August 29, 2009

Give me a few...

Ok...I have been having a hard time...for the last week I have been dreading the departure of the kids...because of that I have been having writers’ block and have struggled not to put anything negative on the blog...

So, for now, I will give you a few photos of Sokcho...beautiful Sokcho...where Sorak Mountain is located...truly a splendid place for anything...not just baseball...

I will leave the drama to your imagination until I pull myself together now that the kids are gone and the summer is over...

...not to despair...I have lots of stories to add to the blog...right now I am trying to maintain my composure...

















August 18, 2009

Stay tuned...

Well, we are off to Sokcho for the last baseball tournament of the summer. I have lots of stories to post, but they will have to wait. I will have limited access Internet while we in Sokcho. Don’t worry...I will have new posts for everyone after August 26.



In the mean time make sure you catch up on my older posts. :-)

Stay tuned...

August 12, 2009

Zen Master

Do you ever wonder why we are here? I don’t.


I always wonder why ‘you’ are here...

I always wonder why ‘you’ are in my life. All the people that I meet and know have meaning in my life in one way or another. However, every so often, I meet someone who is in my life to teach me something compelling... To teach me something about myself...

The other day, was one of those days... an influential Korean designer named Heesook called us up out of the blue... BTW...She is a wonderful designer who works with traditional Korean styles and fuses them with a contemporary look. I had met her once, several months ago at a Tango class. Yes...Tango...but that is another story... ;-)

Heesook is a very spiritual woman. I think she sees a world the rest of us cannot. There is a reason she chose us to contact that day.

She told us there was a person she wanted us to meet who was in Seoul for only a few hours...

Well...I was busy with the kids...getting them ready for baseball, this and that... So, likely, it was not going to work out, but we said we will stop by later...we expected her guest to be gone...


Anyway...we finally made it over to her studio. To our embarrassment, her guest waited for us. I think, over two hours!

If anyone should have done the waiting it should not have been Heesook’s guest! So, we arrive, late, and Dae Bong Sunim (his Zen Master name) is sitting there in the studio sipping tea and chatting with Heesook and her sister. Oh, Heesook had made him wait until we arrived.


We immediately apologized and sat down for tea. No, not Lipton tea...real tea. True tea that deserves a ritual. For a long time, I wondered why people drink tea. Well, that is because I never really drank tea until I came to Korea.

Dae Bong Sunim was great! Here he was...a Jewish kid from Philly...now a highly revered monk in Korea. For that matter, revered around the world. Before becoming a monk, Dae Bong Sunim was a hippy psychology major from Trinity College. He started out as an orderly in a mental institution and ended up as a welder. Not an ordinary welder, but a welder building nuclear submarines for the US Navy! This, all during the 60’s and 70’s. But he was still seeking...

...one day he found Zen Master Seung Sahn...to make a long story short...because of Zen Master Seung Sahn, Dae Bong Sunim found Buddhism and has been a monk for over 25 years.

A monk’s seniority is denoted by the number of rectangles in his robe. That’s 25 years worth of robe!

Yes, he had lots of stories. Lots! About himself, his fellow monk buddies, the mental institution, the shipyard, and his Zen Master Seung Sahn. All of which I cannot do justice..but, suffice it to say...with all the tea and laughing I almost peed my pants.


I would assume Heesook made this for him...very nice...

Anyway, I think one of the funnier stories was about his Zen Master Seung Sahn, a notoriously funny man. However, I am not sure humor was his intention. But the way Dae Bong Sunim described him kept me in stitches.

I will try to recount one story for you...in my words...so...here goes...

So, Master Seung Sahn was on a plane, post 911, with one of his assistants, who will remain nameless. Master Seung Sahn had been on hundreds of flights criss-crossing the globe to spread his word. Flying did not worry him. However, this time he seemed quite agitated and listless.

As soon as he sat down, he started punching the seat ahead of him. The man in the seat turns around and scowls. Master Seung Sahn profusely apologizes. The man, taken aback that a monk was punching his seat, turns back, bewildered. Then Master Seung Sahn proceeds to pester the stewardesses and again continues to punch the seat in front of him. Of course, he is asked to stop...he continues to apologize...repeat the behavior and apologize...again and again.


Then, as the plane is taking off and angles up...Master Seung Sahn stands up abruptly and shouts, “BE CLEAR OR DIE!!!! ... BE CLEAR OR DIE!!!!” At this point the whole plane is flipping out scared and no one knows what to do.

His assistant is out of his gourd as well...at first he tries to calm Master Seung Sahn down. Master Seung Sahn curtly rebuffs him and says, “Think with your gut, not your head!”

So, his assistant does as he is told and looks at his gut...hmmm...and the only thing it says was, “eat a banana...” “Eat a banana?” Well, this cannot be...now? ...in a highly volatile situation 30,000 feet in the air...eat a banana? Seriously?

So, he checks again...his gut says, “Eat a banana.” “Are you kidding?” “Yes, eat a banana...” You can fill in what the assistant does next...


So, now we have a screaming Master Seung Sahn, punching the seat ahead of him and his hapless assistant nonchalantly munching a banana with a hundred something terrified passengers flying over the Atlantic...Post 911. So, the plane levels off at cruising altitude and the captain comes out of the cock pit. No, he is not taking any prisoners...

The Captain proceeds to tell Master Seung Sahn, in no uncertain terms, that he WILL be met by the Air Marshall WHEN they land IF he does not CEASE and DESIST his utterly disruptive and obnoxious behavior. Of course, Master Seung Sahn apologizes profusely and the Captain marches back into his cock pit and slams the door.

Well, the bananas are finished off, the plane lands safely, everyone departs, de-boards or whatever they do to get off the plane and away from Master Seung Sahn. However, the banana-eating monk was dying to know what happened.

This is all Master Seung Sahn said to him, “Captain just broke up with girlfriend and had been drinking all night
...he need to be clear.

...No one has any idea how Master Seung Sahn knew this or if it was true...all that was known is that the plane landed safely...

...be clear.

Yes...this is a rare occurrence...I already Googled it for you: Click here if you need to...



OK...I know I slaughtered the story...but you get the idea...besides, I always say, “never let the truth get in the way of a good story!”

I mentioned that Heesook was a very sought-after designer of traditional Korean clothing...


Well...this is how Hines Ward rolls when he is in Seoul. You knew he was half-Korean, didn’t you? Heesook is not your average designer...nor are her clients...

In case you don’t know who Hines Ward is, click here, but you have to allow pop-ups!


Heesook uses lovely hand woven silk for her clothing. She told us that she dyes it, soaks it in rice paste and then irons it “just right” to keep the threading perfectly aligned.

By the way, Heesook was very quiet during our conversations with Dae Bong Sunim, but she was the true spirit in the room...



Every one you meet has a purpose in your life...

August 11, 2009

How will Adam remember baseball?

I wish I were this funny, but this is what I remember of baseball when I was a kid:



Adam and Austin think this video is hilarious...I wonder what they will say when they are my age...

August 6, 2009

It comes from within...

Today I have to get a few things accomplished...so I can not post much...but I thought I would pass on another person’s story...I know you have heard it before...happiness comes from within. Blah, blah, blah...

Throughout my parenting, I have come to figure out the hard way that I can not make the kids happy. I can only give them understanding, sanctuary and room to grow. Yes, I can cause pain, excitement, elation, fear, and other momentary feelings. But in reality, they will have to make their own happiness. Regardless of how nice or mean I am, in the long run, their happiness will depend on their own inner strength.

Amanda, Alex, Austin and Adam’s time in Korea will not make them happy. My hope is that it will help them learn how to create situations where they can be happy in the future.

So... the following story is a quick read and may help you understand yourself and others, should you ever find yourself in a similar situation.

From Laura Munson

Those aren’t fighting words, Dear


My favorite couple... 성욱 (Song Ook) and 소희 (Su Hee) ...I can tell they understand where happiness comes from...but their story will have to remain their own... :-)

August 4, 2009

Awe Soo Teen!!! 오스틴!!!

Before getting to the stadium, I was fantasizing how my next blog entry would be that of nail biting suspense and the sweet smell of victory. That was before I saw our opponent, Yong San warming up. OMG! Even though the oldest age is supposed to be 13, I think the average size of the starting line up was 160 lbs!

I was worried to say the least...


The game was under way in a blink of an eye.

The first two innings were tough, but Dongbu held them 0 to 0. Then in the 3rd Yong San blew it open with a series of home runs and scored 7 runs. That demoralized the team. However, that was the only inning Yong San scored. Our ace pitcher, appropriately named “Devil” stepped up and put a lid on things. We still had a chance...

But their pitching was just too strong. Austin walked once, but was visibly out gunned and struck out his second time at bat.


The harsh thing for Austin was that his at-bat was broadcast live on ESPN. Nothing like a little pressure...


When he got up to bat, the whole stadium started chanting Awe Soo Teen! Awe Soo Teen! Awe Soo Teen!!!! (오스틴!!! 오스틴!!!) OK...half the stadium...still...that is a ton of pressure for a 12 year old... “But what does not kill you will make you stronger.” Austin is definitely not dead after this and I am quite proud of him to say the least.

Dongbu only got one hit the entire game, so you can imagine the pitching they were up against.

Heart Stealer
As you may have guessed...Who turned out to be the star of the game???!!!

Yes, Adam!!!!!

In my last entry, I told you how the team learned to never give up on themselves. What does that really mean?

Well, life is not a game with someone keeping score. I firmly believe that the success of life cannot be measured by a scoreboard, grade point average, bank account or the number of friends you have on Facebook. It is immeasurable.

The Coach understands this...and you can see it in his character. It meant more to the Coach to give his “little kids” a chance in the sun than to try one last time to win the game. And it can be done...last year Yong San won the tournament in the last inning when they were down 11 to 1.

So, in the last inning, when Dongbu still had a chance, instead of putting in the top line up, the Coach put in the “little kids.”

Yes, this means Adam!!!


Adam bounced out of the dug out to face Goliath at the start of the inning...

And Goliath had no mercy on Adam...

I think I heard Adam’s knees knock together as the first pitch came screaming across the plate at 80+ mph! No kidding, these kids pitch fast. This pitcher will be playing professional ball for Korea in a few years.

...But Adam kept it together!!!


First pitch... “Strike!”

Second pitch: “Ball!!!”


Third Pitch: What’s this? Adam is going to bunt? He is waiving the bat at the pitcher to taunt him...this is unscripted by the Coach, who, is now yelling at Adam...

“Ball!!!” The catcher’s mitt cracks...that was close...

Fourth pitch: “Ball!” Adam is still alive...


Fifth pitch: Steeerike!!!!

Now comes the the full count pitch....the crowd is on its feet screaming...


“BALL!!!” Adam gets walked!!!

Adam jogs...no...he bounces like a gazelle to first base... He was just walked by the best pitcher in the league...who is now a bit pissed off that he walked Adam on ESPN...


...I watch as Adam floats above first base with unimaginable pride...broadcast all over Korea...now he is locked ’n’ loaded and ready to steal second...

...a shining moment for him...the Coach...the team...and all those who attended that day.

We witnessed and were part of something rare and special...a turning point in a little boy’s life.

Awards
...but this is not a Disney movie. It is life. Yes, things happen for a reason, but not to sell theater tickets. The next three kids are little like Adam and strike out, but they, too, got their chance in the lime light.


So, Dongbu has to settle for 2nd place in the Asiana Airlines Little League Baseball Tournament. Not bad, considering almost fifty teams began the tournament.

But, let’s not forget Austin. Strong, yet humble and someone whom Adam admires faithfully. He has been a leader for his brother throughout the season. He is visibly disappointed by the loss.

After the game, the ceremony begins. The baseball commissioner and the CEO of Asiana Airlines are there to bestow the trophies, medals and team prizes. This almost starts to get tiring, until, we hear over the loud speaker...“Awe Soo Teen...”


...Austin is being awarded the “Strength of Character Honor”...loosely translated. He deserves it. Not because he is one of two Americans amongst 50+ Korean teams, but because he has shown true strength of character in a difficult and challenging situation.

He is beaming and some of the day’s sting subsides for him.


At the end of the day, the bonds of friends and team mates are strengthened...


Austin and Adam Pose with their greatest fans! “Ah, Mr. Adam, can I have your autograph?”


Honorable mention: Lyra, who has provided a sanctuary and moral support for all of us throughout the summer, gave the boys matching Nike sports watches to go with their uniforms...How cool is that?


Austin’s “Strength of Character Trophy.” Nice...huh...


Oh, Austin is a big kid for his age... Well, check out #20 who is the Goliath that walked Adam...he’s a big boy!

Stay tuned for the next saga..