On January 1st, 1912, Dr. Sun Yat Sen formed the “Republic of China” in Nanjing and was elected its first provisional President. A couple months later the capitol was established in Beijing.
Shortly after Dr. Sun’s declaration on 1 January, Emperor Puyi abdicated and China saw the beginning of its first republican government.By the early 1920’s, the Communist Party of China was formed and began the revolution which eventually led to the Peoples Republic of China being formed in 1949.
The Nationalists, known as the Kuomingtang Party, escaped with their entire government to Taiwan and established a government-in-exile under their long-time leader Chiang Kai-Shek. Their legislature included representatives from all the provinces of mainland China as well as the province they occupied, Taiwan.
Since then, the Communists have insisted that Taiwan is “part of China” and the Nationalist Governments in Taiwan have not agreed to “reconciliation.”
A big hoohah has ensued, one side claiming that Taiwan is part of China and the other refusing to join “greater China.”
The younger generation in Taiwan have come to believe that Taiwan is a separate country rather than a province and you can find yourself in a lively discussion if you suggest Taiwan is part of China.
I know one woman from Taiwan who is both proud of her ethnicity (Chinese) and her Nationality (Taiwan aka Republic of China). Ask her which country she comes from Continue reading
Today, at the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month I commemorated the moment of the armistice that ended “The War to End All Wars.” (World War I)
I folded my hands and said a simple prayer:
Almighty Father of the Universe, I say a prayer for those souls who suffered and gave their lives in this terrible war and for those who continued to suffer because of it, long after the long-awaited peace had been declared. I humbly beseech thee to hold them, as well as all others who have suffered because of the carnage man has fraught upon his fellow man, in your loving embrace so that they may feel your comfort in their hearts.
Amen.
As I raised the glass I had prepared for the purpose of making a private toast, I was suddenly overwhelmed with emotion and a voice in my heart, both firm and gentle, asked me,
What makes you think I’m not?
Old movie fans will be disappointed. This is not a review of, or the announcement 
of a remake of, the great old Spencer Tracey movie by the same name. It was redone once as Always starring Richard Dreyfus, Holly Hunter, and John Goodman but this article is not about that either. (Be a little patient, please. You’re gonna have to wade through a couple paragraphs of me telling some folks and their place how great they are. It will be worth reading, and then I’ll get to the story).
Despite the confusing name, this story is about a guy I met named, “Joe.”
A couple weeks ago, my girl Helen and I took my two sons to a resort in the Wisconsin Dells called “Birchcliff.”
Birchcliff Resort is a classic American North Woods resort. I don’t mean it’s decorated in the “classic” style or that it’s just “classy” (which it is, in a classic North Woods sort of way). It is classic American summer resort including shuffleboard, horse shoes, bean bag toss, and (I am not making this up!) a no-kidding concrete ping pong table. The dozen or more pine cabins, apparently spanning at least two different generations (of cabins) contain such things as Cribbage games, books (!), and the standard mix of kitchen equipment and accoutrements, making up a more or less complete set. The ubiquitous park/resort built-in charcoal grill that turns on a pole and has an adjustable grill height is mounted outside. The place is clean, well-maintained, and, well, classic!
If you needed to make a film set in a resort in the 1930’s, you could just remove the TV’s and other modern conveniences and ROLL ‘EM!
Back in the Jurassic Period (around 1991-92) I was a newly-minted Foreign Service Officer assigned to the American Embassy in Bangkok Thailand.
One of my first social faux pas after arrival was to invite a lady to the Marine Corps Birthday Ball who, unbeknownst to me, happened to be the fiancé of the Regional Security Officer (RSO). The RSO, “Jim,” was a former Marine himself and a heckuva nice guy. I’m not sure but I don’t think he ever knew I invited his girl to the ball. Continue reading
On a cold, dark evening in November 1974, a football team gathered in the basement of Faith Lutheran Church in Excelsior to celebrate the first undefeated season in the history of the Minnetonka Athletic
Association Football Program. (It’s now apparently known as the “Lake Minnetonka Athletic Association). The team was the 6th Grade “Vikings” coached by Dan Lagieski and Jerry Bruner. This team was a surprise champion because it had only 17 boys and as far as anyone knew, 
the coaches were both rookies. Coaches Dan and Jerry drilled the team, drilled them again, and again until the team was really the proverbial well-oiled machine. There were some close games but when the season was over, the Minnetonka “Vikings” were undefeated and untied.
On the evening of the banquet, one of the fathers had organized a surprise for the boys. The captains of our Minnetonka High School football team attended the banquet and spoke to the boys and parents. I’m sure they were introduced by name at the time, but I didn’t learn and remember their names until a few years later. What I do remember, and really the only thing about that evening I remember clearly, is something the handsome blond-haired captain said. The last thing this gentleman said to us was simply:
“Never give up.”
One of my close friends and mentors has often said that the real definition of integrity is simply, Continue reading
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