MEMORIAL DAY

GOD BLESS AMERICA. TO OUR SERVICEMEN AND WOMEN, PRAYERS FOR YOUR SAFETY AND WELL-BEING. OUR APPRECIATION FOR YOUR SERVICE TO OUR COUNTRY. MAY PEACE BE WITH ALL OF US.

I GET BY WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS

I hope you enjoy these photos taken at St. Louis Zoo. Please come back later to read stories from my childhood that are fitting with this song "I Get by with a Little Help from my Friends" by Joe Cocker.

What would you think if I sang out of tune.
Would you stand up and walk out on me?
Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song
And I'll try not to sing out of key.
Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends
Sweet Lotus was my classmate in 6th grade at Quang Nha School in Viet Nam. She was a picture perfect of what a lovely young lady should be. Each morning I would walk to her house, then patiently waited for her to fix her hair, putting on the pretty ribbons that would match the color of the tiny flowers on her white socks. We had to wear school uniforms, white shirt with either dark blue or black skirt (no tight fit), skirts must be in length below the knees and black leather shoes (of course, no high heels).

To this day I still remember the morning when a teacher assigned Sweet Lotus (who had won many singing and dancing awards) and me to sing the national anthem. After the first verse, I could hear the students started to giggle while the teachers tried so hard to hold back their laughters. No matter how low my voice was, my off-key and flat tone still carried above the beautiful voice coming from Sweet Lotus. As we were leaving the podium, the uncontrollable laughs drown out the applause. Sweet Lotus gently comforted me and said that it was her that could not carry the notes. We were good friends until 9th Grade but no one ever asked me to sing again. Sweet Lotus and her family tried to escape from Viet Nam in 1978. I never heard from her. Her relative told me that the entire family died at sea when their boat was capsized after the pirates robbed and rammed the already damaged tiny boat.

What do I do when my love is away

(Does it worry you to be alone?)

How do I feel by the end of the day,

(Are you sad because you're on your own?)

Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends
Do you need anybody
I need somebody to love
Could it be anybody
I want somebody to love.
Also at Quang Nha School, I had three male friends and we would play basketball, ping pong and tennis after school. JX, KH and GL all were a year or two younger than me. Even though they all addressed me as "Elder Sister", I was just another male friend when it came to sports. JX left Viet Nam in early 1979 and was sponsored to resettle in Germany by his sister. I re-united with KH at the refugee camp in Indonesia and again when he settled in New Jersey. KH came to New York to visit me almost every month. I took a trip to Seatle, Washington to visit GL in 1983 after we re-connected thru letters and phone calls. Somehow after we crossed the Big Pond, I suddenly was no longer the "Elder Sister" or sports buddy. When KH and GL expressed romantic intentions, I did not know how to handle the situations and ended our friendships. And so that was part of my childhood memories in Viet Nam. I never heard from JX, KH and GL again.

Would you believe in a love at first sight

Yes, I'm certain that it happens all the time

What do you see when you turn out the light

I can't tell you but I know it's mine.

Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends.

ANOTHER STANLEY "STAN THE MAN"

My husband wanted to attend the Cardinals game on May 18th. It would be our first baseball game this season. Before the game, a ceremony took place as the St. Louis Cardinals honored Mr. Musial "Stan the Man" for his contributions to the Cardinals. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1969. The Cardinals renamed a portion of a street in front of the stadium to be "Stan Musial Drive" and St. Louis City Mayor proclaimed May 18th as "Stan Musial Day".
Being Polish American, my husband has great respect for Mr. Musial not only for his 22 seasons as one of the greatest Outfielder, First Baseman of the St. Louis Cardinals, but also because Musial is part Polish. His father was a Polish immigrant from Warsaw and his mother was a daughter of a Czech immigrant.
The above statue was originally dedicated in August 1968 outside the old Busch Stadium (1966-2005). It was moved to the current new Busch Stadium in 2006. We purchased a brick with inscriptions of our names, in hopes that 100 years or however long the stadium will last, people will know that we existed and had lived in St. Louis, Missouri.

Stan Musial's Number 6 was retired by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1963. During the 7th inning stretch, Mr. Musial played his ever famous harmonica, while the fans singing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game".

HELLO STANLEY

It is the Most Wonderful Time of the Year. 2008 Stanley Cup Finals starts on Saturday, May 24th - Game 1 Pittsburgh Penguins v. Detroit Red Wings at the Joe.

GRIN AND BEAR IT

These photos I took from St. Louis Zoo once again come in handy for this entry, Grin and Bear It. By now everyone is impacted by the record-high gasoline prices which in turn pushing up prices for groceries and all the essential items. Consumers are feeling the choke-hold of paying more at the gas pump, at the supermarkets while their paychecks remain the same. Businesses paying more for materials but unable to charge more as other companies are willing to submit lower bids to get the projects.
The other day after I put the bagel into the slots, it disappeared inside the toaster. I realized that the bagels were much smaller. Instead of raising the price, the bagel company made the products smaller. I used to have to push the bagel completely down into the slots. Then I noticed the same thing happened to other items where the containers or boxes were either smaller or the bags inside are not the same size as before. So if you think you are not paying more, you need to look at the shinking packages.
So, as a wise person said, Just Grin and Bear It. This too shall pass. Another wise person probably will say, At least you have your health! Or as my husband would proudly say that we were smart for buying 4-cyclinder cars, living in a simple small home and not trying to keeping up with the Joneses! I do empathize families with small children or with only one income. Charity orgnizations reported that their food pantries are empty as the requests have been increasing while the donations have been decreasing.

All this talk not only is hurting my pockets but also making me so depressed and tired. I am going for a walk and then take a nap. After all, tomorrow is another day. Some smart people in this country will know what to do and how to get us out of the situations.

AND THEN, THERE IS ONE

At this writing, Saturday, May 17th Game 5 between the Red Wings v. Stars was over with Dallas scored the first goal, then the Wings tied the game but unable to respond to Lundqvist 2nd goal. No scoring in the 3rd and the series goes back to Dallas on Monday. I was so disappointed and puzzled at the level of plays by the Wings. Their passing, puck control and jamming Turco's net with rebounds were melting away. Being good sportmanship, I will extend congratulations to Turco on his first win ever at the Joe. Ok, now please go fishing or golfing!
Of course, if you are hockey fanatic, you would know that the title of this entry is about the Detroit Red Wings being the only Original Six team advanced in the Conference Finals in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. I was disappointed when the Flyers ousted the Canadiens (So long Habs, there will be next season) and my hometown Rangers fought hard but could not avoid being eliminated by the Penguins. In 1936, the Red Wings, entered the NHL in 1926-1927, was the last Original Six team to win the Cup. Perhaps 2008 will be the year the Cup is won by an Original Six team again. With Canadiens and Rangers are out, I don't have be torn between my beloved Red Wings or my hometown Rangers or wanting to see the Cup returned to Canada.

THE REAL PENGUINS

I took these photos of the penguins while visiting the St. Louis Zoo last month when my husband's brother and his wife came for a visit. I am putting some humor into these photos to ease the pains I have been feeling since Crosby the Kid and the Pittsburgh Penguins eliminated my hometown New York Rangers from the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Center Jordan Staal feeling proud of himself and no longer trying to catch up to big brothers, Erik and Marc. Ironically, Marc Staal was with the NY Rangers, the team Jordan and the Penguins eliminated.
Crosby the Kid was happy with his playoffs record of 4 goals and 13 assists.

Center Evgeni Malkin congratulates right winger Marian Hossa on his overtime goal in game 5 when the Penguins ousted the Rangers. At this writing, the Penguins already won the first 2 games against cross-state rival Philadelphia Flyers.

The Penguins bench.
Do you know if Petr Sykora is home?
How about Darryl Sydor? Can he come out and play?
Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andre Fleury is guarding the net.

STRESS .... TELL ME ABOUT IT .... LET'S GET OUT OF HERE .... THERE IS A BETTER PLACE FOR YOU AND ME .... BUT I DON'T KNOW WHERE!

AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD

Last weekend I walked around the neighborhood taking photos of the beautiful flowers before they are gone. I hope my adoring fans will enjoy these photos and sharing my enthusiasm of a wan-na-be photographer with limited artistic talent.

BACK YARD APPLE TREE

I took the photo (above) of the apple tree in our back yard during a snow day last year. I learned from looking through photography books to take photos of sceneries in different seasons. The photos below show the tree in full bloom last month and close up of beautiful flowers which would be soon turned into apples. I will post more photos when the tree is heavy with the apples. Stay tune for more photos from our back yard.

D#@& SQUIRREL AND THE LONELY TUPIPS

Last week we bought the above new patio furniture. The table has a built-in Lazy Susan (revolving food tray) so it will be handy when we have guests over for BBQ. There are four chairs, two rockers and two regular seatings. The set came with cushions for the chairs but we won't put them out yet. You know the reason. We have been watching to see if the d@#& squirrel will attemp to take a bite out of our brand new furniture. Maybe we will get a dental bill and a lawsuit for injury caused to the squirrel when it tried to chew on the solid steel table and chairs. Only in America that the owner got sued for defending his property against criminals!

I caught the squirrel jumping from the bench onto the barrel, then tried to take a bite out of our only tulips. After chasing it away, I took the photos below as I know the squirrel will come back to destroy my tulips when we are at work.