Bittersweet Episode

Death, the heaviest issue, has been discussed over and over again by my sister and me. Among all kinds of accidents, what we really afraid is conflagration especially happened in hotel. Last summer vacation, we finally realized our dream, breathing in the United States. Generally speaking, everything was perfect except tiredness resulted from time difference. After visiting San Francisco, we bounded for Las Vegas, the most famous casino, and the episode took place next night…

It was an exhausting but peaceful night, after we traveled the Grand Canyon. We planned to go sleeping as early as possible; however, no sooner had we finished the shower than the alarm rang deafeningly. Both of us grabbed the bag and rushed out of the room at full speed. On my way to the lobby, I missed my family in Taiwan so much, and honestly speaking, I don’t know how come I still had ability to run so fast then; I was frightened to death! To my surprise, there were no screaming and pale people but carefree or drunk tourists strolling around the casino! The towel wrapping on my wet hair and our pajamas were eyesores in this relaxing and marry atmosphere…

After the guards’ check, it proved to be the trick that the crazy drunk foreigner played on all the lodgers. Even though the hotel turned out to be safe, we were still in thrilling trap, so we called to our cousin studying in Las Vegas. Later, he drove to our hotel to see if we were alright; I guess I must use exaggeration on the phone because he seemed a little bit nervous. Then we hanged around some famous hotels here, RIO, MGM and Wynn, and then we ate some Chinese food in NOODLE ASIA. I think this supper is the most delicious. While I was eating heartily, my cousin took this photo for me with those tasty dishes as you can see on the table. It was the memorable moment for all of us; it is hard for us to eat such a delicious food in U.S. and it was also not easy to get along with relatives in this remote country and chatted in our mother tongue.

Whenever I look at this photo, not only do I recall that perfect experience but start missing my cousin. With this photo, I think I will always remember the feeling back then, the taste of those dishes, and my cousin’s warmth. Now, I usually ask myself what if the alarm didn’t ring. Perhaps I will never know what Vegas looks like in midnight and how bustling it is even though it has already been 2:00A.M. Everything has both sides, right?

Oh, by the way, the next night in Los Angels, the alarm behind the bed rang again at 4:30 A.M. This time, we had neither cousin nor hastiness but disquiet still. What we fail to understand at once is that “alarm” also means “alarm clock”…

Childhood Past

This photo was taken on May 22, 1978.Because it was Henry's mother's birthday, they asked someone else, maybe photographer, neighbor or tourist, to take this family photo in Philippines, their sweet hometown, for them as a permanent memento. This photo is so meaningful for the writer that he still cherishes it till now even though it looks old, because this photo is the only envidence to show his family have once lived a happy life together in Philippines, which thanks to the fire occurred in April of 1981...I think the real story behind this photo is Henry's pity about losing two siblings who moved to Canada in early age and his sorrow for the loss of his house.
In Henry's childhood, his family consisted of parents, sister and him; however, that's just the family he knew. As a matter of fact, there were one brother and another sister, but Henry knew nothing about them even when he grew up and also left for Canada; it was really hard to take them as family! In my opinion, that Original siblings turn out to be strangers is the greatest tension generated in the story.
The climax in the story is that cruel fire in 1981. Everything changed from then on; their house was burnt dowm completely, and most memorable pictures were gone. This family photo was the only one that survived. From this story, I come to realize the importance of those pictures; the older they are, the more priceless they worth! The memory zones in our brain are limited, but our precious time in whole life is undoubtedly infinite. Therefore, to avoid living in vain and without any memory, we should preserve each memorable thing, like photos, masterpieces or cards, well. Nowadays, I think Blog is an ideal way to preserve them as long as the users make good use of it!