AN EARLY MORNING START

TIANANMEN FLAG RAISING

Tiananmen translates to heavenly peace. I couldn’t help but remember what happened in 1989 during the student protest in the square---where was the peace then?

Tiananmen Square’s 100 paved acres can hold a million people at any one time. Described as a vast desert of pavement in the heart of Beijing, Tiananmen is the largest public square in the world and where Chairman Mao reviewed parades.  A giant portrait of Mao hangs above the Gate of Heavenly Peace watching over the square looking down on Memorial Hall where the chairman is entombed in a crystal sarcophagus.

Several monuments, past and present, are around the square. Almost in the center of the square is a 125-foot granite obelisk erected in 1958 as a Monument to the People’s Heroes. It sits at the site of an old gate to the city. Reliefs at the base of the monument depict China’s history. Today Tiananmen is a place for people to relax in the evening and for children to fly kites and balloons in the day.

Our guide mentioned, “The flag is raised here each morning at sunrise. A troop of PLA soldiers march at precisely 108 paces per minute. It is quite impressive.”

Well, that stirred my curiosity. Since sunrise was about 5:30 AM I got up early one morning for the walk to the square. Our hotel was two long blocks away on a busy street so I had no qualms about this. However, my roommate wasn’t about to let me go alone, so she got up early also. To our surprise a young couple on the trip joined us in the hotel lobby before we started off.

We’d heard the square was crowded in the evening, but I expected only a small crowd of maybe 300-400 people in the morning. What a surprise it was to see about 3000 people quietly waiting as we approached. It seemed the four of us were the only white people, and as someone said, “It’s hard to blend into the crowd in China, especially with Carol’s long blond hair.”

I remarked, “We’d better be on our best behavior. It’s kind of fun to watch the people watching us.”

With eyes straight ahead, the small group of soldiers marched onto the square in prim military precision. After attaching the flag it electronically rose very slowly to the top. After securing the line to the pole, the soldiers did an about face and marched off the square.

As we walked back to the hotel through a new park it became evident that it was going to be another clear, smog-free day in Beijing. How lucky could we get!

A FUN TIME

FARIES and LEPRECHAUNS

I always thought of fairies as being nice and sweet little things, so I was surprised to learn what nasty little critters the fairies are in Ireland. That leprechaun with the bag of gold is not very nice at all; in fact he’s a pretty mean, cantankerous little fellow.

Leprechauns are cobblers, making shoes for all the other fairies. They also are the miserly bankers to whom all other fairies have to approach for money. Leprechauns have buried their money in pots all over the country. But with very good memories they know exactly where each pot can be found.

On the rare occasion when a mortal confronts a leprechaun demanding to know where the money is, the leprechaun always outwits the mortal. Even if a mortal did manage to get hold of any money, it would crumble to dust in his hand. These stocky little guys  dress in green coats and red trousers buckled at the knee. Scarves circle their neck and wide brimmed hats cover the heads of these solitary folks. They consider mortals foolish, flighty and likely to steal their money, thus generally they avoid human contact. They smoke foul smelling pipes and live in gulleys or behind and under bushes. They brew and drink poteen, so they often are intoxicated, sullen and argumentative.

Fairies often live in vine covered trees. They take many different forms from insects to grouchy old ladies. Ghost-like figures appear as fog or little people. The little people like to dance and be merry at night.

Fairies have unbelievable powers. Willful and capricious, they are easily offended, quick to anger, and are often spiteful and jealous of man-kind. They can be good hearted and merry. They also love sport and rivalry.

Although elusive and shy they are much feared and part of Irish culture. Fairies can blacken and rot your potatoes, suck away the cream from your milk or turn it sour, dampen peat stacks so they won’t burn, and even make you sick with colds and sore throats.

As incredible as it may seem, construction on a major highway was halted when people raised a ruckus about a fairy tree  designated to be cut down---in the name of progress. The problem was solved when the highway was built around the tree. On a dark night a few months after the road was finished some mortal made his way to the site and cut down the tree. However, as we passed by, the tree had spouted vigorous new growth., obviously surviving the onslaught of the probably disgruntled mortal.

It was fun learning about leprechauns. I was fascinated enough that I bought a book of Irish family stories that had been passed down through generations.