The Cause of Poverty: Broken Relationships with the Families

The understanding, the awareness, that the writer arrived at, on his trip around Taiwan, to visit the distant region areas, where there are, too many families, waiting for, assistance, the call, for everybody to lend that, helping hand!  Off of the Front Page Sections, translated…

I’d recently finished the fundraiser, 1919 Cycling Around Taiwan, the fifteen day cycling trip of “I ride, You donate”, for the families in dire need.  With a team of sixty-two cyclist, riding 1,300 kilometers around Taiwan, and we’d visited twenty-nine help center, to understand the trials of life of the families hit by emergency situations, hearing their voices, helped them walk that extra mile.  The fifteen days’ of in-depth entering into the poverty-stricken, distant regions, made me see what poverty looked like, and it’d made me realized, that “the origins of poverty WAS from the broken family relations!”

the plea…

photo from online

In actuality, poverty is a widely defined concept, there’s no set definition of it.  From the language, the two characters mean “extremely deprived”, so, poverty is used to describe people living in the hardships of economics, with a shortage of all the resources they’re in need of.  But, being poor, it’s a subjective interpretation, and a comparative; and, there are more levels of poverty than just the economical, materialistic, it may also include societal, economical, as well as political.  In my fifteen days cycling to raise fund for the poverty stricken regions, with personal contact, interactions with the dozens of families, it’d made me feel, that poverty is actually the results of “broken relationships”, especially of the family relationships that were, broken down.

Aunty Chang in Pingdong, is an exemplary case of this.  Aunty Chang is seventy-one, with the condition of mildly mental retardation, live with her younger brother who had a stroke, her own emotionally troubled son, and the nephew with epilepsy.  This family of four lived off of the assistance of handicapped individuals, and the assistance for the elderly.  What added to their difficulties was, that last year, there was a fire on the second floor of their home, the furniture all burned up, there’s now, just the living room on the first floor that can be, used, the originally home with almost nothing now, looked like ruins, and, as it rained, the house would, start, leaking, the place was totally, unoccupiable.  Our teams helped fixed up Aunty Chang’s home, and as she’d cried and told of her trials of life, I can only cry with her, and hugged her, to give her the emotional supports, and told the assistance foundation, to help them look for more resources to help the family, to help them fix up this broken home, so at least this family would have a steady roof over their, heads.

And, there was, an Atayal fellow cyclist this year on our team, who’d, gone on the entire fifteen days’ trip with us.  He’d witnessed the needs of these families, and shared with me, that what he saw, was no different than what he was growing up in, forty years ago.  When this man was only five, his father died from long-term alcohol abuse, leaving his mother, to raise him and his siblings up.  Thankfully, that his mother insisted on getting the children into the church, to help them keep their, faith; because of the church’s unconditional love, and help, it’d helped covered for the lacking of functionality of his family, and it’d helped the family members patched their relationship with one another, up, keeping this Atayal teammate of ours, not gone astray, and he was able to break away from the cycle of poverty, to not pass it down to the next, generation.

And now, the 1919 Cycling Around Taiwan’s fifteen-day long journey is over, but, the needs of these families in the distant regions are still, pressing, and all we can do, is to keep watch over them, continue to accompany these families in need, help raise the funds for the families that are faced with the emergencies, to help those who have the needs, for one more, extra, mile.  I invite you, the readers, to offer a helping hand to those families that are broken down, lacking the normal functions, so the members of these families can, have the hopes for a better, tomorrow.

what we can do to help!

poster from online

Because of you, love cycles!  Help us help those in poverty, to return the relations we share with the outside world back to, love again.

And so, this, is from going deep into the local regions, to SEE and FEEL the needs of these families, and, if we don’t get immersed in the trials of others, and learn to empathize with their situations in life, we will never be driven to help.

The New Year’s Resolution of the Ordinary People: the Ending of MERS-CoV, War, & Inflation

The lights in the darkness, as we’re, still, not yet, out of, the darkness, but there’s that dawn that’s, coming on, in the, distance, if only we can all, look closely, and treat those whom we encounter with, kindness, as this world, slowly, heals back up…off of the Front Page Sections, translated…

Going to the super convenience shops, the cashier whom I knew well told me, that the elderly woman’s son is dead.  The elderly woman is a frequent customer, she’d often shopped there, and sat for an entire afternoon, and she had only her son with him, her life is, lonely.  The younger generations of cashiers and workers all loved the kind elderly woman, and when they’re not working, they would carry in conversation with the elderly woman.

The elderly woman had often come to pay for her own son’s traffic fines, and she’d started, ranting, “Told him to drive slow, he didn’t listen, always sped, and gets caught, and disregarded the fine notices, I can’t stand it, so I’d, paid for the fines for him…”, the clerk told her to get hard on her son, to NOT pay for his fines again.  And yet, the next time, the elderly woman still came, to pay, and still kept, telling how bad her son is.

Not long ago, the elderly woman came into the shop to print something, she’d looked sad, and, I’d asked her what happened?  She’d told me sorrowfully, that her son is, gone, he’d contracted MERS-CoV, and was, getting better too, but, with a progressive conditions, he’d still, died.  And so, all of us, tried our best, to offer her console best as we can, as the New Year’s arriving soon, her being alone, it’d, impacted us so very, much.

An elder told me, that she’d seen the news of the pandemic growing worse again in China, and the Russo-Ukrainian Conflict that’s, caused the people to be without their homes, and all those footages she saw on T.V., made her heart break, and so, she’d, stopped, watching the news.  But she’d still, carried on in the means of giving to the community on her own just the same, she’d told, that she hoped that 2022 can soon be over, that the pandemic had taken many lives now, plus the impacts of the Russo-Ukrainian Conflict, causing the hikes in everything we need, a lot of families are, torn apart, so many became, unemployed; there’s no way to make ends meet, in her own means, within her own capabilities, she’d, often donated to the charitable foundations that helped out the lesser in the communities. 

In the unsettlement of the times, there are still, many who are, kind and warm in the world, in the waves of the cold fronts coming on, these individuals offered hope, and warmth to the world.  A single mother posted on the Group of our local community, that her son in elementary school is saving up the pints of the super convenience stores, he’d wanted the items from the cartoon, but she’s a low-income household, and she also has cancer, she couldn’t, afford to spend so much money, to buy enough to get the stickers for the points she’d begged the neighbors, to donate some points.  As soon as the posting came up, everybody started responding, and fulfilled the young child’s wish, and, it’d, helped shown the mother the compassions.

China is currently being HIT by the waves of the pandemic, there’s the cold meds shortages, my older sister who lives in China couldn’t get the meds, and asked if I could mail a couple of packs of cold meds, or the Chinese herbal cure remedies for MERS-CoV.  I bought a few boxes of Theraflu, and, there was only, a box of the Chinese herbal cure remedy left, I’d bought it, and thought, I should probably, mail one more does, and as I passed through the traditional Chinese medicinal shop, I’d gone in to inquire if there are the ingredients, and as the owner heard I was mailing them to across the strait, he’d pulled out two bottles from the back, told me that there are only, two bottles remaining, that he won’t sell them, only give them to those who are in need; and told me, this was made from the same ingredients of the Chinese herbal remedies to treat MERS-CoV, that from before when the pandemic was hitting us hard, he’d given away so many bottles, not asking for money for them.  I am so appreciative for the shop owner’s compassion, and grateful that he’d held no discrimination toward China, and was willing to help me help my own sister.

In the past year, although, the nine-in-one election had shaken up the communities here, I’m still more than grateful for all the loves, all the wonderful things I’d encountered, I hope, that the new dawn of the new year will light the path of our future, I hope, that the pandemic, wars, and inflations, will all be over, soon.

And so, despite how the world is really bad, overall, there are still, those tiny moments of hope that sparked, that lights people’s heart up, like this woman’s encounter, and that just showed, how kindness still starts small, from individuals, and then, it will hopefully, spread out, and, if we interact, relate to one another in this mean, I’m sure that this will speed the healing process of the planet up too.

Giving Them a Hand, Liao Helped the Homeless Get Back on Track

The amazing work of a social worker from this foundation, helping the homeless population, and educating the members of the public, to be more tolerant, more accepting to those who aren’t, with as much resources, off of the Newspapers, translated…

The Homeless Taiwan Association’s female social worker, Liao, started working to help rehome the homeless population four years ago, she believes, that, everyone can be hit by the hard times; hoping to catch those who are in need in time, wanting to assist the homeless persons to break the vicious cycles of ending up on the streets, and also educating the public about the various faces of poverty, giving the help to the homeless, and help them find a better place in society.

Liao said, that her social work studies in the college years didn’t have a specialized department teaching her how to assist the homeless, after she’d graduated, she’d started working at the Samaritan Female Care Association of Taichung, and started getting involved in helping the female homeless population locally.  She’d worked with a moderately mentally decapacitated twenty-three-year-old woman who was homeless with her father, lived on the streets, then got placed in the shelters, and found work at a work center, it’d left a deep impression with her.

the social worker, teaching someone who’s homeless how to use a SmartPhone, photo courtesy of UDN.com

Homeless is a condition, NOT an identity, it can, happen to, anybody, from the societal level, it may be the pandemic, the financial crises, the changing in formation of the industries, which caused the middle age and older adults to become unemployed, and due to their age, their low levels of education, without a viable skill, they can easily turn to the streets; and there’s the other, personal factors, maybe due to illness, the lack of functioning in the homes, or the death of the parents, at age twenty, couldn’t find a viable way to make a living, no governmental, no external support, and in the end, ending up, on the, streets.

Liao said, assisting the homeless, other than helping them return back to society, she’d also wanted people to understand their predicaments, the foundation has the rehoming services, the medical, the employment assistance, and legal counseling, etc., etc., etc., and now, there’s the, “Scented Bathhouse” program, to allow the homeless to take a shower comfortably.

It’s not always easy, offering services to the homeless, Liao also felt defeated, if there were only, two, three successful cases, but the rest all fall back into the homeless state of, being, sometimes, when the organization give out the resources in the nights, for instance, if they’d started eating the meals as they received, this may be the individuals’ first meal, and sometimes, the passersby would start cussing them out, and believed, that it’s because the homeless are not working hard enough for their lives, that’s why they ended up, homeless.

Liao said, every generation is troubled by different things, seeing the struggles of the homeless population at the bottom of society, she hoped that everybody can live on with ease, it’s just, that there are different values, and different ways people make their own lives, matter, that the homeless aren’t at all, good for nothings, if everybody can try and understand that there are others who are different than s/he is, and be accepting to one another, then, this world will be a better place for all.

And so, this is the amazing work of this social worker, she’d helped those who are homeless for whatever reasons to get back on their own two feet, and she’s now, trying to help those in the society understand, that there’s more to the homeless population, than the fact, that they’re, wandering the streets, that they all have their, stories to share.

The Homeless Weathering the Winter, the Misunderstood Gazes Felt Colder than the Harsh Winter Winds

The observations, of someone who HAS, that roof, over his head, the interactions with the local homeless populations, off of the Front Page Sections, translated…

The winter sun finally showed its face, I’d gone to the gazebo of my local park to have my picnic, there was a middle aged man lying on the benches, sleeping, peacefully, everything is, serene.

Then suddenly, a police officer barged into the park, first, he’d, started filming the man who was asleep on the bench, then, waken him up using a loud voice.  The man woke in shock from his reams, not known, what had, happened?  The officer explained, “I’m showing care and concerns for you!”, then, disappeared, in a flash.  I didn’t know whether to laugh or to be shocked, this sort of “care”, surely, it’s, awakening all right!

The police may mistaken that he was a member of the homeless in the community, but, from what he had one, and what he took with him, he may be a member of the local communities, just out for a walk at the park, and saw that the weather’s nice, and lay down on the park benches to, sleep a bit.  And, this “lying flat down” move of his, caused the officer to mistake him for a homeless man.

This way of showing cares and concerns for the homeless population, no wonder, all the homeless people had escaped out of this, particular, park!  There were the female homeless persons who’d, selected to camp out in the public restrooms instead.

This seemingly shiny, glorious society, is actually, a desert for the lesser, they’d relied on the kindness of others to keep themselves alive, they’re all, nomads in the city here.  Those with the resources, write out the rules of the game of survival that only benefitted themselves, willing to sacrifice more employees to win, those with the families to provide for, those who want to keep a regular work, sleep schedules……..are most often, the losers, some may become members of the scam artist rings; those who’d fallen, to the bottom of the food chains of this society, might actually be those who refused to sell their souls, those who refused to go against their own, conscience.

Due to the high cost of housing, and the gaps between the rich and the poor widening, now, even those who are just out of colleges wanted to just lay flat, how can we blame the homeless for not working hard enough?  Treating the homeless who didn’t know how to fight back, as the damaged goods of the results of the progression of the society; in this crazy world, there are those who appeared bright and shiny, but had been rotten down in the cores, those are the truly, broken.

winters are getting even harder for those without a roof over their, heads!

this is all, that those at the bottom of the society can do, to keep themselve alive, through the cold winters…photo from online

I’d gone to Taichung for a trip from before, went to a local park to get some sun.  Before I’d left, I’d gone to use the restrooms, saw an older man at the sink, washing up a heavy coat, that brand new looking faucet, with not enough water coming out of it, the man worked hard, cleaning his clothes, like he was, trying to, wash away his, identity too.  I’d gone outside, saw a few of his article of clothing exposed out in the open at the corner of the park, I’d returned back to inquire, “it’s already winter now, the thick coat, without the washing machines to wring it dry, you may need at least, two, three days for it to dry out completely, what’ll happen to you when you get cold at night?”, those who are down and out, had no choice, the man smiled and told me, “I’ll fare just fine!  It’ll be, okay!”

I’d served my armed service terms in Taichung from before, and personally experienced the horrifying temperature change from day to night, once I was on shift as a standing guard in the middle of the nights, I’d had my army outfit fully on, with a large coat, it still wasn’t enough, and even after I’d put my raincoat on, I was still, shivering underneath.

I’d asked the man, if he wanted a sleeping bag?  He’d nodded.  But, I can’t get one for him, and so, I’d, taken my brand new feather filled coat I bought recently that I was wearing to him.  These past few years, I’d given out, several of my coats already, if I couldn’t purchase the sleeping bags these homeless in the community needs, that’s what I’d, done for them.  The elderly man kept pushing the coat away, but took it because I’d insisted.  Without the coat, I was, suddenly attacked by the colder winds, and, fearing the cold, I’d often gotten ill because of it, and I can’t imagine, how these homeless on the streets are, weathering the cold of the days and nights of winter.

From before, there bus station at Jen-Ai Road, the sky bridges had many homeless persons camping out on it, some had kept the dogs too.  Most may wonder, when you can even keep yourselves full anymore, why would you want to have a dog?  Because dogs don’t discriminate against the homeless, and they’d offered warmth of their bodies to the homeless in the cold, dark nights.  And now, the bridge was being, torn down, I’d wondered where would those homeless people, go?

The attitudes toward the homeless in the city of Taipei had changed a lot, but only in the regions where the massive numbers of homeless population gathered, and, those who are alone, are faring way, way worse, and the homeless in the other cities, I can’t even begin to imagine what life would be like for them!

Or maybe, what chilled people to the bones wasn’t the cold winds of winter, but those misunderstandings, misconceived notions we have of the homeless population.

And so, this, is how the bottom half of this society worked very hard, to keep themselves alive, and warm, as best as they possibly can, in the winter seasons, and, there are more living on the streets now than before, because of the bad economy, and, when we, ordinary people can’t even make our own ends meet, how would we have the spare changes, the extra mind, to give and pay to these, people who are actually, the most in need, now that winter’s, getting colder by the days in the world right now?

Donating the Quilts I No Longer Need at Home, Giving that Warmth to Those in Need

How a little empathy goes a long, long, long way, helping the homeless keep warm, during this coldest winter in history ever, from the Front Page Sections, translated…

The cold fronts hit, the entire island of Taiwan felt, freezing, plus the rain that came, inside our homes, we can all feel the, chills, can’t imagine how the homeless on the streets, and those who don’t have the warm clothes can weather this.

Recently, there’d been the articles, “Counting up the Votes, Not Caring about the Homeless Populations”, and “No Life, Only Survival”, these two articles touched me a lot; finally, someone’s taking a NOTE of how the bottom half lives, but the government officials are still just, shooting off their mouths.

Empathy!  What is needed, to save those without the resources that they are in need of, is a little something extra, to help them weather through the storms.  But, who can and will, provided the needed items to those who are in desperate, need?

like this…how something so simple can help someone out so much! Photo from online

Awhile ago, the weather forecasted the cold fronts, I’d used the good weather, set out a few sets of quilts, thick coats, and other items to help keep the cold away, washed these, set them out under the sun to get them dried up; then, asked my friend in the same community, if she wanted to deliver the items back to her home; as she’d heard, she’d rushed right over, told me that a nursing home close to her home elsewhere is in dire need of clothes, she’d immediately rushed over, and hauled the items, away.  Actually, these things that are about to get throw out by me, I’d not wanted to part with them; and, in the end, I’d thought of how those are without the warm coats for the winter, I’d, decided, to spread the warmth out, and I hope, that this act of mine, can “help care for those who are in need in the cold winters”.

And so, this is still on how a little empathy goes, a very, long way, this woman was sorting through her home, and, rummaged out a bunch of winter clothes, and, she’d felt awful for those who don’t have a home, who are living on the streets, and felt, that nobody was looking out for those at the bottom of the society, and worried for their wellbeing, which drove her to donate the coats not in use, to help those who are really in need of them.

This woman did a wonderful thing, and, it was only one person’s lending a helping hand, but, at least, there are those in the communities everywhere in the world, doing this.

The Gift of Kindness, of Compassion, from a Mask

A random act of kindness, from a stranger, who saw the needs of an individual…translated…

As I got my cataract surgery done, with my eyepatch on, I’d gone to the counter to retrieve my eyedrop medication, the nurse learned that I’d come to get the procedure done alone by bus, she’d asked if I needed help, getting a cab?  It was still light then, I’d thought, it would be no problem for me to ride the bus, I’d told her it wasn’t needed.

As I waited for the bus, I’d dialed the phones to tell my families that my surgery went well, then, the straps on one side of my mask went, “SNAP!”, broke.  I’d felt bad, but I’d still, rummaged my purse for the spare.  At this time, I’d recalled, that to help me swiftly go through the medical visits, I’d, switched my backpack to a purse, and I’d left my spare mask in it, forgot to take it out.  Seeing how the bus is coming, I can only use my hand to pull the mask into place, gotten on the bus.

a gift that’s so small, but it means, a whole, lot! Photo from online

As I’d selected my seat,, the bus started rolling, and, someone from behind me patted me on my shoulders, handed me an unopened mask.  I’d told him thanks, the man told me, that it was from someone who’s behind him, passed the mask forward to me.  I’d looked over, and, the man pointed back, it was a young woman sitting behind him.  At this time, as the bus stopped at the light, I’d, stood up, and turned, and thanked the young woman.  She’d smiled through her eyes, with her mask on in response.

A mask that got passed from three unknown strangers to me, saved me from my troubles, and suddenly, it’d, soothed the sense of helplessness I’d felt for an entire, afternoon.  From that day forward, the masks are no longer, just an item that keeps the virus away, without the temperatures.

And so, this unknown stranger saw the writer’s need, and, handed her a spare mask the she had, and it may be something tiny for the woman, but, to the recipient, it meant, a hell of a lot, and that still just showed, how there are still, moments of kindness that might go unnoticed, in times of outbreak, when everybody tried to distance her/himself from one another.

Kindness Donated & Delivered

Kindness, delivered to the students in need, the heart of these people are simply, amazing!  Translated…

Living in the southern regions of the country in the countryside, there’s this, local bakery without the names, with the great prices, that’s gained the local’s love, normally by eight in the morn, everything in the shop got, sold out.  Once day as I’d passed by at around nine, to my surprise, there’s still baked goods left over, and, there was a transport for the disabled parked close by, I’d stopped to inquire out of curiosity.  The female owner of the shop told me, because the sales of the items didn’t go so well because people are busy, making the offerings at home, she’d donated the baked goods to those in need.  This scene reminded me of something from the past.

Some twenty odd years ago, my wife studied in night school in high school, most of her classmates were students who started working to provide for their own families during the daytime and only came to study at night, worked and provided for their families, and after work, they’d still, rushed to school to study.  Some didn’t get a chance to have suppers, and, the empty stomach affected their health and ability to learn at primal conditions, the homeroom instructor felt bad for the classes, and told the situation to the head of student affairs.

like these???

photo from online

The head of student affairs felt for these, “elder students”, and tried to resolve this.  She’d known an owner of a bakery who was willing to give the leftover breads of the day to the school free of charge, the things was someone would have to go and pick the foods up.  My wife discussed it with me, asked if I would be willing to transport?  I’d told her I would, and ever since, I’d started working, as a delivery person.

For five days of the week, come rain or shine, winter or summer, no pay, I’d rushed to the bakery before its closing time, and, took the baked goods the owner took off the shelves home to refrigerate, and the following day, my wife would bring the baked goods to school.  There is a microwave in the office, as the night school students picked up the breads, they can microwave the foods to heat them up, and then, have the warm foods, this helped them from going hungry, and it’d, reduced the costs of their lives.

There’s the high and low seasons for business, sometimes, there were the lack of supplies of baked goods, and, we’d bought other food items, with the sweeter and saltier tastes, and the students didn’t like them, and we’d had them bring the foods home to their families; and, when there are too much leftover, watching the expiration dates, we can only, give the items to our neighbors……….anyways, we’d, given back to our local communities, and, established the connections well, and not wasted any perishable items.

In the days without Uber Eats, or FoodPanda, my wife and I had been delivering the goods for more than two years, until my wife “graduated” from her teaching posts, and she’d, been awarded the best service award too!

And so, this is the hearts of kindness, of how this school instructor felt bad for her class of students for going hungry, and they’d, worked up a deal with the local bakeries to get the foods provided for free, and this is way, way, WAY before UberEats and FoodPanda!

Bus No. 5

The kindness of, strangers, it rolls around, translated…

On a weekend morning, the noises of the neighbors, it’d, made me, feeling upset.  “Don’t get angry, don’t punish yourself with others’, mistakes, go out to stroll for a bit.”

Bus number five just rolled in, and the way it came towards me, was like it was, made for, me.  Fine, I’ll, hop on the, before I steadied myself after I’d swiped my bus pass, I saw an elderly in the priority seat with his cane over his head, moving toward the inside, and his hands were trembling so hard it’d, worried me.  So, I’d, rushed up to him, and, used my left arm that’s been weakened since my car accident, with all the strengths I had in my arm, tried to steady his, cane.  “Careful!  Sir, where are you headed all alone on your own?”  “Rushing to the hospital, in a hurry, I’d, forgotten everything, no money.”

Money, at the sound of the world, I’d, felt that alarm coming on, after all, the news of the Cambodian scams had been over-reported.  I’d, moved to the back of his right, into the seats silently: white shirt, blue pants, the, green slippers that didn’t fit him, he looked clean, and not slick.  No mask on, no wonder he’d blocked his face when he’d talked to me.

a microcosm of the world, happening, inside this, space! Photo from online

“Can’t possibly try to scam me for the masks too now, can he?”, I’d, rummaged through my purse to find the extra I had packed, and, what’s left, was my saved mask with the pink color, and the rose watermark.  “This would make him stand out too much!”.  Then, without a second of doubt, he’d put it on, as I’d, offered the mask to him, and suddenly, I’d believed, every word he’d, told me.

“You didn’t pay the bus fare, did you?”, I’d, poured out all the changes in my purse, handed thirty dollars to him.  “But it only costs fifteen”, he’d returned half of that.  “You still have to ride back home, keep it.”  He’d fallen silent as he took the coins, but, there was, that light from his eyes.  Then suddenly, I saw that he wasn’t, agile, “I’ll help you pay your fare”.  Forgotten how after I was injured, I too, hated the bus, I’d, slanted toward the bus driver, and told him, that I’m, paying for the elderly man.

“Thank you, miss!”, the driver’s words were, genuine, like I was, putting in the donations for a temple.  Do you need to so passionate with paying for the bus fares?  I was wondering, as I’d turned around, I’d heard, “thank you for your assistance”.  Turned out, in that, unpopulated bus, he must’ve, heard the conversation with the elderly man with me.

As I’d thought, when the elderly alighted the bus, he’d probably, already greeted the drier, otherwise, how could he just, sit comfortably down?  And, this may be from others’ kindness, and that, was when I’d, noted how gentle the elderly looked.

Before I got off, I’d, not forgotten to confirm the destination of the elderly man: “N.T.U. Hospital?”, then, I’d, gotten off the front of the bus, and asked him to mind the elderly.  “I know he’s getting off at N.T.U. Hospital, don’t worry.”, the driver told me.  And, I’d come to understand, that long before I’d, alighted this bus, it was already, carrying the good will along already.

“Thank you miss, blessing will come to you in life”, the driver added the blessings.  I’d not had enough time to respond, it took me, three whole seconds before I’d told the driver, “from before I broke my arms in a crash, I was helped by a lot of people too”.  “oh, okay, then, bless you, miss.”

The moment the doors of the bus closes, I’d turned around, and looked, and the driver’s backside resembled that of the smiling Buddha.  I’d watched the bus leave the station, and I’d still felt that warmth of light, all around me. And so, this, is the kindness that you showed toward a stranger, and, the driver noted it, and, he’d been keeping watch over the elderly man before you alighted the bus already, and that just showed, that there are still, acts of kindness, all around us in the world, if only, we look, carefully enough, and we will surely, find

The Helplessness of the Poverty-Stricken Woman Under the Outbreaks of MERS-CoV

How the, “bottom half”, lives right now, off of the Front Page Sections, translated…

That day, as the wind and the rain were hard, after I got the kids to school, I’d gone to the breakfast shop I’d frequented for some porridge.  A middle age woman dressed in plain clothes, rushed in, wanted to order three breakfasts to take home, but she didn’t have any money, and asked the shop owner if she could get the food, and pay at another time.  As the owner turned her down, she’d, left with her head hung low.

The owner explained, that last time she’d come, she said she would come and pay for what she owed after she was paid, but for over a week, she’d not come to pay.  And, as I’d inquired deeper, I’d found, that the woman is a single mother, originally worked as a server at a restaurant, but due to the impacts of the outbreaks, the restaurant closed down last month, and she hadn’t found work yet, which made her originally hard enough life, even, harder.

As I’d chased out after her, she was, already, gone.  Standing in the wind and the rain, looking up at the gray colored skies, I’d felt that sorrow in my heart!  What ached my heart was that under the pandemic, how many of these, poverty stricken women had been, overlooked by us.

From 2020 to date, Taiwan had been a high-risk region for MERS-CoV, not only had the pandemic made us fear for our own lives, it’d also, damaged the economy.  In the many means of preventing the spread, we overlooked this group of economically unstable, those who can’t even make ends meet, can’t provide the basic living needs to their loved ones, the “eggshells”, especially the economically unstable women.  And, all of them, normally, don’t show up in the statistics, they’d become, invisible, scattered, living in the darkened corners of the society, if we’d bumped into them by accident, we wouldn’t, pay attention.  They are in need of assistance, but not known how to ask for help.

And, because we are already, tighten up on money ourselves, how the HELL are we going to spare that DIME for someone else?  This is the dark side of humanity, yeah, we give, when times are good, but, when times turn bad, and we’re running out of money ourselves, we just, look after our own selves, because, that is, the selfish nature of humans, we only help out, when we have enough on our hands, which makes humans, hypocrites!

Who’s Coming to Lunch

The kindness shown, by this young mother, toward a complete stranger, teaching her own young daughter the lessons of how important it is, to care about the world around them, translated…

After the Great Heat, the temperatures continued to rise, the entire island became, baked, I was so hot in the kitchen, I had to, desert my cookware, to escape the battlefields.  This was so totally different than that freeze frame of the three-generations sitting together, with the younger mom, and young child, dressed up to the nines, the elderly woman, in her, floral printed cloth shirt, with the old flipflops.  “The stingy daughter abusing the mom?”  “Troubles between the mother and daughter-in-law?  Intentionally, given her a lesson?” don’t know why, my mind started, running through all the possibilities then.

As they ate, they’d rarely exchanged any words at all.  Are they, following that rule of: silence is golden?  Or, are they, following the etiquettes of eating, don’t talk with your mouth full?  The mother, watched over that young girl, patted her face, wiped her mouth away, with gentle love and care, but to the elder, there’s, the repeated, “don’t hurry, eat it slowly.”  As the steaks were served, the mother cut it up into smaller bits and pieces, pushed it to the elderly woman, told her, to eat it, slowly, to chew it down completely, and yet, there’s, that coldness of tone of voice, and we can’t feel any of the heart of a daughter that’s, well rounded enough at all.

kindness towards, someone who’s in, need

photo from online

But, the elderly woman seemed not to care, just focused on the food that’s, before her, based off of her age, she had, a huge, appetite, like she’d not been fed for a long, long time, that she’s planning on, filling up the vacancy that’s inside of her stomach all at once, she’d, gulfed down the salad that was a tiny hill of green, and had two bowls of soup already, the eight-ounce steak, totally, cleaned off her plate, the chocolate cake, the Boston Crème Pie for desserts, all gone, ice cream…three scoops in a breath…as I watched her, I’d, started, exclaiming inside, “Wow, eating contest winner, I’d, read you, wrong!”

And, the elderly woman finally, burped, and got up, satisfied, “Thank you, ma’am, for treating me to this meal, mighty kind of you!” she’d continued thanking the woman, then, turned around, left.  The young girl lightly complained to her mother, “she stinks!  So sweaty, smelled too, bad…………”, that young mother told the child, “Grandma had been, picking up the recycling materials in the heat, look how hard she was sweating, then, you know how hard she’d worked, to, make a living for herself.”

So, they’re not, a family then, to the point, of never meeting before, it’s a wonder, they’re, eating their own meals, with no words of, exchange.  It’s just, that this young married woman had, passed by the elderly, and, felt sympathetic toward her, and invited her to the meals, and, the elderly was lucky enough, to meet someone kind, and got a fulfilling meal.

The steak meals of less than four hundred dollars, I can pay for it too, but, inviting an unknown elderly to come along and eat with me, that’s, a thought I’d, never had.  The young mother’s, “not giving to her like she’s a charity case, and made sure the elderly’s pride was cared for”, her act of, kindness, it’d, given her own young, the best, example.

And so, this is the story of kindness in the world, that the writer had, observed, and, this young mother is, amazing that she’d, invited this unknown elderly woman, whom she’d bumped into on the streets, noted that she was having a difficult time in her life, and, invited the elderly woman along for a meal, and you just don’t get that enough these days, because, we’re all, keeping our heads down, watching for our own means, we don’t really, have the mind, nor the time, or even, the energy to care about, someone else’s needs, and this young mother was a good example for her own young daughter.