THE LAST CHINESE BREAKFAST CLUB FOR BOCA
One more Chinese breakfast...Bubba heads to the bacon and eggs. I head to the soup...Ramen noodles on steroids and and all kinds of Asian stuff...they have put "labels" in front of each dish which I do not read as it world ruin the surprise. Hello Julia Childs! Besides wearing most of the breakfast on my blouse...I do a lot of tasting and pushing around the plate. Some "stuff" better than others....no congealed whatever for Bubba this morning. I bring the laptop to breakfast to check emails etc and the Chinese help try to hide me in the hinter lands of this vast restaurant/venue. Such an ....ugly American with her Mac Book-large screen-mind you on her table for all to read! Nothing secret or private here Suzi Wong. Maybe in the land of Big Brother- Mao this and that- one shouldn't be so bold with the 17 inch mac pro for all to see and read. Whatever.
Picked up at 7 a.m. for a ride on the super highway...they call city highways flyovers...with good cause. And the supremo super fast train to the airport...we saw it in a flash. We were told there was a bit of a panic rush to sign up for license-plate lottery in capital-Beijing. A total of 397,000 people took place in the lottery to get a license plate. Damn we will miss the drawing for the 17,000 license plates being issued this month. Think about it...we just mosey down to the crazy DMV and get our license or even go on line to do the same or get the new plates. No lottery. Just do it. Hmmm. I guess this car thing and driving thing takes on epic proportions over here. Talking of epic proportions, they just introduced a new way of "burial"- the mini-burial. The What? The idea of a partial sea burial, in which most of a person's ashes are sprinkled at sea while a small amount is put in a tiny box and buried in a cemetery, was introduce in Shanghai on Saturday. Think about it. Where in the heck are you going to bury these 1.3 billion people?
We needed a van to haul our stuff...or as Bubba calls it crap. Crap Crap Crap ( I thought that was a Chicago word- he must have learned it when we lived there)-"only more Crap that I have to haul over to the Storage Place (Uncle Bob's) and store more of it!" Oh Bubs can just be so dull...more to buy at the airport of course. You must get rid of the rubbles. And once again the shopping began...whip out the platinum am x bubba... What the hell? I am just trying to get rid of the "scoots" (old Secret Service word for money...call it a scoot in any country what's the diff?) So a few more tschokees to add to the pathetic pile.
So long Shanghai You have been magnificent and WAY BEYOND our expectations. I loved reading the SHANGHAI EXPRESS....AND my very favorite CHINA DAILY. I think Chairman Mao is writing them from the grave! My personal favorite- the headline of the Business Section "FORGET WINE. GET PICKY ABOUT RARE, EXOTIC TEAS". OH Hell no, aficionados so not treating leaf based beverages with reverence. Duh. Hello it is about the Grape you Chinaman! Right -no more Chateau Lafitte- Rothschild's ($2000 a bottle)- say what?? Rare and exotic teas evolving into a delicacy of the chi chi?? and an INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY!!? YIKES....talking about Longing Dragon, ( remember I am year of Dragon)...which at 60,000 yuan= $9,146 per kilogram is over the top!! Can you see Boca weaning herself off the cheap white wine over to that tea. We are talking SHRUBS here people. Holy Moly! Well think about it...as we used to say in the OLD EST days..."it's a conversation". Wine? Tea? What's the diff?
And remember SARS? back in 2002? Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-that killed many and hurt others. Many were infected medical workers while at work-ewe. Many with this disease "hide" as it is an embarrassment. What happened to those folks? Mainly in Asia. This virus caused havoc that we have forgotten...I did see many , let's say 10% of the people wearing what we call surgical masks Dusty? Pollution? Allergy? And here's the kicker...when Pleep asks them to take off their masks and show them the inside....ewwwwww black stuff there in the breathing area...what the hay!! Never mind that...the radiation Japan thing has everyone on pins and needles over here. I am sure the bok choy I had in my soup this morning will glow in the dark- radiation measuring 10 million times than normal- the paper screamed at us this morning. EEEk Ka Volts! and then NUCLEAR SAFETY REMAINS UNFAZED. HELLO, mixed messages.
HELLO DELTA...WHAT IS THIS?
This time Delta is our Chariot...and what kind of seats are these? Even worse to sit in than they are to look at. Bubba actually liked them, in that he was across the isle from me so I couldn't vice grip his hand on take off and turbulence. The Pleepster had fun in his own mini-me seat. He so loves that he has been Shanghaied just like Spongebob. The newest Disney Land park starts construction on April 8th- you bet he will be back.
What a glorious visit to China. Truly the highlight of the trip.....this ancient place...suppressed by communism from 1949- 1992 is amazing. Bubba's footnote-"get real Boca, it's still not over". It is no less than an explosion of the suppression of 40 plus years....it was an absolute joy to get in the mix. Yes Yes Yes Bubba...more dirt to hoe as in work to do toward freedom and democracy. But I'll be - they went from zero to 90 in 20 short years! Youza! This most dynamic changing city in the fastest growing nation was mind boggling. Is it setting the pace (peace?) for the rest of the world? China, and Shanghai, has dispensed with the past and now has the peddle to the metal. Yes, yes I understand that the recent crack down on domestic dissenters is in bloom and yes of course I don't get why Boca's blog was blocked. I know one day the democratic aspirations of the Chinese people will one be impossible to contain. Can't wait for my next visit to experience that dream. Thank you China and your beautiful people for such a fantastic visit. Sweet Dreams.
