What you looking at

When in Rome (or China)

Tuesday (7:30 am)

The entire family and our interpreter took a taxi to a nondescript government office on the sixth floor of a building in city center to finalize the adoption paperwork.



The 40 by 20 room room was hot, with a row large windows facing out into the street along the left wall. A large conference table dominated the room and official looking plaques and flags adorned the walls, so it resembled a VFW or American Legion Hall--only all the adornments were red.


The male director of the orphanage and a female teacher (both in their early 30’s) were already there and a Provincial Government official (a pregnant woman in her late 30’s) showed up a few moments late. We signed a few documents and then pressed our thumbs in red ink and placed the thumbprint directly over our signature.

After the paperwork was done we waited a few minutes for another, higher ranked, government official (a professionally dressed women in her late 40’s) to look over all the paperwork and declare it okay. Thankfully she did just that.

Since we needed cash our interpreter took us to a branch of the state owned ‘Bank of China”. We simply wanted to exchange about $100 in cash, $150 in traveler’s checks and take $250 out of our bank via debit card.

The branch had 9 available lines staffed by young workers in smart red (with a little white) uniforms sitting behind bulletproof glass. After about 20 minutes dealing with one teller Donna managed to exchange the American money, but that was it. The teller seemed to suggest we had no money in our savings account for the debit.

Donna then went outside to the bank's ATM and instantly did the withdraw/exchange herself. I went to another line and spent a few minutes filling out a form to cash the travelers checks. She then handed me another stamped form and said go to Line Seven.

There I waited another ten minutes for the single person in front of me to complete a transaction. In the middle of this a man came up to the next window and tried to get service. They sent him away (probably to another line on the other side of the office) and he started shouting (probably because he had just waited in that line).

I worried the police or military would take him away but after the shouting match with two separate bank employees lasting a couple minutes ceased, he sat down and they serviced him.

The young man counting out my money never even looked up. After 45 minutes we finally exited the building with our Chines money. The American banking system has nothing to fear.


EYE see you



Ancient Garden


Built overlooking the river Nanming (means South Bright) by order of the Emperor, the wooden building lasted longer than he did (500 years and counting). The disgruntled workers crafted the dragons on the roof to be looking backwards, a sign of bad luck. Proved that way for the last emperor of Ming Dynasty (who had a very brief reign).

Selling is the same all over the world

Monday (dawn)

The immediate area around the city center are honeycombed with funky side streets and alleyways that look unchanged for generations.

Although you have to pay attention to the cars making their way along the narrow single lane or motorcycles and scooters competing with them.

Call it a Farmers Market melded with a giant flea market as all sorts of fresh fruits, vegetables, meats (cooked and still running around) are available all along the way.

Some of the buildings house mini open markets as well, so this is all probably year round activity.
As the only Americans in sight we stand out. As Americans with two Chinese daughters in a nation that enforces a One Child Policy we stand out all the more.

A few folks even came up and took photos on their cell phones (that, like cigarette smoking, are ubiquitous).

No, I did not consider that stalking.

Greetings from the (other) People's Republic

Sunday morning (Asian time)

Arrived in Beijing after a 13-hour flight from New Jersey. The main terminal is the largest I have ever seen and looks brand new. The marble floors, which span the square footage of a few football fields, look like you could eat off them or use them for a mirror to shave.

Our layover was three hours and we thought we would be hanging out with time to spare but the connecting flight run by China Air took forever to coordinate and we just barely made the packed flight.

We were also spread out in the plane but two passengers’ kindly switched seats so we could sit together. The flight to Guiyang, capital of the Guizhuo province, added another three hours to our airtime. It’s a bustling city of 3.5 million.

The modern airport, about the size of Bradley International in Connecticut, is nestled among mountainous peaks. The driver failed to appear, so we took a taxi to the Regal Hotel, a modern western operation in the heart of the city.

For the brief time we were in Beijing we barely attracted a second look and saw lots of other Caucasians. Here we stand out. After a brief walk around the block almost everyone we encountered looked us up and down (but in a friendly way).

Donna and Kira would use their limited Chinese and some of them would respond with limited English.

Our guide left us a note at the hotel saying rather than getting Jada on Monday afternoon the orphanage will be fringing her to our hotel lobby today at noon.

The government in China even works Sunday’s.

You got that right!

Click to ENLARGE

So I’m glad the Bully showed some journalistic integrity (about time!) by making the July 4’th Parade turnaround article the banner lead and Ms. Awad’s crying wolf story--although still Above The Fold--a bit less hyped.

Although that hardly neutralizes the AP national wire distribution of the story on Tuesday morning, insinuating I was a “stalker”.

And even if they did play it up as the TOP news story of the week, it would not matter all that much because faithful Bulletin readers will remember that Awad and Hubley lied to them a month ago in a Letter claiming they revoked the Homestead on the South Hadley mansion and reinstated it on their tiny (up for sale) Amherst condo.

Gotta Love this Letter in the same edition

Well…I meant the one from Mr. Souweine (owner of the “House” made famous by Tracy Kidder) but Mr. Rivard’s lead letter is also equally sagacious.

Let the trial begin

Click To Enlarge/Read

Not only do I want the two of them gone from Amherst elected “public service”; but I also do not want either of them to be able to vote on their replacements. And apparently Ms. Awad’s Select Board seat will be filled this September 16. Mr. Hubley has yet to resign his Town Meeting seat, but that body is pretty negligible.

So let’s hold the Board of Registrars investigative hearing to decide their residency (especially since they will be placed under oath—not a requirement to pen a lying Letter To The Editor of the Amherst Bulletin).

And when they are proven to be South Hadley residents, then not only can they not hold local office but also they can also not vote in an Amherst precinct.

Wolf in the fold (or so the little boy cried)

UPDATE 9:30 PM (Tuesday). I stole the brief video of Ms Awad giving her Nixon like resignation speech at last night's Select Board meeting from Mary Carey's blog. I was at the meeting sitting at the journalists table from 6:50 until about 8:35 live blogging but she gave the speech just prior to the 'public comment' period at 6:30 pm.

Original Post (about noon Tuesday):
When I took a photo of Mr. Weiss’s late model auto covered with lefty bumper stickers, I was standing on a town road located only 20 or 30 yards from his front door. When I took a photo of Ms. Awad gardening at her South Hadley home--also from a public road--I was over a hundred yards from her front door (my $100 Kodak digital camera has 3x optical zoom) as the house is located at the top of a steep hill.

Although he never complained about my photo shoot at his home, Mr. Weiss describes the latter as “harassment”.

Of course he also described my Open Meeting Law complaint (later upheld by the District Attorney) as having a “chilling effect” on his Select Board.

I never actually photographed the Amherst condo complex (only the real estate sign down on the front lawn advertising an Open House--where presumably any citizen could have walked through their supposed residency. Or you can go to Sawicki Real Estate web cite and take a virtual tour of their condo (bedroom included).
Take the tour (they are not home)

In our initial phone conversation (prior to calling back to apologize for shouting) Mr. Hubley voiced concerned about my use of the term “locked and loaded” on my blog, considering that a “threat” to do gun violence.

Of course I felt like responding that I would not need a gun to take him out, but knew that might be considered a threat, so I simply laughed and pointed out it was, you know, a metaphor.

Guess I will not bring my daughter Kira trick-or-treating to their South Hadley mansion this Halloween.