For the last ten years or so, whenever my father was asked about his age, he would ask the questioner, “How long has Taiwan had its own government?” Inevitably, the questioner would ponder for a while, but eventually give a figure, to which he would say, “Yes, that is how old I am.” My father…
Everyone I have met in Toronto so far said that I had brought the Hong Kong sun with me. It was cool and breezy the week before and the latest weather forecast promised a cooler week ahead. But this week has been phenomenal: hot, humid and high UV index. It was 36 degrees in the…
It was unusual, and certainly the first time since I had retired: for three consecutive days, I found myself going to an airport every morning to catch a flight to another city. I would spare you the details. It was a combination of poor planning, inadequate knowledge on how airlines work and circumstances beyond my…
Stanford Court is a Renaissance hotel on California Street just above Powell, so that if one stands outside the main entrance, one can see the Bay Bridge, on a clear day that is. And it was clear and sunny for the three or four days I was there. Indeed, people I met complained about it…
Looking back, it seems that I write more often during my travels. I wrote you a series of letters during my trip to North America and Europe, ending with one in early July from Munich or its airport rather. The records show that I did three letters in as many weeks which followed and then…
I have not mentioned my young friend Harry in these letters for a while. What happened was: Harry went back to school to do a Masters or something similar which made him rather busy; then his computer crashed and he was temporarily denied access to the internet. Well, he survived and has been exchanging with…
Last Friday, Catholics celebrated the feast day of St Mary Magdalene. This is the lady who is mentioned in all four Gospels as being among the women of Galilee who followed Jesus and His disciples, who was present at His Crucifixion and Burial, and who went to the tomb on Easter Sunday to anoint His…
Suddenly I found that I have been back from my travels for ten days. I wrote four letters when I was away, or an average of one a week, which is by my recent records rather frequent. Some of you went to great lengths to tell me you liked them, at least bits of them….
I am writing to you in Munich, or rather from its Airport Terminal, because my connecting flight – scheduled flight – won’t arrive in seven hours. I don’t know anyone in this city, and I am not sufficiently familiar with it to venture out on my own, without a good map and the language. Yes,…
I had hoped to write to you from Chicago. I couldn’t. So many things were happening and I simply couldn’t find time for doing so. Now, in the quiet township of Blois along La Loire, a picturesque river flanked by numerous chateaux, I have this urge to share with you a few things about the…
