寺前螳螂 A Mantis in Front of a Temple

羅漢坡道上,
On the ramp lined with arhat statues, 
無頭雄螳螂.
Lay a headless male mantis.
一生將結束,
Its life was about to end;
無憾血脈長.
It had no regrets--its bloodline would be extended.

* 朋友和我走在靈隱寺前的坡道時, 朋友注意到一隻掙扎著的怪蟲. 那怪蟲原來是交配繁衍時被雌螳螂咬去頭部的雄螳螂.

* 羅漢無憾: https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-tw/阿羅漢

* 一生無憾: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/06/no-1-key-to-a-happier-longer-life-according-to-the-oldest-americans-i-wish-i-knew-this-in-my-30s.html

雀鯛 Indo-Pacific Sergeant

朋友們和我走在崖邊步道時, 一位釣客似乎有魚上鉤了. 果然他釣起一尾黑白相間而背有黃色的魚. 他認真地說, "這是雀鯛, 拿到市場一斤可以賣250元." 他友善地讓我們照相.

那雀鯛很漂亮, 也很可憐. 朋友和我探頭看到崖下盡是岩石, 而這崖上離海水至少有幾十公尺遠. 即使想將那雀鯛買下來放生, 能讓牠安全回到海中的機率極低.

那釣客一邊向著兼作矮凳的保冷箱坐下, 一邊稍微打開保冷箱的頂蓋以放入那雀鯛, 然後坐在緊閉的保冷箱上繼續垂釣.

 

擦傷和祝福 Scratches and Best Wishes

一個多月前, 在我走往"家樂福"的路上, 一位母親騎著自行車從我身邊經過. 她的前面載著一位小女孩, 後面載著書包, 水壺, 及其他物品. 然後我後面傳來跌倒的聲音. 一位看似小學低年級的男孩一邊放聲大哭, 一邊站起來. 我問他, "哪裡痛? 要噴點酒精嗎?" 那母親騎回來, 開始罵那男孩. 那男孩繼續哭著. 我問那母親, "要噴點酒精殺菌嗎?" 那母親搖頭說”不用", 繼續罵那男孩, 然後再掉頭騎走. 那女孩說, "等一下哥哥!" 那母親稍微減速往前騎. 那男孩追著跑. 他們經過了"家樂福". 我希望他們能更幸福.

昨天, 當幾位朋友和我在海邊步道一邊散步, 一邊聊天時, 其中一位朋友跌倒了, 膝蓋和前臂有些擦傷. 我說, "噴點酒精吧", 然後在朋友的擦傷部位噴了酒精. 那時, 一對年輕父母和他們的三位孩子也走在那步道. 那母親對朋友說他們的車上有處理傷口的藥膏, 請我們等她拿來, 然後就向停車場飛奔. 朋友們和我回頭向停車場移動. 那母親很快就回來, 並提供藥膏給朋友使用. 我們向她道謝. 她向我們道別, 然後往前和她的家人會合. 不久後, 我看到那家人在一件戶外藝術(*巨石相框), 由其中一位孩子為其他家人拍照. 我說, "幫你們照好嗎?" 我用他們的手機幫他們拍了全家福. 他們向我道謝. 我向他們道別, 然後往前和朋友們會合. 我回頭用我的手機照了那戶外藝術和那全家, 也為他們祝福.    

**風傳媒: "整形外科醫師陳建良指出，傷口一出現時，屬於急性期，要先大量沖水，可適量用酒精、優碘消毒，但3天過後，傷口逐漸復原，此時若用酒精、優碘刺激傷口，反造成表皮細胞、纖維細胞受傷，若需要更換敷料，用生理食鹽水清潔即可。"

https://www.storm.mg/lifestyle/226798

English Terms May Not Mean What They Seem to Mean

Geisha coffee is unrelated to Japanese geisha.
Honey processed coffee involves no honey.

Chinese Characters May Not Mean What They Seem to Mean

For example, 痛 as an adverb usually means "extremely," “thoroughly,” or "to the extreme," not "painfully."
痛恨 means "(extremely) abhor" or "(extremely) hate," not "painfully hate."
痛快 means "thoroughly pleased" or "very straightforward," not "painfully fast."
痛飲 means "drink to one's heart's content," not "painfully drink."
By the way, 好痛 means "very/so painful," not "good pain."

George Foreman Grill

The new caretaker for my dad had to eat fried or grilled chicken or fish, but our kitchen for the caretaker's use did not have a powerful ventilation system to take out a lot of smoke. Thankfully, the unused George Foreman Grill (GFG) I gave my parents as a souvenir 13 years ago saved the day--the caretaker was happy with frozen fried chicken and fish heated by the GFG, and not much smoke was produced. 

While I was looking for something to raise the front legs of the GFG to level the grill surfaces of the GFG for the caretaker to fry eggs, I stumbled on an unused sauce pan, such that the caretaker got one more cooking tool. I found a piece of glassware that worked perfectly for leveling the GFG grill surfaces to fry eggs. 

Many thanks.  

After less than four days on the job, the caretaker still quit because the job requirements were beyond her.