Helping Someone in Need in Times of the Outbreak

Helping some random stranger in need out, in times of, the “plague” here, teaching a very important lesson to your own young here, translated…

Seeing that man who’d fallen down, with blood covering over his face, I’d, tightened my hands on my twins’ hands, and the hesitation, gone in a, split second, I’d, walked up quickly towards him………

It was a sunny Sunday afternoon, the springtime sun shone just right, I’d, decided, to take my kids out to the Youth Parks, to see the turtles, to see how many squirrels we can spot, to throw the Frisbees, to let my children who’d been kept, indoors, in their boredom, to run and to, play a little.  They got tired of running, and we’d, walked to the local shops, planned to find something to eat, at this time, an elderly man not far from where I was, fell down.

First, he’d, lost his, foothold, then, fell hard to the ground, he’d, instinctively, tried to get back up, but, didn’t steady himself and, tripped, fell harder.  I’d, screamed loud, as the elderly man, barely, sat back up, as he’d, lifted his head towards me, I saw blood coming from his head, he’d, started, making sounds, that I couldn’t, quite understand.  Some of the passersby instinctively, dodged his way, there were even more people, who’d, just, stood by, and watched the elderly man bleeding, like they were, watching a street performer.

like this???  Photo from online

A father with a child, came up to the elderly man, handed him a tissue, signaled him to press it onto his head to stop the bleeding, I’d, had my children wait for me right where they were, rushed forward, and, dialed emergency, for the, very first time in my life.  On the other end of the line came, a steady and stable voice, other than having me make sure of the elderly man’s consciousness and his willingness, the individual also reminded me, to wear a mask, to protect myself.  I’d, subconsciously, pressed down on the edges of my surgical mask, to make sure that my face is, sealed underneath it, lifted my head toward my twins who were, about two meters away, and I’d be lying, if I say I wasn’t, the least bit, worried.

The ambulance rushed over shortly enough, after the call I’d made, and, in the basic first-aid measures being taken, the paramedics also checked the elder’s glucose and temperature— “he’s feverish!”, these words, made a ripple inside my mind, suddenly, the crowd that gathered had, vanished, I took out the alcohol I had to sanitize myself, and tried to remember if there were, any open wounds on either one of us when we’d interacted?

“Mommy, will the man get better?”, my daughter pulled on my shirt.  “Yes he will, because we both helped him out.”, I’d, squeezed my twins’ hands tightly, told them I was so proud of them.  Life may be fragile and unexpected, but I believe that humans are, innately, good, that we’re all, working, to make this world a better place, I hope that my twin daughters can, remember this very moment, that no matter what the circumstances, we should all, try to, help someone who’s in need out.  This unsettling time is, a test for human nature, and love, is the answer to all of these, trials of, all our lives.

And so, this, is quite, altruistic, because you saw someone in need, and, you’d, not thought twice, because the elderly man had fallen down, and was in need of assistance, and, you’d not allowed, the bystander effect, the diffusion of responsibility, to prevent you from helping the elderly man out, and, you’d, also show by example, to your twin young children, how important it was, to offer someone a helping hand too.

Their Home Got Broken Down by the Winds, Over Hundreds of Volunteers Came to Help with the Rebuilding of Their Homes

Goodwill, of the members of, the community here, off of the Front Page Sections, translated…

The rundown shack that the resident, Lee in Suao, Yilan couldn’t shelter him, his girlfriend had died, in the cold fronts last year, she was all that he had.  The New Taiwan Volunteer Group, in order, to not let the same things happen again, on the 21^st, the volunteers had, built a house for him, so he could have a warm roof over his head.  There were, over hundreds of men and women who showed as volunteers, they’d all rolled up their sleeves, from all around Taiwan, pulled the money to get to the area, and, donated the materials, put up the money needed, for a house to get built out of their own pockets, this home that’s, made and filled with the love was built up, using two weekends, and it’s being, remodeled, and, by next Sunday, Lee could, move into it.

The sixty-four year-old man, Lee “Cheng” lived in poverty stricken means, the walls were falling down in his resistance, the roof leaked, it couldn’t, block out the wind or the rain, or the cold fronts that came.  “Cheng” had a girlfriend whom he’d, lived with, she was originally weakened by illness, and, as the cold fronts hit last November, their rundown shack couldn’t block out the cold weather, his girlfriend’s weakened body and couldn’t withstand the cold, she’d, passed away.

the “home” where Lee was living in

photo courtesy of the New Taiwan Volunteer Group from online

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before “Cheng’s” girlfriend had passed, the volunteer group noticed this case, and immediately wanted to offer assistance, only, that they’d lacked the funding then, and the foundation was, overseeing other worse off families, and couldn’t offer the assistance on time, but they’re, already, raising the funds for the house for “Cheng” back then.  And yet, they were, too late, the rundown shack that “Cheng” resided in broken down, and it was, demolished, he’d, camped out in the cargo container houses close by.

The volunteer group, in order to NOT allow for the tragedies to happen again, in the leadership of the C.E.O., Yo, they’d, raised about $550,000N.T.s, bought the construction materials, shipped it to Suao.  And, all the builders were, volunteers, the volunteers gathered at three in the morn in Taoyaun on the 21^st, got on the car, arrived in Suao, and started the building process.  The volunteers first set up the steel structures of the frames of the home, and connected the electricity, made sure that there’s water running, before this Saturday, they’re, going to start the remodeling of the inside of the house, the setting up of the furniture, the appliances, by Sunday next week, they’re, to hand over the keys to the house to “Cheng”, so he could, move in.

“The volunteers helped build up the house, and, they’d, put up the traffic costs, the foods, as well as their own, insurances too!”, Yo told, the volunteers, in helping to build up the house, they’d not received a cent in money, they’d even, had to, pay for their stay, as well as their meals.  The charges for food is $100N.T. a day, the room and board, $200N.T.s a day, the insurances cost $50N.T. per day, the cost of transportation, $100N.T., for this two day one night volunteer work, the volunteers needed to pull $550 N.T. out from their own pockets per person.

The volunteers were assigned to various duties based off of their expertise, some saw the steel pipes, welding, connected the wires, digging up the drainage pipes, as the material shipped couldn’t get to the construction sites, all the volunteers, started lining up, like ants, carried the heavy steel, wooden boards, the iron shack roofs, even the already, welded frames.  Everybody rolled up her/his sleeves, put that work helmet on, and started, working; some of the female volunteers who worked in the office, who’d, never lifted anything heavy, they’d helped, carrying the steels, the roof boards, the eleven-year-old boy, also did his part, helping to make the building project happen.

 

a project, like this???  Photo from online

And so, this, would be, the collective efforts, the kindness from all around the island, because this man needed a roof over his head, and he couldn’t, buy a property on his own, because he couldn’t make the money, so, this group of volunteer came, to help make him a home from scratch, and in the process of building, everybody took up a role, to make this wonderful house, built with love happen, to give this man, a safe place to stay, a roof, over his head.

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.

The Sense of Humor that the Bus Driver Has

Through an act of kindness toward a stranger, hoping, that someone else will follow your lead, and show the same kindness needed, to the man too, translated…

I took my six-year-old son out and waved at the bus driver as we were, catching the bus.  Unless nobody’s getting on or off, the driver would, stop at every bus stop.

To a certain stop, we saw the driver run really fast off the bus, then, slowly, helped a visually impaired person on board, right then and there, I saw the man with a sign with the bus route written on it, readied, to put it inside his knapsack, and that was when I’d learned, that as the visually impaired man heard the bus wheeze by his side, he’d, taken out the sign, so the drivers can see it.

like this???kindness, sighted!  Photo found online

The driver confirmed with him what station he was getting off, returned back to the driver’s seat, I saw the man with his cane, prodding around, headed slowly, toward a certain object on the bus, I’d, reminded him quickly, “sir, there’s a seat next to you!”, he’d, patted the structures of the seats, asked, “right here?  Thanks!”, my husband next to me spoke in synchrony, “Yes, be careful sitting down!”, I watched him smiled, and nodded toward our direction, then, he’d, picked up his cell phone, put on his earphones, and immersed himself in the music happily.

As I was about to get out, the man was, still enjoying his music, I’d, held my son’s hands, as we got off the bus, because I believed, that this, was going to be, a beautiful relay, that as others saw how helpful I’d been to this man, that he was in need of assistance, I’m more than certain, that others onboard the bus will also, lend him, a helping hand.

And so, kindness still, started with one, and this woman hoped, that with her show of kindness toward the visually impaired passenger onboard the bus, someone else will also, follow her example, in lending the man, a helping hand, and this, is exactly, how kindness gets passed down from one person to the next, it all starts, with one!

Disregarding the Costs, the Mobile Supermarkets Entered into the Distant Regions, “We Can’t Care about the Costs”

A social welfare program, that didn’t, CARE about the cost, but only, helping the locals, we need more of these in the world right now that’s for sure! From the Newspapers, translated…

The mountain regions in Yilan is off-the-maps, the locals can’t shop easily, the Helping with Love Supermarket’s C.E.O., Chu made a wish of “delivering the groceries to the distant regions”, push for the mobile supermarket programs, used two million dollars to alter the 3.5-ton truck into a mobile marketplace, yesterday, the truck was official, it’d, delivered the meats, the vegetables, the fruits, the instant noodles, the soy sauces, the daily needs, along with, over a thousand groceries, up to the mountains, to sell.

photo from UDN.comthe grovery store on wheels…

The mobile supermarket at the start of the year, started the trials of using a 1.5 ton truck, it’d gone to the regions of Nanshan, in Datong, the Four Seasons, the Ylang, the Song-Luo, Le-Shui, Ying-Shih, along with Nan-Ao, the native tribal areas first, and, also, to the communities far off in the northern Yilan, Gueishan, Daxi, and other local communities, so these distant towns can also, get their needed groceries.

“We don’t care about the costs!” the mobile supermarket is out on the road a lot, of it, it takes two hours per way, to the 1,200 meter high Datong’s Nanshan Tribes, a total of four hours, over a hundred meters, Chu said, the items in the mobile supermarket is exactly the same as what we sell in the cities, in prices too.

The mobile supermarkets’ “shelves” don’t have the randomized groceries, it’d been, surveyed by the statistics, to see which items are mostly needed by the locals, and, everything the locals need, they can, preorder it from online, the meats, the vegetables, and, then, after the orders were, placed, the mobile supermarket drives up the mountains, there’s no extra, delivery charges.

Chu said, other than deliveries made to the distant regions, if there are larger scale functions, or nursing homes that needed, the mobile supermarkets will deliver, “when we are, service-oriented, we stopped considering the costs!”, Chu said, that the mobile supermarkets bring in a set income, and, considering the costs of gas, of the wear and tear of the vehicles, the drivers, and the costs for hiring the cashiers, they’d have a negative earning, but, because of the needs of the distant regions, it needs, to be done.

And so, this, is something wonderful this man started, he saw a need, and, provided the services, and, we need more of these, understanding minds, more of these, helping states of minds, to make this world a better place, and this man is, already, doing more than his share, to make a difference, in the lives, of others, not caring about the costs.

 

 

 

 

When You Tripped & Fell

The help from complete strangers, and, it’d made your life better, as well as the ones you’d helped out too, translated…

As you were growing up, when you’d, fallen carelessly, your parents who wanted you to have that smooth ride in life, in a panic, had always reminded you, to get back up on your own.  The parents of that era would always, pass along the wisdoms of life in every day, because the road to your future, you shall, walk by yourselves.

like this???photo found online

In reality, before the years had given you that “label” of old, if you’d, tripped and fallen flat on your face in public, other than feeling embarrassed, before you feel the pains from your trip and fall, you can only, get back up in a hurry.  Once, I saw a woman, tripping by the tiles that were, uneven by the sidewalks, I’d rushed toward her to see if she needed any assistance, she’d gotten back up in a hurry, and stated, “I’m sorry”, this was, out of embarrassment, seeing how she was okay, I’d helped her pick up the purse that flew out of her hand, she’d told me thank you repeatedly, and left, I couldn’t help but mumbled to myself, “thank heavens she’s not injured!”

And I also, had more than my share of trips and fall, as I’d, begun to age.  Sometimes, I’d, gotten too distracted by all around me, not paid attention to where I was walking, then, tragedy came towad me, and, the best way I’d, handled the matter, to save myself from embarrassment was, to pick up my belongings, and made my escape from where I’d, tripped and fallen.  But, the years took their tolls, as I entered into the bottomhalf of my life, it seemed, that even if I wanted to, I’d, had a hard time.

At this time, I’m, physically weakened, my bodily functions started, not listening to my commands, and, even AS I’d paid attention to where I was going, there were, still, multiple dangers lurking all around me, and, there would be those moments of unexpected falls I had had.  Once, I was wearing a mask, my eyes were blocked from seeing well, plus, the skies didn’t have enough lifht, I couldn’t tell there were the uneven pavements, I’d, tripped and fallen too hard, my body fell, like I was, trying to slide onto a base in a baseball game, it hurt so bad I couldn’t get back up immediately, the young man who was sliding on his cell phone close by, was alerted my the huge crash I’d made, he’d turned his head, looked at me, I’d originally thought he was, going to come over, and give me a hand so I could, stand back up, but instead, he’d, focused his attention back, to his cell phone; being optimistic, I could, only make fun of myself, must be, that I looked, young, that was why he’d, felt he’d not needed to, lend me a helping hand.  And, as I’d, switched my mindside, the pains seemed to, fade away a bit, and, I got up, in one breath.

with all those eyes watching, and NOBODY lending a helping hand, illustration from UDN.com

After this awful experience, as I met someone who was in a similar predicament, I’d emplored more empathy.  Once as I was rushing to my community college to class, on my way, I saw an elderly man, who was walking along the parking spots for the scooters, not saw the pavements, he’d fallen down hard.  A young woman who was coming towards him from the opposite direction and I were the first “witnesses”, other than exclaiming aoud, we’d rushed over to the elderly, to check if he was, okay.  I squatted down, used my umbrella, to shade the elderly man from the sun,, and picked up the shoe he’d lost to the side, attempted to help him put it back on, but he couldn’t, have enough strengths to, while another man standing to the side just, looked at us, with that cold stare; as the middle aged woman who’d just, parked her bicycle saw, she’d used her experience, and confirmed that the elderly had a fracture on his hips, that he needed to be taken to the hospital immediately; with his pains worsening, the elderly man finally agreed, to allow us to call for help on his behalf.  Back then, I’d, acted as the interim “commander”, had the helpful young lady dial up emergency, then, asked the middle age woman to help notify the elderly man’s families, while I’d tried to calm the man down, and had him recite the phone numbers of his loved ones, and, as he’d become, a bit confused by the numbers, he’d spoken to himself, “that sounded right…”, and thankfully, the number he’d given, was the correct one, and, as I’d used the phones to call up the elderly’s son, I handed the phone to him, so he could tell his son what had happened, so his families won’t mistake the call as a scam, at this time, the ambulace finally rushed over, and, the accident ended well, then, I’d, gotten back up, toward my community college, and, my steps became lighter, because I’d, helped someone in needx.

In the trips and falls we may all have in our lives, if there are someone who was willing to, help us out, give up a helping hand, helping us get back up, it will, give us all a boost, to keep on, moving forward in our lives; and, I’d much rather become the help that someone else needed, because the way of life is twisting and winding, and none of us would know when we will, need a helping hand ourselves, and, if we can all be a part of this cycle of kindness, we might be able to, reduce something tragic from happening all around us.

And so, this, is what you’d gained, from helping someone in need out, you’d, felt that you’d lent the elderly man a helping hand, and in helping out, your empathy was, activated, because you’d hoped that someone would be willing, to help you out when you get into a jam, besides, you’d had a previous bad experience when you’d needed the help, and the person around you, didn’t give a SHIT, and you don’t want anybody to tell helpless like you had that time.

The Sensible & Rational Sides of a Marathon

A more “scientific approach” to running a marathon here, translated…

I can’t really run, but due to chance, I’d had a ton of friends who are, marathoners.

In order to experience this, I’d, entered into my very first, smaller scale, but beautiful marathon around the Sun Moon Lagoon, and I’d, signed up for the shortest distance, the “Fun Run”.  The group of us used brisk walking to replace the jogging; but I’d, still needed to train for it.like this???  Photo from online

On that day, I’d gone to train with a group of visually impaired runners to the riverside.  They’d used a rope, with knots tied on both ends, one end on the visually impaired runner, the other on the seeing volunteers, like the three-legged race, they’d moved forward together.  I’d, followed them closely behind, not long thereafter, there’s, this huge distance between me and them, and, before I knew it, they’d, vanished, into the distances.

I’d continued holding my own tempo, with the cold wind blowing across my forehead, sweating down, it’d felt, really, awkward.  There’s, almost no one else by the riverside pass, most of the times, it was, just me, and every now and then, a cyclist would, speed by me, and then, I was left, all alone.  Most of the time, what accompanied me was, this strong sense of, solitude.

And yet, for the visually impaired to run the marathons, wouldn’t it be……I’d, blurted out, “BORING to even think on it!”

“how can you be bored, by ‘thinking’ about it?” in a gathering, the topic of marathon, it’d, sparked up this debate for the two individuals on each end, they’d told me, a ton of imaginations they had of, marathons.

One of the accompanying runners started as an “intern”.  He’d followed a more experienced guide runner to run with the visually impaired.  On the way there, he was, led by the experienced guide, and on the way back, he’d, led.  He’d spoken, with that disbelief in his voice, “The experienced guide told me twenty kilometers’ worth of stories, and the whole path was only, twenty-one kilometers long, oh mine!”  Whatever she’d thought up of, she’d, told me, to her grandmother, to her childhood, to the flowers by the road, the weather, her job………and a turn, before us, there was, this pass, paved with the shades of the trees, and, she’d started, talking about, Mother Nature, what’s meant by “blue skies”, what’s a “green pasture”, what’s a “never-ending ocean”……she was able to, pull out that horizontal pass, and, through it, led the visually impaired runners onto a journey, like the runners aren’t there to run, but instead, to listen to a tale.

I was curious, why did she talk, incessantly?  Turns out, as the visually impaired runner started running, he’d started cramping, and the volunteer chose to tell the tales, to distract him from his own physical discomfort.  If he’d only told of what they’d encountered on the way, it would be, too boring, after all, ordinary people don’t run too fast, and the scenes, are almost, at a standstill; and this experienced accompanying runner, thought of how to get the visually impaired runner, to enjoy the run as he ran blind………so, this, is how fun running a marathon can be!

And yet, not all the visually impaired runners are, blessed enough, to have a companion runner who’s so full of facts to tell.  I’d recalled that many years ago, I’d, gone to chat with a visually impaired runner of an international marathon on this subject, he was very rational, so was his companion runner, he’d, described the marathons he ran as a “battery cell”.

He’d told me, that running a marathon, it’s, a test of how long the battery on you will last, and, you’d needed to, assigned the energies spent on the way effectively.  He’d made the examples, “If your battery is fully charged, the best case scenario is, you’re able to use it, to finish an entire marathon.  Like how it takes a hundred minutes to run a marathon, then, it would be best, if you’d, used one-percent energy per minute that you run!”  You can estimate conservatively, that you’d only needed fifty percent energy to get to the finishing lines; nor can you, overspent, like as you’re half way through, you’d, used up all your energies.  If you’d run faster, how much energy will be spent, if you run slower, how much energy it will, cost you, you’d needed to, recalculate the time needed constantly, add in your physical strengths, and combine it with the speed to which you’re, running with, and use the exact amount of time, to drain up all the energies you may have in you, to just make it, past the finishing lines………

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!  How much, this, represented life itself!

And so, from this, you can see, that running, is no longer just about exercising the body, you need to make the precise calculations, of how much energy it takes you, and, calculate, and factor in all the possible things that can happen on the roads, which is why running a marathon, is sort of an art, and a science!