Sir, I Want Some Baked Goods that Are, Imperfect

The acts of kindness, initiated by the owner of the bakery, and it warms everybody who knows the details of what’s going on, translated…

Yesterday, as I was at the bakery selecting my breads, suddenly, a boy of about ten ran into the shop in a hurry, started hollering to the owner, “Sir, give me some imperfectly baked breads!”, the owner of around sixty years of age squinted his eyes, smiled and replied, “okay!”, then, I saw the child used the clasps, picked up a few breads, the owner bagged the items for him, and only took one small coin from his hand, then, handed him the goods, and told him, to walk carefully, and, the owner smiled, as he saw the young boy off.

Those of us, customers who saw this scene, we’d, all looked at each other, and smiled, while the owner of the shop told, with a heavy note, that the boy’s name is, “Lucky”, he was, a prematurely born child, back then, his mother gave birth to him out of wedlock, and couldn’t tell who the father was, in the end, she had to, leave the family, abandoning her own son, and for many years, nobody’s, heard from her, for several years, the boy was, left to raised by his grandmother who’d, lost her husband.  She’d hoped that he would be, blessed, thus, she’d, named him, “Lucky”, but because she’s elderly, without abilities to work, she could, only make the amount from recycling the materials, they lived on, very, poor.  “Thankfully, although Lucky may be, developmentally delayed, but his physical growth was, normal, he’d, helped his grandmother out without being asked regularly.”

a batch like this???sold, at a, discounted price here!  Photo found online

The owner told, that since he learned of Lucky’s story, when he’d come to buy the breads, he’d, symbolically, accepted a coin from him, as payment.  But, one time, his grandmother took him in, pointed to the bread, then inquired to the owner, that did Lucky steal the breads?  If not, how come, all the money she’d, given to him were, still there?  The owner replied, “Lucky is a good kid, he did NOT steal anything, he’d bought the ‘breads not baked perfectly’, so that’s why, I gave it to him, at, a discounted price!”, as the grandmother heard, she’d, felt relieved, and continually, thanked the owner for his, kind heart.

As I’d heard the owner of the bakery told the story, a surge of warmth rushed up.  Think about it, Lucky is, exactly like his grandmother hoped he’d become, a kid blessed, otherwise, how would he have, met up with the kindhearted, bakery owner?

And so, this, is one of these tiny tales that warms up the heart of those who heard, read, and knew it, and, the owner of the bakery saw that this young man was in need, and, started giving him the help, because he knew, that he and his grandmother, are living on so little, and this story warmed up the hearts of others, it gives us hope, to see, that there are, still, smallest amounts of kindness, happening, all around us.

Seeing You Off

The final passage, remembering the woman whom you’d come to know, as your, mother-in-law, from your father-in-law’s second marriage, translated…

Sitting silent, in the back of the church, on the wooden bench, stared at the white coffin, paved with flowers in the shrine, hearing the pastor slowly, told of your, eighty-two years of colorful life; as the pastor described you as being straightforward, generous, it’d, made me cry, and I’d, lifted up my head and smiled, started recalling the thirteen years of friendships we’d, come to share in life.

It was a snowy day in April in Norway, my husband who’d, planned to be single for the res of his life, drove me in his car, and, came to your door, my father-in-law, and his second wife, you, immediately led us in, and, in a panic, started, preparing the snacks, the coffees to serve to me, an unwelcomed guest.  Back then I wasn’t, fluent in Norwegian, I’d spoken in fluent German with my father-in-law, and, it’d, made you, who lived in the U.S. for over a decade object, that you had difficulties understanding us, and, we’d, realized that we had, excluded you, and immediately, we’d, both started switching to talking in English then.

On Christmas Eve that first year of our marriage, you’d, burst the hopes of your three daughters, sons-in-law, and nine grandchildren’s dreams of family union, you’d come to our home, and, baked for us, the traditional Norwegian pork ribs, meat balls, and sausages, and prepared seven types of pastries.  And, as lucky as I in the first time, I’d, scooped up, the only almond, hidden inside the rice pudding, and received, that special award for piggy almond candy.  Underneath the Christmas tree with the Norwegian flag, were the gifts, stacked up, you, my father-in-law, my husband and I, the four of us, sat around the tree, and started, tearing open the presents, the excitement, the joys, it’d, filled up the house.

The summer that my mother, second aunt, and nephew visited Norway, you’d not just, invited them, you’d also, found your youngest who’s my age, along with your young granddaughter, who’s around the same age as my nephew as company, you’d, set up a wooden board in your yard, with the balloons, and started, shooting the darts.  And even though, it’d rained that day, we’d, still, had a ton of fun; to this very day, my mother still talked of the cherries, the raspberries, and currants you grew in your own yard.

On your seventy-fifth, because your body was, ailing, you’d, delayed your birthday celebration in May, but you’d, not told us flat out, only asked, if we’re available to show up in June.  And, as my husband and I arrived, I’d found, that it was, a family birthday celebration your daughter, son-in-law, and grandson had set up for you; we’d, not brought anything, and we were, embarrassed, but you’d laughed and told, that it was because you didn’t want any presents, that was why, you’d, not told us it was to celebrate your birthday.

illustration from UDN.com

2017 was, especially cruel to you.  First, your best friend who lived in the U.S. died in the spring at the age of over ninety, several months later, it was, my father-in-law, the second love of your life, passed away, in the autumn.  On the evening my father-in-law passed, you, me, and my husband, the three of us, stayed close by his side, until he’d, swallowed his, last breath.  You’d, dragged your, deteriorated health, your, slow steps home; the following day, we took you to the funeral home, to set up my father-in-law’s final affairs, you’d spoken of how you’d, not slept through the night, that you’d, paced around in the living room; even as your kids and grandkids were there, to accompany you, it still, didn’t, take away from your losing your husband.

Within two years after my father-in-law’s funeral, I sat here, in this, same church, heard the same pastor, hosting your funeral.  This pastor was the one who’d, conducted the wedding ceremony of you and my father-in-law thirty years back, he’d retired since, but, two years ago, he’d, made an exception for my father-in-law, spoken on his funeral, and this time, for you too.  You marrying my father-in-law, had once cast a huge shadow for my husband’s not introducing me to his own mother, but, for the eighteen years, the three of you had, died, and all the displeases of the past are now, gone, with the wind.  I’d heard of the news of your death as I’d returned from Egypt, I’d, come, to see you off, I’m so grateful for your kindness toward me, even more grateful, that you were, a “stand-in mother-in-law” to me, giving my families and I, such, wonderful, memories.

And so, this, is on how strong the connections of strangers who became, families are, and this still just showed, how if you’re kind to your daughters or sons-in-law, they will, reciprocate, and love you like you were, their own, parents too.  This is quite rare, to see a stepmother-in-law and a daughter-in-law get along so very well together.

The Air, My Friend

The column by Jimmi Liao, translated…

The Wind Started Blowing, the Hat Flew Off

The Wind Stopped, the Hat, Dropped into the Water

The Wind Got Angry, Why is Everything Blamed on it?

artwork of Jimmi Liao, off of UDN.com

This is scapegoating, because instead of making sure that that hat is, SECURE on your heads, you’d, blamed it on the wind because it’s, much, much easier than, to take responsibilities for what you failed to do in the first place, this happens, quite a lot, if you can believe it!

The Nurse Neglected the Male Infant Causing Him to Become Blind, Carried a Bad Attitude, Received a Five-Month Jail Sentence

This is, NEGLECT, and it makes you want to, think more than TWICE (‘cuz it’s not enough!!!), before you PLACE yourself, and your newborn infant in the care centers, don’t it???  Off of the Front Page Sections, translated…

A nurse from Taichung, Wu, in order to care for a male infant who’s hospitalized for jaundice, she didn’t, pay attention to him that he was, spitting his formula back up, after the infant was resuscitated, he was rushed by transfer to the VMH in Taichung; the infant, after being treated by therapeutic hypothermia, he was diagnosed with brain damage due to anoxia, five months ago, the infant was discharged from the hospital, by then he was, blind, and needed the feeding tubes.  The Taichung District Court charged Wu with assault and neglect, sentenced her to five months in prison, that she can pay a fine without serving the time, and this can still be appealed.

The pregnant woman, Sun, on October 6^th, 2015, gave birth to a male infant, Kuo at the Lin-Xing Hospital in Taichung, on the nineteenth of the same month, the infant male was taken back to the hospital for his check up, they’d found signs of jaundice, and assigned him to hospitalization that very afternoon.  At eleven o’clock late in the evening, because the infant boy choked on the formula, couldn’t breathe, the nurse on duty for the midnight shifts, Wu didn’t pay attention, the infant became limp in his limbs, stopped breathing, ceased to have a pulse; as she’d finally discovered him, she’d immediately called up the doctor, Chien on duty, to resuscitate the infant.

Wu notified the family of the infant of him being in critical condition, and in the early morning hours of October 20^th, the infant was lifted to the V.M.H. in Taichung to be treated.  At the preliminary examinations, the Taichung V.M.H. found the infant male to lack the response of being scared, he couldn’t, suck, swallow, he became limp on his limbs, was in a coma, etc., etc., etc., decided to employ the methods of therapeutic hypothermia to treat him; the M.R.I. of his brains showed, that his conditions were caused by anoxia.

The Taichung V.M.H. treated the infant for five months, then, the infant was, discharged from the hospital, but he’d suffered severe optical nerve damages, and had complications from anoxia too, and relied on the feeding tubes, and need to be on the epileptic medications too.

The verdict pointed out, that the physician who’d treated the infant boy, Chien noted how there is, huge amounts of formula that was, drained out on the infant male’s airways, that the cause of his brain damage is probably from asphyxiation from choking on the formulas, and brain damage from anoxia.  The male infant’s father testified, that he’d received a call from the hospital that his son choked on the formula and was in need of emergency resuscitation, that very evening, in the E.R., the infant had been diagnosed as anoxia caused by choking on the formula, and the family transferred the infant to Taichung Veteran’s Memorial Hospital to treat.  On the records, the Taichung V.M.H. had, that on the night of emergency resuscitation, the E.R. doctors, Chien and the E.R. department had, diagnosed the infant as anoxia caused by choking.

The nurse, Wu denied her neglect toward the infant boy, the Taichung Court found her to have an awful attitude, that she should be punished, to set an example for all.

And so, these parents, they’d, left their young son at a afterbirth care center, thinking he’d be, well taken care of, but, because the nurse wasn’t paying enough attention, this young child is now, handicapped, and the nurse who was tending to this infant should be punished, it’s due to her negligence, that this young infant’s life got, ruined.

In the Arcade Gambling Case, the Officers Split Up the Hush Money, Found Guilty, Sentenced to Sixteen Years

A higher-ranking POLICE officer, breaking the LAWS, and for what, a little kickback!  How money is, so enticing here!  From the Front Page Sections, translated…

from this…cartoon found online

The former higher ranking police officer, Lee, while he was working as the head of the specialty task force with a high rank, took the bribes from the arcade owners, and he is imprisoned now; he’d, given up the assistant head of the department, Lin, who’d, split up the money from the arcade owners; Lin stated that he was only trying to help Lee, which was why he’d, admitted to taking the kickbacks, the High Subsidiary Courts in Kaohsiung found Lin guilty of embezzlement, sentenced him to sixteen years in prison.

Lin, who’d been taken off police duty with his wife and other members of his family came to court to hear the verdict, he was worked up, told, that Lee gave the bribes to the woman he was having an affair with, in order to protect the money, that was why he’d, made the false accusations, that there’s the communication records of what was being said, and that the courts found him guilty, based, solely off of Lee’s testimonies, without direct evidence, that he will, appeal to turn over the verdict.

to this…photo found online

Lee was accused of taking bribe from the arcade owners through receiving money from his subordinates, Yeh and Peng, who are both, fired from the police department now; Lee had taken the bribes twenty-one times, with the amount of a total of $11.44 million N.T.s.

As Lee was indicted, he claimed that he’d, split up the bribes he’d received from the arcade owners with the assistant lieutenant, Lin, and although Lin denied it, said that Lee’s accusations were to help himself get off easy, he’d not turned the bribe money from the arcade shops that Lin received, which was why he was still, charged with corruption.

The judge believed, that Lin while he directed the task force, had the right to assign his subordinates to check the arcades for gambling, he was the primary executor of the activities, that he’d, played a vital role, that the case couldn’t have been covered up so well, with only Lee working to, that he probably, received at least HALF of the bribe money from the arcade owners, he’d, gone against his call of duty, and gave him sixteen years in prison, and stripped him of his status in the force for six years.

In October of 2016, the district attorney’s office of Kaohsiung started investigating the cases of the police department’s looking the other way in the arcade gambling case, back then, Lee was just, promoted to the assistant director of the Sanming Second Substation, and because his testimonies are vital for the convictions, after his sentence was, reduced, he received six years, four months in prison, he’d started serving his prison term this February; the former police officer, Yeh received a year and a half, and, the former patrol officer’s indictment, is still, pending right now.

And so, this, is what made these officers, break the law, for a little, extra money, they’d, broken the law, AS, police officers, and, they should get heavier sentences, as a warning, to those who are, about to, break the law, and this still just showed, how even the police can be, tempted, by money, to break the laws!