User Comments - obitoddkenobi
obitoddkenobi
Posted on: Detroit
April 6, 2008 at 7:19 AMkontraband7, look at the commentary here too. Lots of love for Singapore. http://chinesepod.com/lessons/singapore/discussion
Posted on: Detroit
April 6, 2008 at 6:33 AMUser 40659, Thanks for reminding me of the Jewish Delis and Greek Cony Island hot dogs! Lord Stanley, my union (UAW) brother, I have fond memories of Canada too, including what I remember as the beautiful Blue Water Bridge to Sarnia. I had relatives in Ontario. Two of my best friends went to Cass Tech (a different time than your grandpa). It was good to live in a border city.
Posted on: Tomb Sweeping Day
April 6, 2008 at 5:09 AMYou are most welcome Auntie, as your stories touch me too.
Posted on: Detroit
April 6, 2008 at 5:01 AMMy home town! You have redeemed yourself Jenny Zhu! I had a big smile on my face all through this lesson. Was that almost laughter that I could detect at times. Unfortunately, Detroit is pretty po' (Hey a confluence of po...Detroit is so po', it couldn't afford the or on the end of poor. It is also very 破）。I should have been the last to tease you about your former comments. In the 70s, I was laid off (事业了）from a Chrysler plant and eventually left to seek shelter in the San Francisco Bay Area. Every third or fourth house in my old neighborhood (Highland Park) lie in ruins. Last I saw, some of them are still standing, but leaning so heavily that you'd think the force of gravity would bring them down at any minute. In Detroit, of every entering ninth grader, only one in four graduates from a high school. It is a stark reminder of what can become of a once vibrant community when Industry abandons. There are still kind hearted people in Detroit who have been through a lot. But mostly it is memories for me, from the warm hearted legacy of the Brown Bomber, Joe Louis, (a little before my time, but I met his sister!).... People singing acapella on street corners, wanting to be the next discovery. Aretha Franklin's father lived a block away... never met her or Marvin Gaye, but never think of a spring baseball season without hearing the words from his song, "Will the ball club win the pennant? Do you think they have a chance?... Ohhh, What's happening brother?" And yes, even still now, the Red Wings, (and don't for get the Pistons) like a phoenix, still rising. May the city of my birth see better days ahead. Thank you for your kind mentioning my home town.
Posted on: Tomb Sweeping Day
April 5, 2008 at 4:05 PMA memory I will never forget occurred in the lead up to 清明节 in 1976 in Beijing. This occurred after the passing of Premier Zhou Enlai. It was my first trip to China, and I went as a member of the US-China Friendship Association delegation. In the week before 清明节, thousands of people took to Chang'an blvd., bringing wreaths and poetry to the Monument to the Martyrs to celebrate their Premier's memory. At first I took it as natural that people would be doing so, but came to realize that it was actually a fairly dramatic event. I remember one of the members of a contingent of people delivering a wreath came out of the line right up to me. I could see that he was very agitated and he said, "No one, no one, can stop us from showing our love for Premier Zhou Enlai". He was so clear and emphatic I was actually a little (unnecessarily) worried that he thought I was against the idea, so I said that I understood, and supported him. Later that night, people translated some of the poems which spoke of monsters who lurked, wanting to destroy his efforts. It was actually kind of eerie as it was dark and people were shining flashlights on the wreaths. There was a tension in the air, and truly, as we learned in the weeks and months to come, there were people in the government who were out stop people from doing this. It must have taken a lot of nerve for people to come forward. It was people putting themselves on the line,...being a witness to the efforts of someone they saw trying to better their lives. Sorry if I've gone on a bit, but in these days in America of remembering Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., (April 4th was the 40th anniversary of his death), and on this Qing Ming day, I wanted to respect the bravery of common people everywhere who sacrifice and risk themselves for something higher. Actions like these should always be respected. As always, thank you for good work you do ChinesePod.
Posted on: Sweet Roasted Chestnuts
March 26, 2008 at 5:42 PMNew York City vendors sell roasted chestnuts (without sugar) in the fall and winter.
Posted on: 葬礼安排
March 20, 2008 at 1:09 AMThat's interesting. To get to Jewish Shiva above, you need to scroll the whole last line. Clicking on it gets you to the Hindu deity.
Posted on: 葬礼安排
March 19, 2008 at 11:25 PMHi Changye, I think you are probably at least in part right. We use expressions like, 'Its like a funeral in here", in the US with humor too. Sometimes to diffuse the tension when people are down or quiet. I converted to Judaism as an adult. The custom of sitting shiva when someone dies is practiced to different degrees by members of the reform congregation that I am part of. I don't know anybody who does everything. Shiva actually means "seven" and the "头七" days are the most defined. One wonders if there is a connection. For more about Shiva: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiva_(Judaism)
Posted on: 葬礼安排
March 19, 2008 at 3:52 AMoops. 而切 应该是而且。
Posted on: Detroit
April 6, 2008 at 2:01 PMI should have mentioned my Armenian neighbors and the Armenian bakery, "people up from the South", Eastern Market, Polish and Albanian neighbors in Hamtramck. There were Mexican American neighbors and great food in Southwest Detroit. There was only one Chinese man who lived around the block from me that I recall growing up. He taught me math at the high school and tennis at the park, Mr. Li. He spoke Cantonese, but knew enough Mandarin to encourage me when I came back from College and talked to him on the street. I remember my father helping me cross the big divide of the mystery of the other. Detroit had, and still does have many Arabic and Iranian immigrants who came and worked in the factories and also set up shop. My dad had served in the Army during WWII as a Quarter Master in what was then called Persia (at least here it was called that). It was there that supplies were shipped to Russia. For some reason, the corner store started as a place of anxiety for me and I think it was about language. Until my dad came, the merchant almost never spoke English, and often had friends and cousins who spoke to him in what seemed so other a language to me as a small boy. Then my dad took me to the store and greets the man saying, "Salam Aleikum" (I'm not even sure that was the right way to say it, but it was recognized by the man as the greeting, Peace be upon you). The man responds with what I remember as Aleikum Salam, (And unto you, peace). The magic of the transformation, as my father spoke of the beauty of this man's land, and now the man, speaking in beautiful lilting English calling him, "my friend", became in my eyes someone transformed from the stranger to someone to get to know. Growing up in Detroit had its difficult times too, but the beauty and wonder of human connection that I first found there is something I hope I will always hold dear.