Today (March 7) in 1945 John Gapen crossed the Rhine River, using Ludendorff Bridge

I am reasonably sure that either today (March 7) or tomorrow in 1945 John Gapen (see photo) crossed the Rhine River at Remagen, Germany, using the damaged but still passable Ludendorff Bridge.  He said his unit passed through Ludendorff Bridge under German fire on the second day of Allied control.

John passed away at age of 95 last May.  He was our neighbor and friend of thirty some years. He was the hero of the Battle of the Bulge. Remagen 1945: End Game against the Third Reich (see photo below) was his book.  It is fitting to say he and his Greatest Generation finished off Hitler for us.

He is still on our thought and talk often, especially on day like this.

Today (March 6) in 1857 was an important day in the Civil War history

On March 6, 1857 U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice, Roger Taney, spoke for 3 hours on the case now known as the Dred Scott vs. Sandford. At age of 81, Taney, feeble and frail; his wife just died of yellow fever; spoke or at times “whispered”, but what he said then was still heard loudly nearly 150 years later.

Dred Scott was a slave sued for freedom as he had been taken into a territory where slavery was illegal. Taney opined that blacks were not citizens, and derived no rights from the Declaration of Independence or Constitution. He said, “Negroes whose ancestors were slaves, could not become a U.S. citizen” and that Dred Scott couldn’t sue for his freedom in federal court.

Taney was once a law partner with Francis Scott Key, the author of “The Star Spangled Banner”; his wife, Anne, was sister of Francis Scott Key. This case forever marred his otherwise distinguished career (four of the nine judges of the U.S. Supreme Court dissented, but five being from the slave states.) Taney had freed the slaves he inherited, except two or three, who were too old to work; he kept and supported them.

Lincoln in 1858

After serving the 2-year one-term Congressman in 1848, Lincoln focused on his law practice and became a successful corporate lawyer representing the Illinois Railroad, making big bucks. For a while he seemed to have left the politics behind. It is the Missouri Compromise and Kansas-Nebraska Act (establishing statehoods on these territories and came with the heated debate whether they should be slave states or not) that rekindled his interest in politics. Dred Scott case also set the stage for the seven debates between Lincoln and Douglas that was preceded by the now famous “A house divided against itself cannot stand” speech. Notwithstanding he lost the Senator race to Douglas in 1858, these debates put him in the spotlight and brought him national fame and helped his Presidential election two years later.

Our body organ system is more complex than the way we define it

In a post Peggy mentioned reading an article at WSJ, describing diabetes seemed went away after intestine surgery (anecdote, she said); that led me to mention the relationship between intestine and diabetes.

In the beginning an endocrine organ is defined as the one secreting hormone, such as thyroid and adrenal gland.  But things got more complicated as more hormones discovered that are secreted by the organs not characterized as endocrine organs.

Intestine (gastrointestinal system) secretes incretin that regulates blood glucose (sugar); kidney produces erythropoietin, a hormone that stimulates bone marrow to make red blood cells.  Amgen Pharmaceuticals made a fortune by making recombinant erythropoietin (Epogen or Procrit) and emerged as the first biotech company to become a pharmaceutical giant.

Seizure results from synchronous (occurring at the same time) firing of cortical neurons; they’re not supposed to do that! Brain cells (neurons) are complex and sophisticated; firing at the same time would be too boring and simplistic; that led a professor in neuro science to say, “We leave synchrony to the heart, that pathetically simple little organ.” (I read this in Joy’s lecture notes some years ago.)

To prove it is not just a simple mechanic pump, heart also secretes various hormones; the ventricle (lower chamber) secretes B-type natriuretic peptide or used to call brain natriuretic peptide (BNP—the name stuck) whereas the atrium (upper chamber) secretes atrial natriuretic peptide.  These hormones act like a diuretic (one to promote diuresis—making more urine to get rid of excessive water in the body).  This ingenious God-design can be treated like a “self-help”, i.e. when the atrium and ventricle are stretched because of too much volume; these peptides (hormones) are produced to get rid of the excessive amount of fluid.

This post was inspired by the intestine transplant done by Dr. Yun Chen (陳芸) in Taiwan, so I would also mention the enteric nervous system (part of autonomous nervous system) which is dubbed as the “second brain” or "the brain in the gut".  The intestine does listen to the commands of the brain (the ‘real’ one) through its extrinsic nervous system, but it has its own barin, thus own will; it can function independent of the brain.  I am always curious about how this “second brain” functions after intestine transplant, about which I know nothing. 

(photo credit to UpToDate: a case of intestine pseudo-obstruction in a patient with scleroderma showing dilated duodenum and jejunum)

We share the 5th successful intestine transplant by Dr. 陳芸 with pride and delight

陳芸 (see photo), a pediatric surgeon and the chief of surgery at Far Eastern Memorial Hospital (亞東醫學中心) in Taiwan, recently accomplished the 5th successful intestine transplant on a young girl.  We had good fortune to know her when she did the transplant research at UPMC about five years ago.  We share her hard work and success with pride and delight. 

The following is the link to her report, which I took the liberty to translate (as faithfully as possible) to share with my American friends,

http://www.femh.org.tw/epaperadmin/viewarticle.aspx?ID=3249

(The following is my translation)

The 5th successful intestine transplant completed the mission of the experimental clinical trial (written by Dr. 陳芸, the Chief of Surgery)

The 5th intestine transplant was accomplished in a smooth and steady manner; she has been discharged from hospital. Going through the repeated exercises and practices, our team became more familiar with these procedures; the collaboration with the other teams in the hospital was also improved.  We practiced each and every step without the least hesitation; from going out to obtain the donor intestine in the early morning to early evening when the transplant surgery began until midnight when mission was accomplished smoothly.  It is crucial to reduce the time of deoxygenation of the donor intestine to the very minimal.  The patient was discharged after a relatively uneventful one-month hospital stay.  On the day of discharge, notwithstanding there was no flash light, nor news conference, we all felt warm and exalted despite it was in the deep of the winter at the end of December.  We rejoiced that she can eat again and taste the food that we all take it for granted, getting rid of the total parenteral nutrition (TPN) and all the inherent risks and complications that come with it.  In addition, we finally completed the mission of the experimental clinical trial of five cases of human intestine transplant so that we now can apply to the Department of Health (衛生署) to make intestine transplant as the treatment option for those suffer from the irreversible intestinal failure.

The intestine transplant recipient was a beautiful young lady who enjoyed vigorous health until six years ago when she took sick presenting with intestinal paralysis and abdominal distention, resulting in inability to eat as she would vomit upon eating.  The diagnosis of chronic pseudo-obstruction syndrome was established after consultations in many hospitals, hence completely depending on the TPN to extend her life.  There have been numerous admissions due to TPN catheter-related infections or protractive vomiting; it was a pitiful young life of passing the days hooking up with a centrally placed IV catheter and an IV stand.  She has been on our transplant list for several years.  Her luck finally came last November when a suitable donor was found.  Her intestine transplant was made possible, thanks to the altruistic love of the donor, bringing about the hope of a new life. (The photo was taken with the patient post-op Day 20)

(photo shows attentive concentration on doing intestine transplant) The dire reality is that most victims of the irreversible intestinal failure are not so lucky the past few years.  For various reasons such as the weight or the young age and the incomplete data of the clinical trials, they perished or are still on the waiting list for the suitable donors.  The one that impressed me most was a young boy of 13 or 14 years of age, who could be trusted about medicine taking, the timing of TPN catheter or wound dressing change.  He went online searching for relevant info.  One can discuss with him like one does with an adult; he is acquainted with bacterial cultures and various laboratory tests.  I once asked him why not stop the TPN (intravenous infusion of nutrition via a centrally placed catheter) for a few hours in the day time, he responded by saying matter of factly, “I am afraid of stopping as it would increase the numbers of set changing, thus increases the chance of infection; [rightly so] besides I am running out of venous access sites.” It saddened me and made my heart ache upon hearing it.  He asked me, “Can I eat again once I have an intestinal transplant?” To which I said, “Of course, you can eat once transplant is done.”  He took a glimpse of his mother and smiled, however brief it might be, it was a hearty and exultant smile.  That was the only smile we had seen on that outpatient visit.  A few days ago a friend of mine shared a theory of being grateful counting our breathing; we should feel blessed and thankful as long as we can breathe in and out of the air.  For the same token, to be able to eat and taste the food is a god-given blessing; we tend to take it for granted.  The more we want the more discontented and less happy we become.  Seeing and taking care of these patients with the irreversible intestinal failure, one learns again the value of the life and true happiness.  Contentment is the key so to speak.

It depends on the help from many people in accomplishing the clinical trial of intestine transplant; the first and foremost, the support of our hospital CEO (朱樹勳院長).  I began the project of animal intestine transplant once I returned from doing the transplant research at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC—an eminent transplantation center in the U.S.), 朱院長 personally guided and presided over the project.  Whenever the difficult bottlenecks were encountered, it was the leadership and perseverance of朱院長 that brought back my confidence and hope and successfully broke through the barriers.  Without his support the mission is impossible.  I also want to express my appreciation to the team of the surgeons: Dr. 吳建明 and Dr. 陳信安 co-direct this project, Dr. 邱冠明 (also the chief) of the cardiovascular center; their super surgical technique is an eye opener and help my own learning and professional growth.  In addition, the operating room nurse, 張沁芸, the very “soul” of the operating room, who kept the operations running smoothly in perfect coordination.  The anesthesia staff (林子鏞主任 and Dr. 吳佳展) were the heroes behind the scene; their astute and skilled anesthetic technique allowed us to concentrate on our job without worry.  I would be remiss without mentioning the team provided the post-op care: Dr. 張碧峰 (also the chief) of pediatric gastroenterology division and Dr. 李宗熙 (also the chief) of adult gastroenterology division, who provided the scope examinations, and Dr. 蔡建誠 (also the chief) of pathology department, who kept a vigilant eye to make sure the tissue rejection was not in the making.  It was indeed a long journey of the past 5 years that our team began with the intestine transplant for the pig to progress and evolve to the human.

The marvelous care provided by the staff at Ward 4D and surgical intensive care unit under the direction of 洪芳明主任 made the post-op recovery and rehabilitation progress smoothly.  The help from the social service and the organ harvest team was also indispensable.  Last but not least was the nurse, 翁家琪, who did pretty much anything and coordinated everything that made the success of this difficult task possible.  I also want to mention many behind the scene heroes that included, but not limited to pharmacist, nutritionist, the researchers in the laboratory (心怡, 雅慧, 怡惠, 世華).  Thanks to all!

The intestinal transplant is the most difficult among the organ transplantations as it contains lymphatic tissue, making it vulnerable to organ rejection.  The favorable results has been slowly achieved over the past 10 years; as of now there have been more than 2,000 cases of intestinal transplants across the globe, mostly done at the top-notch European and American medical centers, isolated cases have been reported in Japan and China.  The Far Eastern Memorial Hospital (亞東醫學中心) is the only medical institution that has done intestine transplant in Taiwan, demonstrating its outstanding capacity in delivering excellent healthcare.  (photo shows the team work of the surgical team doing intestine transplant)

Our hospital CEO, Dr. 朱樹勳, who was the first in doing heart transplant in Taiwan and who introduced heart transplant to the field of organ transplantation at the Far Eastern Memorial Hospital, the project has since extended to heart, kidney, cornea, small intestine and liver transplant, making it the best equipped and most comprehensive organ transplant hospital in Taiwan.  It is our hope that, after completing the pilot study of five cases of successful intestine transplant, the intestine transplant can be available for routine clinical service in Taiwan, making it the Last Best Hope for ones with the irreversible intestine failure.

Lincoln and Douglas: rivals in politics and in love

When Mary Lincoln went to visit (and stay) with her sister, Elizabeth, who married the son of the first Illinois governor, at Springfield, IL in 1839, the potential suitors included young judge Stephen Douglas, with whom Lincoln later had that “House divided cannot stand” debate (thus a rival in politics and in love) and a grandson of Patrick Henry, to which Mary wrote to a friend on 7/23/1840, “the grandson of Patrick Henry—what an honor! My hand will never be given, where my heart is not.” (photos credit: Sandburg's Lincoln; Stephen Douglas, the "little giant" & Lincoln in 1858, about the time of their 7 debates.)

On the inauguration ball (rightly called Union Ball) Mary was whirling in the arms of Stephen Douglas (then a U.S. senator), Lincoln’s heavy heart was far away in the Fort Sumter, South Carolina. The Confederate gun fired on Fort Sumter on 4/12/1861 marked the beginning of the Civil War.

When Abe and Mary first met in a party, Abe went to Mary asking for a dance saying he wanted to dance with her “in the worst way” and he did.

Mary went to Washington, D.C. with Abe in December 1847 when Abe became a congressman, but only stayed for about 3 months; she then went back to Kentucky to stay with her banker father (their house at Springfield, IL was rented out). That was the longest separation in their marriage (11/11/1842 to 4/15/1865). A few letters during this period showing the affection of an ordinary loving couple. Abe wrote on 4/16/1848,

Dear Mary,

In this troublesome world, we are never quite satisfied. When you were here, I thought you hindered me some in attending business; but, now, having nothing but business—no variety—it has grown exceedingly tasteless to me. I hate to sit down in this old room by myself . . .

And you are entirely free from head-ache? That is good—good—considering it is the first spring you have been free from it since we were acquainted. I am afraid you will get so well, and fat, and young, as to be wanting to marry again. Tell Louisa I want her to watch you a little for me. Get weighed, and write me how much you weigh. . . . Most affectionately" (Mary Lincoln's photo credit: Sandburg's Lincoln)

Mary’s letter to Abe,
“How much, I wish instead of writing we were together this evening. I feel very sad away from you.”

Today (March 4) was a historical day in 1861 and 1943

March 4, 1861 Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated as the 16th president of the United States. Peggy showed us a link to an article at Philly.com, “Speech that launched the Lincoln presidency”.

(photo credit: Sandburg's Lincoln; photo taken by Mathew Brady at Washinton 9 days before inauguration. Lincoln arrived at D.C. 2/23/1861.)

http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/20110304_Speech_that_launched_the_Lincoln_presidency.html

Lincoln’s first inaugural speech is basically a legal argument whereas the second one religious. His vow of “not to interfere with slavery in the States where it existed” goes along with what I said in my letter-to-the-editor that was published at O-R yesterday.

The Philly.com article wrote “Lincoln moderated his tone dramatically” and changed his too menacing “Shall it be peace or the sword?” to “We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies.” The latter was entirely Seward’s words; both Carl Sandburg’s and Gore Vidal’s (a novel) Lincoln said that. (photo credit: Sandburg's Lincoln showing the crowd before the Capitol with no dome yet)

Today (March 4) in 1943 also marked the 10th anniversary of President Franklin Roosevelt’s first inauguration. It was greeted with the good news from Pacific theater the same day. Japanese fleet in the Bismarck Sea in the pacific, in an attempt to send seven thousand reinforcements and aircraft fuel to Salamaua, was routed by 137 American bombers, all eight of the Japanese troop transports were destroyed and 102 of the 150 Japanese aircrafts sot down.

Churchill telegraphed FDR that day, “Accept my warmest congratulations on your brilliant victory in the Pacific which fitly salutes the end of your first ten years.”

Lincoln was not an abolitionist: my letter-to-the-editor to Observer-Reporter

The other day I said, “you may argue with 英毅 about anything, but certainly not photography; when he talks about photography, you listen.” and 英毅 responded by saying, “you may argue with Jer-Yuan about anything, but certainly not Abraham Lincoln; when he talks about Abraham Lincoln, you listen.” And I am glad the editors at the Observer-Reporter (O-R) also listen as my letter-to-the-editor about Lincoln was published today (March 3).

I tend to write very short letter: a paragraph or two or just a few sentences. But, I do have a lot to say about Lincoln and the topic of interest calls for a lengthy one. The lengthy editorial (Feb. 27) basically said their newspaper (The Reporter and Tribune—an earlier manifestation of current O-R) was on Lincoln’s side; but if they took the stand of a radical abolitionist, which I cannot tell by reading the editorial alone, then they might be on Lincoln’s side, but they’re standing to the right of Lincoln.



Steve Jobs stole the show of iPad 2

I just watched a video of Steve Jobs’ unveiling Apple iPad 2 on the Wall Street Journal online site. Jobs might have stolen the show of the iPad 2; he said he “didn’t want to miss it.” He’s been on medical leave of absence since January. He looks essentially the same as he was before taking the leave; his talk was articulate, vigorous, and forceful and I am glad for that; I want him to continue to be healthy.

With a dual core processor, two cameras and 9 times faster in processing the graphic (whatever that means), thinner and lighter and same price as the original iPad starting at $499. iPad will dominate the tablet market for some time to come. The shipping of iPad 2 will begin March 11. I am sold!

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.