Doing the yard work/Carlos Pueblo

 

Doing the yard work/Carlos Pueblo

The summer is gone and welcome to the fall weather in Houston. I decide to do some yard work other than the lawn mowing every other Wednesday. I need to trim some bushes to make our yard better looking. First, I recharge two batteries for a chain saw. The white flower bush by the fence on the west border fence is getting tough to slow down the chain saw and I change to a pair of scissors to make the cut and repeat some cut from the saw. I also use a stand to cut the top portion like a haircut to the bush. Finally, I do see a rectangular shape of the bush.

I leave the debris on the driveway for later pick up and go to the front yard to cut a pair of bushes. Eight years ago, the sellers left an even pair of bushes for us. Now, they are not even due to the lack of regular care or they are growing unevenly. The battery chain saw is working better than the previous one. I am still cut some bigger branches manually and after that, I would apply with the saw. Amy is so happy that I do the yard work voluntarily. I explain that I hear Henry Wei is doing his yard work and I like to copy such good exercises. She tells me that she also trims the bushes regularly yet can reach to a certain height. I use the stand and step up to reach more.

I explain to her that I shall do some more with crape myrtle trees tomorrow. I have stuffed the trees in the front of our yard along with the street. Now, they are growing wild with branches like willows. I shall cut the top off to leave the lower stems to grow back next year. This is a common practice for growing such flowing trees. It is not good looking for such arrangement to plant flower trees in the front yet I hate to through them away and we don’t have any space left for those plants.

I sweep the leaves on the ground and feel very well of myself. Neighbors are walking by with dogs and I must put off my work to greet those honeys and what a day of the autumn this year.

庭院工作/莊峻華

 

庭院工作/莊峻華

傳統美國家庭生活中，是有庭院工作，有些是可以自理，有些需要請人幫忙，平常我兩週自己割草，愛美則是一週兩次，庭院工作，整理大樹枝幹，和填木㞕沃土，兩年一次，需請專人處理，砍樹等則是家庭意外支出。幾天前和北郊之宏義兄談話，聞知他除散步外，尚忙修理房屋，我猜是家庭園藝，於是我下定決心，停止游泳，開始做些庭院工作，我先選擇與西鄰邊界之一叢灌木排，和前院一雙並木，兩處先行箸手，剛搬來此屋，前屋主留下美麗庭院，現在已經變了形狀。

我先充電，使用一修葺電池剪，灌木叢枝老軔，剪斷不易，隨時需要繼續充電，於是改用手剪，剪完一次，再使用電剪，就像理髮一般，高處需要立梯協助，灌木叢已經佈滿其他雜草，這樹叢春天開美麗之白花，和叢旁一株灌木紅花相對映，這是前女屋主之設計，紅白花仍在，只是稍嫌雜亂，我先兩刀手剪多次，效果立現。

前院並木叢，原甚均勻對稱，現已分岐，我站在立梯上，設法理平，但只能理到屋頂狀，就是有起伏，並木間有一空隙，清晨拾報紙，可以通過，我設法理平整齊四周，愛美在屋內觀看到我的發願，出來感謝，我說明日將繼續整枝，縐桃金孃樹枝，這是我從舊屋庭院移植來，已經越來越高，不可收拾。愛美曰平時她也手剪樹枝，但僅止於身高處，這次我將踩上立梯，甚至上屋頂。

Getting connected with the Line/Carlos Pueblo

 

Getting connected with the Line/Carlos Pueblo

My old classmate Henry Wei invites me to get connected with our college class on my phone with the Line. First, I get two helps to down load the Line app to my i-phone, then my son Arthur finds that I have already had an account. Very soon, Henry sends an invitation and I join the group. I since then am able to read all the chat among our group of classmates. I am still required to learn how to input the Kanji character to the Line in order to join the chat, otherwise, I must compose in English. It is for the 50^th anniversary of our college graduation and we like to have a class reunion somewhere and sometime next year.

Before 2013, I had made several trips back to Taiwan to visit my family and friends. Some of us had had lunches together like reunions. I appreciate it very much. Since last year, I send a piece of my year end writing to Taiwan as a greeting with some result which I like it very much. Friends from the college are very special and interesting. Now, we are on several parts of the world.

I must learn how to type my Kanji character on i-phone key board and send my piece to the Line. Before that high tech skill matured, I shall still use e-mail to send my message and hope that someone would help me to transfer it to the Line.

與大學同窗連 線/莊峻華

 

與大學同窗連 線/莊峻華

前兩日，北郊之宏義兄來話，邀請加入大學同窗連線，我鼓起勇氣，找了兩人幫忙設定，然後接受宏義邀請，終於連到線，隨時電話可以接到訊息，我的困難是，如何寫漢字在線上？我只會注音符號輸入，而且習慣桌型電腦鍵盤，我若在桌型寫完短文，又要如何轉入手機線上，還是我的高科技困難，尚需同學諒解，但我已經開始收到簡訊，多謝宏義鼓勵。

我是有計劃，隨時回國，整理牙齒，就是假牙，需要一個月以上時間，上次我是在永和市頂新站附近租一個月，現在房東收回己用，我想安排到日本等候假牙製作，所以在台灣舉行同學會，我都可以參加，來美國乘坐郵輪，我也可已參加，我很高興可以和老同窗見面，上幾次返台探親，承蒙治貞兄安排，與同學聚餐，非常興奮，時常懷念。

去年，蒙瑞耀兄轉發我的問候信，收到昆明兄回信，但不小心，將其信址弄丟，不知昆明兄東莞事業，受到肺炎影響否？我們在休士頓有校友會，是詹怡姊主持，非常成功，亞平大公子，在休市開業，春興兄會邀我們聚餐，澤安兄約已退休，也可連絡到，我在校友會，可遇見甲班的大美人國宏姊，她是駐顏有術，非常恭喜。志和兄連絡較難，必要時，可以請其女公ㄗ海倫幫忙傳遞，我有海倫住址。

去年，我搭郵輪在洛杉磯長島港下船，蒙永源兄接送碼頭機場，非常感謝，我希望我們後會有期。我有一部落格，歡迎同學指教，jienhua.blogspot.com

American history 1850-1945/Carlos Pueblo

 

American history 1850-1945/Carlos Pueblo

Recently, I open a college history book volume 2 from the Civil War to present. I read from 1850 to 1945 and close the book to write my report. The development of the current day United States can be back track to the late 15^th century; however, the most dramatically change is the last 150 years or so, after the Civil War. The Civil War has been involving the slave from Africa as a reason and I believe that is still fighting in the country. It has never ended.

Once there is an issue occurred at a time, it is called the populism, i.e. the race issue, the economic issue, the labor issue, and equal right issue, etc. Those who are determined to solve the issues through the U.S. system are called the progressive party or the progressive leader. The progressive is in compare with the conservative or we call the progressive is the liberal. In the current day U.S. politic, the Democrat is the progressive while the Republican is the conservative. Almost 100 years ago, it was just reversed. Lincoln’s Republican Party is more like the current day Democratic Party. At least they attempted to solve the racial injustice.

There is a new aggressive development according to the Darwinism called the Social Darwinism to ask governments to step in to help the unfitted. According to the Darwinism, there are fitted and unfitted people in the world. An able government should try to help the weak part of the society. In consequence, governments need new revenue to finance the cost. This is why the federal income tax, the various local taxes are established during this time. The citizen demands more of services from governments and it costs money. There is a defined diffidence between two political parties.

I am also impressed with the book to explain the gold standard, the silver standard, and my understanding of the base of the gross domestic product figure to make the circulation of the U.S. currency. I was once confused of the Treasury can print the dollar at will such as the current pandemic impact fund I and coming II. It is based on the GDP percentage not by the gold reserve or the silver reserve.

美國歷史1850-1945/莊峻華

 

美國歷史1850-1945/莊峻華

最近我開始讀美國歷史教科書，這是第二冊，從南北戰爭到出書當時，我看到二戰結束，就封書送回書櫃，所以是1850年後之一百年，獲益匪淺，増加許多了解，讓我稍加描述。美國目前政治略分兩黨，共和黨和民主黨，保守和進取之別，這是美國創國以來之兩派，最保守之保皇黨，已經被驅逐到加拿大。保守黨主張金本位，限制美金流動量，扼阻通貨膨脹，農民希望稍有通貨膨脹，取得一些利潤，聊以謀生，所以有銀本位之介入，後來金銀本位都無法為幣制之標準。

達爾文曰適者與不適者，或曰社會達爾文學說，保守派美國人，無所謂社會上之不適者，只想維持現狀，無視於貧窮不適者，因為政府並非為照顧窮人而設立，政府最好無為，像是中國道家之理想，但社會不均，仍舊揮之不去，因此就有政治理想，要介入改善，這些理想，就是進步派，社會重要議題，就是大孚眾望者，中文中之顯學，或曰民粹，像是工會，黑權，和女權等運動。我觀察美國政治，民主黨主張政府應該積極介入社會問題，不惜増加富人稅收，共和黨則主張，不適者本當淘汰，政府有限資源，優先有序，國防，治安，和經濟等，約是一百餘年前之兩黨理想，剛好與現在相反，一切都是人為。

書中介紹美國例屆總統，有為者留下政績政策，許多均尚存在，像社會安全保險法，銀行法，證券交易法，都是老羅斯福任內政績，後來之老人健保，這是詹森總統之政績，還有奧巴瑪健保法，都是為解決健康保險需要之議題，都是民主黨任內，經國會通過，實行到現在之政策，共和黨一直反對，因為支出龐大，赤字過多。近代很多總統任內，毫無建樹，在歷史觀點，是浪費執政之機會，造福國家社會，我只是一喜愛歷史之讀者，我慶幸生活在此民主自由之環境，欣賞美國政治，研究美國歷史。

Promoting the senior tennis/Carlos Pueblo

 

Promoting the senior tennis/Carlos Pueblo

People enjoy playing tennis because that it is an exercise good for the heart. After two sets double, we can sweat a lot and also good for the rest of that day. Of course, we need to know how to play tennis, have the time, and feel the joy, etc. We, four of us, finally find a court to play in June this year and set to play three times a week. Now, there are additional three players joining us and increasing two more meets a week. I expect another four neighbors to join us and hopefully we can have fully used our court every day.

I have learned to change my attitude toward the game now. I no longer feel that I must win the set but get the exercise first. Throughout the years, I always try to win every point and complain some of my partner for making unforced error so often. Now, I appreciate with one who has played so patiently toward the weaker and older players on the game in order to make it more interesting. That is a good manner and a good sportsman.

I picked up tennis when I was at 7^th grade by playing at our local courts with many teen agers of my age. It was a Japanese style of tennis with the bamboo racket and a rubber ball. After coming to the United States, it was very handy for me to get into the regular tennis with leather ball and a different kind of racket, from the wood to the metal, and then the graphite. I can make the adjustment easily. I came back to play tennis in 1996 when a neighbor encouraged me to join a man’s league. Since then, I have been back to the exercises continually.

There is a group of senior tennis gathering at my old subdivision courts. They meet on Monday morning and players are retired seniors. After the games, they would gather at a pavilion to drink beers and eat snakes, etc. What a good life it is. Perhaps after the vaccine of the corona virus is developed and the medicine, we can have a little bit of social activity after the tennis.