Car Dashboard near the school

February Hong Kong-isms

In Hong Kong if you go to the ATM and withdraw money, when you’re done, the screen will prompt you to take the machine’s “advice.” No, the ATM is not re-commending that you use the money to buy your mother some flowers. “Advice” in this case simply means a receipt or a paper notice.

Also, now that flu season is here, you might want to consider going to the clinic and getting –not a flu shot, but a flu “jab.”

A jab?

Yup.

If they’re trying to convince me to come in for preventative health care, I would think that they could entice me with something more appealing that an offer to jab me. I mean, given the choice between the two, I think I would rather . . .

. . . um, oops, never mind . . .

Now that I think about it, I guess I would rather be jabbed than shot.

Happy jabbing everyone.

Ken Wood part 2 of 2

One November, Kathy called to say that she and Ken weren’t going to make it up to Chicago for Christmas. Money was a little tight. And we all knew how much Ken the Texan disliked the cold and snow. While we were all gathered for Christmas, we were visited by two mysterious Santas decked out in red suits, full beards, and sun glasses. One of the adult nieces read a poem the two Santas had silently handed her when they had came in. When the poem was over, the Santas pulled off their beards and sun glasses . . . and, as you have guessed, it was Ken and Kathy. That’s the kind of guy that Ken was. If Kathy wanted to be with her family for Christmas, not only was he going to make sure she got there, he was going to make sure she got there in style.

Ken was a gifted storyteller. Despite his slooooow Texas delivery, he could hold my attention for long stretches. He loved to spin tales about his days working in the auction business or his exploits buying and selling. Several years ago, he bought several large, stainless steel cages at a state auction. When he got home, he cold called several veterinarians over the phone. No one was interested. Finally, he loaded the cages back up onto his flatbed trailer. He pulled up to a local veterinarian’s office and stacked them near the front door. He went inside and talked to the veterinarian/clinic owner. Ken explained that he was making a trip into Houston and he would be coming back through this way tomorrow. At that time, if the vet didn’t want the cages, Ken would load them all back up and take them home. Ken left them near the veterinarian’s front door for the next 24 hours and then came back the next day.

The vet gave Ken the $1200 dollars he was asking.

Played like a pro.

Ken was not always a Christian. He never really regaled me with stories from back in the day. I think he took no pride in how he had lived his life before he was a Christian. I got the impression that Ken’s life broken into two distinct halves: before and after he become a Christian. Ken definitely lived by a very distinct moral code. I never heard a foul word come out of his mouth. He was honest, straight-shooting, hard-working, generous, and self-reliant.

Kathy’s son Shaun, who has his own excavating company and has done well for himself since graduating college, attributes his success -in large part- to Ken's mentoring, guidance, and example.

I just pray that the way that Ken steadfastly adhered to his faith and attempted to live out that faith will continue to be as much of an example to his family and friends in death as it was in life.

Ken, you were a man among men. I have a lot of fond memories of our times together. I always had a lot of regard for you. I was proud to call you brother-in-law. You will be sorely missed.

Kathy, our hearts go out to you. We are so sorry that we couldn’t be there for you in your hour of need. But please know that despite the distance, you will be in our thoughts and prayers.

Jack

Ken Wood part 1 of 2

One of the most difficult things about living in China has been being far from family and friends in their hour of need. When tragedy hits, our human instinct is to press into each other for support and to process tragedy together. That is hard to do from 10,000 miles away.

Thursday afternoon right after third period I saw Julie had sent me a short email, “News from home. Come see me as soon as possible.”

I knew it couldn’t be good.

I went down to the second floor health office where I had to wait for Julie to finish tending to a skinned knee and take the temperature of two other students. Done, she turned to me.

“Ken Wood was killed in a car accident this morning.”

I was dumbfounded.

Ken is Julie’s brother-in-law. He was married to Julie’s sister Kathy. Ken was 59 years old.

Ken had been driving his pickup truck near their home town of Iola Texas and had pulled over to retrieve something from the road side. He had just gotten back into the truck when it was broadsided by a large dual-axel pick-up truck with a trailer.

Julie’s brother Michael happened to be in Texas visiting Ken and Kathy and was in the truck with Ken. The truck rolled after it had been hit, but Michael was able to walk away with a few cuts and bruises.

Ken is survived by a daughter from his first marriage as well as Kathy's adult children Shannon and Shaun.

Ken was a gifted story teller, a licensed auctioneer, a tea-toller, an avid Dr. Pepper drinker, an ardent supporter of Texas independence, and a committed Christian husband and stepfather. In his younger days he worked on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. He only wore black t-shirts, never, ever wore shorts, always carried a Leatherman pocketknife on his belt, and never, ever smiled for pictures. Ken could fix, make, or build anything. One year, Ken made a park bench out of an old fire hose as a Christmas gift. It has to be seen to be believed.

Ken and Kathy had been married for over twenty years. Ken and Kathy didn’t like being apart from each other and were rarely separated. If Ken had to run into town to go to Walmart, Kathy almost invariably jumped in the truck with him. It’s really hard to imagine Kathy without Ken near her side.

Kathy’s love language is giving gifts. And Ken was always there to support her in her latest extravagant over-the-top endeavor. Right before we left for China, Julie’s family threw us quite the shindig. (Considering that Julie is one of eight children, it’s impossible for them to do anything on a small scale.) Ken and Kathy made -and then hauled all the way from Texas to Chicago- a full-scale Chinese dragon –like the ones used for Chinese dragon dances. They had made the huge head out of recycled electrical conduit, fabric, spray insulating foam, and two large Styrofoam balls. It was amazing. Honestly, it put to shame some of the dragons I have seen over here. Knowing that we couldn’t take it with us to China, several of the adult nieces who are teachers were arguing over who would get to “store” it for us in her classroom.

Obamao

I see these t-shirts in the open-air markets not only in Hong Kong, but pretty much everywhere I've been in Southeast Asia.

Because Obama is sporting the uniform of the Chinese revolutionary guard, I assume they originated in China. I think there is supposed to be a political statement embedded in here somewhere but I hesitate to even try to figure out what it might be. I can't tell if the makers are offering a critique of Obama or embracing him as one of their own.

Somebody must be buying them because I see them displayed everywhere, but I haven't actually seen anybody wearing one until I saw this guy at the border crossing between Cambodia and Thailand. I couldn't help but wonder if he was an American or not.

And no, I haven't bought myself one.

The Standard Charter Half

About two months ago Julie got on the computer to register for Hong Kong's excessively popular annual marathon -actually, she wanted to register for the half marathon. If you don't register in the first week or so, you won't get in. She was having a little trouble. She would get all the way to the end, enter her credit card number, and then it would boot her off the system. She was a little frustrated.

Well, she figured, later this Spring she could look for a couple of local 10k's she could sign up for.

We got back into town after Christmas break and there waiting for her in the mail was her registration packet. Unbeknownst to her, she had in fact registered herself for the Standard Charter Banks half marathon -which was now less than six weeks away.

In a panic, she went on line to find a training schedule. I think she googled the words "How to train in a hurry." She's been training ever since.

The run is today.

-Jack

picture: Julie putting in her last big practice run along the Shing Mun River.