When you cross in front of a moving automobile, they have the legal and moral right to bump over you and drive merrily on their way. They don't because of the amount of paperwork it would cause. So they lean on the horn. They don't toot. Toots are consigned to the world of flatulence. They lean and keep leaning until you run screaming down the road holding your hands to your ears, or until you pass from sight. Why not one short blast? Why do they believe that Sustained Sound will move you faster? I don't move fast. Ask my wife. The best I can do is increase my shuffle a little.
Marcie:
They also perform special cacophanous numbers during nocturnal hours when you're striving for REM sleep. You can be entirely in dream-state and still be completely awakened in seconds by the olympic horn competition on Hennessy Road. Each horn has its own tone and timbre like an instrument in a symphony orchestra. They never blare in thirds, only in dissident tones that imitates Miss Brill scratching with her chalk during an arithmetic lesson.
I am just coming up on the completion of having taught a 6-week course to the Phillipina sisters on Money Management and Women's Empowerment. The stories I could tell about the victimization of these generous women loaning money to a friend would rend your heartstrings. Many of them are nearing their forties and have worked unendingly to educate their older brothers (all the way through college). The sacrifice is shameful as they have not yet had a chance for school because they are insuring their siblings' success. Sadly, many of the siblings are living on the domestics' money and have no intention of finding work; life is too sweet.
Steve Again:
Off to the left is a picture of the graduates of a welfare project in Cambodia. All these young people were "landfill children" -- finding a living by sifting through the garbage and food in the landfill. The Church created a baker/chef school. The bread they produce during their course goes to the poor. The graduates are highly sought after -- it's a great success story of saving people -- one of the stories we're using for our websites.Both the branch president and the ward clerk are traveling, fled to distant parts. There is loneliness and there is total abject destitution. This is the abject kind -- the sisters keep asking me things they think I should know. This is a problem -- I have one of those kind, half-grey, half-bald heads -- but that doesn't mean there's a lot of action inside.
I have stewardship over the branch and my intent is to have it still existing when they get back, but there is no guarantee that will happen. Yesterday, they celebrated the 169th anniversary of the Relief Society, complete with individually crafted bookmarks, and amazing large sign, a meeting that went over by 40 minutes at which both Mom and I spoke, and a baked chicken dinner. I managed to double-schedule myself -- I was supposed to be teaching a Priesthood lesson at the same time I was presiding at the RS meeting. I hear the brethern had a testimony meeting. They probably gave their testimonies with clenched jaws, since their teacher wasn't present. I didn't have time to warn them that I wasn't going to be there since I was late to the RS meeting -- these sisters think they can't proceed without the priesthood (only sisters from the US think the priesthood isn't that necessary)-- so I was holding up the entire meeting. When I got there, they pinned a corsage on me and swept me to the front, where I sat and ran the podium for most of the meeting . Running the podium was the apex of my contribution to the meeting -- that and smiling benignly.
I wanted to send you a copy of last month's Media Newsletter that Marcie and I edit. But I don't know how to do this -- maybe I'll send it to my children and if anyone cares, they can ask them. I think upgrading the electronic media capability of the Church in Asia is like turning the Titanic. It just takes a while. People want to help and make things better but getting everyone on the same page is a little like herding cats.
Of course, we miss all of you. The weather is getting warm here as it is there -- we should hit 80 next week. The problem is that it is HUMID. I have been told that we can go to shirtsleeves after conference. ...another reason to enjoy conference. I've decided to chop off some of the sleeves of my white shirts-- I'm not the perspiring type, but here in HK, I sweat just like the next guy. (My deodorant says: Swagger turns unfresh men into legends of confidence. That's me: legend of confidence. You'd have to bathe in the stuff though to stay dry.) We love all of you and think of you often. Thank heaven for pictures and videos. We sit at the computer and think about kids and grandkids. I mentioned Megan and Kristen in my RS remarks. We're glad and proud for you/of you. Sister Marcie and Elder Stephen Alley
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