Earthquakes

Last night a fairly major earthquake struck Taiwan, with many aftershocks, both large and small, continuing through the evening and night. The epicenter was in Nantou county, which is only about an hour's drive south from where we live. Initial reports put the quake at a magnitude 6.0, but other reports say it was as high as 7.0.

We have felt numerous quakes in the past 3 years since returning to Taiwan. None of them however, made my heart jump the way it did last night. We were in the middle of eating an early supper (as Paige had her piano lesson at 6:00 p.m.) when a sudden jolt hit and the whole house rattled and shook. Eileen and I quickly looked at each other and said, "Let's get out of here!" We ran to the lane outside, finding many of our neighbors had done the same. As we congregated in the lane we suddenly noticed that Erin (our oldest daughter, age 15, with Down Syndrome) was not with us. We looked back in the house; she was merrily sitting at the dining table eating her supper. Eileen went back in to coax her out, but she wasn't about to leave her food without a fight. I had to go back in and we literally had to drag her out. Fun! We felt bad later for not even thinking about her and just running out of the house. BAD parents, BAD parents!! Guess we'll have to do some earthquake drills to teach her what to do.

You can find more info about earthquakes in Taiwan here.

For My Dad's 83rd Birthday

On October 26th, my Dad turns 83 years old. I am sending him this letter:

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Dear Dad,

You are turning 83 this year. Do you feel old? I am only 48, and I feel old. But I’ll bet you only feel old in body, but not in spirit.

I was thinking, instead of sending you a card this year, I would send you a letter, some musings and reflections from a son to his father. You have been my Dad for 48 years, though you have been a father for longer than that. For actually 56 years, right? Anyway, there’s a lot one can pack into 48 years….

I remember being a little child. But Christmas, I especially remember Christmas. I remember you driving us home from the Christmas Eve service at church, and we would all have to wait patiently by the tree while you parked the car in the garage. I remember almost peeing myself with excitement. Then you would come in the house and SLOWLY take off your coat and spats. Finally, we could open our gifts.

I also remember when you bought your new 350 Detroit Cummings Diesel truck. I remember one of the first trips you took with it, to The Pas. I remember you taking me along, and fueling up at the Texaco station before hitting the road. It was early in the morning, but being the good Dad you were, you bought me a grape soda and a bag of chips. I dug into them as any child would. But before we hit Mafeking, I threw it all up on your new truck. I don’t remember you being angry at all, but just cleaning it up and being concerned for how I felt. I realized later how you must have felt. I would feel bad if someone threw up over my new truck.

I remember the times we toured the rodeo circuit together. Unlike Barry, I wasn’t old enough to compete in any of the events myself, but you enjoyed having me there just to watch you. Maybe I never told how proud I was to see you race your chuck wagon around the track. You didn’t win often (if ever), but I was still proud of you just for trying. Racing for the Queen of England was the epitome of your rodeo career. I still tell people how proud I was of you for racing chuck wagons and taking me to the rodeos.

And the camping and fishing. I will never forget the camping and fishing trips. You know that many times I complained about being bored and being cold and wanting to go home. But you were so patient. You were willing to endure the cold and boredom just for a nibble on the line. My favorite was when we had lunch and opened the thermos for some tea. The warm tea was especially appreciated on those ice fishing trips.

I also remember the hard work. Dragging hay bails off the bailer and stacking them on the rack. You were impatient with me at times, but that’s okay. I would be impatient, too. And fencing. I never liked fencing, but I knew it was an important job. I remember handing you the staples as you held the wire tight and nailed it to the post.

And then there was the wood cutting expeditions. I always thought it was a great adventure to go to the mountains and cut down trees and saw them into logs and pile them into the back of the truck. What a great memory. I felt like a true man when you let me use the axe, or the chain saw, or the wood splitter.

Dad, I would not be who I am if it wasn’t for you. We had our fights. We had our disagreements. But you always supported and encouraged me when it counted.

I remember when I was trying to raise support for going to Taiwan for the first time, and in a church meeting some people criticized me for going with a non NABC mission. I remember you, you who never stood up for anything before, stand up boldly and defend your son. I remember you speaking up for me. I remember your love.

I remember after my first year of Bible college, when I didn’t do so well academically. I remember calling you from college one night, telling you that I had failed a history course. I felt so ashamed. I remember you saying that it didn’t matter; that you still loved me and supported me. I was comforted by your words and love. I also remember you coming into my bedroom one night and saying that if I wanted to tour Western Canada with my blue grass band buddies, that you would support it and even buy us a van to tour in. Why did I not realize at that moment what a great father God had given me??

Dad, I love you. You are not a perfect Dad, and God knows I have not been a perfect son. But we are grateful for each other. I know you love me, and I can only hope you know how much I love you.

Thank-you Dad for loving me. Thank-you for giving yourself to me. Thank-you for disciplining me when needed, and thank-you for showing me how to love life and receive the good gifts God gives to all His children.

I am sending you my love and hugs from across the sea. God keep you till we can meet again next summer.

Love,

Your son,

Rod

Guess The Economy's Not All That Bad

Homes in Taiwan that do not have direct natural gas piped in must buy and use liquid propane gas (LPG) from a local vendor. The gas comes in different size bottles/tanks. Once you pay the initial deposit on the bottle, you simple call the vendor (whose phone number is painted on the side of the tank) and usually within a few minutes a motorcycle or small delivery truck is at your door with a full tank, ready to replace the empty one.

We live in an older home so we must go through this routine. We use 2 large bottles: one for the 1st floor kitchen (for the stove and hot water heater), and one for the 4th floor, for the clothes dryer. Most gas companies will charge a little extra for hauling a full, heavy gas bottle up to the 4th floor. I've worked out a routine, however, whereby when the kitchen bottle gets low, I carry it up myself to the 4th floor and bring the fuller bottle back down.

One thing I have always thought funny is that the motorcycles typically seen delivering propane gas bottles are old "Indian" motorcycles, and invariably the exhaust pipe is totally burned out and they make a lot of noise. I've always wondered why they didn't just pay a little for maintenance and get the exhaust replaced. I guess it's just not a priority.

Imagine my surprise then when I recently spotted a local propane gas vendor delivering bottles on a brand new motorcycle!! My first thought was that the economy mustn't be all that bad and that the propane gas business must be doing okay.

Compare the two images below. The top one is of one of the old Indian motorcycles. The bottom one is the new San Yang motorcycle I saw recently. Nice bike, but in time it's muffler will also be totally shot and will add its contribution to the noise pollution of Taiwan.

Old

New

2 Songs

About 5 years ago I went through a deep clinical depression. It lasted about 9 months. God brought miraculous healing, but that's another story.

During my depression I lost all interest in the things I had typically taken pleasure in. I have always listened to music, but during my depression I found that I lost all interest in listening to music. I did however come across two songs that really connected with me during those dark days. One was "Everybody" by Stabilio. I caught it one day while listening to the radio. It was my introduction to the music of Stabilio, and I have been a fan ever since.

The second was "For You" by the Barenaked Ladies. I also heard this song on the radio while driving to the London airport one night. Both songs connected with me in where I was at at the moment. If these songs connect with you, in whatever you are going through, I pray that they would be an encouragement to you.

Twitter, You Done Did Me Wrong!

I signed up for a Twitter account over a year ago. Check the linked Wikipedia article if you don't know what Twitter is.

I was unsure at first whether it was worth getting into Twitter. I started following other users, including some news services and a handful of celebrities I was interested in. What really got me more into it however were the fellow "Twitterers" that I discovered in Taiwan. I began following a number of people who live and work in Taiwan. Twitter gave me an introduction to friends that I had never met before, but who I might someday. The common connection was our experiences of life on this island, and our unique views on the things we saw and were a part of.

So I was "tweeting" along just fine when a couple weeks ago I noticed that my "Followers" and "Following" counts were listed at "0" (zero). Up till then I was following about 60 people and about 25 were following me (a combination of both real world friends and online acquaintances). I immediately sent an e-mail to Twitter support but only got an automated reply saying that they were aware there was a "bug" (catchphrase for "We don't know what the heck is going on!") in the system.

Then, about a day later, I checked my account and a large notice in bright red across the top of the page said that my account was suspended for "suspicious activity", which they define as basically any kind of "spam" or service abuse, neither of which I was guilty of.

Repeated enquiries to Twitter has resulted in zero response, and at this point my account is still suspended, with no indication when it might be restored, if ever. If you were following me on Twitter and are reading this, you can now follow me on a new account, @tairods, though who knows how long that one will last.

I know Twitter has been a big deal this year, with many people joining, and they have had their share of technical glitches as a result. Being a free service, I guess one shouldn't expect too much in the way of customer service or support. I do hope my original account is restored soon, so I reconnect with the good friends I have met online here in Taiwan. Taiwan is such a unique place to live, that any expat I meet, face to face, or online, is a "good mate".

Typhoon Morakot

The first typhoon to strike Taiwan this season is just leaving. As far as typhoons go, it was predicted to be a moderate one. But as with all weather predictions, the weathermen once again learned they are not gods. The predicted path of the typhoon was to see it come across the island and take a more northerly turn. However, the worst part of the typhoon seemed to hit the southern half of the island. There has been a lot of flood damage. As I write this, the death toll stands at 12, with 56 people unaccounted for, so the death will undoubtedly rise.

One of the more dramatic videos from the storm shows a hotel in the city of Taitung on the east coast toppling over due to the erosion of its foundation by an adjacent stream, gorged with rainwater.

In my limited experience of living in Taiwan, I have come to learn that it is almost impossible to predict the "size", and effect of a typhoon. In the past, typhoons that were in the "super typhoon" category ended up doing little damage with no loss of life. Whereas there have been smaller typhoons (in terms of size and maximum wind speed) that have wreaked all kinds of havoc on the island.

The positive side to the typhoons that come this time of year is that the rainfall provides much needed rain for the reservoirs, which then supply water for the island during the rest of the season. It has also been recently reported that the low pressure system associated with the typhoons somehow trigger small earthquakes, which helps release pressure on the fault lines, thereby reducing the chances of larger more devastating earthquakes occurring with greater frequency. Check out the following for more info:

Typhoons trigger earthquakes on Taiwan: scientists

Ya' Gotta Watch Out For The Crazies

A girl on a scooter sideswiped me today as a result of an illegal move on her part. I was okay, but she lost her balance and fell down. The best part was that there was a policeman standing right on the corner who witnessed the whole thing. After ascertaining that the girl was physically okay, the officer proceeded to scold her for her carelessness. He told me I could go on about my business. In any case, another reminder that even when one is technically in the "right" according to traffic laws, "Ya' Still Gotta Watch Out For The Crazies!!"