蜂從哪裡來 (Where Is Little Bee From?)

#2010-1227

Some of my friends have become "fans" of my grandson, Little Bee. They often get into my blog just because they want to see more photos of the baby. If I do not post any new photos of him regularly -- I mean, not often, they will even call me by phone and "complain" about my procrastination!
我的好友當中，有不少人已是小蜜蜂的粉絲 (fans)。他(她)們上我的部落格，經常只為了看看，有沒有小蜜蜂的新照片。如果我隔了很多天沒貼出孫子的近照，他(她)們甚至會來電「抗議」呢！

One day, one of the Bee fans said to me, "I have seen many photos of Little Bee in your blog. But most of them are you grandparents playing with your grandson. How about Little Bee's parents? Are they . . . are they too busy to . . . ?"
有一天，一位蜂迷對我說：「你的部落格有許多小蜜蜂的照片，很不錯，但是大部分是祖孫的合影。請問，小蜜蜂的父母親，他們 . . . 他們很忙嗎？」

Oh, my son and his wife are very good and responsible parents. They love (and take care of) Little Bee no less than my wife and I -- I should have let all the Bee fans know clearly where Little Bee comes from. If you didn't know that, it was all my fault!
喔！我兒子及媳婦絕對是認真負責的好父母。他們愛小蜜蜂，花時間照顧他，比當爺爺奶奶的我們「有過之而無不及」---- 我應該讓所有的蜂迷都認識他們才對。如果到現在你還不明瞭「蜂從哪裡來」，那真是我的疏失啦！

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怡青之新

#2010-1225

 主恩 同沐-----怡然之比翼，彼此提攜；
 愛典 同修-----青青新連理，相知且相惜！
 你多 麼特別、多麼重要、多麼有福 . . . . . . 阿
 們。
                                                 ----- by Mookoo Liang

鄰居劉主任的女兒怡青與陳家公子之新（音同知心），於美國結婚之後，特地返台，選定 2010 年聖誕節這一天，在台中市某知名餐廳辦理「于歸之喜」餐會，宴請本地親朋好友。我應邀參加盛會，倍感榮幸與歡欣。

我與劉主任同屬馬年出生，都在教育界工作過，若要進一步「攀」關係，我倆都是客家人 ----It'll be no problem, at least, if we use our own (Hakka) dialect for communication! 由於成長背景相仿，連彼此的個性都有些類似。這是朋友間交往，最為難能可貴之處！

歲月匆匆，轉眼間，同輩友人的子女一個個都長大、立業、成家了。而鄰居劉主任的女兒，從負笈他鄉起，直到出國留學以後，我鮮少遇見；如今仔細瞧，果然如我所料，她早已「亭亭玉立，宜室宜家」。今天我參加她的「于歸之喜」宴會，欣喜之餘，願為這一對新人的美好未來，虔心祈禱、祝福。尤其聽聞他們在美國，已信主成為基督徒，我更是感動；爰作此文，附加貼圖，以表達祝賀與誌慶之意。

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Ping'an Ye, Sheng Shan Ye! (平安夜、聖善夜)

#2010-1224

Shengdanjie qianxi, wo han laopo yitong canjia jiaohui de "zhong-ying lianhe Shengdanye gan'en shengli" (Combined Christmas Service). Erzi ye canjia le. [Erxifu zai jia-li zhaogu Xiao Mifeng -- jinwan tebie leng, Xiao Mifeng hai hen xiao, women mei rang ta yiqi lai!

Suiran yudao hanliu, qiwen te di, lai canjia Shengdanye libai de ren que feichang duo. Er lou, budao 100 ge zuowei de libaitang, zhishao yongru-le 200 duo ren; dajia yitong qidao, chongbai, changshi; reqing-yangyi, qifen shifen ganren!

Libai you jianren Sheng-Yage Tang zhuren-mushi (rector) de Lai zhujiao (bishop) zhuli. Chule Shengcan Li (Holy Eucharist), hai you Sheng Xili (Holy Baptism), yiji Jianzhen Li (Confirmation). Libai guocheng-zhong, women shiban (choir) xianchangle si shou shige:
1.  Benedictus qui venit (Zanmei lai de)
2.  Gloria (Rongyao guiyu zhi shang Zhu)
3.  Lo, how a rose e're blooming (Kan, meigui huakai maosheng)
4.  Good Christian Men Rejoice (Xintu Huanxin Ge)

Womende shiban zai Deji jiaoshou Hans Geiger de dailing xia, jinguan pingshi neng jihe lianchang de jihui bu duo, dan dahuor shou Shengling gandong, meici shangtai dou neng quanshen-guanzhu, maili yanchu. Yinci, jinwan de xianshi xiaoguo bucuo. Libai jieshu hou, Lai zhujiao hai tedi yu shiban chengyuan zai shengtan-qian paizhao, zuowei jinian ne! (禮拜結束後，賴主教還特地與詩班成員在聖壇前拍照，作為紀念呢！)

Shengdanye yi chengwei "Ping'an Ye" huo "Sheng Shan Ye". Wo zhongxin qidao: Yuan yiqie rongyao gui yu Zhu Jidu; ye yuan shi-shang de mei yige ren dou yongyou ping'an. Qie rang wo ba Ping'anye Ge (平安夜歌) de geci chaolu ruxia -- Ni wo zai yici hechang, bingqie xixi tihui zhe(shou) ge de yijing ba!

「平安夜，聖善夜，萬暗中，光華射，照著聖母也照著聖嬰，多少慈祥也多少天真，靜享天賜安眠 ，靜享天賜安眠 。

「平安夜，聖善夜，牧羊人，在曠野，忽然看見了天上光華，聽見天軍唱哈利路亞，救主今夜降生，救主今夜降生 。

「平安夜，聖善夜，神子愛，光皎潔，救贖宏恩的黎明來到，聖容發出來榮光普照，耶穌我主降生，耶穌我主降生。」

Merry Christmas + Happy Birthday

#2010-1223

Merry Christmas + Happy Birthday = Words of Dongzhi

Is the above formula strange to you? Well, it is actually true as far as my personal experience is concerned. Last night, at a restaurant in Taichung City, I celebrated this year's dongzhi (winter solstice) in a different way. Before eating stuffed dumplings [made of glutinous rice flour and served in soup], I said "Merry Christmas" and "Happy birthday" in a cheerful loud voice!

The fact is that I had not paid any attention to this particular jieqi (節氣 solar term) until I was reminded of it when attending the dinner party which St. James' had especially organized for their foreign English teachers. The Christmas Day is coming soon, so Rebecca, Yasmin, William, etc., [all being from abroad] were invited to the dinner party. I was also invited yesterday, because I had once been the director of St. James' Language Institute. Or, possibly, I could act as an interpreter or something. I told Rebecca and Yasmin about the meaning of dongzhi -- Among the 365 days of the year, dongzhi is the day with the shortest daytime and longest nighttime. Then, to my surprise, it was Samuel's birthday yesterday; Samuel's birthday happened to fall on dongzhi this year.

Now you realize why the above-mentioned formula is true, don't you? Last night we loudly said "Happy birthday" to Samuel, and "Merry Christmas" to each other!

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是誰毛手毛腳？

#2010-1221

小蜜蜂：你是誰呀？［輕聲嘀咕著］ 你看起來 . . . 有點面熟耶！

　蜂父：孺子未知乎？吾乃「蜂行者之父」，即汝之父。

小蜜蜂：奇怪 . . . . 你為什麼這樣大隻？

　蜂父：孺子好奇哉！天下人焉有「不與時俱進、不日新月異、不年增歲長」之理？有朝 . . . .

小蜜蜂：哦！你的手臂好長，你的腿也好長、好粗；你的手臂和腿，都長有長長的 ---

　蜂父：［插嘴；音量略大］ 休無禮！吾乃汝父，子語父，當有規矩分寸，方為「孺子可教也」。有朝一日 . . . .

小蜜蜂：唔唔 . . . 唔唔唔 . . . . ［撒嬌而哭，頭轉向房門外］ 阿公！阿嬤！阿公阿嬤你們在哪裡？

= = = 以上對話，純屬虛構；以下數語，方為寫實 = = =

蜂爺爺、蜂奶奶：（台語）喔！金孫！阿公阿嬤來囉；乖---乖---，毋好哭 (k'ao)、毋好號 (hao)！你係乖嬰 ---- 嬰嬰乖喔！阮 ㄟ 乖嬰，天爸 (爸字唸作 pe) 尚疼 ko 尚惜呵！

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「救命啊！. . . 阿公！」 -- "Oh, Give Me a Break, Grandma!"

#2010-1220

今天上午，小蜜蜂由媽媽和奶奶帶往醫院接受兩種疫苗注射 ---- 所謂「五合一疫苗」以及「肺炎鏈球菌疫苗」。據說小蜜蜂很勇敢，左右大腿各打一針，只是「嗯---嗯嗯-----」哭了一下子，並未「哇哇哇-----」大哭一場。我當時不在現場，因為我已回到國姓老家探親，看小蜜蜂的曾祖父和曾祖母去了。到了晚上，我回到小蜜蜂身邊，聽另一半（小蜜蜂的奶奶）形容孫子的英勇表現，心裡想，真的嗎？

下面這幾張照片，是小蜜蜂頭一次接受「臉部敷藥」的情形。最近他那可愛的臉蛋上，竟長出一顆顆小紅豆；我們原先只是留意，並不太著急，因為「它長不到兩三天就自動消了」---- 聽說小嬰孩的皮脂腺尚未發育完全，像這種「紅豆生南國，春來發幾枝」的現象，是蠻正常的。可是醫師今天說：「還是擦點藥，痊癒得快。」所以小蜜蜂的阿嬤（奶奶）就老實不客氣地在他臉上「擦、擦、擦 、擦」上下其手啦！

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感動的時刻 -- Once Again I Was Deeply Touched!

#2010-1219

Zuowan, Sheng-Yage juban "lizhi yuangong hui niangjia" (離職員工回娘家) lianyi huodong. Wo tian wei "lizhi yuangong" de yi yuan, yingyao canjia. Zhe zhen shi yichang feichang wenxin, qie jiao ren shenshen gandong de juhui a! Wo wanru jinglile yici xinling de xidi han gengxin, yinwei . . . . .
[English paraphrase] There was a special "fellowship party" held at St. James' yesterday evening. Many former workers of St. James', including me, were invited to come back home there. I felt honored (and very pleased) to join in this meeting; meanwhile, I was deeply moved because . . . .

Shouxian, you yiwei nianji ershi chutou, ming jiao Qiu Junwei (邱俊瑋) de qingnian, ta zhiti canzhang, you muqin Chen Cuihua nushi (陳翠華女士) yilu peitong, laidao huodong huichang jieshou Shen-Yage banfa "Jiechu Xiaoyou Jiang," biaoyang ta reai shengming, yonggan yu bingmo -- yanzhongde Qiuxinxing jirou weisuo zheng (裘馨型肌肉萎縮症) -- bodou, bing shichang jiezhe huihua han xiezuo, tichang huanbao yishi yiji shijie-heping linian.
[English paraphrase] First of all, Qiu Junwei (邱俊瑋), a physically disable young man in his early 20's, accompanied by his mother Ms. Chen Cuihua (陳翠華女士), came and accepted the St. James' Distinguished Alumni Award, which was to commend him for his great courage to fight against the rare disease -- Duchenne muscular dystrophy, or DMD -- and for his unceasing action to promote eco-awareness and world-peace ideas [by drawing, painting, and writing].

Youguan Qiu Junwei gerende shengming tiyan ji qi chuangzuo yu dejiang de gushi, zai baozhang zazhi ji wanglu meiti zhong, you bushao baodao, ke gong chayue. Er zuowan, tade muqin jieshao ta de shihou, ye tebie jiang tade jijian zuopin -- baokuo yiben mingjiao "45 Du Yangjiao" (四十五度仰角) de shu -- jieshao bing zengsong gei Sheng-Yage. Women qiner tingqu jieshao, qie qinyan kanjian ta yi 45 du jiao xietang zai tezhide lunyi shang, neixin shenchu you nanyiyanyude gandong.
[English Paraphrase] Regarding Qiu's life experience and creative works, there have been quite a number of news stories and commentaries in the mass media. (You can get online for more information if you like.) And yet, like all others attending the meeting yesterday evening, I was very impressed by the story of Junwei, the beloved son, retold by his hard-working great mother Ms. Chen herself. Ms. Chen brought several books written by her son -- including Forty-Five Degrees Upward (四十五度仰角) -- and gave them to St. James' as a gift. The title "Forty-Five Degrees Upward" tells me the way Junwei usually lies in a wheelchair especially designed for him. Oh! That was something really touching my heart!

Banjiang jiemu hou, women guanshang lao zhaopian, huiyi qi Sheng-Yage butong shiqi de "tianmei jiu shiguang"; women fenxiang duiyu guoqu de huiyi, ye fenxiang bici fenshou zhihou de zhongzhong shenghuo tiyan. Zuihou, women xianghu zhufu, bing xiangyong Sheng-Yage wei dajia zhunbei de meishi candian. A! Zuowan de juhui, congtou-daowei dou shi ling ren gandong de shike!
[English paraphrase] Later on, we were shown lots of old photos, which reminded us of "good old days" of St. James' in different periods of time. Then we shared with each other what we could remember about the past. We even shared interesting experiences that we got after we stopped working at St. James'. Finally, we blessed each other and started enjoying the delicious food prepared by St. James'. As you can see [from the pictures below], we had a very special party last night -- one of the most touching parties that I've ever attended!

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