw a bird-thin middle aged man, long beard, yarmulke, black coat, camouflage pants with long legs sticking out, and a tasseled shawl striding along muttering to himself. At a stop light, he approached a young lady and demanded, "You don't speak English, do you!" She was terrified, so I asked what he needed. He needed directions to Citibank, because his ATM card wasn't working, he couldn't find a pay phone to make a collect call, of course he didn't see the sign I was pointing out, and how could god do this to a good rabbi far from his home in Argentina? We took him to Citibank, and verified that his ATM card didn't work, but it was almost 5PM, so we could do little more than tell him to try again the next day. "Tell me how to get to my hotel." "Which hotel are you staying in?" "A big one." Fortunately, I guessed the right one, and aimed him back at his hotel and unleashed him on them. The next morning we caught a flight to Taitung, and stuffed ourselves past the point of walking at a firepot place where they offer a wide variety of greens. Then we went to a Puyuma tribal village to visit Kuciling Katatepan, who carves astonishing ritual knife scabbards. Thursday morning we stopped in on Sawtoy to say hello, and proceeded to Atolan to visit Balahu before she and Rabbit fly to India. Another Puyuma sculptor, Iming, dropped by with two of his friends, and we had a nice chat before going to visit a smith. I was after an Orchid Island sculptural hatchet, and bought beautiful one. The smith attached a handle for me. Then back to Taitung to visit a Paiwan glass bead workshop; Paiwan beads have a history of over 1,500 years, and each pattern has its special significance. As we chose beads for necklaces, our friend Hsiuhui asked, Why don't you make a bead yourself so you understand? I knew it wasn't easy, but yeah, it's not easy. In the evening we went to a concert by a Puyuma singer, Snayang. She was very nervous, as it was her first solo concert, but she gave a memorable performance. At lunch on Friday at the Denim Elephant Vegetarian Restaurant, we got a call from the airline saying the flight would be delayed. Okay, so we went to the beach, returned the rental car, caught the delayed flight, returned to Taipei, and went to the National Theater for a performance of the Songs of the Wanderers by Cloud Gate Dance Theater + the Ensemble Rustavi of Georgia, Georgia as in Caucasian, not next to Alabama. A powerful performance, then home. Quite a jaunt.

後趙暴君石虎死，燕王雋(前燕慕容雋)論攻後趙。通鑑晉永和五年(西元三四九年):

折衝將軍慕輿根曰：「中國之民困於石氏之亂，咸思易主以救湯火之急，此千載一時，不可失也。自武宣王以來，招賢養民，務農訓兵，正俟今日。今時至不取，更復顧慮，豈天意未欲使海內平定邪，將大王不欲取天下也？」

慕容霸(後改名慕容垂)云，難得而易失者，時也。毛主席之暴亂，甚于石虎，千載一時，而臺灣失之矣。

當年(民國八十年前後)民進黨舉辦很多大型街頭示威，很多人問，哪來那麼多錢？謠傳中共輸錢與民進黨，不知其為實否，但若屬實，手法實在太高明。當時中共雖已開始改革但不穩，臺灣卻勢達頂尖，本可干預北京政權(甚至也有人說天安門學運與國民黨有直接或間接關係)。但是因為臺灣內部分裂，爭權奪利日益劇烈，所以錯過這個時機。

讀到通鑑上文本有此感慨，讀到下文蔡謨高見，不得不服：秋，七月，[褚]裒帥眾三萬，逕赴彭城，北方士民降附者日以千計。朝野皆以為中原指期可復，光祿大夫蔡謨獨謂所親曰：「胡滅誠為大慶，然恐更貽朝廷之憂。」其人曰：「何謂也？」謨曰：「夫能順天乘時，濟群生於艱難者，非上聖與英雄不能為也，自餘則莫若度德量力。觀今日之事，殆非時賢所及，必將經營分表，疲民以逞；既而材略疏短，不能副心，財殫力竭，智勇俱困，安得不憂及朝廷乎！」

哈哈！服了！

我要發財了！我種的咖啡樹結果了！雖然只有兩顆，但全烏來只有這兩顆咖啡果。下一步就是要想辦法給白鼻心穿上尿布。I'm going to be rich! My coffee trees have grown berries! ~~ two of them. These are the very first coffee berries grown in Wulai. Now all I have to do is put some diapers on the local civet cats.

昨天到永和韓國街買了石鍋，今天用木碳煮雜糧，又香又可口！真是享受！Yesterday we bought a stone pot in a Korean store. This evening I cooked grains (various types of rice and so forth) over charcoal. Delicious! Can't be beat.

I've known quite a few of those in my time.

修密的習性與修顯宗的不同。修密的人讚揚佛陀、讚揚上師。修顯宗，尤其是中國的修行法門，稱讚佛陀，但他老人家修他的，我修我的，各人業障各人了。
虛雲老和尚說，佛來斬佛，魔來斬魔。

不經一事，不長一智。除夕那一天，雅婭給我們一桶紅菜(『紅鳳菜』)，我們想，哇哈，紅菜補血，這次捐血血紅素一定非常高！

結果，今天到捐血室一驗，血紅素反而比平常低很多，險些不到低標準。奇怪，紅菜吃那麼多，這是怎麼一回事？護理長說，老人家說紅菜中午吃補血，晚上吃破血。想一想，我也聽過，回家上網查，確實有此說。好像有道理！好，現在知道了，再下來就不敢晚上吃紅菜！

大家恭喜!
A happy new year to everybody!!

and I mean everybody!!

新年恭喜

萬事如意

春節貼福字，要正要倒？作家馮驥才攷證，「倒貼福字主要扗兩個地方。一個地方是水缸和垃圾桶上，由于這兩處的東西要從這邊倒出來。為了避免把家裏的福氣倒掉，便巧用『倒』字的諧音『到』，倒貼福字。另一個地方是扗屋內的櫃子上，表示福氣一直來到家裏、屋裏和櫃子裏。至于大門上的福字，一向都是正貼。大門是家庭的出入口，一種莊重和恭敬的地方，所貼的福字，須鄭重不阿、端莊大方，故應正貼。」

My wish is that someday I can learn hwo to sepll.

For crying out loud, don't drop it!

Not all news is bad news. The Chinese government is brokering peace talks between the Burmese government and the Jingpo (Kachin \ 景頗). I trust that once things settle down, the government will make peace with the Karen and others. In the meantime, the government should stop fighting.

Click

這兩天在少輔院舉辦成長營。每次看到這些孩子，我深深感受，他們不是壞種，而是倒楣：絕多數的倒楣，是生長家庭從來沒教過他們怎麼做人。有的院生說，進了少輔院之前，從來不知道有對、錯這種事。一旦捲入漩渦，想要自拔可沒那麼容易。

跟他們溝通、跟他們相處只有兩個字：「付出」：不求回報。我們比較正常家庭出來的人，很難想像他們的生活。舉一例就夠了：一個很有才華的學生從小受家暴，遍體鱗傷，但他有一天居然說，爸爸對他比對哥哥好。怎麼可能！？他說，哥哥小學時，爸爸都把哥哥鍊在狗籠子裏。

所以他們有一道一道的牆，不是那麼輕易地讓你進入他的心。

但是不能放棄。一個院生，一年半來，我每次跟他講話、給他打氣、一直找他就對了，而他頂多淡淡地回我一聲：「嗯」然後轉過頭。這兩天門開了：這次活動，他一再拉著我講話、有說有笑、勾肩搭背。

能為他們付出，是莫大的福氣。但也很累！星期五活動結束，回家只想趕快睡大頭覺。

回家、洗澡、睡！齁~~~~

旺！

齁~~~~

旺！

四點。傳來了狗吠聲。盡量不理它。可是一直吠，不只一個，還有一個太熟悉的聲音：我們家的皮狗Yumin。認出了另一個聲音是Byajing，但他們吠的很不尋常。

我出去叫他們，叫了幾聲，他們不回。這就怪，因為Byajing通常一定衝回來報到。只好拿起手電筒，循聲音去找。他們在竹林裏，叫的很奇怪：不是吠蛇、吠貓、吠野狗。我又叫了幾聲，決定很無奈，要過溪溝入竹林。好想睡。到了一個地方，離他們二十步吧，但再過去很難走，烏漆摸黑，竹林太密，甚麼也看不到。我好想睡。我又叫了幾聲，說我要回家啦！就回家躺了。

回家躺了，他們還吠，我也睡不著。五點多，撒毖也被吵醒。Byajing沒回。我們商量，一定要去看看。撒毖留在溪溝的這邊，我過去看看。還好那塊竹林我很熟，不然即使帶手電筒也馬上迷路。西嶺上有月，但竹林裏全黑。到難走的地方，只能硬著頭皮下去。我離他們大約七、八步時我就停下來了，因為我不知道他們吠甚麼。我再叫他們，他們突然停下來了，不出聲。這時有點緊張，因為我猜可能是山豬，如果是山豬，而山豬惹火了，我在竹林中難躲。我拔刀，等。

一個很重的動物往右邊上坡衝，只看到Yumin白白的尾巴端在追。Byajing回到我身邊。我想，好了，兩位平安，我回家。

走過竹林，才要過溪溝，手電筒沒電，熄了。我嚇了一跳；早一分鐘熄的話，要嘛我爬著回來，要嘛坐下等天亮，因為實在太暗。菩薩保祐。撒毖幫我照，我過了溪溝。

Byajing跟了。皮狗年紀大了，我們快到山門，他也來了。安全起見，我給他上了狗鍊。回到家已經六點了，我就跟Yumin講，不能這樣，要注意安全‧…他已經睡著了….

Punishment doesn't seem to do much good, except to slake our thirst for vengeance. But it doesn't solve a lot of problems.

We just got back from a two day activity at the Reformatory. I believe that these boys are not bad, they just need to be taught, because nobody has ever taught them right from wrong.

You figure out where you would like your tax money to go: to lock up people so they become more hardened criminals, or invest in counseling, teaching, therapy, whatever it takes to make them useful, productive citizens. It is difficult, but it can be done. It should be done.

The boys in the Reformatory are all teenagers, and I have yet to meet one who comes from a normal family. They surround themselves with walls and walls, for protection. You can't ask to see results. But you do. I have made a point of greeting one brooding boy, saying good words to him, trying to talk with him, cheer him up. For a year and a half, he said little more than "Uh" and then turned away. But these two days, a door opened: as soon as they entered the activity area, he rushed over to hug me, joked with me, slapped my back, sat next to me to chat, and smiled all the time.

Volunteering at the Reformatory is wonderful, but it's also exhausting. When we got home, we wanted nothing more than a good night's sleep. We hit the sack and were soon sound asleep. Sound asleep. Sound. Sound. Arf arf. At 4, I was awakened by persistent barking, but I didn't recognize it. It was far enough away to ignore, but another voice chimed in, a suspiciously beagly voice. I dragged myself out of bed to go outside and call, but there was no response. Not good, because Byajing invariably responds.

I finally decided that I had to go look. I got the best flashlight, the one I got after the time that snake fell on my head :: click:: and followed their barking. I reached a streambed that borders a bamboo grove. Very reluctantly, I crossed the dry streambed and entered the pitch black bamboo grove, following the sound. At least it's too cold for snakes to be very lively. Black as a coal mine. It's a good thing I know that grove so well, or I would have been lost in a minute, flashlight or no.

The dogs were not barking at a snake, a cat, or a stray. What is more unusual, Yumin was growling, and he almost never growls. I reached a spot about twenty paces from them across very difficult terrain. I called a few more times, and told them I wanted to go home to bed. I did.

But I couldn't sleep. The barking continued, and at about 5, Sabiy woke up. She was also worried that Byajing was not responding, so we got our flashlights, I strapped on my laraw (headhunting knife), and got a leash and a saw, just for good measure.

I told Sabiy to wait on this side of the streambed, and entered the bamboo grove. I crossed the difficult part, and figured I was about ten paces from them. I called again, and they stopped barking. There was a tense silence. I was concerned that they had a boar, and if it charged, maneuvering would be quite difficult amongst the thick bamboo. I drew my laraw.

After a minute or more, suddenly I heard a large animal crashing uphill off to my right, and saw Yumin's white tail in hot pursuit. Byajing came to my side. Finally! I called Yumin again and headed home.

Just as I reached the side of the streambed, my flashlight died. Grief! If that had happened one minute earlier, I would have had to either crawl back, or sit down and wait for dawn. Crossing the bamboo in pitch dark is out of the question. But Sabiy lit the streambed for me with her flashlight, and we headed home.

Yumin is, after all, getting on in years, so he trotted up behind us, evidently forsaking his foe. I put the leash on him just to make sure, and we came home. When we reached the house, I gave him a little talk: You're getting on in years, you have to pay more attention to safety, it can be dangerous…. Yumin was already fast asleep.

At least somebody got some sleep!