I LOVE LUCY

Without saying, my readers know that this entry is not about the popular American television comedy starring Lucille Ball aka Lucy Ricardo and her Cuban-American husband Ricky (Desi Arnaz). This is about Lucy van Pelt, a bossy, crabby little girl in the comic strip Peanuts. The drawing below reminds me of the time when my little brother VL forgot to bring chalk to class. It was in Viet Nam and all first graders practiced writing using white chalk on a small black board. VL had to rush out of his classroom to get to the 2nd floor where my classroom was. The policy was that students were not allowed outside the classroom once the classes started. Some kids gave VL a hard time when he got to my classroom and that was too much for VL. He was so upset and terrified. I gave VL the chalk and watched to make sure he got back to his classroom.

Like Lucy, I was good at making up stories when I was a child. I often told other kids outrageous misinformation and beat up those who dared to say otherwise. My favorite strip is when Lucy pointed at something on the sidewalk and informed Linus that it was a butterfly from Brazil. After Linus pointed out it was just a potato chip, Lucy still insisted that it was a potato chip from Brazil. Now and then my husband and I would point at something on the ground and claimed that it was from Brazil, like last Christmas when I took photo of a piece of gum from Brazil on the street of New York (hah).

I remember the time when I was riding my bicycle around the neighborhood and ran into a little girl who came out of nowhere as I turned around the corner. I decided to take the little girl back to her house and told her father that some kids knocked her down and ran away. Since the little girl could not yet speak, my story was completely unchallenged. The father was so grateful that he thanked me and also gave me a bag of sweeten dried fruit for being a Samaritan.

I read a few self-help books about relationships and how men and women are different when it comes to being happy in their marriages. The books are written by both male and female authors but I also read in a magazine article that the majority of people who purchase these books are women. Men don't run to the bookstores or library to read books so they could understand why the woman got so upset because her husband forgot what she just said five minutes ago. Men don't read books so they could understand what works or not working in their relationships or how to fulfill emotion needs of their wives. Men don't read books such as "Smart Women Foolish Choice" or "Too Good to Leave, Too Bad to Stay - How to Know When is the End of Your Marriage" or something like that!

I over-analyzed too many little things or delved into the details of the person behavior instead of chalking it up as mindless or ignorance. Another favorite strip was when Charlie Brown told Lucy that he felt life was just passing him by and that he did not fit in with the rest of the world. Lucy started with her lecture about how big the world is with all the people living in it and it is the only known world, then Charlie Brown flipped over when Lucy yelled out "WELL, LIVE IN IT, THEN" and demanded "Five cents, please" for her service.

In Vietnamese/Chinese culture, a party is held at the completion of the baby one-month old. It is the time to introduce the baby to the entire family and in America, to announce the child's Chinese name. Red-dyed hard-boiled eggs, symbolize fertility and good fortune, are distributed to the guests. To foretell future of the child, the parents would place about five to ten objects, allowing the child to select two to three items from the selections. Of course, parents would not include a broom (sanitary worker) or items that would not be symbols of highly respected occupations. Based on whichever the items picked by the child, the adults would interprete the child's future occupation. The usual items include a book, a pen (a teacher, writer or educator) money (banker or gambler), toys such as hammer, knife, (trade person) musical instruments, ruler, mirror (beautician or vain) or medical device as most Asian parents have high hopes and ambitious desires that their children would become doctors.

According to Mother, I picked a book, a pen and a mirror (that is the reason for posting a drawing of Lucy holding the mirror). There you have it, I am a vain person who loves to read and write.

Generally I am a happy person and somewhat content with my current condition. I don't remember if I ever was so happy that I would dance like Lucy. Actually I don't know how to dance. I did a few steps now and then when I slowed dance with my husband. I was pretty good at the Duck Dance at weddings. I don't watch the show "Dancing with the Stars" but I do admire people who really know how to dance, especially the classic elegance ballroom dance. There were a few times at social/business functions, male acquaintances asked me to dance and I always responded that I would only dance with my husband. Of course, I expected the same that my husband not dancing with another woman. I know other people don't mind and think it is harmless when the spouse dances with someone else, as long as dancing does not lead to something else. As they say, different folks different strokes!

The drawing of Lucy on top of the football is how content I am when watching my beloved New England Patriots played on Sunday or Monday Night Football. There are so many things that I read differently now compared to when I first read the Peanuts more than 25 years ago. For example, I now appreciate the strip when Schroeder corrected Lucy that it was Johann, not Johnny Sebastian Bach. Lucy then decided that she would write about Bobby Orr. Of course, I did not know back then about Bobby Orr, a defenseman of the Boston Bruins, and one of the greatest hockey players. The drawing below is Lucy's famous excuse for not catching the ball because the sun got into her eyes. Often people make up execuses, blaming someone or circumstances, and not willing to accept responsiblities for the mistakes. It is the government, society, the school system, the company, the co-workers, not our own incompetence or attitude that contribute to the failures.