Monday, September 30, 2019

One in a Taipei Minyan



       On Monday, September 30, I was off to Taipei's Jewish Center at 7:15 am for the first morning Rosh Hashanah 5780 service, riding the bike to Taiwan Railroad for a local train to the HSR. I thought maybe I would stop in to New York Bagel at Taipei Station before heading over there. There was a typhoon rolling east of Taipei so I was taking care; a fold up umbrella, waterproofed Converse, and a plastic poncho for the ride home if it was raining in Taichung  I would be in Taipei by 9:30 with a twenty minute subway ride and walk to the center, so I wished I had an earlier ticket. I had to wait fifty minutes for the bullet train, fifty more minutes to Taipei. I spoke with my son, Ariel, on the train up to Taipei and text-messaged with Jim, the source of most of this journal entry text.
 I wouldn’t have time to digest the fat bastard before the shofar was blown.  It was G-d's will. I had to leave room for the rabbi's wife's lunchtime, stay hungry till then. Maybe I would get a sausage McMuffin while I was waiting, but Jim urged me to hold on. The bagel was burning a hole in my mind. I had a plastic bag to bring a half dozen home! What better way to bring in the New Year, a bagel and a shofar. I would have brought bagels for Rabbi Shlomi but they're not kosher.
Jim and I chatted about Bob, an old friend, as we usually do flippantly. I had gotten a cedar tree to plant in his mother’s name in Israel when she passed away but Bob scolded me for wasting money not sending it to him directly. “If he lived close, I would throw a plant pot with only soil in it through his window,” Jim retorted. I wanted my Israeli gift sapling back, I wrote and sent him a report from a local activist about  Israeli occupation authorities approving the destruction of thousands of trees between the western entrance of the town of Taqou’ and the entrance of the village of al-Minya, southeast of Bethlehem, in the occupied West Bank.
When I arrived at Taipei Station, I marched around looking for the N.Y. Bagel restaurant for a good fifteen minutes. Finally, I gave up and found the Banan subway line to the Brown line to Da’an, getting an egg salad sandwich to eat outside the 7-11 as the rain fell around me.
          I was warmly welcomed by the rabbi, as I always am. He hugged me and introduced me as “the rabbi of Taichung”  amusingly. A few congregants asked me if it was true; I’m a rabbi, a teacher. It’s true, I said, but I have no minyan. I am the only Jewish Temple in Taiwan. The Rabbi honored me when I was asked to read a prayer, in English, open the ark, remove the Torah, parade it among the thirty-five men present ( a few women sat out of sight behind a petition) to kiss, and cradle it in my arm for the rabbi. Not too shabby; I was proud.
Afterwards, the man opposite me at the table in the service complimented me on my heartfelt reading of the prayer. He sat down next to me upstairs when the smorgasbord lunch was served. I had a great lunch at the center, and spoke with the Zionist pleasantly when he asked what brought me to Taiwan. When I told him the story about being shunned by my gentile playmates in Brooklyn, it opened a door for him to talk about Israel and the Muslim in similar terms. I would not let him get away with reverse-discrimination and fired back. His attitude of elitism, I’m afraid, is supported in such in the Rosh Hashanah prayer book; how Israel is our land and our language is the one G-d loves best and we are the ‘chosen people’, so you can’t blame the zealot for his attitude but I debunked his ‘original occupants’ idea asking if the Native Americans should expel the white settlers that took their land. I explained that Israel was disliked for its political posture, not because of anti-Semitism; indeed, Jews and Muslims had lived side by side for thousands of years before the European Ashkenazi Jews interfered with imperialist designs. Naturally, I could not make a dent in his hawkish attitude. Jimmy Carter was a racist, he said, for supporting peace, and Menachem Began would have changed his mind if he lived to see.  All I could do was shake his hand; at least we both believed in the one G-d. We even joined a minyan for prayers to all sentient beings over a goldfish the rabbi had.
          After the service I walked to the subway and met a few fellow worshippers on the train. One nice man, Michael, held my attention talking about Taipei American School and I got off a stop too soon to reach Eslite. I walked through the windy rain under as many verandas as there were to Dun-Hua South Road and turned left passing Ren-I Road to reach Eslite. I found nothing I wanted to buy so I turned my attention to bagels again. I couldn’t find NY Bagel so I texted Leona and asked her to check for me. She sent a map with a NY Bagel location a block from Eslite! I went off to find it. Imagine my disappointment when after locating it and approaching the counter I was told they were closing. They were not selling. I walked to the Banan line to Taipei Station to see if I had time to find the one in Q square near the Y3 exit.  NY Bagel in Q Square only had cinnamon and chocolate bagels and the place near Dun Hua said they were closing early because of the wind. Q Square said they had no delivery because of the weather. G-d’s will, indeed.
          I had a great day. My wife, Leona, feels great, rode her scooter to the hospital for the first time since February, and exercised on the treadmill. I got to march around Taipei, talk with Ari, celebrate Rosh Hashanah, and enjoy the rabbi’s wife’s delicious dishes. I shunned Krispy Kream because of its roots of Nazi ownership and got no books or bagels, but what I got is happiness and thankfulness that I am alive, healthy, and have my sense about me!  Shanah Tovah!  
Copyright © 2019 by David Barry Temple. All rights reserved 

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Extra Innings and Outings with Taichung Baseball


 

     Why is it that when you're sitting at home doing nothing it is worse than sitting at a ballpark doing nothing? Even watching a ballgame at home is worse than seeing it live. I made the right choice last evening with time to get to Taichung Intercontinental Stadium way before the first pitch. I saw myself sitting with Leona watching the Taiwan news and HGTV house hunters. When she came home from getting a haircut I didn't think I'd be going, but when she said she heard Brothers have been playing better, but she declined to go when I asked, I went by myself. The bike ride there is great; mostly right-of-way and the ticket is only 350-$12. The Rock Pizza, like New York’s worst, dry and salty, sucked the same price out of me with two Heineken's 85 each and an A&W Root Beer for 50, but I don't care. I had a good night. It didn't matter that the Brothers lost 12-8. I had a great seat ten rows up just left of home plate. I got home before 11:30 pm. George didn't have time to go with me; he'd rather be fucking his new girlfriend, and Mr. Ma babysits for his grandson during the week, but that's an excuse. I wouldn't ask Tim because he might say yes and be just as boring as he was on the bike ride. If Malcolm could have come with weed to smoke before the game that would have been dandy, but he doesn't live nearby, have weed, or likely like baseball. It's been so long I almost forgot how to keep a scorecard; it's been a year since I used the score book. The season is over Sunday. I can say that at least I saw one game this season after making excuses not to go since April. Luckily, there will be 'extra-innings' with international Olympic qualifying games being played in Taichung in November. I will definitely go to at least one over the five day event, Nov. 5-9, Puerto Rico vs. Venezuela, Taiwan vs. Japan; maybe another. 


Copyright © 2019 by David Barry Temple. All rights reserved 

Tuesday, September 3, 2019

Taichung Flower Expo Blossoms and Dies

On January 23, 2018, the weather was perfect for a long bike ride; sunny, cool, and not windy. I would go to my favorite spot on the abandoned grandstand at the Houli Horse Farm near Taichung in front of the disused racetrack. I was shocked when I saw what they had done since summer while I was gone.                                    

The Houfeng Bike Path was more crowded than I thought.  I made my way through the congregations, across the old railroad bridge over The Dajia River and through tunnel #9. I heard machinery at work and smelled the dusty air as I reached the end of the bike path, turned right and had a surpriseThe  racetrack that I used to sit at was not there anymore!   It was replaced by the 2018 Taichung World Flora Expo.









The number of Taichung flora expo visitors exceeded six million guests since November 32018. The international foundation that accepted Taichung’s bid to host the Expo was pleased. Mayor Lin had kept to the agreement to charge reasonable entrance fees, but starting January 1st, Taichung citizens, new residents, and children under the age of 12 from around the world were allowed to attend the flora expo free of charge; a campaign promise from KMT mayoral candidate Lu Show-yen that flouted the agreement. 
The Houli Horse Farm was the governor's stables during Japanese occupation, then was commandeered by the interloping KMT when they retreated from China after the civil war. Finally, it was opened to the public to see the variety of horses bred there. The track was actually used for races back in the day but fell into disuse.  
All of this construction was for a grand plan called "Houli Horse Ranch & Forest Area" that was expected to be completed in 281 days, according to the website, in time for the Expo.That was a                                                            horse of a different color! 
There was good news for bikers. The Bikeway would be extended 1.2 km. on what they were calling "Flower Horse Path" between the Houli Train Station and the Horse Ranch. They said they wouldn't mess with the historic buildings of the ranch; just add a lot of flowers to create a "garden city." All I knew was all this progress would crowd out my pleasant bike ride and replace it with vehicular traffic.
To accommodate traffic, they were constructing another overpass parallel to Highway #1 across the Dajia River to the new flower exhibition center. Not only did it access the racetrack but also spilled into the updated horse farm area. Luckily, former Mayor Lin planned public transportation to the site well; there was little traffic.            The building of an exhibition center left me nowhere to sit without the din of drills. I rode back up the bike path and stopped at a boardwalk and wooden benches near the Taiwan railroad line.
There I sat in peace at the end of the path with a silicon valley factory out of sight over the hill, far from the school kids on their rented tandem motorized bicycles.
As the Expo opened, I helped public school students get involved by polishing essays for a recitation contest: 
"Good afternoon, ladies and gentleman. My topic is 'Ways to promote Taichung's World Flora Exposition.' With the World Flora Exposition opening later this year,
 I've been thinking
 about how to       make Taiwanese and people from all over the world recognize the beauty coming to Taichung. How can we catch people's eyes and keep them coming on weekdays and focused when the day is done?  
First, let’s think about how to catch people’s eyes on the Expo. 
Yes! “Curiosity.”  If we can persuade the USA to turn the torch in the hand of Statue of Liberty into a bunch of flowers, that would turn some heads our way.  Turn the Eiffel Tower into a vase with flowers sprouting atop until France and the whole world turns its attention to Flora Expo.  Let's spread advertisements far and wide and the spotlight is sure to follow. That will catch people's eyes.  
We must spread the news through the internet. Foreigners will easily get messages through 
Facebook, Instagram, 
We-chat, Twitter and other social media.  So, it is a good idea to invite the world to the Expo through it.  I suggest we start a trend; invite people to write invitations on their hands; draw some cute pictures on them and write down "Welcome to Taichung's World Flora Expo.”  Imagine flowers blooming virally all over the internet with thousands of people waving "welcome" back at you! I’m sure it will draw a huge crowd of foreigners to Taichung's Flora Expo. 
But what happens when that weekend crowd at the Exposition Parks becomes intolerable? How about week day tours? But on weekdays, who has free time?  Without doubt, pensioners and school groups have free time and money.  As we know, elders love to spread good morning cheer and teachers love taking their students on trips outside school. So why not design some good morning stickers on Flora Expo for free download? Let the young and old wake up the whole city and everyone can bloom a new weekday in blossoms. What a way to enjoy good
morning and promote the Flora Expo! 
      As we know, flowers bloom and fade.  People come and people go.  But the Flora Expo goes on! When the day comes to an end, keep the memories in a blog of good stories and photos. With Taichung's Flora Expo, we can have strawberry fields forever!"  
          Many families have attended every flower show hosted in Taiwan. They were all good, but none could compare with the Taichung World Flora Exposition, for family fun and the scientific side of flora. There were three visiting areas in Taichung; Waipu, Houli and Fengyuan. Houli was the biggest and most impressive. The  Houli Horse Ranch & Forest Park sites emphasized the science of cultivation. “The Sound of Blooming” in the Blossom Pavilion was amazing. It featured lots of huge and amazing mechanical flowers inside and around it, colorfully coordinated with LED lights that belonged to the large decorative art. Secondly, I loved to view the “Alpine Ecosystem by Observing the Leopard Cats” feature. There was a lot to learn from international cultures by watching those art works in “International Gardens.” 
Could I hear the sound of flowers’ blooming? That was a confusing question someone asked me before I went. I didn’t get it until I saw the huge mechanical flower ball there. While its flowers bloomed, I could hear the sound of their blooming. When I “talked to” the flowers or applauded them, they rolled up as if they were shy. They even varied their bloom to the sunlight and precipitation. This intelligent art presents both the creativity and technology of Taiwan artisans and technicians.
Another interesting section of the Flora Expo is the Discovery Pavilion. This hall presents natural ecology along Taichung’s Dajia River as it changes from sea level to 3,886 meters high. But first, my visit started at the dream-like Gao Mei Wetlands. There, I listened to people reciting poetry about the water world, telling me how they nurtured our land. Higher still, I entered the leopard cats’ display area. There, rich knowledge about big pretty cats was shared. Surprisingly, their habitat was found because of the flora exposition; it was going to be built there but that area is now well kept.
From 1500 to 3500 meters high, I went to the bottom of Cijia Bay. Many large Formosan landlocked salmons swam by my side. The fish restocking works well.
Finally, I stepped into the mountain forests full of towering trees. Its stubs and the endangered mountain animals reminded me of the fragile value our forests.
One more impressive place at the Expo was the Harvest Blessings Pavilion. I could smell the different grains of Taiwan in the exhibition area, many kinds making up a golden carpet. The farmers’ stories told there touched me; they used natural farming skills to protect the land. Their sweating tanned faces glowed with happiness! Meanwhile, in the classroom, Ma-Ming Elementary school presented lessons on farming. Students could learn about the rice paddy, rice dishes, straw crafts, and even the raising of ducks on their campus. I could feel the workers grit, the crops, and nature living in perfect harmony!








     The 2018 Taichung World Flora Exposition wilted to a close April 24, 2019. It was left to die because the new mayor shoveled manure off the ground instead of spreading it  around, as Mayor Lin had done.  The building stands closed, the lights off, the exhibits gone. The park is off-limits, completely closed,visited by no one now instead of thousands as it should be. But for six months, it was the pride of Taichung renewal. What went wrong? A KMT mayor indebted to the underground and business interests won an election.
   The 2018 Taichung World Flora Exposition was in violation and the AIPH threatened to cancel it. The International Association of Horticultural Producers sent a letter to the Taichung government objecting to the proposal. Former Taichung Mayor Lin Chia-lung said he would do everything to communicate with the AIPH to make sure that the expo was not canceled. The unlimited free admission proposal would bankrupt any plans for the Expo to go on past the closing date. The call for free admission drew the objection of the AIPH, the Expo's certification authority. The flora expo, they said, was of high-quality and high-value; normal for the public to pay admission for.  Lu Show-yen didn’t care; they never discussed admission when the previous Mayor Hu agreed to host it. Despite Lin Chia-Lung's assurance that everything would be handled according to the contract, he lost the election and there was nothing he could do.  Mayor Lu dealt dead flowers to Taichung, as she has to so many civic projects. But I was there to see the Flower Expo grow and blossom. Too bad it had to die so soon. 
「Flower Expo Taichung singing ball」的圖片搜尋結果
Copyright © 2019 by David Barry Temple. All rights reserved