Teaching each other!  What an excellent idea.  I'd like to find someone I
could work with, too.  Maybe Spanish!

Wonderful way to spend time and develop the intellect.  Love it!  Thanks for
sharing.

Bev
----- Original Message -----
From: "rayilynlee" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, December 25, 2006 11:10 PM
Subject: Most Wonderful Time of Year


># 271 Monday, December 25, 2006  -  THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR
>
> At 6:45 AM, Fremont's Lake Elizabeth was cold and dark. The chill wind cut
> into my fingers as I stretched my aged frame, getting ready for
> Chinese/English lessons and Tai Chi.
>
> I read the little Mandarin study card in my hand-"ta gang xue, bie xiao
> ta"-"he's
> just started learning; don't laugh at him"-which seemed somehow
> appropriate.
>
> In the distance, a small thin figure, Li, who walks three miles to Tai Chi
> practice, and comes 45 minutes early so she and I can work on English and
> Chinese.
>
> "How are you? I am fine thank you!" she says, asking and answering the
> question all at once, by way of saving time.
>
> "Ni hao? Huhn her, shieh shieh!" I say back, which means precisely the
> same
> thing-at least, I hope it does.
>
> As usual, she had a sentence written out in her English notebook, to
> practice. Today's was "It is a time to help poor people". She said it a
> dozen times or so, word for word. Then we developed it, substituting
> "Christmas" for the word at the beginning, and adding short phrases that
> fit
> with the theme, like, "they need warm clothes and food."
>
> Then we went over the five little cards I had brought from "Chinese at a
> Glance", a handy learning tool bought from the internet.
>
> The excitement of learning diminished the cold.
>
> Imperceptibly the light changed, outlining leaves on wet ground.
>
> Voices reached us.
>
> "Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas!"
>
> First singly, then by twos and threes, our group coalesced, everybody
> talking at once. Li and I kept working at our lessons, pausing only
> briefly
> to greet everybody--
>
> May Chen, our teacher, arrived. Although she was smiling, and never
> uttered
> a single hint of command, instantly the cards were put away, and the
> voices
> quieted.
>
> We got right to work, warming up the knees and shoulders.
>
> When our breathing was accelerated, and the blood sent tingling through
> our
> limbs, she trotted lightly to the concrete picnic table, and changed the
> music-and instead of the usual Tai Chi tunes--
>
> An orchestral version of "Oh, Holy Night" lilted out across the shadowed
> lake.
>
> It moved me more than I can say.
>
> And when it hit the highest note of the song, "Oh, ni--ight diviiiine-"  I
> was just in my favorite part of the whole Chen routine, when the left leg
> shoots out to the side, scraping along the earth, and the body crouches to
> the right.  I gradually eased my way down, no hurry, until right hip
> rested
> on right heel, left leg full out, both hands overhead-and just for an
> instant I felt like the athlete I always wanted to be.
>
> We were together, united, the spirit strong among us.
>
> All around were men and women from every walk of life, whose only common
> denominator was Tai Chi. We were Buddhist, Protestant, Catholic, Judaic,
> and
> (although I never asked) I think one person from an island where Islam is
> the most common faith.
>
> And everybody got along.
>
> Sometimes I become so frustrated with the overly-conservative religious
> leadership which tries to block the research, that the passion rises in
> me,
> and I forget that ours should be a disagreement among friends.
>
> For it is men that make mistakes, not the faiths which guide our lives.
>
> We each of us fumble, all our lives, toward a distant light.
>
> However you celebrate this joyous time, as the world turns toward the sun
> again, I wish you blessings of the season.
>
> Spring is on the way.
>
> EXTRA!
>
> Here is a special advance communication from CAMR, the Coalition for the
> Advancement of Medical Research, that group of groups which rallies us
> all.
>
> (P.S. Look for your favorite groups-the one Karen and I co-founded is
> Californians for Cures-and if your group is not listed, contact your
> leadership and ask why. We all should be there!)
>
> January 1, 2007
>
> Members
> The United States Senate
>
> Members
> The US House of Representatives
>
> Dear Members of Congress:
>
> We, the undersigned patient advocacy groups, health organizations,
> research
> universities, scientific societies, religious groups and other interested
> institutions and associations, representing millions of patients,
> scientists, health care providers and advocates, write you with our strong
> and unified support for the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act. We urge
> expedited passage and enactment of this legislation when the bill comes
> before each chamber in the 110th  Congress.
>
> The Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act will move stem cell research
> forward
> in our country. The bill holds promise for expanding medical
> breakthroughs,
> and hope for millions of patients and their loved ones.
>
> The Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act is pro-patient and pro-research.  A
> vote for the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act will be considered support
> of more than 100 million patients in the U.S. and substantial progress for
> research.  Please work to enact this legislation immediately and thank you
> for your support.
>
> Sincerely,
>
>
> Affymetrix, Inc.
> Alliance for Aging Research
> Alpha-1 Foundation
> ALS Association
> American Association for Cancer Research
> American Association of Neurological Surgeons/Congress of Neurological
> Surgeons
> American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association
> American College of Neuropsychopharmacology
> American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
> American Diabetes Association
> American Gastroenterological Association
> American Medical Association
> American Parkinson's Disease Association (Arizona Chapter)
> American Society for Cell Biology
> American Society for Microbiology
> American Society for Neural Transplantation and Repair
> American Society for Reproductive Medicine
> American Society of Hematology
> American Thyroid Association
> APBD Research Foundation
> Association of American Medical Colleges
> Association of American Universities
> Association of Independent Research Institutes
> Association of Professors of Medicine
> Association of Reproductive Health Professionals
> Axion Research Foundation
> Biotechnology Industry Organization
> B'nai B'rith International
> California Institute for Regenerative Medicine
> California Institute of Technology
> Californians for Cures
> Cancer Research and Prevention Foundation Cedars-Sinai Health System
> Children's Neurobiological Solutions Foundation
> Christopher Reeve Foundation
> Columbia University Medical Center
> Cornell University
> CuresNow
> Duke University Medical Center
> Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation
> FasterCures
> FD Hope Foundation
> Genetics Policy Institute
> Hadassah
> Harvard University
> Hereditary Disease Foundation
> International Foundation for Anticancer Drug Discovery (IFADD)
> International Longevity Center - USA
> International Society for Stem Cell Research
> Jeffrey Modell Foundation
> Johns Hopkins
> Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
> The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
> Massachusetts Biotechnology Council
> Mount Sinai School of Medicine
> National Alliance for Eye and Vision Research
> National Association for Biomedical      Research
> National Association of State and Land Grant Colleges (NASULGC)
> National Coalition for Cancer Research
> National Council on Spinal Cord Injury
> National Health Council
> National Multiple Sclerosis Society
> National Partnership for Women and Families
> National Venture Capital Association
> New Jersey Association for Biomedical Research
> New York Stem Cell Foundation
> New York University Medical Center
> Parkinson's Action Network
> Parkinson's Disease Foundation
> Pittsburgh Development Center
> Project A.L.S.
> Quest for the Cure
> Research!America
> Research for Cure *
> Resolve: The National Infertility Association
> Rett Syndrome Research Foundation
> Robert Packard Center for ALS Research at Johns Hopkins
> Rutgers University
> Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research
> Society for Women's Health Research
> Stanford University
> Stem Cell Research Foundation
> Steven and Michele Kirsch Foundation
> Stem Cell Action Network
> Student Society for Stem Cell Research
> Take Charge! Cure Parkinson's, Inc.
> Texans for the Advancement of Medical Research
> Tourette Syndrome Association
> Travis Roy Foundation
> Unite 2 Fight Paralysis
> University of California System
> University of Minnesota
> University of Rochester Medical Center
> University of Southern California
> University of Wisconsin-Madison
> Vanderbilt University and Medical Center
> Washington University in St. Louis
> WiCell Research Institution
> Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation
> Wisconsin Association for Biomedical Research and Education
>
> By Don C. Reed, Chair, Californians for Cures, www.stemcellbattles.com.
>
> Email Don at: [log in to unmask]
>
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