Lectures of South America by Professor Jim Drumond/Carlos Pueblo

Lectures of South America by Professor Jim Drumond/Carlos Pueblo

There were three lectures at sea days provided by the cruise program director

about South America which interested me very much. The professor was also a

passenger, a retired professor of English literature in the state of Michigan. He

gathered all his information from Google Search very basic yet interesting. It

all started in 1492, Christopher Columbus discovered America financed by

Spanish Kingdom to find gold in the new world. He said that Columbus was actually

failed that mission and died in jail somewhere. There are 12 nations total in South

America divided by the Catholic Pop into Spain and Portugal mainly Brazil and the rest.

After 17^th century, the new European power ignored such order and invaded to

Caribbean Antilles and then the independent movement after the collapse of both

Kingdoms.

His talk of piracy of Caribbean and the beginning of current day navy connected my

understanding of some major sea battles in the Europe among England, France, and

Spain. Pirate got paid by booty after a successful raid; therefore, it was very reasonable

that Queen Elizabeth I didn’t pay her Armada, a new combination of pirate ships. We

did see many movies about pirate life in Caribbean, mostly were male pirate; however,

he did mention a female pirate in Chinese legend history, Cheng I Pao who was not

appeared in any of the story tellers’ legendary topic. Google does have one female

pirate on the record meets his description.

The professor would briefly introduce one or two points of significance of event before

we landed to the nation’s ports, i.e. Michelle Bachelet, President of Chile, Falkland war

between Britain and Argentina, the sunk battles ship of Admiral Graf Spee of WWII to make

the trip more interesting. Bachelet’s father used to work for Salvador Allende before the

coup of Augusto Pinochet. Later, I had had a taxi ride at one of the Chilean port city, the

driver showed us the public housing project done by her. At Falkland Islands, I walked

through a harbor road with memorial of that War and a statue of Margaret Thatcher, of

course there was a newly elected president of Argentina.

At the top deck of the ship. I tried to located where the sunk battle ship was. An British

passenger smiled and pointed to one direction and said that it was not important any

longer that the world should pay more attention to tourism. 

朱孟特教授之南美講堂/莊峻華

朱孟特教授之南美講堂/莊峻華

南美行十五日，其中有幾日是航海日，郵輪節目部，安排一位

密西根老教授，開講南美洲，約是三講，講堂就是夜晚節目大

戲院，雖是稀落，但也引來許多聽眾，他是位乘客，專業英國

文學，南美資料，全是來自谷歌搜索，深入淺出，引起我之注

意，回來後，查上谷歌維基字典，尤其是海盜部份，甚為有趣。

可倫布發現新大陸，是在1492年，當年伊莎伯拉女王，資助哥

倫布，大帆輪三艘，橫渡大西洋，從西班牙南部出發，主要目的

是尋覓黃金，西班牙王室為彼說服，資助三次，均未成功，教授

說哥倫布，死後尊榮，其實是死在監獄，何處監獄，我似讀過記

載，可以再查，當年大型帆船是風力推動，所以當年之教皇，將

南美封給西班牙和葡萄牙兩王國，南美有十二國，除巴西講葡語

外，其餘都講西班牙語，葡西兩國，在歐洲工業革命前後，也是

命運乖戾，先後亡國，葡萄牙王國，流亡巴西，西班牙多次亡國

後，其南美洲屬地駐軍紛紛獨立。

哥倫布發現新大陸後，許多歐洲航海家，來回大西洋，於是有許多

海盜，我們在電影上，看到許多故事描述，就是南北美洲間之，加

勒比海，和美洲大西洋沿岸，這些海盜船，主要就是強劫西班牙船

隻，海盜有艱辛紀律生活，而且壽命不長，其紀律就是近代海軍之

軍紀基礎。海盜船長，不發工資，強劫財物，分享海盜船兄弟。我

現在始了解，當年英女王伊莉莎白一世，收編海盜船群為海軍，與

西班牙海軍激戰於英倫海峽，戰勝後無金錢犒賞，原來是強到勝利

品有限。他也提到中國之海盜船，出沒於東南中國海，他提到一名

鄭氏女海盜，我確實找到資料，惟台灣歷史不提，如此微小雞鳴狗

盜之徒。

再來就是英將納爾遜時代之巨艦砲戰艦，歐洲主要工業國，發展蒸

汽機動力戰艦，和西班牙海軍爭海上霸權，許多舊西班牙領地，均

被瓜分，美國也在1897年，發動美西戰爭，佔領古巴，波多黎哥，

菲律賓等地，東加勒比海之島鍊諸國，其來有自。

教授也提到佛克蘭島之海戰，這是英阿戰爭，還有二次大戰初期，

一艘德國戰艦，被英艦逼入烏拉圭外海，剛好我們最後兩站，是

此段歷史發生地點。

Enjoy watching Professor Ko as Mayor of Taipei/Carlos Pueblo

Enjoy watching Professor Ko as Mayor of Taipei/Carlos Pueblo

During my daily time, I have been watching and enjoying youtube program

of political forum both in the U.S. and Taiwan. Political activity in U.S. is mainly

about Donald Trump while in Taiwan is about Professor Ko, M.D. the Mayor of

Taipei on his first term. I consider myself as a fan of political affairs and I like to

know almost everything in history about the politic, of course, I am glad that I

am not depending of politic as a carrier in my life. Mayor Ko was forced to run

as the mayor of Taipei when he was in a thread of suspension of his M.D. practice

by the Nationalist Chinese regime in Taiwan back then.

He is a very good speaker and writer on the side of his EKOMO specialty in heart

Surgery. He is also a student of history, very good in classical Chinese literature

and Buddhism. He is a philosopher who understands life and death very well and

the meaningful life of himself. After I watched his speech three years ago, I made

a special trip to visit Shimonosheki, Japan for the site of Sino-Japan treaty of 1895

which China parted Taiwan to Japan. I credited that trip to him as a Taiwanese who

should know this piece of our ancient history. I think that I appreciate his philosophical

background very well as well as most Taiwanese in Taiwan; therefore, I must write about

him in addition to the media of interested in Taiwan.

He is doing his campaign promise to take care of the new born baby, the senior care, the

old and faded building, the homeless disadvantage, the beautification of the old town

Taipei, attempting to create affordable public housing, etc. He also emphasis public safety

prohibit battery attack of political minority by the extreme right Chinese Nationalist in

the front of 101 building near the city hall. Recently, he just completed a major sport event

hosted by the city  called the Universade of 2017 12,000 international athletes and  their

coaches and managers participated.

He says that he respects what Chinese authority says about the 92 consensus, propaganda

of China that there is only  one China. He skillfully avoid such agreement and insisting that

it is not under his jurisdiction and just maintaining the existing relationship between

Shanghai and Taipei forum.

欣賞柯教授執政台北市/莊峻華

欣賞柯教授執政台北市/莊峻華

每日生活，包括兩大網誌節目，一是每國有線政論錄影，一是台灣

台北有線政論錄影，美國政論節目，均在評論川普總統，台灣節目

，則是包羅萬象，其中以柯文哲教授，執政台北市消息，最為有趣

，每天我都再三翻閱其錄影，其執政事蹟，真是逸趣橫生，舉國政

界，無人能出其左右。

先言其本錢，台大醫科，台大教授，國民黨中國人，逼他死路，不

讓他當醫生，他揭竿起義，擊跨國民黨中國人，然後是國民黨中國

人之媒體界，醜化他之口不擇言，前仆後繼，一一斷羽。柯市長除

了專於學業事業外，也喜愛歷史，博覽諸子百家，而且漢學博大精

深最近言談受訪中，冒出岳陽樓記之，不以物喜，不以己悲，來形

容民調高低，以任重道遠，贈言賴清德行政院長，然後就是背誦金

剛經，他是一位有哲學觀，哲學家背景之醫生。

不但他個人言論清晰，條理分明，他的部屬，也都是頭頭是道，毫

無贅言，是平素清晨開會之工作報告經驗，現在連中央行政院，都

隨時舉辦報告，取信解釋國民，真是改變台灣，從首都開始，他說

心存善念，盡力而為，真是放諸四海皆準。這些部屬，在專責事項

，都可以獨擋一面，所以市長很快，而且有效率之回應狀況。

柯市長是已有政績者也，有批評者曰，他派辦公室主任，和遠雄集

團密約，許可復工，此事甚不合邏輯，市長提醒公安問題，尚未由

內政部核准，市長上任時，新啟五大建案調查善後，然後移師違建

，老舊市場拆建，廢棄橋道之拆除，西區門戶計劃，東區門戶計劃

，萬華龍山寺遊民清潔照顧，幼兒長照計劃之實施，砍非貧窮老人

補助金，還有今年世大運，為節省廣告費，還當各種廣告演員，媒

體多加嘲諷，殊不知政界人士，已無人可與匹敵。

雖然台灣有人壞疑柯市長，對台灣之忠誠度，我偶爾也看中國節目

，中國人仍舊認為柯市長為獨派，台灣人不獨者，必須表態，九二

共識，現在終於台灣有人認出，柯市長是尊重中國人講的九二共識

，也尊重國民黨中國人講的，一中各表，他就是不講出令中國人難

看之語，強調互相尊重，你們統治你們之中國，蔡英文統治台灣，

他仍然在台北市執政，大意如是，絕無面對面刺激語言。

Regular visit to Austin in 2017/Carlos Pueblo

Regular visit to Austin in 2017/Carlos Pueblo

Since our daughter returns to her own house, we have visited Austin

monthly for some house chores because that she has been busy on her

work. We do manual job such as mowing the yard, vacuuming interior,

cleaning flower bed, and removing frozen branches etc. Amy keeps the

weed out of flower beds and maintains roses gardens front and back.

Very soon, it has been almost a year during 2017.

I have been visiting Austin ever since 1980 during my first job as an insurance

agent, then Michelle’s college at the university, her job with a computer firm

and thereafter a purchase of two rental houses. We went to help her cleaning

the property and planning the garden yard work until the beginning of this

year when her tenants moved away. She said that eventually she should move

back to her own house and we agreed to help her for the required house chores.

The house is on a 0.2 acre lot, a regular site of current day single dwelling. I

transferred some old bricks and roses from a torn down neighbor’s house to make

a rose garden on the back yard and a small portion of a corroded driveway. The house

looks better now yet a regular maintenance is required. She can get by without

regularly watering the yard to keep the yard and garden alive. During the spring,

orchard blossom and garden blooming.

Usually, we go to Austin on Wednesday noon and come back on Saturday noon for

a two and half hour drive one way. Austin is on a Texas hill country with several

lakes carried by the River of Colorado. There are some old German townships near

by and of course mixed with some Spanish-Mexican influence. I always desire to

have some visit of them one of these days to take advantage of my stay.

Also, there is a group of my fellow Taiwanese retiree in Austin that I know of. I like

to get back to their regular lunch buffet gathering. I believe that will help me very

much in my senior living life. 

奧斯汀行2017/莊峻華

奧斯汀行2017/莊峻華

自從琳兒搬回奧斯汀住家，我們就固定北上，每個月一次，通常

是週三中午出發，週六中午回來，我們之目的是，幫助琳兒整理

庭院，還有打掃室內，簡少她理家之憂慮，奧斯汀行，變成我們

固定行程，時光飛馳，轉眼又到年底。

琳兒住家佔地約八千餘平方呎，建坪約一千六，所以又些前後院

花園草皮，玫瑰花和喇叭花等，都是我當年移植所成，如今稍有

規模，我分兩次割草，因為她購買之電動割草機，兩電池需要分

别充電，除草機也是電動，但常固障，影響愛美之花圃除草鬆土

工作，後院有水蜜桃，石榴，樟樹，美國柚，春天到來，花開甚

是美觀。她甚感激我們之協助，常包紅包生日賀禮，愛美更進一

步，要求贈送大飯店禮劵，像是威基基海灘，秋季倫敦和愛丁堡

五夜，比起我之流浪客棧強甚許多。

奧斯汀附近，有許多古德裔村落小鎮，從鎮名可窺伺一二，若再

往西向，就是墨西哥村落，聖安東尼市，就在奧斯汀附近，我過

去曾拜訪過，現在更可以當日往返，琳兒也十分贊同，只是我一

心只想週遊列國，心尚未沉澱於國內旅遊。

其實，我在奧斯汀也認識，一群古台灣留學生，過去到奧斯汀，常

與飯局，這些人都是博碩學移民，關心台灣政治，與我相似，愛美

也希望我能加上如此，老年活動，使老年獨居生活，更加興趣。

Observing sunrises at Ft. Lauderdale, Florida/Carlos Pueblo

Observing sunrises at Ft. Lauderdale, Florida/Carlos Pueblo

Finally, the ship landed at Fort Canaveral, Florida. I said farewell to

all my new acquaintance on the board and hope to meet them again.

I did make a mistake of arrival in central Florida and plan three days

stay at Ft. Lauderdale in order to visit Everglades National Park, as a

matter of fact, I was even scared to visit Miami due to fatigue and

almost penniless. The hostel allowed me to pay in credit card as well

as a sandwich shop. I got an opportunity to observe sunrises at a near

by beach for two mornings.

The beaches in Florida facing the Atlantic are similar pretty and attracting

many retirees out of states including Canadian. I have been to San Augustine

up to the north, Fort Canaveral- Cape Kennedy area, part of Miami and I still

dream to visit Key West down to the southern end, Tampa on the Gulf of

Mexico. I am pretty sure that I shall have the opportunity to embark at Tampa

For some other cruises.

I walked through a subdivision to the beach park very early in the morning before

day break. At the beginning, I didn’t see any one and gradually morning walkers

appeared with their company including their dogs. The bright sun light first burst

into the dark clouded air far away to the east, then gradually appears to the dark

cloud and sometimes disappears again until later hanging with a distance above

the horizon. I didn’t have the luck to see it on the second morning because of the

cloud and rain. All pictures from my camera showed very unique sunrises in compare

with many of sunrises photos from my previous trips around the world.

I was fully rested and ready to fly home to Houston, to avoid any other incident,

I took the rental vehicle directly back to the airport and change an earlier flight

with a penalty which was very worthy of it.