Stephen & Kimara Tong Homepage
We are one in the bond of love
Food for Thought
Friendship
- A kindly turn of speech attracts new friends, a courteous tongue invites many a friendly
response.
Relationships with People
- Do not desert an old friend; the new one will not be his match.
Bringing up Children
- Whoever is strict with his son will reap the benefit, and be able to boast of him to his
acquaintances.
Dinner Parties
- If you are sitting down to a lavish table, do not display your greed, do not say,
'What a lot to eat!'
True and false friends
- In prosperity you cannot always tell a true friend, but in adversity you cannot mistake an
enemy.
Inappropriate talk
- Better a slip on the pavement than a slip of the tongue...
Miss "UNDER" standing
- A young man wished to purchase a gift for his new sweetheart's birthday and as they had not
been dating very long, after careful consideration ...!!?
Are You a Chinese?
- If you're a Chinese... then happy reading ...
The Internet
- You know you are addicted to the Internet when...
Sparrow Flying
- A sparrow flying south for the winter...
The Story of Rapunzel
- Like many fairy stories, the tale of Rapunzel has a deeper meaning to it...
Friendship
A kindly turn of speech attracts new friends, a courteous tongue
invites many a friendly response.
Let your acquaintances be many, but for advisers choose one out of a
thousand.
If you want to make a friend, take him on trial, and do not be in a
hurry to trust him; for one kind of friend is so only when it suits him but will not stand by
you in your day of trouble.
Another kind of friend will fall out with you and to your dismay make
your quarrel public, and a third kind of friend will share your table, but not stand by you in
you day of trouble: when you are doing well he will be your second self, ordering your servants
about; but if disaster befalls you, he will recoil from you and keep out of your way.
Keep well clear of your enemies, and be wary of your friends.
A loyal friend is a powerful defence: whoever finds one has indeed
found a treasure.
A loyal friend is something beyond price, there is no measuring his
worth.
A loyal friend is the elixir of life, and those who fear the Lord will
find one.
Whoever fears the Lord makes true friends, for as a person is, so is
his friend too.
-Ecclesiasticus 6 : 5-17 (The New
Jerusalem Bible)
Relationships with People
Do not desert an old friend; the new one will not be his match.
New friend, new wine; when it grows old, you drink it with pleasure.
Do not envy the sinner his success; you do not how that will end.
Do not take pleasure in what pleases the godless; remember they will not go unpunished here below.
Keep your distance from the man who has the power to put to death, and you will not be haunted by the fear of dying.
If you do approach him, make no false move, or he may take your life.
Realise that you are treading among trip-lines, that you are strolling on the battlements.
Cultivate your neighbours to the best of your ability, and consult with the wise.
For conversation seek the intelligent, let all your discussions bear on the law of the Most High.
Have the upright for your table companions, and let your pride be in fearing the Lord.
Work from skilled hands will earn its praise, but a leader of the people must be skilful in words.
A chatterbox is a terror to his town, a loose talker is detested.
- Ecclesiasticus 9 : 10-18 (The New Jerusalem Bible)
Bringing
up Children
Whoever is strict with his son will
reap the benefit, and be able to boast of him to his
acquaintances.
Whoever educates his son will be
the envy of his enemy, and will be proud of him among
friends.
Even when the father dies, he might
well not be dead, since he leaves his likeness behind
him.
In life he has had the joy of his
company, dying, he has no anxieties. He leaves and avenger
against his enemies and a rewarder of favours for his
friends.
Whoever coddles his son will
bandage his wounds, his hearts will turn over at every cry.
A badly broken-in horse turns out stubborn, a son left to
himself turns out headstrong. Pamper your child and he will
terrorise you, play along with him and he will bring you
sorrow.
Do not laugh with him, or one day
you will weep with him and end up gnashing your teeth. While
he is young, do not allow him his freedom and do not wink at
his mistakes.
- Ecclesiasticus 30 : 2-11
(The New Jerusalem Bible)
Dinner
Parties
If you are sitting down to a lavish
table, do not display your greed, do not say, 'What a lot to
eat!'
Remember, it is bad to have a
greedy eye. Is any creature more wicked than the eye? - That
is why it is always weeping!
Do not reach out for anything your
host has his eye on, do not jostle him at the dish.
Judge your fellow-guest's needs by
your own, be thoughtful in every way.
Eat what is offered like a well
brought-up person, do not wolf your food or you will earn
dislike.
For politeness' sake be the first
be the first to stop; do not act the glutton, or you will
give offence, and if you are sitting with a large party, do
not help yourself before the others do.
- Ecclesiasticus 31 : 12-18
(The New Jerusalem Bible)
In prosperity you cannot always tell a true friend,
but in adversity you cannot mistake an enemy.
When someone is doing well that person's enemies are sad,
when someone is doing badly, even a friend will keep at a distance.
Do not ever trust an enemy;
as bronze tarnishes, so does an enemy's malice.
Even if he behaves humbly and comes bowing and scraping,
maintain your reserve and be on your guard against him.
Behave towards him as if you were polishing a mirror,
you will find that his tarnish cannot last.
Do not stand him beside you
in case he thrusts you out and takes your place.
Do not seat him on your right,
or he will be after your position,
and then you will remember what I have said
and sadly admit that I was right.
Who feels sorry for a snake-charmer bitten by a snake,
or for those who take risks with savage animals? -
just so for one who consorts with a sinner,
and becomes an accomplice in his sins.
He will stay with you for a while,
but if you once give way he will press his advantage.
An enemy may have sweetness on his lips,
and in his heart a scheme to throw you into the ditch.
An enemy may have tears in his eyes,
but if he gets a chance there can never be too much blood for him.
If you meet with misfortune, you will find him there before you,
and, pretending to help you, he will trip you up.
He will wag his head and clap his hands,
he will whisper a lot and his expression will change.
- Ecclesiasticus 12 : 8-18
(The New Jerusalem Bible)
Inappropriate talk
Better a slip on the pavement than a slip of the tongue;
this is how ruin takes the wicked by surprise.
A coarse-grained person is like an indiscreet story
endlessly retold by the ignorant.
A maxim is rejected when coming from a fool,
since the fool does not utter it on the apt occasion.
There is a person who is prevented from sinning by poverty;
no qualms of conscience disturb that person's rest.
There is a person who courts destruction out of a false shame,
courts destruction for the sake of a fool's opinion.
There is a person who out of false shame makes promises to a friend,
and so makes an enemy for nothing.
- Ecclesiasticus 20 : 18-23
(The New Jerusalem Bible)
Miss
"UNDER" standing
A young man wished to purchase a
gift for his new sweetheart's birthday and as they had not
been dating very long, after careful consideration, he
decided a pair of gloves would strike the right note:
romantic but not too personal
Accompanied by his sweetheart's
younger sister, he went to Woolworths to purchase a pair of
white gloves. While there, the younger sister purchased a
pair of panties for herself.
During the wrapping, the clerk
mixed up the items and the sister got the gloves and the
sweetheart got the panties. Without checking the contents,
he sealed the package and mailed it to his sweetheart along
with this note:
Darling,
I chose these because I noticed you are no in the habit
of not wearing any when we go out in the evening. If it had
not been for your sister, I would have chosen the long ones
with buttons, but she wears short ones that are easy to
remove.
These are a delicate shade, but the lady I bought them
from showed me the ones she had been wearing for the past
three weeks and they were hardly soiled. I had her try yours
on for me and she looked really smart.
I wish I was there to put them on you for the first time,
as no doubt other hands will come into contact with them
before I have the chance to see you again.
When you take them off, remember to blow them before
putting them away, as they will naturally be a little damp
from wearing. Just think how many times I will kiss them
during the coming year. I hope you will wear them for me on
Friday night.
Love
Peter
P.S. The latest style is to wear them folded down with a
little fur showing
Are You a
Chinese?
If you're a Chinese... then happy
reading ...
Yo, friends! Hope you like this...
enjoy reading.
"50 Ways to Know if You're
Chinese"
1. You were/are a good student with very high GPAs
2. You majored in something practical like engineering, medicine or finance
3. You have more than one college degrees, especially more than one Master's
4. If you play a musical instrument, it must be piano
5. You have a vinyl table cloth on your kitchen table
6. Your stove is covered with aluminum foil
7. Your kitchen has a sticky film of grease over it
8. You beat eggs with chopsticks
9. You always leave outdoor shoes at the door
10. You use the dishwasher as a dish rack
11. You keep a Thermos of hot water available at all times
12. You boil water before drinking
13. You eat all meals in the kitchen to keep your dining room clean
14. You don't use measuring cups when preparing foods
15. You save grocery bags and use them to hold garbage
16. You have a rice cooker
17. You're a wok user
18. You fight over who pays the dinner bill
19. You wash rice 2-3 times before cooking it
20. You make sounds when you have a bowl of soup.
21. Your don't dry clean cloths, even if they need to be dry cleaned
22. You iron your own shirts
23. You like congee (Zhou1) with thousand year old eggs (Song1 Hua1 egg)
24. You always cook yourself, even if you hate it
25. You use credit cards, and pay monthly bills in full
26. You keep most of your money in a savings account
27. You buy Christmas cards after Christmas, when they are 50% off
28. When you hand wash dishes, you only use cold water
29. You hate to waste food :-
a) Even if you're totally full, if someone says they're going to throw away the leftovers on
the table, you'll finish them
b) You have Tupperware in your fridge with three bites of rice or one leftover chicken
wing
30. You don't own any real Tupperware--only a cupboard full of used but carefully rinsed margarine tubs, takeout containers, and jam jars
31. You also use the jam jars as drinking glasses
32. When toilet paper is on sale, you buy 100 rolls and store them
33. You have a collection of miniature shampoo/conditioner bottles and little soap bars that you take every time you stay in a hotel
34. The condiments in your fridge are either Price Club sized or come in plastic packets, which you "save" every time you get take out or go to McDonald's
35. You carry a stash of your own food whenever you travel (and travel means any car ride longer than 15 minutes)
36. You spit bones and other food scraps on the table
37. Your dad thinks he can fix everything himself
38. When you go to a dance party, there are a wall of guys surrounding the dance floor trying to look cool
39. Your house/apt. is always cold in winter, and hot in summer
40. Your mom drives her Mercedes to Price Club, or Shoppers Food Warehouse regardless how far it is, even if Loblaw's is next door
41. You always look phone numbers up in the phone book, since calling Directory Assistance costs 50 cents
42. You only make long distance calls after 11pm or during weekends
43. You prefer your shrimp with the heads and legs still attached
44. You never call your parents just to say hi
45. Your parents send money to their relatives in China
46. You use a colored face cloth every morning
47. You starve yourself before going to all-you-can-eat places
48. You've joined a CD club at least once
49. You never discuss your love life with your parents
50. You take this message and forward it to all your Chinese friends
The Internet
You know you are addicted to the Internet when....
* You find yourself typing "com" after every period when using a word processor.com
* You turn off your modem and get this awful empty feeling, like you just pulled the plug on a loved one.
* You start introducing yourself as "Julia(your name) at Net dot com"
* Your spouse drapes a black wig over your monitor to remind you of what she/he looks like.
* All of your friends have @ in their names.
* You can't call your mother... she doesn't have a modem.
* Your phone bill comes to your house in a box.
* You laugh at people with 2400 baud modems.
* You move into a new house and decide to Netscape before you landscape.
* You refer to going to the toilet as downloading.
* You tell the taxi driver you live at:
http://123.elm.street/house/bluetrim.html
* Your spouse makes a new rule: "The computer cannot come to bed."
* You ask a plumber how much it would cost to replace the chair in front of your computer with a commode.
* You start tilting your head sideways to smile.
* You turn on your computer, and turn off your spouse.
* Your spouse says communication is important in a marriage...so you buy another computer, and install a second phone line so the two of you can chat.
* You begin to wonder how on earth your service provider is allowed to call 200 hours per month "unlimited."
...And the #1 clue that you are addicted to the Internet is....
* Your dog has its own home page.
Sparrow Flying
A sparrow flying south for the winter was caught in a freak cold snap
The poor thing froze solid and fell to the ground
A cow came by and crapped on it
But since the cow dung was warm it defrosted the little bird
The bird once thawed begin to chirp merrily
A cat passing by heard the chirping and went to investigate
It took the bird out of the dung and ate it.
The moral of the story is :
People :
Those who crap on you is not necessarily your enemy and those who get you out of crap is not necessarily your friend.
Place :
A warm and nice place is not necessarily the best place after all.
Most Importantly:
When you are in "deep shit" learn to keep your mouth shut.
THE STORY OF RAPUNZEL
Like many fairy stories, the tale of Rapunzel has a deeper
meaning to it. It is a story about self-image. Rapunzel is a young lady who lives
locked up in a castle, imprisoned by an old witch who continually tell her how ugly
she is. One day, a handsome prince passes by the tower and tells Rapunzel of her
loveliness. She lets down her golden locks, (apparently of some considerable length),
so he may climb her hair to rescue her.
It is neither the castle nor the witch that has kept her a prisoner, but the belief
in her own ugliness. When she recognises her beauty, reflected in the face of her
prince charming, she sees that she can be set free.
We all need to be aware of the witch or witches inside ourselves that are stopping
us from breaking free.
Date Created : 04/26/97. Last
Updated : 12/24/97.
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