A picture, nay, a photo is worth a thousand words: Lincoln’s law office in Springfield, Illinois in 1858

My cousin, 英毅, commented about the beginning of the photography in my post and that inspires me to write this one for my blog, labeling “photo”. (you may argue with 英毅about anything, but certainly not photography; when he talks about photography, you listen.)

You may not know it that photo is one of the many reasons why I read Lincoln much more I do Washington, Jefferson, or Adams.  Having been able to see him in many photos makes me feel he was a man I know, not just a historical figure. After finishing his Lincoln (2,400 pages, 1,200,000 words), Carl Sandburg said, “That son-of-a-gun Lincoln grows on me.”  Writing about assassination of Lincoln, he felt he was parting with Lincoln, he wrote, “When Lincoln died, for a time light went out for me, the tears came.”  I am no Carl Sandburg, but I am beginning to have that kind of sentiment toward Lincoln.

The photo (from Sandburg’s Lincoln: The Prairie Years Volume II) is Springfield, Illinois in 1858.  Lincoln and Herndon’s law office was the building (second floor) with an “X” mark above it.  This was Lincoln’s second law office that he moved in in 1852.  This photo gives you a better idea of what Lincoln saw in his days; much better than my description; a photo is worth a thousand words.

After Lincoln’s death, Herndon interviewed hundreds of people who knew Lincoln personally.  Mary Lincoln agreed to meet Herndon for an interview on her visit to Springfield (she was then living in Chicago), she wrote a letter to him on 9/4/1866 (Lincoln died on 4/15/1865), “to visit the tomb—which contains my all in life—my husband.”  When she died on July 16, 1882, her wedding ring, which was inscribed with “A.L. to Mary, Nov. 4, 1842.  Love is eternal” was buried with her.

Lincoln bought this plain gold wedding ring for his bride in the “Chatterton’s Dealer in Watches, Jewelry” store (you can see the painted sign on the wall in the photo)—a few building away from his law office.

A photo is better than a thousand words; but a few words may also make a photo come alive.  英毅 is also very good in his photo series.

Shopping spree: 9 books in one evening

I went on shopping spree online at Amazon.com and Barnes&Noble on February 16, and all three orders (two at Amazon and one at B&N) arrived yesterday (Feb. 23) at the same time; they apparently have same efficiency.

I bought 9 books (see the photo) in one evening (another 4 books on Feb. 21); compulsive buying? not quite.  Not all the books are new to me (any books not read are new); I have read Eric Kandel’s In Search of Memory and Inspiring Science: Jim Watson and the Age of DNA.  But since I have checked them out from the libraries many times, I obviously need them for reference.

A doctor at Sermo recommended Henry Kaplan and the Story of Hodgkin’s Disease, which now is in the stack of ‘high priority’, i.e. must read and read it soon.

The best WWII book is certainly Churchill’s The Second World War (I have 5 of the 6 volumes, missing Volume V) for which Churchill was awarded Nobel Prize in Literature.  I got them in Harvard Square many years ago.  I still have fond memory of visiting several very large book stores at Harvard Square; that was before the era of Amazon.com and Borders.  They all fell victims of Amazon.com, only Harvard Book Store and another smaller one survived; I am still getting their email once or twice a week.  I bought Martin Gilbert’s The Second World War; another indispensable WWII book.

I never tired of reading Churchill and Lincoln; Lincoln no doubt deserved a Nobel Literature Prize had he been born after 1900.  That is why Lincoln: The Biography of a Writer attracted me; I actually have read it when it first came out a few years ago.  I need to keep one handy.

I started reading Sinclair Lewis’s Main Street last year, but never finished it; too many distractions; too many competitions.  This is the first Sinclair Lewis’ book that I ever read; I like the protagnosit, Carol, a woman with strong will and high mind.  The fact her husband is a doctor also deepens my interest and curiosity.  I need to finish it one of these days.

I am collecting No Fear Shakespeare series; I just added another threes: Henry V, Much Ado About Nothing, and As You Like It.

Katy’s report to世界日報: OCA Chinese New Year Celebration 4709

Katy’s dispatch to World Journal (世界日報) reporting the OCA (美華協會匹茲堡分會) Chinese New Year Celebration 4709; it was published today (February 22) and the event took place at Syria Shrine Center (敘利亞廟堂) on February 19.

You may click the following link to read directly the online version,

http://www.worldjournal.com/view/wjnjpanews/11537878/article-%E5%8C%B9%E8%8C%B2%E5%A0%A1%E7%BE%8E%E8%8F%AF%E8%BF%8E%E6%96%B0%E6%98%A5?instance=nj2

Last year OCA was honored and privileged to have Miss Pennsylvania and Miss Pennsylvania Teen attended the Chinese New Year celebration and this year they outdid themselves to invite the winners from six other states (Connecticut, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Vermont, and West Virginia as well as Miss Preteen Taiwan World); their presence enhanced the festive mood and brightened the hall of celebration. More than 3000 guests enjoyed a lovely and lively evening.

Dave Crawley of KDKA-TV and Karen Yee (余月紅) were the Masters of Ceremonies, the honor guests were the one in charge of Miss USA Pageant Eastern section, Mr. & Mrs. Edward Hwang (黃呈昌), Mr. & Mrs. Michael Chen (陳飛), Mr. & Mrs. Dali Lee (李大利), and Mr. & Mrs. John Chen (陳家興).

The new OCA president, Andy Ai (艾元方), a second generation Chinese American, promised to follow the footsteps of his predecessor in taking charge of all OCA activities, actively participating national and regional affair in the greater Pittsburgh area, promoting Chinese culture, and rigorously pursuing Asian Pacific Americans civil rights.

The outgoing president, 李東昌, recalled the activities/events of last year that include Chinese New Year celebration (February), Asian culture month (May), Mid-autumn and Dragon Boat festival (August), Cancer Society fundraising (October), Free Clinic at UPMC (November), Thanksgiving parade (November), and Chinese Room scholarship fundraising (December). He expressed the appreciation to all members in helping him successfully achieve the goals of these community services.

The honorary chairperson was Dorothy Lee Green. Born in Nanking (Nanjing) in 1937 just before the Japanese entered the city, Dorothy as an infant escaped up the Yangtze River to Chungking (重慶) with her family. Her father was the Dean of Science and Engineering at Nanking University. she immigrated to the States at age of 10 when her father was appointed head of the Chinese delegation at the United Nations. She was twice the OCA Pittsburgh chapter president. Being recognized for her leadership, she has been put in positions of leadership in many volunteer organizations in the arts, education, church, health care, and the Asian community.

Karen Yee announced the two winners of Congress Service Award: Rachel Sew and Brander Yeh. The entertainment was provided by the Lion Dance, splendid performance of music and dance—水汪汪 (Sweet Little Girls), 絲路 (Silk Road), 孔雀舞 (Peacock Dance), 節慶 (Festivity), and水袖舞— by OCA Youth Dancing Group, led by Chiapih Shaw, 謝家碧, and her daughter. In addition, Japanese Taiko (日本太鼓) and Indian dances provided added delight and enjoyment. All guests were treated with scrumptious cuisines provided by the Chinese Restaurant Association. The proceeds from the door prizes and the envelopes ‘devoured’ by the lions in the Lion Dance will be used as the OCA charitable funds. Those who are interested in becoming an OCA member, please get the info online, http://www.ocapghpa.org/. (Katy Tsai, 張瓊月)

The followings are Katy’s dispatch,

匹茲堡美華協會 熱鬧迎新春

【賓州匹茲堡訊】
February 22, 2011 06:00 AM

美華協會匹茲堡分會上周末在敘利亞廟堂(Syria Shrine Center)舉行兔年新春聯歡晚宴，邀請14位從佛蒙特州、康州、密西根州、印州、俄州、賓州、西維吉尼亞州七州曾獲得選美優勝的佳麗，參加中國年晚宴，並幫忙摸彩，300多位中西嘉賓出席，十分熱鬧。

當晚節目由KDKA電視台克勞利(Dave Crawley)與余月紅(Karen Yee)主持，與會嘉賓包括美國小姐選美會東部俄亥俄州策畫人、台灣同鄉會黃呈昌、餐飲公會會長陳飛、慈濟負責人陳家興等。

該會新會長、華裔第二代艾元方(Andy Ai)表示，將蕭規曹隨，辦好美華協會活動，積極參與美國匹茲堡本地和國家的事務，並宣揚中華文化，宣導與確保美國亞太裔公民權益。

卸任會長李東昌回顧了去年舉辦的活動，包括2月春宴、5月亞裔文化月、8月中秋與龍舟節活動、10月參加防癌協會募款活動、11月假匹茲堡大學UPMC診所，舉辦醫療義診，歲末參加匹茲堡市區感恩節遊行、12月參與匹茲堡大學中國孔子教室獎學金募款活動，能圓滿達成這些社區服務工作，李東昌向所有志工深致謝意。

晚宴榮譽主席為魏白蕙(Dorothy Lee Green) ，她於1937年日本入侵南京前出生，襁褓中曾由長江逃到重慶。其父原是南京大學科學工程系主任，她十歲時其父被派到聯合國，她才隨家人移民到美國並開始學英文。她曾任兩屆美華協會會長，熱心公益。 

余月紅會中宣布，今年該會的國會社會服務銀獎頒給瑞秋‧蘇(Rachel Sew)和布蘭德‧葉(Brander Yeh)兩位學生。表演除有美華協會醒獅團、歌舞團，還有日本太鼓及印度舞蹈表演，與會者享用由匹茲堡中餐協會烹製的佳餚，觀賞謝家碧和她女兒策畫的精彩歌舞「水汪汪」 、「絲路」 、「孔雀舞」 、「節慶」 、「水袖舞」。該會並準備了電視等多項摸彩禮品。另外，還有舞獅咬紅包送吉利與慈善義賣，義賣所得將做為該會慈善基金。有意加入匹茲堡美華協會可上網http://www.ocapghpa.org/查詢。(張瓊月)

On language: early spring (早春) or looking for spring (找春)? and 春天後母面 and Sarah Lincoln

Last week we had such a mild weather tricking us to think spring is around the corner; 早春 (early spring) that it is; Katy thought she saw the tulips are trying to raise her heads above the ground to test the weather, but today was gloomy, rainy, and miserable and snow is on the way tonight.  It may not be 早春 (early spring) but that we still have to 找春 (look for spring).  {早 and 找 have the same pronounciations in Chinese}

We’re still hoping spring is indeed here, it is just 春天後母面, a Taiwanese idiom meaning “sping has a face of a stepmother”, which says the weather in spring is unpredictable and bad weather is not uncommon, just like the temperament of a stepmother.

This is, of course, stereotyping a stepmother.  Lincoln’s stepmother, Sarah (Sally) Bush, was a wonderful mother by all measures.  She brought three of her own children when she married Thomas Lincoln.  She lived to see her step son became the greatest President in the country and survived him four years.  Lincoln’s father would get mad when Lincoln was reading books; he said it was the waste of time in ‘eddication’; it was Sarah Lincoln who came between the boy and the father, and the father listened to the stepmother and let her have her way.  Lincoln once said of her, “All I am, and all I hope to be, I owe to my darling mother!”  After Lincoln became famous she tried to tell what there was between her and young Abe in saying, “His mind and mine, what little I had, seemed to run together.”

When Lincoln was assassinated, the federal agents were sent to Illinois prairie to give Sarah the sad news.  The followings are how Sandburg wrote about the scene.

Out on the Illimois prairie of Coles County they went to a farmhouse and told the news to an old woman.  Quiet and composed she was, the usage of the earth in her. She answered them:

“I knowed when he went away he’d never come back alive.”

This was the stepmother, Sally Lincoln, prepared for the sorrow which came that day.

Lincoln in January 1861

Days before Lincoln left Springfield for Washington, DC for the last time; he went to see his stepmother.  The followings are in Sandburg’s Lincoln: the Prairie Years Volume II.

“Sally Bush and he [Lincoln] put their arms around each other and listened to each other’s heartbeats.  They held hands and talked, they talked without holding hands.  Each looked into eyes thrust back in deep sockets.  She was all of a mother to him. 

He was her boy more than any born to her.  He gave her a photograph of her boy, a hungry picture of him standing and wanting, wanting.  He stroked her face a last time, kissed good-by, and went away.”

(photo taken in 1/1861, about the time when Lincoln said good-bye to his stepmother)

Mark Twain is turning in his grave

Again Linda Mosier’s comment inspired me to write this post; she said she bought the original Tom/Huck recently and Samuel is rolling over in his grave as the Tom/Huck is being ‘revised’.  The N-words will be replaced by ‘slave’ and the combined version of Tom and Huck will be ‘modified’.

If one read Huck & Tom and couldn’t tell Twain was not a racist, one didn’t get it.  An English professor’s job is to enlighten the students teaching them how to read the books.  A good book reflects the time and language in which the story occurred.  The language evolves over time and one cannot measure the ‘sensitivity’ of his times (126 years earlier) with our current overzealous political correctness.

Twain will be outraged but he might not be too surprised at all.  His hilarious satire, The War Prayer (http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/making/warprayer.html ), was written in 1904 and was rejected by his publisher; it was found after his death and was published posthumously in 1923.  I often invoked the War Prayer writing before a game in the World Series or Super Bowl to add the spice to it.

This is why Twain forbade his autobiography from being published until 100 years after his death.  The first of three planned volumes just came out; Joy ordered it in early December as my Christmas gift and I just received it at the end of January (you may hear me talking about it in due time).

I recently read Bette Greene’s Summer of My German Soldier (Janice said “what a sad story” when she heard I was reading it).  The protagonist, Patty Bergen, a 12-year-old Jewish girl who hid and protected the escaped German soldier (a POW).  Rarely had I seen such an innocent kindhearted human being and yet one wouldn’t have too much difficulty finding the N-words flipping the pages.  I am afraid this book will be on the long list of books that need to be sanitized if Professor Alan Gribben (at Auburn University) keeps up his work in destroying the classics that we have come to know them.

Revisionist historians/writers: One is too many (in this country)

I enjoy reading some of Gore Vidal's writings in his Point to Point Navigation some years ago, but never had an appetite for his Lincoln (a historical novel) as I consider him a 'revisionist' historian, if he can be considered a historian at all. He called Carl Sandburg's Lincoln a hagiography, and that is enough for me. I wonder what was his motive of making it a novel with an agenda?

He used Herndon's Lincoln as a resource, who didn't? My personal view is that William Herndon is 90% a truth teller and 10% a myth maker, and Vidal focused on that 10%.

Vidal did have a few interesting 'personal' connections to Lincoln's story. Both he and Robert Lincoln were Phillips Academy (Exeter) alumni, 80 years apart. His grandfather, the legendary blind Senator from Oklahoma, Thomas Gore, knew Robert Lincoln personally and talked to Gore Vidal about it.

Vidal's life long partner, Howard, died a few years ago and was buried nearby the Grief, the famous Saint-Gauden's statue at Rock Creek Cemetery, that was commissioned by Henry Adams (grandson of the sixth President and great-grandson of second President) when his wife killed herself. Henry Adams and John Hay (Lincoln's secretary) were close friends.

One of these days I’ll read Gore Vidal’s Lincoln, just to see what he was up to (I did read it in 2012.)

Another outrageous ‘revisionist’ history is the book by Patrick Buchanan: Churchill, Hitler, and the Unnecessary War. I’ll talk about this in another post.  Buchanan is no historian.  He twice tried to get Republican presidential nominations and once as a Reform Party candidate; I am just glad he never made it.

In praise of physicist: Walter Gilbert; from theoretic physicist to molecular biologist

 (This is one of the series of physicists contributing to the advancement of life science)

Wally Gilbert, one of the Jewish Nobel laureates in science, is Harvard and Cambridge University-trained theoretic physicist.  He majored in chemistry and physics and his doctorate degrees in mathematics.  He taught theoretic physics at Harvard for many years.

He first met James Watson at Cambridge University in early 1950s.  James Watson got him interested in molecular biology after the former joined Harvard faculty.  Messenger RNA was first identified in their Lab.  He shared the Nobel Prize (in chemistry) with Frederick Sanger for their independent developments of rapid DNA sequencing in 1980.  I believe Sanger’s method stood the test of time better.

(photo credit to Watson's book: Avoid Boring People, Gilbert is on the left, at Cold Spring Harbor in 1968)

I was amused on reading the following note on Janice’s molecular biology course book at college; this professor once received a $1,000,000 teaching (not research) grant,

“Wally Gilbert was originally a physicist doing biology.  And so he didn’t know much chemistry.  So he turned to his friend our Dean Jeremy Knowles who was and is one of the foremost bioorganic chemists in the world.  Wally would take Jeremy to lunch in the [Harvard] Square where he would pick his brain about how to obtain base-specific cleavage reactions.”  (I delete the paragraphs preceding this as they are too “technical” for the general readers.)

Gilbert also identified one Lac repressor in the field of gene expression that made Francois Jacob and Jacques Monod Nobel laureates.  He also made contribution in recombinant DNA technique.  He helped found the biotech company, Biogen, and was the CEO between 1982 and 1984, when he returned to Harvard.

I read a sad story in James Watson’s Avoid Boring People: Lessons from a life in science, that around the time when Wally Gilbert identified the first Lac repressor in 1967 when their three-year-old daughter was diagnosed with an incurable metastatic sarcoma.  He and his wife, Celia, made constant visits to Children Hospital, at times when he got back home late evening in the lab.  Such was the life of the first-notch scientist.

In his Nobel biography he wrote, “We [he and his sister] loved reading and raided the adult section of the public library,” his mother was a psychologist who often took them to the library.

(photo credit to Watson's book: Avoid Boring People, Wally & Celia Gilbert are on the right, at the 1968 Cold Spring Harbor symposium)

Katy’s report at World Journal (世界日報): Dr. C.H. Lin’s Young Investigator Award

You may click the following link to read directly the online version.

http://www.worldjournal.com/view/wjnjpanews/11440348/article-%E6%9E%97%E6%89%BF%E5%BC%98-%E7%8D%B2%E9%9D%92%E5%B9%B4%E7%A0%94%E7%A9%B6%E5%AD%B8%E8%80%85%E7%8D%8E?instance=panews

(may click the photo to enlarge it) 

Katy’s dispatch to World Journal (世界日報) published yesterday (Feb. 17) reporting Dr. Cheng-Hung Lin (林承弘醫師) being the recipient of the Young Investigator Award by the American Transplant Congress (ATC). With the award comes with the honor and privilege of giving a talk at the 2011 American Transplant Congress to be held in Philadelphia April 30 to May 4. ATC is a combined organization of the transplant surgeons and non-surgeon transplant specialists.

One day before Dr. Lin and family were to visit us (Feb. 5-6) from Baltimore came the good news (or what Dr. Lin called “the red envelope” —紅包—as it came around the time of the lunar New Year and the award comes with a certificate and a check of $1,000) of this prestigious award by the American Transplant Congress. Katy usually has to travel to Pittsburgh (recently to Morgantown, WV) to chase/catch the news; this time the good “news” came to her and she had plenty of time of doing the “interview”. We truly enjoy their visit and company.

Dr. Lin, an assistant professor of plastic and reconstructive surgery at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital (長更醫院) / Medical College in Taiwan, was a research fellow at the Division of Plastic Surgery, UPMC until the end of last December when he moved on to the Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he’ll stay until the end of June.

At age of 38, Dr. Lin also wrote a paper/article based on his work of reconstructive microsurgery, especially of hands and his work of transplant basic science research while at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) and sent it to ATC. Dr. Lin was honored and humbled by the ATC Young Investigator Award, which is quite competitive among the young researchers all over the world. He is excited in receiving the award and recognition at the coming 2011 ATC meeting in May. He’ll also give a talk/presentation at a reconstructive surgery meeting in Kentucky in April.

What’s a reconstructive surgeon got to do with transplantation? The face and arm/hand transplants have been successfully done. Dr. Lin attended the American Society for Reconstructive Transplantation meeting at Chicago in November 2010. Hearing the appreciative remarks from many patients with successful face and hand transplants is an exalting and touching experience for the reconstructive transplant surgeons. It gives “just a pretty face” a new meaning. The lady not just got her face back; she got her life back, too. It inspires and ignites Dr. Lin’s interest and enthusiasm in reconstructive surgery.

It is hoped that more and more Taiwanese will be, like Americans, the willing donors in the future and that will propel and expedite the advancement in the field of the reconstructive transplant surgery in Taiwan. To be a pioneer leading the development in this field is his goal.

Dr. Lin gave a talk of “Applications of Microsurgery” at a monthly gathering of Taiwanese Bible Class at Pittsburgh in April 2010. He is as modest as he is brilliant. It was an eye opener for all present including many physicians. Slides of near miraculous re-attachments of the machine-severed fingers were shown. He showed us a photo of a woman whose face was severely injured and the reconstructive surgeries restored not only the function but the smile of the face.

Some of the photos were taken during Dr. Lin and family’s visit with us in early February.

The followings are Katy’s dispatch.

林承弘 獲青年研究學者獎
【賓州匹茲堡訊】
February 17, 2011 06:00 AM

來自台灣、精於手部微創整型外科的林承弘醫師，日前獲美國移植學會(American Transplant Congress)遴選為青年研究學者獎(Young Investigator Award)得主，他將於5月該學會在費城舉行年會時領獎，除獲頒獎狀外，他並贏得獎金1000元。

38歲的林承弘，將他歷年來手部整型外科的經驗寫成論文送交美國移植協會，打算4月在肯他基整型外科學會年會及5月美國移植年會中發表，經美國移植學會審核遴選，決定頒給他青年研究學者獎，日前他獲通知將於5月領獎，深以獲得此難得殊榮興奮不已。

林承弘是於2009年被台灣林口長庚美容醫學中心派到美國匹茲堡大學醫學院醫院(UPMC)，預定進修兩年。2010年11月林承弘到芝加哥參加整型外科會議，看到美國換臉及換手的手術極為成功，受惠的病患與他們的整型醫師見面，並發表感想，令他非常感動，重燃他對整型外科的熱情。

林承弘認為，美國有不少人願意捐贈頭部顏面與手，如果台灣捐贈大體的觀念一如美國開放，台灣的肢體移植手術也許會發展得更快更好，他希望兩年後，能幫台灣病患做出全世界最棒的移植手術。

 林承弘去年亦曾受邀在「匹茲堡台灣查經班」發表演講，放映他在台灣替被機器截斷手指的病患接回手指等病例的幻燈片，在他高超醫術與耐心的指導復健，讓病患重新恢復手部功能，令觀者印象深刻。

林承弘目前隨匹大醫學院醫院的整型外科主任，到巴爾的摩的約翰霍普金斯大學醫院，將在該院進修半年後，即返回台灣長庚醫院貢獻所學。(張瓊月)

Amazing “grand cabaret”

Sandra, a good friend of us, forwarded this “grand cabaret” to me, saying.

“Wu (1981), the girl in the show, has to restrict her weight (88 lbs) for the last 13 years, practiced this very move for six years before presenting to the public. She learned acrobats since 4 years old, married to Wei, her coach and now partner when she was 20. A display of dedication and strength. She had performed in Pas de Deux of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake before."  Enjoy it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsTqmEeBKhw&NR=1

Lincoln was fighting to save the Union, not to free the slaves

We went to the Half-Price Book this afternoon to hunt for the treasure and found one: a hard-cover 1954 version of Carl Sandburg’s Lincoln: One Volume edition of the Prairie Years (2 volumes) and the War Years (4 volumes). $6.98 was all I paid.  

A few days ago on a post debating about Lincoln at Sermo, on issues of war and slavery and death (600,000), I wrote the followings and one doctor said, “I could not have said it better, xxxxxxx [my Sermo user name]” clearly on my side.

I hate to repeat myself at Sermo, but the discussion here calls for it. Lincoln’s sole object was to save the Union; he was not fighting the war to end the slavery institution. In his letter to Horace Greeley, “My paramount object is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. . . What I do about slavery and the coloured race, I do because it helps to save the Union; and what I forbear, I forbear because I do not believe it would help to save the Union.”

Lincoln was not a radical abolitionist. He would be content if the status quo (i.e. slavery institution not to spread to other non-slave states) could be maintained. He was against slavery personally (he once said, “if slavery is not wrong there is nothing wrong,”) but he was too good a politician and knew very well that a radical abolitionist couldn’t be elected as the President and would lead to the war.

As many are aware that the Emancipation Proclamation declaring the slaves in the rebel states were free. This declaration had more military than political implication.