The height of summer

Summer solstice and 38 degrees weather. Never mind that.

Wifey, Faith, Joy and, soon, Peace.

Thank God for family.

Faith and me

Faith and I are growing distant. It's a combination of the 9-to-5 work hours and my own lack of patience with her attempts at growing up.

My childhood was filled with adults who were impatient with me. Feeling torn between being a good friend and having to instill some kind of discipline in her. It's the latter that usually comes through. I don't ever recall any adults that was patient with me as a child. This is threatening to pass through me to Faith. I am desperate to stop this generational curse. Forgive my strong word.

I remember the ready laughter and smiles Faith had for me. A few days ago, she flinched when I reached out to pat her back. It cuts my heart.

There were no parental role models. I can only bungle along feebly, hoping that every decision is a good one.

I can never give her enough love. How does one love through the daily grind of life?

65 years on...

...and let's not forget the price that men paid to keep the world free.

Not only on the beaches of Normandy...



but also in the China-Burma-India theater...



Not a very well-known piece of WW2 history was the Second Chindit Expedition, conducted from February to August 1944. The expedition originated from Assam state in north-east India into Burma. Consisting of troops mainly from the 77th Indian Infantry Brigade. Their main mission was to wrest control of north Burma from the hands of the Japanese Imperial Army.

This area was where the famous Burma Road was located. The road itself, being the critical supply route from British India to Nationalist China bases in Yunnan, was overran by the Japanese army in 1942.

On June 6 1944, the climatic battle for north Burma began. The 77th Brigade was given the objective of taking the city of Mogaung and liberating the Burma Road. The 77th was ultimately successful but suffered 50% casualty, not just in the battle that lasted 21 days but also from disease and malnutrition.

Lest we forget.

Before dawn

Blogger has been blocked by the Great Firewall of China, again.

Anyway, here I am, sitting in the quiet of dawn, reflecting on the past months. My third kid is due in less than 2 months' time. The other two are as trying as they can be but getting away with it because they're so angelic. Wife is tired most days now, heavy into the third trimester.

After mulling over the 80s in many of my previous posts, I seemed to have moved on to the 90s, moved away from the innocence of childhood and teenage years into the hard landing on Reality Runway that so characterizes life in the early 20s for many people. The pressures of responsibilities, work, student loan, failed relationships etc. I remember watching a re-run of St Elmo's Fire and crying at the end.

Growing up in the sheltered environment of an elite preppy school was, perhaps, the worst preparation that anyone can have for life ahead. I never knew people outside of school or the closed circle of friends. People who didn't consider paper qualification important. People did everything except play fair to get ahead or even for minor things in life.

The 90s was also the time when some of my friends died. People my age were mortals after all. Something that was totally alien to me, coming after the heady days of living life in the rush of teenage hormones. I was invincible no more. No physically. Certainly not emotionally. Does anyone remember "Before Sunrise"? A film with Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy? What would you do if you had 12 hours left with someone you cared about?

We live without thinking about existential issues.

What have you done that will matter in 10 to 15 years' time?

Indeed, people have more in common with the dew on grass than many would care to admit. Here tonight, gone by dawn.

My bread machine just chimed. Time to slice some bread for breakfast...

The old man and his children (part 1)

There was once an old man with many children. This old man had a big garden in the middle of the forest. In that garden were many things for the children to play with. There were two water fountains in the garden, one in the east and the other in the west. Cool water flowed from both and the children could drink to quench their thirst on a warm day. There was also a tall wooden fence that kept out wild weeds so everyone would be safe.

To be continued...

Due to technical difficulties, this story is discontinued...