SINGAPORE 60's: ANDY's POP MUSIC INFLUENCE IS A PERSONAL MUSIC, MEMORY TRAIL. BLOGGER DOES NOT OWN THE RIGHTS TO VIDEOS, AUDIO TRACKS AND IMAGES. THEY ARE UPLOADED FOR FUN, EDUCATIONAL, ILLUSTRATIVE PURPOSES AND HAVE BEEN CREDITED. BLOG IS NOT SPONSORED NOR ADVERTORIAL IN ANY WAY WHATSOEVER. INFORM BLOGGER OF COPYRIGHT ISSUES AND POST WILL BE DELETED IMMEDIATELY. DO NOT COPY THE POSTS; GET PERMISSION N CREDIT ME IF YOU DO. ANDY LIM LA (NOVEMBER, 2008) -
(新加坡六十年代安迪的流行音乐影响力)
"As Christmas comes around and buying presents may take center stage; may I humbly suggest the gift of your presence (pun intended) to those dear to you..."
“So this is Christmas, and what have you done?” sings Celine Dion. Given this privilege by Andy to pen an article, it’s a good opportunity to reflect on 2021. Perhaps a handful may have read my Easter article in this blog; if you have not, I’m sure it’s found in the archives (hint hint ;p).* This reflection continues my learning journey…
Post Easter, life continues to be impacted by COVID. But more significantly, by another “c”- a dear family member’s diagnosis of stage 2 cancer. ☹ It was on Maundy Thursday when we collected the routine health report from the clinic. Much to our surprise, a marker flagged something amiss and the full impact of it did not unravel till weeks after Easter as we ran tests after tests while dealing with the initial denial and fear of the unknown.
I have to say this has been the biggest game-changer in my life by far. Where is God when one is hit by a crisis (another “c”!)? Thankful I have Christ (the big “C”!) who has been my anchor thorough it all. Though assured of His good purpose for it to happen, I had my share of questioning and lamenting. It does not help that this family member is a fairly new Christian. How do I respond to “why me” questions without sounding insensitive? What words of comfort can I offer when the pain brings a torrent of tears? What wisdom can I offer when the team of doctors are tweaking medication to address post operation pain? This brings me back to the start of my article, “what have I done?” Many things have been scaled back not because of COVID measures, but because of being part of the care-giving team. On hindsight, I see how God lead me out of a teaching role so I would have more time to spend with this family member. Indeed, it’s a luxury to have time to just be around, not doing very much, but just being present. To be present to help with physical mobility. To be present to catch priceless flashback moments of joys and regrets. To be present to address questions like “who is there in heaven?”, “heaven so big, how will we find each other?” (I hasten to add I don’t have all the answers!). To be present to catch that tear, that painful cringe. To be present to pray. To be present for the rest of family dealing with this crisis in their own ways.
& PRESENCE
As Christmas comes around and buying presents may take center stage; may I humbly suggest the gift of your presence (pun intended) to those dear to you. One which money cannot buy and which only you can afford. The Bible states in Ecclesiastes 3:1 “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven”, may we steward time and the different seasons of our life wisely. Incidentally, these wise words can be found in the song “Turn, Turn, Turn” by The Byrds.
Matthew 1:23 “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel – which means, “God with us”. May His presence be the greatest gift you will receive.
“They say that every snowflake is different. If that were true, how could the world go on? How could we ever get up off our knees? How could we ever recover from the wonder of it?” -- Jeanette Winterson, Author
We hope this letter finds you in good health and fine spirits, enjoying whatever aspects of the season’s activities you celebrate, and surviving the festive mayhem. As the end of the year races toward us at warp speed, it is a reminder to take time for family and friends who mean so much to us.
Thankfully we are both in good health, as are our families and our beloved cats Patootie and Minnie.
In spite of pandemic constraints, 2021 was as full a year as ever for us. In January we bought an electric car and are very happy with it. In the spring we managed to sell our old car (which we both found surprisingly emotional; best car we ever owned, still running like new; we did regular maintenance, but never had to repair it... imagine!).
Our seemingly endless litany of home projects continued. We finished our bedroom, did window repairs, replaced our sinking front porch, put up a pergola on the back patio, and amidst some argy-bargy’s managed to put up a few gallery walls of our collected art. The next room for wall repairs will be done in January... at last!
"When the red, red robin comes bob, bob, bobbing along"
Most of the summer was spent indoors, sadly -- extreme heat and toxic smoke from surrounding forest fires made outside a miserable place to be. Garden work was minimal maintenance only, no new projects. Still, nature restored us in so many ways. As examples: In the spring we had large flocks of dozens of robins in the neighbourhood and in our yard. Until now we had never seen more than 3 gathered together at a time. We had about 15 monarch caterpillars in the garden (significantly more than last year), and many of them made it all the way to butterfly, one of which I was able to witness taking its very first flight. Autumn was so long and mild that several plants continued to flower until mid-November, when a heavy snowfall shut that down. The monkshood was particularly lush, and it only began to bloom in October!
But ... the pièce de résistance was our very own backyard nature adventure. In June/July we happened to see a pregnant rabbit building a nest at the base of our Manitoba maple, from the start of her digging to her final brilliant camouflage of the entrance. Once the babies were born, we were also blessed to witness -- on 3 occasions -- her feeding and grooming them. (This usually takes place overnight, so it was a real treat.) Mama was a fierce protector of her babes; we swear she didn’t sleep a wink while they were in the nest. If a crow, a squirrel, a cat or even a butterfly intruded on that area of the yard, mama rabbit would fly out of the shrubbery and be on them like a heat-seeking missile, driving them away. Once the babies began to venture out of the nest for short forays, we watched her coaching them on the ways of their world, and when they finally left the nest, we also watched two of them grooming each other in the garden. Needless to say, we were very invested in this little family. A friend even put up a large umbrella to keep the hot sun off the nest area. We had the perfect view from all the back windows of the house, and were very protective of their space.
Travel was out of the question for us, and we remain apprehensive going forward. We long to visit family and friends and to visit those places on our bucket list -- snatched from our plans in 2020 -- but... still biding our time. We are grateful though for the cheering visit of two friends, who hit the road in their camper van, and made time to be with us when passing through Winnipeg... a true highlight of the year.
Since late summer we have been going out more to restaurants, visiting with friends in small groupings, and are back at our physical activities and martial arts training. We now go to some concerts and plays in person, but continue with online options for others. That balancing act of living our lives and reducing our risks, at which we all have become so adept. I am not a huge fan of technology, but Zoom and Skype have been a boon, helping us remain connected with people near and far. And ... importantly, we make sure we have at least half an hour of chuckles and belly laughs each and every day, for sure in the evening, but as often as possible. It really is the best medicine.
We usually make a plea for world peace at this time of year especially -- and we still do, fervently -- but this year we are focusing our energies towards the requirement for significant and meaningful progress re: limiting & ultimately reversing climate change. If we collectively don’t get this right, nothing else will matter. Surely, together, we can heal some of this wounded planet we all call home. If we don’t get it right, there will be no universe large enough to contain our grief and rage. We will not give up hope; without hope none of us could go on. In the meantime, we endeavour to live in the moment, to find joy daily, and to celebrate and be grateful for every blessing in our lives, and for every beauty and wonder in the world ... of which there are so, so many.
We wish you and yours good health and every happiness this festive season and throughout the New Year, and the experience of wonder on a daily basis.
Joy and many blessings to you and all those you love,
You are a treasured friend who ask honest questions. My thoughts to your question are given below.
a) At Christmas season, we modern Christians tend to talk about the signs of Christmas Star or wisemen/gifts etc but why did the Gospel mention that swaddling baby Jesus and lying in a manger a Sign of The Messiah. I shared this Christmas scripture a few years ago to a Christian group. Luke 2:7-12 : and she (Mary) gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped Him in cloths and placed Him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
b) The possible clue may come from Micah 4:8: “And you, O tower of the flock, hill of daughter Zion! To you it shall come: the former dominion shall be restored, the reign of daughter Jerusalem”. (this place/tower in OT Hebrew is Migdal Eder … also mentioned in Gen 35:21 A place/tower where Jacob set up camp after the death of Rachel). This verse tells us baby Jesus’ announcement is related to the Tower of the flock. Migdal Eder is a place/tower in the fields of Bethlehem where shepherds care for baby sheep or select unblemished sheep for sacrifice/passover. As selecting unblemished sheep was the duty of priests, these shepherds are likely to be also priests (this is not surprising; Jesus and Paul were “spiritual teachers” who also had a second profession … Jesus was a carpenter and Paul was a tent-maker). New fawns are carefully wrapped with cloth (taken from shepherd-priest clothes) stay warm as in the womb and put into a manger so that the baby lambs will not be trampled on. Thus, when these shepherd-priests went into Bethlehem, they immediately recognised the baby Messiah.
c) Jesus was born to die to save the world. Interestingly, in the middle eastern culture, when someone goes on a long desert journey he will bring along special strips of cloth that was used for swaddling dead body for burial in case he dies. Some translations are more explicit about the strips of cloth, e.g. ESV translation of Luke 2: 7 “ She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger”.
Luke 2: 15-20 : When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen Him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
Indeed, great is the Lord and greatly to be praised !
Wishing you and your family, a wonderful Christmas, good health and a Blessed New Year 2022 !Best Regards,
Phil.
A Christmas Letter:
Prof. Dr. Phil Chan
Thanks Phil for this illuminating and interpretive explanation.
withhis wife & pet, writes on the spirit of Christmas...
UP TO 1,400 VIEWS, 24 COMMENTS
Thank you Hiroshi for telling an honest tale and
the rugged truth about 70's Europe.
Hiroshi, the young student in Stockholm,
in the early 1970's,enjoying his outdoor stunt.
I went to Hamburg after I finished working at Lappis Restaurant in Stockholm. I stayed there for three months from October to the end of December. I was quite depressed by the winter weather there. It is very difficult to tell my friends what the Swedish winter is like if they haven't experienced living there in winter. It is uncomfortable, cold, lonely, dark and gray, gloomy and depressing. All those words are associated with the winter of the northern country. The days are short and getting shorter and shorter. It is light only a few hours a day. The daybreak is about 9 or 10 o'clock and the sun sets around 2. You are really lucky if you can see the sun shining in the sky. The skies are overcast every day, which makes you down. People can't afford to be cheerful, friendly and sociable. Even ice seems warmer than the feelings people get in winter. Sorry for those expressions. But this is what I tell people here about the winter back there.
Former restaurant where he used to work.
At this time of the year, whenever I look back over the days I was in Stockholm, I always remember the Christmas I had there. It still lives vividly in my memory. I don't know how to put it. It was a cold, lonely but heartwarming Christmas. Still full of wonder. I understood how much Christmas means to Christian people and how much it changed the people.
As I mentioned that Stockholm winter was terrible and made you feel more dead than alive. So was the atmosphere of the kitchen in Lappis. The people I worked with there were all foreigners, poor foreigners. They left their home for some reason. I could see they were not happy in their homelands and now struggling to make a living.
The students' dormitory in Stockholm where Hiroshi lived.
It is hard to be a foreign labor in other countries. Living and working in foreign country and traveling to foreign places are two different things. If you travel to other countries for a short time, you may get a warm welcome. Most people you meet are nice and kind to you. But once you start living or working there, things are by no means easy. You don't get respected. You may feel a sense of outcast. The people in the kitchen were like that. They could never afford to be cheerful and friendly.
There were five people working on the night shift, including myself. One of the two cooks was a black American who was extremely quiet and rarely talked, except to ask me to bring dishes, to cut onions into slices. The other was Rubo, I still remember his name. He was middle aged, originated from Yugo-slavia taking his wife and a daughter. He was very temperamental. When he was in a good mood, he was humming and singing. But he took his spite out on us by shouting at us and throwing eggs at us when he was in a bad mood.
Kitchen workers with student Hiroshi.
A man who I washed dishes with was from Bulgaria. He and his wife had not been in Sweden for a long time. He couldn't speak Swedish. He was a good and tough guy, but sometimes he sighed to himself and said that it was an unfair world. He didn't talk much.
Then there was a young woman I didn't care for very much. She was from Romania. She came hard on us. She seems to look down on anyone who can not speak Swedish. As a cashier, being entitled to be in charge of the restaurant at night, she seemed to feel a need to act superior to others. So I kept her at a distance.
Of course we were not close. We just worked in the same place and bye-bye when the day's work was over. We never felt we were a team, never thought we would do one same thing together. We knew hardly anything about each other nor wanted we.
Getting to know his environment, Hiroshi moves
around with folks he has learnt to live with.
But a miracle occurred. On Christmas eve, we closed the restaurant rather early, about 10 o'clock. But strangely enough, no one left the work. I wondered why. As i was about to leave, I was stopped and told to stay by someone. I don't remember what went on. But when I realized, I found myself mingling among all the people, sitting around the corner of the kitchen and watching the people smiling warmly. That was the first time we had sat side by side, face to face. I even repeated after Dormitory, a Bulgarian man who said Christmas prayer. The air was filled with happiness, friendliness and made the place seem brighter and warmer.
We didn't have a Christmas dinner but Bulgarian nan's wife came over and joined us bringing some sweets. Everyone was smiling. Rubo's wife and kid joined, too. That was the first time I had seen them laugh together, even the young woman who was always sourpuss. I wondered what happened to us. The party was just like lonely people get together to celebrate Christmas. I guess they wanted to celebrate Christmas like everyone else. They needed someone to share the Christmas joy.
I still think it was a miracle that Christmas brought. It was the most impressive Christmas I have ever had in my life.
Then I quit there just before New Year's day and sailed from a port on the outskirts of Stockholm for Hamburg.
From Hiroshi Deguchi.
[Come to think of it, it was a blue, blue Christmas for Hiroshi then. But that little perk at the end, meeting as a group, with sweets as presents and nothing more, was a miracle! I can agree with that, considering... Andy.]
