Where in the World is D Today?

Honestly?.... Trying to decide if he’ll be happier ignoring Christmas or embracing it.

Ok… Really…. I can’t fully ignore Christmas. Even though Taiwan doesn’t “celebrate” Christmas, It definitely recognizes it.

In 48 years, I have never been alone and away from my family on Christmas. Never. Today, I am somewhere in the range of 7700 miles from all that is most dear to me on a High Holiday on the Christian calendar. As an adult, Christmas has always been a religious holiday, the celebrating of the birth of Christ. And until the arrival of Sean and Tim in my life, I’d been generally underwhelmed by all the Christmas “hype”. The emphasis on Santa and materialism makes me into a real scrooge.

I’ve tended to even-keeled outwardly when it comes to holidays and the sort. But I feel them deeply.

In my lesson to my third graders I explained how my family comes together at Christmas. They were SHOCKED at how large my family is and that often times I don’t know all the names of the people in the room. But I don’t have to know your name to love you. If you’re family, it’s all good. Give me a hug and kiss! Those hugs and kiss is what I am going to miss the most. We love on you outwardly in my family. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE those big deep hugs and kisses on the cheek. The smile of recognition when you come into the room is utterly and completely validating. In my family you can ALWAYS come home. We WANT you home, and MISS you when you’re not there…. (pause….. fighting back the tears now. This is why I was trying to ignore the day.)…….. As I’ve gotten older, my family has come to mean more and more to me. I love them and miss them all the more on the holidays.)

I miss the hugs my big brother Kirk and him calling me “baby boy”. Kirk is a big guy with a heart to match. I miss the protectiveness and steadiness of my big sister Marian. Memories of her laugh always make me smile. I miss the sensitivity of my little brother Steve. He is the lost sheep of sorts. We often get cross with one another, but I’ve never, never, never stopped believing in him and I KNOW beyond any measure of doubt he feels the same about me. Even though we drive the other nuts at times, he’s still my brother and if you mess with him, I’ll send you into the sweet by and by.

It goes without saying, but I must… I miss Sean and Tim. They are the two single most important people in the world to me. They taught me to lighten up during with is usually a very heavy time for me. I miss seeing thing laugh and joke and play with Sholanda, Sharese, Tot, Stevie, Marquis, and all of their other cousins. And there are many cousins. I miss the goofiness of Taylor, Trinity, and Ellis and how goofy they make my brother Kirk.

I miss the way my Aunt Lula’s eyes squint when she smiles and they way my Aunt Sam calls me “baby” and “sweetheart”. I miss the thought provoking conversations with my cousin Reggie, my uncle Art and Uncle Brother. (Yeah, you read that right. There is somebody in every family with a nickname that is a little confusing if you’re not in the family.)

I miss the continuous laughter when we are together. We don’t just love each other, we actually LIKE each other.

I miss hearing people call me Papa, Uncle Darryl, D, D.A., Preacher (my Grandmother used to call me that) and the occasional, “What’s your name again?” You really have to see how many people we can squeeze into one room.

I miss the freckles that are such a common trait in the Parker clan. My grandmother had them, my momma had them, all her brothers and sisters have, me and my brothers and sister have them, and all my cousins of a certain age have them. They come later in life. It’s a family trait that is undeniable.

I miss the food. GOD how I miss the food! I am especially craving my sister Marian’s spaghetti and macaroni and cheese!

I miss the quiet confident smile of my favorite…. Ok, well actually, technically she’s my only formal, Sister-in-Law Theresa. She and Karen my other Sister-in-Law, sort of, have been in this family since our high school days.

I will miss my dad. My Dad is the BEST man I know. Did I say I love that man? I Love that man. My dad is strong, steady and gentle. Most everything I know about kindness and patience, I learn from him. I learned just from watching him. He is completely unflappable. And his wife Juanita, is as thoughtful a woman as I know. We’ve always gotten along well.

My Family, God Bless ‘em, is a mish-mash of all that is good in the world. We’ve got it all. Black, White, Asian, Gay, Straight, Conservative, Liberal, Radicals… You name it and you just might be able to say… “Yeah, that is so much like……..” There are those with whom I share no blood or legal tie through marriage, that are as much family with every right, privilege, and burden that comes with every family. And to be perfectly honest, when I’m analyzing the family, as in moments like this, is the ONLY time it really dawns on me. But each is loved as much as if they were blood.
At the top I mentioned this being a religious holiday. It IS and always will be for me. I need not say anything else. I don’t miss it. It is ever present in my life. My faith and ALL associated with it makes it possible for me to withstand these waves of emotion. I really don’t know how other people survive the vicissitudes of life. I know it’s the main reason I’m still standing. Every man or woman walks there own path. And that’s OK too.

This holiday is Big for me. Maybe I didn’t know just how much until it kept creeping closer and closer. The closer it got the heavier my heart became. I share this with you, so you know just how blessed a person I am. I’ve got these great wonderful people that are inextricably woven into the very fiber of who I am. And we love to be together on Christmas.

As you have no doubt deduced at this point, I can't ignore Christmas, even if I tried. Embracing it in the best way I know how is the only option.

Peace On Earth. Good Will To Men

MERRY CHRISTMAS

戴格智
(also known as Papa, Uncle Darryl, D, D.A., Preacher, or just simply ….. Darryl)

Peace

Throwin' a Shout Out To "My Gurl Tracy"!

Where in the World is D Today?

LMAO! (For my Taiwanese friends, LMAO means Laughing My Ass Off!)

I have known Tracy going on 16 years I think. (Dang it’s been a long time!) Tracy, did I get that right? Anyway, I met Tracy when I worked for the Missouri Dept. of Education. She was working for the Kansas City, Missouri School District. What began as a working relationship steadily grew into a solid friendship. And with all long term friendships, you wander in and out of each others lives. Some periods you talk, or email a couple of times a week. Other times, you catch up with each other after 9-10 months. The important this is you keep seeking each other out. Right now, Tracy and I are in a good communication groove.

Tracy and I have always been able to talk easily about the joys and pains of life, but especially about each others relationships. Sometimes we give the other advice, but mostly it is a back and for of, “He/she did what?” or (She said what?! Oh hell no! Don’t make me have to come to Columbia!) LOL as I write this.

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote on this blog “My Birthday Part 2, or My Life As a Panda”. Tracy was able to see what I was saying. Or at the very least she is the only one to tell me she understood what I was saying and acknowleded the bitter-sweet nature of being, “the cool foreigner guy”. When I talk to Tracy it’s like being back on the block, but a helluva lot safer. We chat and read each others blog, thoughts and ideas and most importantly, Laugh. And that is … Say it with me people, AWESOME!

Starbucks in my spot!

02.11.2009 10:39p.m.

Where in the World is D Today?

Making new friends at Starbucks!

Corporate America and Globalization ain't all bad.

As I have noted I do not have internet access in my apartment. So I couldn't take it anymore. I walked in to my friendly neighborhood starbucks and purchased WiFly for the next month. It was $500 dollars, and worth every penny to get me out of the house and something to do after work. But the great thing is tonight I met some new people. All of which came up to me, sort of. It was, say it with me, AWESOME! Let me introduce them to you.

First let me introduce you to Coke, yeah you read that right. I didn't ask.

Anyway, Coke was the young man that I met when I first got here. He set up my computer to use WiFly at Starbucks. Here's how it works. You buy a card with a password on it. When you get that put in on your computer, it sends you another password to your phone. Well I don't have a phone and can't get one until I have an Alien Resident Certificate. (It's Taiwans version of a Green Card) So good ol' Coke has it sent to his cell phone. Big, Bang, Boom, I'm on and rockin' and rollin'.


While Coke is getting me set up Timmy was watching from across the way. Timmy is a high school senior. Timmy just walks right over and asks to sit down.
OF Course!! We talk and joke for a good long time. I show him my facebook and blog. Some pics I have stored and are posting as I have time at work. He wants to share too, so I let him on my laptop and he shows me his blog and lots of pics of his friends. It was pretty cool. I decide I want to get to work writing and stuff. You know I went to Starbucks so I could get on the internet. But I just love this kid and have to have a picture. Enter Kirin and her sisters.

I noticed Kirin laughing at me a couple of times as I badly mispronounce some Chinese that Timmy is trying to teach me. Hey, it's part of the new language gig! Kirin immediately comes across as having a nice, fun spirit so I have her take a picture of me and Timmy. Timmy so does NOT want to do the typical Asian peace sign thing, because it's too girly so we get our thug mugs on, sort of. I'm still working on it.
Kirin is being so sweet so I ask her to take a picture with me. Kirin is like,"I am girly" so I play along and there you have this goofy picture of me and her.

We stand talking in the middle of Starbucks for several minutes when I finally just ask to sit. So of course I meet her sisters who are with her. Kirin, wearing green, is the most fluent in speaking English, but I discovered that they all understand English very well. Claire, where pink is a Teacher and the Elder sister. And Ray, wearing red, used to be a teacher, but is now studying Art Therapy if I'm not mistaken. They all loved to laugh and joke around. It was a great time.

I got to Starbucks a little before 8 and the girls have to leave around 10:15. OK, finally I can sit and write. Nope, Starbucks close at 10:30!! What?! Everything in this town stays open just about all night, but Starbucks closes at 10:30. Go Figure.









But "My Boy" Coke, tells me there's a Mos Burger that has a WiFly connection that stay open 24hrs. just down the street. Cool! So here I am telling you all about this Great evening I had sitting at the 24hr. Mos Burger. I had a Sprite and some fries. I'm sure they have burgers but, I'm just not that hungry.

This was so not the original topic of todays blog. But this was even better. AND I have semi-instant access. Hurray for me!

Rail against Corporate greed all you want. But thanks to Starbucks and it's wisdom in hiring good - caring people like Coke, I was able to make some new friends, in a new place, when I had none.

New Year, New Beginning

Where in the World is D Today?

At the Public Library?

(Let me Wish you a very happy New Year! I'm at the library because my DSL is screwed up and won't let me on Google. This could be a problem.)

I've been thinking for the last week or so about the notion of new year's resolutions. I vowed several years ago not to do them and still don't. I have yet to meet one person who kept a new year's resolution. I'm too analytical and sometimes too jaded believe in them. I figure if you need to make some change in your life just do it. Don't announce it to the world. Don't wait until January 1. The is nothing magical or special about that date. Things do not change at the stroke of midnight on new year's eve.

BUT! And this is a HUGE BUT for me. As much as I know in my head that there is no magic in a clock striking twelve, I DO like the notion of getting a fresh start. The HOPE in simply flipping the page on a calendar. 2008 was one of the craziest, painful and my new favorite word "Trippy" year. I'm glad it's over.

It was a year of Love and broken hearts, great jobs had, promised and lost, unemployment and discovery of new marketable talents, new friendships gained and tested, a new life under construction and one laid to rest. Trippy for sure!! And very normal in the course of any human life.

Now it's 2009. I'm still unemployed but hopeful in finding that job of my dreams. I'm still and worrying parent but letting go more and more for their good, and mine. I'm putting on my metaphorical hard hat and getting to the task of seriously constructing a life of calmness and happiness. One with a purpose I have been unable to nail down as of late. Peace is in my future, even when turmoil arises.

Yeah, that's "magic" of a new year.

See ya down the rode. It's going to be a real "trip".