[Hank's Mail]"To Be or Not To Be"

Dear all,

Good Friday morning!

Today I'd like to inform you of the sad news that around 500,000 African children die within 24 hours of birth, while 1.1 million African babies on an average die within a month, according to the report of the WHO.

The sadder thing is that they die of infections which could easily and cheaply be prevented by ante-natal care and providing health education to mothers-to-be. To be or not to be, it's a pressing issue to African babies from the outset.

It's no loner news that many people, both armed services and innocent civilians, die in the mid-east, including Palestine, Iraq, Lebanon and Afghanistan. An unarmed colored bridegroom was killed by 50 shots of police on his wedding day in New York.
An eight-year veteran motorcycle officer died of internal injuries suffered from crashes with other officers' cycles while escorting President Bush in Honolulu, Hawaii. A former KGB agent died of heart failure after suddenly falling gravely ill from radioactive substance poisoning.

Do we live in the dire live-or-die world like the famous speech Shakespeare's Hamlet made? Still, many people want to be happier. What can we do? The recent research conducted separately by UC, Riverside and U Penn shows the common finding that the think-of-three-good-things exercise is immediately rewarding.


We can emulate it by thinking of three good things every night and analyzing why they occurred. Good things can increase in number later on. Another news account I'd like to note: A Yale study of robots and autistic children show that while able children lose interest in the robotics over time, the autistic children have a fascination with repetitive mechanical things.

USC study concludes that we'll see an autistic child, who has never smiled before, smile after interacting with a robot. In experiments across the US, robots are providing the human caring touch to patients who need more help than there are therapists and nurses: stroke victims, autistic children and the elderly. The Stanford Artificial Intelligence Lab director predicts that 10 years from now robots will roam the health care system and in our homes. Are you all ready for the advent of a robot era?

Last but not least, I'd like to seek your understanding for skipping my Friday mail next week due to my business trip to the East and West Coasts of America.

Have a terrific weekend, you all!

Hank

[Three Yellow Roses]

I walked into the grocery store not particularly interested in buying groceries. I wasn't hungry. The pain of losing my husband of 37 years was still too raw. And this grocery store held so many sweet memories.

Rudy often came with me and almost every time he'd pretend to go off and look for something special. I knew what he was up to. I'd always spot him walking down the aisle with the three yellow roses in his hands. Rudy knew I loved yellow roses.

With a heart filled with grief, I only wanted to buy my few items and leave, but even grocery shopping was different since Rudy had passed on. Shopping for one took time, a little more thought than it had for two.

Standing by the meat, I searched for the perfect small steak and remembered how Rudy had loved his steak. Suddenly, a woman came beside me. She was blond, slim and lovely in a soft green pantsuit. I watched as she picked up a large pack of T-bones, dropped them in her basket, hesitated, and then put them back. She turned to go and once again reached for the pack of steaks.

She saw me watching her and she smiled. "My husband loves T-bones, but honestly, at these prices, I don't know." I swallowed the emotion down my throat and met her pale blue eyes. "My husband passed away eight days ago," I told her.
Glancing at the package in her hands, I fought to control the tremble in my voice. "Buy him the steaks. And cherish every moment you have together." She shook her head and I saw the emotion in her eyes as she placed the package in her basket and wheeled away.

I turned and pushed my cart across the length of the store to the dairy products. There I stood, trying to decide which size milk I should buy. A quart, I finally decided and moved on to the ice cream section near the front of the store. If nothing else, I could always fix myself an ice cream cone. I placed the ice cream in my cart and looked down the aisle toward the front.

I saw first the green suit, and then recognized the pretty lady coming towards me. In her arms she carried a package. On her face was the brightest smile I had ever seen. I would swear a soft halo encircled her blonde hair as she kept walking towards me, her eyes holding mine. As she came closer, I saw what she held and tears began misting in my eyes.

"These are for you," she said and placed three beautiful long stemmed yellow roses in my arms. "When you go through the line, they'll know these are paid for." She leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on my cheek, then smiled again.

I wanted to tell her what she'd done, what the roses meant, but still unable to speak, I watched as she walked away, tears clouding my vision. I looked down at the beautiful roses nestled in the green tissue wrapping and found it almost unreal. How did she know? Suddenly, the answer seemed so clear. I wasn't alone.

"Oh, Rudy, you haven't forgotten me, have you?" I whispered, with tears in my eyes. He was still with me, and she was his angel.

[Life Insurance]

Bill's barn burned down and his wife, Lynn, called the insurance company.

Lynn spoke to the insurance agent and said, "We had that barn insured for fifty thousand, and I want my money."

The agent replied, "Whoa there, just a minute. Insurance doesn't work quite like that. An independent adjuster will assess the value of what was insured, and then we'll provide you with a new barn of similar worth."

There was a long pause, and then Lynn replied, "If that's how it works, then I want to cancel the life insurance policy on my husband."

[죽느냐, 사느냐, 그것이 문제로다]

여러분, 안녕하십니까?

세계보건기구 보고서에 따르면 약 50만명의 아프리카 어린이들이 출생후 24시간이내에 죽고 한편으로, 평균 110만명의 아프리카 어린이들은 한 달이내에 죽고 만다는 슬픈 뉴스를 저는 오늘 여러분께 알려드리고 싶습니다.

보다 슬픈 일은 이 어린이들이 우선 출생전 치료 및 산모가 될 여성들에 대한 위생 교육과 같이 쉽고 값싸게 예방될 수 있는 감염으로 죽어간다는 것입니다. 죽느냐, 사느냐, 그것은 아프리카 어린이들에겐 탄생 직후부터 절박한 과제입니다.

팔레스타인, 이라크, 레바논, 아프가니스탄 등 중동에서 병사들과 죄없는 시민 등 많은 사람들이 죽어간다는 것은 이제 더 이상 뉴스가 아닙니다. 총기를 소지하지 않은 흑인 신랑이 뉴욕에서 자신의 결혼식날에 경찰로부터 50발의 총을 맞고 죽었습니다.


8년 경력의 베테랑 교통경찰이 하와이 호놀룰루에서 부시 대통령을 에스코트하던 중 다른 경찰들의 오토바이와 충돌하면서 입은 내상으로 죽었습니다. 전직 KGB 요원은 방사성 물질로 인한 독으로 갑작스레 중병에 걸린 후 심장마비로 죽었습니다.

셰익스피어의 햄릿이 말한 유명한 발언처럼 우리는 죽느냐 사느냐 하는 끔찍한 세계에 살고 있는 것일까요? 하지만, 많은 사람들은 더 행복해지기를 바랍니다. 우린 어떡 해야할까요?

캘리포니아대 리버싸이드와 펜실베이니아 대학이 별개로 행한 최근 연구에서 공통적으로 발견한 바에 의하면, 세 가지 좋은 일 생각하기를 반복하면 즉각적인 효과가 있다는 것입니다. 매일 밤 세 가지 좋은 일을 생각하고 그런 일들이 왜 일어났는지를 분석함으로써 우리는 그것을 본뜰 수 있습니다. 나중엔 좋은 일의 숫자를 늘일 수 있겠지요.

주목해주시기 바라는 다른 뉴스: 로봇과 자폐증 어린이에 대한 예일대의 연구에 의하면 정상아들은 시간이 흐르면 로봇에 대해 흥미를 잃어버리나, 자폐증 어린이들은 반복적 기계적 일에 매혹된답니다. 남가주대학의 연구 결론은 한번도 웃지 않던 자폐증 어린이들이 로봇과 놀고 난 후에는 웃는 것을 본다는 것입니다.

미국 각지의 실험에서 로봇은 의사와 간호사들 보다도 도움이 필요한 뇌졸증 환자, 자폐증 어린이, 노약자 등 환자들에게 인간적 보살핌을 베풀고 있습니다. 스탠포드대 인공지능연구소장은 지금부터 10년 뒤에는 로봇이 병원과 우리 가정을 돌아다닐 것이라고 예측했습니다. 여러분들 모두 로봇 시대의 도래를 맞이할 채비가 됐습니까?

마지막으로, 다음 주 금요 메일은 미국 동서부로의 출장 때문에 빠뜨려야 하는 점을 양해해주시기 바랍니다.

여러분 모두 즐거운 주말이 되시기를 빕니다.

행크

[세 송이 노란 장미]

나는 특별히 살 것이 없이 식료품 가게에 들렀습니다. 배가 고프지도 않았습니다. 37년간 살아온 남편을 잃은 고통은 너무 쓰라렸습니다. 그리고 그 식료품 점은 아주 많은 달콤한 추억이 남아있는 곳이었습니다.

남편은 종종 저랑 거길 갔고, 거의 매번 무슨 특별한 것을 찾는 척했습니다. 난 남편이 뭘 하려는지 알았지요. 나는 항상 남편이 통로 아래로 가서 노란 장미 세 송이를 사서 쥐고 있는 것을 발견했습니다. 남편은 내가 노란 장미를 좋아하는 것을 알았지요.

나는 슬픔에 가슴이 저며 몇 가지 물건만 사고 떠나려 했지요. 헌데, 남편이 죽은 후로 식료품 가게서 물건을 사는 것 마저 다르게 느껴졌습니다. 물건 하나 사는 데도 시간이 걸렸고, 두 개 살 때보다 좀 더 생각을 해야했습니다.

육류칸에 서서 나는 내게 딱 맞는 작은 스테이크를 찾았고, 남편이 스테이크를 얼마나 좋아했었는지를 떠올렸습니다. 갑자기, 한 여인이 내 곁으로 다가왔습니다. 바지에 정장을 입은 여인은 금발에다, 날씬하고, 사랑스러웠습니다. 나는 여인이 커다란 티본 스테이크 한