Goode Olde Tyme


My mind's picture is all lighted up,
By sparks from the goode olde tyme.
Vivid is our dear school yard,
When I fully close my eye.

The Wah Yan days you were,
In soccer field, nimble and versatile.
As quick in temper and mischief,
That you may now want to deny.

We paddled on rough asphalt,
To arrive ere the bell should chime.
It has gone a million times over,
Since that olde goode tyme.

We wandered among the paddies
In search of petty fine life.
Now it's become a pursuit
To the delights of yours and mine.

Day one, year one, of the Millennium
There arn't many of this kind.
What will the next one be like,
Is beyond anyone's surmise.

Wish it’d roll us all the way back
To the carefree jolly olde tyme.
Ride by the Maryknoll school,
A goode peek at sweet Jenny of thine.

How I love to swim Lai-chi-kok,
Way out to the floating line.
Lie down on top of a drum
And let our silly thoughts fly.

Tomorrow your kids will depart.
I too shall take to the sky.
Back to mundane bills and calls,
Wish they were alle buried...

Deep in snow and ice.

N.B. The above kidding verse was captured after a lengthy emailing with Desmond Wong M.D. recounting the good old days while I was in sunny California. I am sure many of us share feelings of the kind about our days in Wah Yan. Let mine be a fuse of some sort to light up what everyone harbours in his depth. Let's throw our modesty to the wind and sing the chords in our hearts! -- Louis Lau 2001_04


早發多倫多 劉佐端

長天追日日無眠

新陸關河東海煙

但聞風響話語變

誰教劉郎乘飛氈

多市早機到達港地﹐為同日下午﹐沿途所閱所見﹐首為新陸河山﹐再則茫茫大洋雲海﹐所聞偶爾語言播音而已﹐風響與噴射引擎﹐有若漢朝張天師替好友劉龍圖唸符作法﹐解決思鄉之病﹐頃間家鄉已到云云。咱享受的﹐莫非神話裡的飛氈乎。

零壹年秋意 劉佐端

落葉舞西風

大地錦琳瑯

願隨嘯鳴雁

舉翼飛荷塘

登天門辭行 劉佐端

身心各天淵

故國非家園

依稀欲言別

輾轉索歸期

今後君曉醒

余寢沉猶酣

南柯欲赴約

應擇那一更

港有登天巴士前往機場﹐登天門之一般感觸﹐試以未分別又追問再來二句總結之﹐別後各有天地﹐日夜顛倒﹐連做夢相會亦難有合適時辰也。 2002_02


Intimacy (2002_Valentine Ball)

Should good matches be made in Heaven
Who has ever fathomed the sky?
But when you and I are together,
Here already is Paradise.

I can weather any turbulence,
Heat wave, downpour and sheet ice.
Climb up a good many more steps...
Within sight of your approving eye.

Everything goes down better,
Withoout butter, sugar or spice.
Your mere presence adds more flavour,
To sweet water and plain white rice.

You are safe keeper of my secrets,
With whom I share all my mind.
Impart of my worrisome burden,
to relieve, to entrust and to confide.

Away I may wander, afa I may roam,
You are virtually by my side.
Happiness is being close to you,
And watching the world roll by.

Let us, then, raise our cups of kindness,
To friendship of the finest kind!
I shall get finer still before Heaven.
Here's to my best Valentine!


Time to Transplant (2002-05)

Hear thee, all thee!

This is about the Peony.

All folks who have a heart

For flowers the most pretty,

Should have a spot ready.

The time to dig and plant

The best was yesterday,

Still to-morrow not late be

In time for this emblem of Cathay

To bloom with prosperity.

The gardener shall be on hand,

From dawn till dust over the patch.

The gate is open for company

Of all age, sex and senority,

Old and new boys and thee.

The rate being what was set,

A good size pair for little money.

It might go with something extra

All towards a very good cause,

All to your very prosperity.



“Our very beloved old boy, Sonny Sie, has left us for the Philippines, to take up a position in an American garment firm. He will be active over the Pacific rim countries for the days to come. Sonny has been one of the chief ingredients of all our alumni functions. He served with glee on whatever and wherever he is needed. His good nature has earned him a smooth relationship with all Wahyanites and their families. His melodious and sonorous voice has given all of us a great treat. And his wife, Patsy, has doubled up with her tireless services and entertainment on many occasions. Sonny will be greatly missed by us all. We wish him the best of health, luck, and success in his new endeavour and environment.” ~ Louis Lau

施桂明同學之呂宋就任 (2003_05)

多城由此略瀟條

良朋妻賢無限嬌

願君著力顯身手

銀河恒架喜鵲橋



Writing on Sars (2003_05)

Miracle Medicine (Summary)

Starting mineral energy and supply are needed to produce viral body parts before they are assembled into a whole virus particle. The building materials are readily available from the host body the virus has infected.


Virus reproduction proceeds rapidly and without bound given abundant supply of chemical energy it needs. One way to control this rampant replication is to shut off the energy supply. Ascorbic acid, or vitamin C, is a compound capable of depriving the virus of its energy supply. It robs off the energy source that the virus needs for replication. The presence of a sizable amount of ascorbic acid, therefore, will stop “cold” the viral proliferation on its path!


Another form of control through energy supply comes in the form of fever. The body, upon sensing an infection, automatically turns on a fever. The ensuing higher temperature lowers the energy output. The scanty energy supply is used up for the housekeeping needs of the body. With energy in short supply, the replication of virus halts.


Vitamin C is a natural product present in fresh fruits and vegetables. Monkeys and cows stay relatively free from viral infection since hey are imbued with vitamin C by the large quantity of vegetation they feed on.


At this crucial and critical moment, I would suggest my circle of friends feast on fruits and vegetables; failing that, take plenty of vitamin C.



Food Advisory (2003_08)

Summer in Canada is a season of picnics and back yard BBQ's. There are hidden dangers in the food thus prepared. In cooking meat over an open fire, much of the grease and fat would drip down to the fire. These substances are burned incompletely and in turn rise up to be condensed on foods on the rack, be it meat or vegetables, and eventually eaten in a delicious hearty feast. Grease and fat, when burned incompletely, become an assortment of hydrocarbons or tars. Much of these are carcinogens. They are the subjects of our present alarm, and deserve our serious full attention. The very uptake of these tarry substances constitutes ‘what went wrong’ when one later searches for the cause of a cancer. By then the harm is already done! This potential time bomb, posed by the above primitive manner of cooking, will be exposed in due time. Meanwhile let yourselves be among the first to be aware of the danger.


Precautionary measures can be taken in an outdoor BBQ mainly to keep off the vapour of tars from sticking on the foods being cooked. The safest way is to use indirect heat of cooking utensils. Otherwise wrap meat in aluminium foil to prevent the fats from feeding the fire underneath.


Diseases and ailments are the results of our living styles. The old adage ‘what ills us is in what we eat’ will ever hold true. To eat we must, but watch out for what makes us ill.


Have a happy and sumptuous outdoor feast. Perhaps you want to invite yours truly
.



好吃

提起蠔來,一般人的連想便是膽固醇!而忽視了它含有大量的鋅,實是知其一而不知其重要之成
之貳也。

眾所諸知:前列腺(prostate)毛病,乃男仕們的尅星。從膨脹而壓擠排尿管起,至演變成癌組織為止,皆因為前列腺細胞不健全而引起的!然而,普通營養充足的食物中,往往缺乏了鋅而導致前列腺出毛病。

一如食物缺碘而引致甲腺膨腫(goiter),頸部隆然巨塊!人體缺鋅了,前列腺亦同樣的會因不健全而擴大,壓搾輸尿管道,由此小便千苦難言。再下去,腺組織細胞亦可能變態,演成癌症。前列腺癌無疑是男仕們的通病和尅星。

所有食物中,蠔含有最多可消化及吸收的鋅。只要經常食用之,前列腺的毛病便不會來敲門了。

蠔和鋅的更重要效能,便是令皮膚健康,使皮膚病亦跟着減少。此一來,仕女們的顏面自然的標緻而滑白多了;少年人臉上的「青春豆」亦跟着減少了。要謝謝蠔的高鋅所

至於膽固醇這回事,須知其中有好的亦有壞的兩種,蠔含有的並不是壞的膽固醇。

最簡單吃蠔的方法:將洗淨有殼的蠔兩隻置盤中,放微波爐「灯」三分鐘後,蠔殼略為張開了,將利刀插入裂縫,剖斷帶子肌肉,便可把蠔殼完全撬開。此際蠔肉已近煮熟,可暢飲鮮甜的蠔汁後,切食可口爽滑的蠔肉!

要達到預防前列腺出毛病,最好能星期吃鮮蠔一趟以上,讓體有充份鋅的供應,組織和皮膚都達到健全正常是也。

除了上列原始食法外,蠔的烹煮方式諸多:如潮州煎蠔烙、生蠔火煮筒篙、蒜茸豆鼓蒸鮮蠔等等。

在此要補充一點:加拿大蠔的水域都是經過當局嚴格檢過的,非常乾淨安全無菌的,大可放心享吃無憂。又據傳:鮮蠔有「滋陰補腎」之效能!這一點,要等大家吃過後,請給作者來個直接報告,方纔可以資實吃蠔的奇妙功效。

謹祝各校友及家人都健康,漂亮和快樂。 劉端 2006_01


Seasonal Health Tips (2006_12)

As you folks are about to close your windows shut with the approach of a cooler climate, here are some pointers to think of:

The houses you live in are most probably sealed in air tight, even with vapour barriers on the basement wall to boot. Outside air can no longer get through to effect a renewal inside. As a result, the inhabitants have to breathe stale air for the rest of the season!


Th
ink of the possible radon gas often concentrating in the excavated hole of a basement. It will start to circulate up- and downstairs. So will the spores from mildew and mould flourishing in some moist corners of the house. And also will the droppings of little animals rotting in the air ducts. In all, there will be trillions of antigens that go to foul up the air. Lest I shall evict you folks from your houses with my laundry list of possible items that are trapped.


Yes, there are countless life forms cohabiting with the gracious hosts who are not aware of—or bothered by—their residence.
These hosts might react with sporadic tearful eyes and occasional sneezes and coughs.

Whereas water is the stuff a fish misses the very last, so is the air we breathe that we have taken for granted, especially the freshest kind which abounds in Canada. It is ironic to find some folks sealing themselves in a bag of the unmitigated mix and breathe like they need to go to the country for some health reason.

Please do find some way to let the air in and flush out the incumbent “crap”. Also do lower the thermostat. It not only saves you money, but, because air dissolves more readily at lower temperatures, your blood will take up more oxygen in the cooler environment. You will feel fresher and more alert as the drowsiness is dispelled. There is much truth that a cooler head will prevail with the inhabitants of colder climate.

Come winter time, the best treat I find is sleeping under heavy cover and close by a leaky window. The stream of freezing air, which no money can buy, is direct from the North Pole. It is our privilege to have the first whiff before it goes further south to…Toronto!

To your health! À votresanté!


記五十年重聚 劉端 (2007)

人生不相見,恍若參與商。

是夕又此地,首共燈燭光。

故人俱健在,惟只鬢髮蒼。

闊別半世紀,重聚鬧更烘。

昔時君頑童,兒孫今滿堂。

波地舊品性,一一復原狀。

爭譟猶未已,嫂輩獻佳肴。

賢慧兼好禮,相夫必典範。

諸知見面難,痛飲舉數番。

數番嫌未足,何時再復返。

明日整家計,依依念此晚。


Letter to Joseph Wong, June 2000