9.11

The world, as we knew it, changed forever seven years ago on September 11. Time has changed; people and things have changed, but there are still lots that I remember, that I still remember…

I remember: I was eating breakfast when the news broke: an aircraft had flown into the North Tower of New York’s World Trade Center. My first impression was: what a catastrophe! Did the pilot make a mistake? Did the control center screw up? How could a human error as big as this occur? I remember: The second plane soon hit the South Tower. By then, the whole world knew it was not an accident. Still, very, very few knew what was going on.

I remember: Just as I turned on the TV, the South Tower collapsed in front of my eyes. My eyes and mouth were opened wide. I did not know what to say, what to think, nor how to feel.

I remember: On my way to school, the news of the collapse of the North Tower also broke. Also, the Pentagon was attacked. I was not thinking of wars, terrorist attack, anti-American, etc., I was thinking of how many innocent lives have already been lost…

I remember: When I got to school, a colleague told me a fourth plane had crashed. I later learned that the flight was United Airlines Flight 93. The passengers on the plane, upon learning of the terrorists’ attack, struggled and crashed into an open field with the terrorists instead of allowing them to hit the White House. I remember the phrase spoken by one of its passengers, devout Christian Todd Beamer, who said, “Let’s roll!” as he and several heroes sacrificed their lives to take down the terrorists on United 93.

I remember: We received a notice and a standardized statement to read to the students. I remember how heavy my heart was, and how haunting the silence was when reading that statement to those normally loud 13/14-year-olds.

I remember: I was glued to the TV the next few weeks. Watching the hopeless faces at Ground Zero searching for their loved ones, I wept daily with the sons and daughters, husbands and wives that were left behind…

I remember: The local Chinese newspapers reporting that some Chinese people, when watching the news coverage of this horrific attack, stood up and clasped! I remember how infuriated I was at my very own people…

I remember: a bunch of names and places that were previously unheard of in the news: Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden, Al Qaeda, Kabul…

I remember: the stories of those who died. Are they resting in peace today? Have the wounds of their loved ones been healed since?

I remember: a lot of people suddenly came out to remind us that life is short, to remind us to cherish those around us while we can… I also remember how quickly we became forgetful again…

I remember: 9-11 has happened seven years ago, but to this day, our world continues to be one filled with hatred…

Beautiful

A while ago, I had the chance to discuss with a few friends about the term "beauty." Somehow, amidst the discussion, we've talked about some movie stars from the past, and the name Audrey Hepburn was mentioned.

Audrey Hepburn was a famous actress in the 50s and 60s. Obviously before my time, the only recall I have of her looks was through the reruns of movies like The Roman Holiday or My Fair Lady. I don’t know if she is considered beautiful or not (some say her eyes were proportionally too large compared to her face; others say she was too skinny or bony, etc.), but I do remember pictures taken of her towards the end of her life, when she was a frequent visitor to Africa and other countries under poverty with UNICEF. I don’t know about you, but I think she looks very beautiful in them. Here's one example:Age may have left an indelible mark on Ms. Hepburn, but there is a beauty that no make-up can create.

I browsed around the Internet for more, and found some other pictures. Some of these ladies are very pretty to begin with while some are not. But, without exception, they all look beautiful:

I know it is almost ludicrous, or certainly foolish, for me to suggest that people stop using make-up. But, come to think of it, are we spending too much time worrying about how pretty we look, and forgetting completely to cultivate our true beauty? We all have 24 hours a day. Take away 8 hours of quality sleeping time, and you are left with 16 hours. If you spend half an hour every few hours to fix your hair, re-do your eye-shadow, put on blushes, etc., how much time, legitimately, do you have remaining to truly make yourself beautiful?
If I may, just a brief description of the other four pictures: the picture on the left shows former HK singer Cass Phang visiting India with ORBIS to see the children whose eyesights were permanently damaged due to unclean water. The picture on the right shows a Chinese policewomen during the Sichuan earthquake in May. When she arrived at the scene and saw that many babies who were still nursing have lost their mothers, she immediately unbutton herself to nurse one of the nameless babies. The third picture is of Mother Theresa, and I'm sure this is just one of the millions of pictures of her looking after a child. The final one involves another Hong Kong artist, Gigi Leung, paying a visit with UNICEF to Mongolia. In the picture, she was playing with a child whose brain was permanently damaged due to extreme mal-nourishment after birth.

All of the ladies above look gorgeous to me, but they do not necessarily wear make-up. Are YOU beautiful today?

Represent!

In the last entry I talked about my disappointment towards some selfish people and their despicable act. I came across a story later, and I really wanted to share it with you:

A woman was driving her car home one day. The traffic was terrible that early evening. To make matters worse, some drivers were driving in ways that were really annoying: changing lanes without signalling, cutting lanes dangerously, you name it. The woman got increasingly fed up with this scene, so started honking at any cars and drivers who she believed was getting on her nerves.

A while later, when the woman finally managed to get away from an area of excessive volume, she noticed a police car was behind her and had its lights on. The woman saw the police car pulling ahead, and signalling her to stop. The woman was confused: yes, she sometimes would speed, and had crossed an occasional red light, but how could she have done either of those from such terrible traffic? Unsure if she had made any traffic violation, she pulled over bewilderedly.

The policeman approached her and asked for her insurance paper and driver’s licence, and later returned the documentations to her and said she could go. The woman was really, really confused right about now. So she asked the police officer if something was wrong: "No, ma'am. It's just that, when I saw the WWJD (What Would Jesus Do?) bumper sticker, and saw how you were honking at everybody, I was not sure if your vehicle was stolen..." The woman by now was blood-red, completely embarrassed and ashamed...

Knowingly or unknowingly, willingly or unwillingly, we go into this world representing a lot of things: for me, I am a Chinese-Canadian, I am a Christian, I am a teacher, I am a brother, I am a whole lot of things. I am the last person who likes stereotypes, but stereotypes sometimes do have their place. When we fail to represent, should we feel a little embarrassed and ashamed also?

Disappointed

Who am I to crack on the party and celebration, but I must say: June 13 was a day that really disappointed me. For those of you who remembered or witnessed, we had three fire bells pulled that day, and adding to the insult were the ruthlessness and chaos that could be seen in the hallway, especially in the grad hall. See for yourself in case you were not there, or had turned a blind eye to it:

These images are not taken after the custodians have gathered all the junk into a pile; they were taken AS IS!

I get that it is the last official day of school for certain people. I get that some people are in the mood to celebrate. Go celebrate, have a little fun. I was actually quite happy while I heard the collective cheer and congratulations that took place the moment the final bell was rung. I was also impressed at these guys who brought their vanilla soda and said cheers to one another as if making a toast for this final moment. I can even somewhat understand (not to say I agree with it) the pulling of the fire alarm once, but what is with all the littering? Do you have to “celebrate” at the expense of others? What happened to all the values that you so proudly represent the entire year?

One custodian said this a lot better than I can: “We have worked so hard for them all year – what have we done to them to deserve this to be done to us?” I was speechless when hearing that.

I have grown to respect some of you a great deal through some of the wonderful and charitable things you have done throughout the years. I have lost the respect for several individuals over one moment of irresponsibility. True character is seen in moments where you can “let go” and just “let it rip,” but choose to restrain yourself from doing something at another person’s expense. For several people, your despicable act on the last day of your high school life had greatly disappointed me.

Rest in Peace, Luc Bourdon

For those of you who are hockey fans out there, you probably have heard about the passing of Vancouver Canucks Luc Bourdon. For those who haven't, Bourdon was a promising 21-year-old player for the Vancouver Canucks, who returned to his hometown in New Brunswick during the off season to be with his family and to do local community work, teaching children how to play hockey, and encouraging them to pursue their dreams. Last week, he was riding his newly bought motorcycle, but tragedy struck as his bike slammed head-first into a truck. Bourdon died instantly on the scene.

What really struck a chord inside of me in Bourdon's tragedy was the way those close to him were advising him NOT to purchase the motorcycle. His mother was begging her son not to buy the bike, and his teammate, the senior spokesperson and leader of the team, Trevor Linden, was also advising his younger teammate not to buy the motorcycle. But many of Bourdon's friends have the bike, and so Bourdon bought it right after he earned his license. It was not even three weeks between the time Bourdon got his license, and the time that he was killed tragically.

I want to say this with the utmost respect and condolence to Luc Bourdon. From all the accounts I can read, he was a fine young man who worked really hard to become an NHL player, and like many hockey players, was a classy guy who always found time to give back to his community. But this makes it that much more tragic, that a young man's life is cut short, just like that.

Proverbs 1:8 from the Bible reminds us that "Listen, my son, to your father's instruction, and do not forsake your mother's teaching." Bourdon's mom pleaded with him not to purchase the motorcycle; his teammate, Trevor Linden, who was like a father figure on the team, also advised him against it. I don't want to make light of a tragedy like this, and this is in no way a time to add salt to a wound... but I do hope that, our hearts will not shut us out from listening to the advices of those around us. No, they may not always be right, but if we do not even attempt to listen, to use their experience in life to help us analyze before making a decision, then do we become the "fools" that proverbs so frequently describe?

Rest in peace, Luc.