[Hank's Mail]Love, Love, Love

Dear all,

TGIF!


This week is fraught with a few gratifying news. Swimmer Park Tae-hwan, a popular idol, won a bronze medal in the men’s 200m freestyle final at the World Swimming Championships in Melbourne, Australia on Tuesday, after snatching a gold in the 400m event on Sunday.

Also, Daegu was chosen to be the host city of the 2011 World Athletics Championships by outvoting Barcelona and Brisbane. Our soccer team continued its wining streak by blanking Uzbekistan with a margin of two points.

Such delights do not come by a fluke. Korean’s passion and determination made such achievements possible. They just reflect where Korea stands in terms of economic, cultural and athletic power like the products of Samsung, Hyundai, LG and SK.


A notable news that came along with the advent of spring and which I wish all of you to remember is that Elizabeth Edward, wife of former Senator John Edward from North Carolina, strikingly disclosed last week’s diagnosis that her breast cancer had returned. However, she and her husband, who announced his entry into the 2008 Presidential election, decided to fight back and pursue their goal instead of cowering in the corner and hiding.

The diagnosis of Stage 4 breast cancer is never negligible but she mustered up the courage to get through it and move on. The touching part of this story is that Senator Edward is totally devoted to her and said he would always stand by his woman. Love, not greed, made them do that.

Finally, the lingering wintry weather has completely receded into history after it showered off the chill in the blooming season over the weekend. The winter temperature this year per se was unprecedentedly warmer than usual, though. We can now see the buds shoot forth at the skeletal branches of naked trees all over the place. Flowers in bloom start amusing our eyes hungry for beautiful colors: azalea, forsythia, magnolia and cherry blossoms.

In this balmy spring weather, don’t you think it’s a good idea to stroll about in the suburbs with heartthrobs or family members hand in hand? It is high time we profusely expressed love, which hunkered deep down in our heart in the winter, while shedding hatred, which may have strutted along during the cold season.

Last but not least, if you are interested in UFOs, enjoy visiting the website: www.cnes-geipan.fr, which was created by the French government as the first nation to open its files on them since last Thursday.
Good weekend!

Hank

[Invitation]

A woman came out of her house and saw three old men with long white beards sitting in her front yard. She did not recognize them. She said, “I don’t think I know you, but you must be hungry. Please, come in and have something to eat.”

“Is the man of the house home?” they asked. “No, he’s out,” she said. “Then we cannot come in.” they replied.

In the evening when her husband came home, she told him what had happened. “Go tell them I am home and invite them in!” The woman went out and invited the men in. “We do not go into a house together.” they replied. “Why is that?” she wanted to know.

One of the old men explained. “His name is Wealth,” he said pointing to one of his friends, and said pointing to another one, “He is Success, and I am Love.” Then he added, “Now go in and discuss with your husband which one of us you want in your home.”

The woman went in and told her husband what was said. Her husband was overjoyed. “How nice!!” he said. “Since that is the case, let us invite Wealth. Let him come and fill our home with wealth!”

His wife disagreed. “My dear, why don’t we invite Success?” Their daughter-in-law was listening from the other corner of the house. She jumped in with her own suggestion. “Would it not be better to invite Love? Our home will then be filled with love!”

“Let us heed our daughter-in-law’s advice,” said the husband to his wife. “Go out and invite Love to be our guest.”

The woman went out and asked the three old men, “Which one of you is Love? Please, come in and be our guest.”

Love got up and started walking toward the house. The other two also got up and followed him. Surprised, the lady asked Wealth and Success. “I only invited Love, why are you coming in?”

The old men replied together. “If you had invited Wealth or Success, the other two of us would’ve stayed out, but since you invited Love, wherever he goes, we go with him. Wherever there is Love, there is also Wealth and Success!!!”

[A Bank Robber]

A man, wanting to rob a downtown Bank of America, walked into the branch and wrote, “This is a stickup. Put all your muny in this bag.”

While standing in line, waiting to give his note to a teller, he began to worry that someone had seen him write the note and might call the police before he reached the teller window. So he left the Bank of America and crossed the street to Wells Fargo.

After waiting a few minutes in line, he handed his note to the Wells Fargo teller. She read it and, surmising from his spelling errors that he was not the brightest light in the harbor, told him that she could not accept his stick up note because it was written on Bank of America deposit slip and that he would either have to fill out a Wells Fargo deposit slip or go back to Bank of America.

Looking somewhat defeated, the man said, “OK” and left the Wells Fargo. The Wells Fargo teller then called the police who arrested the man a few minutes later, as he was waiting in line back at the Bank of America. A true story.

사랑, 사랑, 사랑

여러분, 반가운 금요일입니다!

이번 주는 몇 가지 즐거운 뉴스가 가득하군요. 국민적 우상이 된 수영의 박태환 선수는 지난 일요일 호주 멜버른에서 열린 세계 수영대회 400미터에서 금메달을 따낸 데 이어, 화요일에는 200미터 남자 자유형 결승전에서 동메달을 거뒀지요.

또, 대구시는 바르셀로나와 브리스베인보다 많은 표를 얻어 2011년 세계 육상대회 개최지로 선정됐지요. 우리나라 축구 올림픽 대표팀은 2-0으로 우즈베키스탄에 이겨, 연승 행진을 계속했습니다.

이런 기쁜 일은 운으로 일어나는 게 아닙니다. 한국인의 열정과 각오가 이러한 성과가 가능하도록 한 것이지요. 그것은 삼성, 현대, LG, SK 제품들처럼 경제, 문화, 체육 면에서 한국의 위상을 대변할 뿐입니다.

봄의 도래와 더불어 온, 여러분 모두 기억해주시기 바라는 주목할만한 뉴스는 놀랍게도 노스 캐롤라이나 출신의 전상원의원 존 에드워드의 아내 엘리자베스 에드워드가 유방암이 재발했다는 지난 주 진료결과를 공개했다는 것입니다. 그러나, 그녀와 2008년도 대선 출마를 선언했던 그녀의 남편은 이에 위축되어 구석에 숨는 대신 이에 물러서지 않고 그들의 목표를 향해 나아가기로 결정했습니다.

유방암 4기라는 진단 결과는 결코 사소한 일이 아니지만, 그녀는 용기를 내어 그것을 극복하고 계속 전진하기로 했습니다. 이 이야기에서 감동적인 부분은 에드워드 상원의원이 아내에게 전적으로 헌신하여 언제나 그의 아내 곁에 있겠다고 말했다는 것입니다. 욕심이 아니라 사랑이 그들을 그렇게 하도록 했습니다.

주말에 내린 비가 꽃샘 추위를 씻어내자 드디어 꾸물거리던 겨울 날씨는 완전히 과거 속으로 물러났습니다. 비록, 올 겨울 기온 그 자체는 예년보다 전례없이 따뜻했었지만. 이제 우리는 벌거벗은 나무의 헐벗은 가지에서 꽃봉오리가 돋아나는 것을 도처에서 볼 수 있고, 진달래, 개나리, 목련,