The Thirsty Rose and the Happy Horse

Photo credit: Through My Lens Photography

 

This 8-year-old kid named Dillon from Boise, ID wanted his book to be in the library so badly that he sneaked it onto the library shelf WITHOUT GOING THROUGH THE MANDATORY CATALOGING PROCESS.

True Library Crime!

The book is called The Adventures of Dillon Helbig’s Crismis by Dillon Helbig His Self. It is an 81-page illustrated story about a moose, time travel, and pilgrims among other things.

Spoiler Alert: Dillon’s favorite part of the book is when he (his self) gets eaten by a giant turkey and then gets pooped out of its butt in the forest.

A librarian found the book on the shelf one day. The librarian’s name is Paige. Not even kidding. When I was pregnant with Alex, a friend of mine suggested that I name him “Doctor.” Why? So that he would always get respect. Because he would always be introduced as “Doctor Fu.”

True Chinese priorities.

So Paige put Dillon’s book into the lost and found until Dillon’s mom called to get the book back. The librarians were so enamored with this book that they gave the book this made-up Whoodini Best Young Novelist award. They also jumped through hoops to get this book officially added to library catalog in the Graphic Novels category.

At one point, there was a wait list of 125 people who wanted to check out Dillon’s book. Random House offered to publish the book, and others have called the library to find out where to buy a copy.

What makes this little kid’s book so special? The librarians said that "it was obvious that Dillon had put so much time, effort, and dedication into this book" that they wanted to give it the recognition it deserves.

Adorbz.

Here are a couple of books that I would like to present for the (also made up) FU-dini Best Young Novelist Award. My boys wrote these tomes that I would like to publicly recognize on this fine Tuesday Fus-day.

Alex wrote a book when he was six years old called The Very Thirsty Rose. It’s basically two extremely long sentences. Our protagonist has a LOT of problems. Our rose is very thirsty, as the title suggests, but a drink is just out of reach. As a rose, he has no arms to reach out with and no legs to walk. Bad thing after bad thing! BUT this dramatic story has a happy ending because the rose CAN talk and eventually gets his needs met.

Looking back, I can't help but see this story as prophetic. Alex has had challenges in his life, and at one point he became overwhelmed and despondent. But he has come across many angels and compassionate helpers who have encouraged and advocated for him in surprising and touching ways. You can see the full text of this visionary work at the end of this post.

Chris authored and illustrated this book in high school to ask a friend to Homecoming. It is so sweet and original. It’s also a charming and understated invitation, so suitable to Chris’s personality.

Chris, the Happy Horse, By Chris Fu

This is Chris, the horse. He is happy because he loves many things. (I love many things.)

He loves hay. (I love hay!)

He loves new horse shoes… (I love new horse shoes!)

He loves Sunshine… (I love Sunshine!)

But what he would really love most is... (But what I would really love most is…)

If *lucky girl!* went to HC with him! (HC?) The End 2014

I love that Dillon Helbig got famous for doing something he loves. But he definitely got this recognition because he's a cute, little kid. LOTS of people put time, effort, and dedication into LOTS of things. Not only do most people not get the acknowledgement they deserve, but many are humiliated or disgraced for trying.

Honestly, Dillon’s book is probably not great. I can tell by the plotline. After he gets pooped out by the turkey, he ends up in “a cave that turns things green.” He then exits the cave through a portal back to his home and is visited by the Grinch.

There’s a little kid inside each one of us who is hungry to be seen and cherished. The good news is that we all have the ability to share warm appreciation for the efforts of others. I grant you all FU-dini Awards today and I hope you will pass them along. A smile and a high-five will do.

Thank you for reading, friends!

The very thirsty rose
By Alex Fu

Once up on a time there was a very thirsty rose now this rose did not have any house’s near by with watering can’s only a watering can to bad it was next to the corner and he was only next to the other corner and there was another bad thing he could not walk and there was another bad thing he did not have any arm’s and there was another bad thing he could not go under the soil and he could not thin of any idea’s when he was a man with a tray the man was walking around town to sell cookie’s excuse me the rose said wow! The man screamed I had never seen a talking rose before said the man can you reach that watering can and water me please said the rose yes said the man but I better hurry some people are waiting for me and told me to hurry up so the bakery man got the watering can and watered the rose ah that’s better said the rose and the man went back to work and the rose lived haply ever after the end

Road Trippin' 2013 (Vancouver, BC and Washington State)

 

A Facebook memory popped up from eight years ago, one of those epic road trips that the kids and I took back in 2013 to Vancouver, BC. We searched out some wacky sights and had some fun over those two weeks that I want to share with you. Our first stop was three hours away in Zillah, Washington where we visited the Church of God Zillah.

I feel pretty pleased that we got these pictures, because the church’s cretaceous mascot was removed a couple of years ago. Jesus Saves but He also knows when to move along when the chicken wire gets too rusty.

Zillah is also home to the one-and-only Teapot Dome Gas Station. This is a former gas station shaped like a teapot. Because, DUH. What else would it be? Remember that this was way back in 2013 when my kids thought it was not entirely horrifying to act out “I’m a Little Teapot” in front of a public gas station. So cute.

On our way to Yakima, we stopped at Dinosaur Town in Granger, Washington. This is a park with large dinosaur sculptures and bathrooms that are encased in concrete volcanos.....so you can go there if you need to make an explosion, I guess? It was way too dark to see much by the time we got there. We were swarmed by about a million mosquitos the moment we hopped out of the car. I snapped this quick picture before we ran screaming and waving our arms back to the safety of our Suburban.

The next day we headed to Dick and Jane’s Spot in Ellensburg, Washington. These artists just went all out on their property and graciously share their art with the community. There was so much to look at and admire. It gave us all the feels.

That afternoon, we had reservations for a Chimposium at Central Washington University where chimpanzee sign language was studied. We met Tatu, Dar, and Louli, the three resident chimpanzees. We learned about the development and study of sign language in animals. We also learned that the weekend we visited was the very last time these Chimposiums would be offered at CWU.

In the next days, Tatu, Dar, and Louli would be moved to a sanctuary. The folks there clearly loved animals and believed in their work. In recent years it became clear that a study facility, no matter how stimulating and well-kept, was not an adequate accommodation for such intelligent and social creatures.

The docents gave us the news before we headed in to meet the chimps. We were instructed not to speak about the impending relocation, because the chimps had not been told yet. We were advised to mind our emotions and to try not to exude anxiety or sadness because the chimps are very perceptive. This is probably not unlike how our dogs always know before we're going on a vacation and shit all over the house the day before we leave. I feel really fortunate to have had this up-close experience and also really encouraged that some humans are humbly recognizing that many animals are never meant to be confined by us.

There is a sculpture of a chimp named Washoe in the city of Ellensburg. Washoe was the first chimp to learn sign language and spent most of her life at CWU. She learned over 350 words and taught sign language to Loulis, who we met at the Chimposium. On this day, Washoe taught my kids how to sign “friend.”

Heading back to the I-5 toward Vancouver, BC we stumbled upon a cute red barn called Cedardale Orchards in Mount Vernon, WA.

 

Since apple season hadn’t begun yet, the store was unmanned. (Is there a better way to say “unmanned” these days? Un-personed? Un-mxnned??) There was a fridge full of cold cider and a sign requesting that you to please pay for any cider you take. So refreshing on many levels!

 

I planned to stop in Bellingham, Washington before crossing the US/Canadian border. I wanted to bring the kids to the Spark Museum of Electrical Invention where they might have a chance to experience a Faraday Cage and see an old-timey switchboard. But alas, the museum was closed on Mondays, which I thought was a real bummer at the time. But looking back from 2020 and 2021, I suppose that a business having a planned closure one day a week ain’t no big thang compared to indefinite closures for over a year.

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It took us for-EH-verrrr to get across the Canadian border. Good thing we stopped for lunch and potty breaks in Bellingham! After finally arriving in Vancouver, we spent a few days with my parents, sister, brother, and their families. We celebrated Alex’s 16^th birthday and my little niece, Hayley’s 5^th birthday. It is pretty special that my sister’s and my firstborns share the same birthday.

Later that week, Albert took the Amtrak up to meet us for a couple of days in Vancouver and then a road trip home. Of course, one of our first goals is to eat our way through any town we visit. We experienced the Night Market where we enjoyed a Malaysian cendol, which is a coconutty shave ice with pandan-flavored grass jelly. Delish.

The kids also got their first taste of fried squid tentacles, which I just thought my children needed to try at least once in their lives.

 

These Hurricane Potatoes are classic US State Fair food, but they seemed to taste extra delicious in the wee hours of the night on the northern side of the border!

 

We took a super fancy afternoon tea. In classic Fu-Style dressed in t-shirts and shorts. The Queen would cringe, but who cares. She’s not the boss of me.

At Costco we learned a bit of Canadian culture: those Canucks love their Nutella! High Nutella consumption likely contributes to their generally sunny dispositions.

 

On our walk along the waterfront we encountered a fisherman who offered us a free taste of his fresh uni (sea urchin) and presented it to use like a gigantic bump of cocaine.

 

The Capilano Suspension Bridge felt like walking on treetops.

We visited Olympic Village where the 2010 Olympics were hosted. As we peered through the glass, a badged employee was kind enough to let us into the training facility which was our first up-close experience with a real rowing tank. We spent an afternoon touring the beautiful campus of the University of British Columbia. What a different frame of mind we all were in just eight short years ago!

Our stay in Vancouver ended with a Grouse Grind. This is a 2.9k (1.8mi) hike up the face of Grouse Mountain is also referred to as “Mother Nature’s Stairmaster.” With 2,830 steps we gained 2,800 feet of elevation in the short span of 45 (Alex) to 90 (Your guess) minutes. I feel really proud and grateful that our family is healthy and strong enough to “enjoy” these activities together.

On our way home, we tried to visit the Kangaroo Farm in Arlington, Washington, about two hours away from Vancouver. Apparently kangaroos go to bed early and we were too late after The Grind. One of these days, I’ll get back there.

In Mukilteo, Washington, we toured the Boeing factory and then stopped by Dillon Works to see the big paper airplane.

 

And the pterodactyl holding a pencil.

 

From there we he spent a couple of days in Seattle where we got our requisite fill of Theo chocolate. Theo offers fair-trade, organic, DELICIOUS chocolates in creative flavors as well as a great tour and all the free samples you can eat! I was excited to bring the fam to see the Giant Shoe Museum. While I have no regrets that we found it, I was expecting much more than a panel of wall with four peep holes from which you could spy some big-ass shoes.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation tour taught us lessons on compassion, hope, and a positive use of power. On our way out of Seattle, we stopped in the little town of Tukilwa where we did some iFly indoor sky diving. Man, that was FUN, and I highly recommend trying this at least once.

After that excitement, we stopped by Auburn, Washington to visit the Banana Museum, but it was closed on Sundays. What is one to to do on a Sunday when one needs to know more about the history of bananas??

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We stopped in Centralia, Washington where we saw the 24-foot pencil.

And then headed to Winlock where we were disappointed by the “World’s Largest Egg.” It wasn’t really an egg at all but a giant ellipsoid of fiberglass.

 

This giant rooster was not about to put up with any Fus dissing his big, fake egg and chased us out of town.

 

These adventures are always fun to look back on. I’m so grateful that my family is (mostly) willing to go along with my crazy shenanigans. And it’s always so good to be back home.

I wish you a week of wholesome delights! Thank you for reading!

What a Trip!

 

Last Tuesday, Albert, Audrey, and I travelled to Philadelphia to visit Chris. He was just home a couple of months ago in June, and he’ll be back again in just a couple of weeks. So why haul ourselves all the way out to The Birthplace of America? Because Chris invited us. And when your twenty-something kid extends an offer to introduce you to his world, you jump at the chance.

It is not a leisurely jaunt to travel to the East Coast for a handful of days with the time change and 7-hour flights. We were anxious about COVID but even more about the side effects of acute insanity that seem to be plaguing many airline passengers these days. Fortunately, our trip was uneventful. I slept most of the way but still had enough time to watch about three hours of Impractical Jokers on the tiny back-of-the-seat tv. Even though I forgot to bring my headphones and watched with closed captions, the guys made me cry with laughter several times.

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We arrived in Philly mid-week and took it pretty easy for the first day or two. Chris had work to do, and Albert and I have seen most of the sights over the past four or five years. We explored the city a little bit with Audrey then met up with Chris Thursday morning to take the train to New York City for a couple of days. I anticipated some stress with travelling and staying in a hotel together and Chris being at the tail end of his school term. Over burgers and drinks, Chris admitted to us that he had been excited for our visit, but now that we were there, he didn’t want to be around us or in NYC.

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Just six months or a year ago, I probably would have tried to fix this, to make things better. But I’m learning to embrace these hard conversations. My son is feeling angry and crowded. Would I want him to pretend otherwise so as not to disappoint me or “ruin” the trip? Not in a million years.

Feelings offer super important information. Sometimes they’re uncomfortable, but it’s so important to allow ourselves to feel them, otherwise they fester and come back to bite us when we least expect it.

So I put my pride in my pocket and put on my listening ears. “Thank you for telling me. I’m glad that you trust me enough to tell me these things.”

This didn’t make anything better. Chris felt guilty. He told me that he hated feeling this way and saying these things because he knew that I would always love him no matter what he might say or do. As messy as this moment was, I was filled with a deep joy.

When my kids were teeny-tiny babies, I whispered in their squishy little ears, “I love you so much. Never forget that because it will always be true.” It’s so easy to say that to a cute little baby. But then those babies start growing up and thinking their own thoughts and being different individuals than you are, and life gets complicated and frustrating and downright scary sometimes. I’m fifteen thousand percent certain that there were times that I acted unlovingly toward my children.

I would say that Chris has spent 90% of his life with a mom who was a much bigger asshole than I am today. Lucky for me that he doesn’t remember most of it, but that doesn’t mean that he didn’t experience it. I would sure do a lot of things differently if I knew then what I know now.

While I was eager to love my children unconditionally in theory, I didn’t really know how to go about this, because I was too busy correcting and fussing and enforcing. Father Richard Rohr says this in his podcast “Another Name for Every Thing”:

“The only people who have the courage and the insight to work for change in a loving way are people who have experienced unconditional love themselves, unconditional acceptance…You don’t know how to receive things as they are without judgement until you have…been received that way. Then you sort of learn how to do it….what it feels like.”

So it made me feel really happy to hear that, even in his distress, Chris could articulate that he knows for certain that he is so loved and that nothing would ever change that. This got me thinking about where I first felt unconditional love. Who made me feel a million percent certain that they would never leave me or turn away from me no matter how incompetent or atrocious my behavior? Who kept coming back over and over? My kids.

There were many days I’m not proud of. Sometimes I cry when I think about the atrocities I committed on these little souls who trusted me so completely. Screaming, hitting, shaming. I didn’t know any better. And yet my kids kept coming back with those adoring eyes, patting my face with those sweet little hands full of grace that I did not deserve.

Acknowledging my mistakes helps me learn how to be better. It keeps me humble and so grateful that my children still want to be around me from time to time.

After a good night’s sleep and a lot of patience and grace from all parties, we Fus pulled it together and had a really nice trip. We ate our way through NYC starting with some fancy cocktails with light-up ice cubes with my newly-twenty-one-year-old baby.

Of course, we tried the pizza. We bought a whole cheesecake and just dug into it with four forks. Our hotel didn’t have a refrigerator, but that didn’t matter because we ate the whole thing.

The bagels were heavenly, fueling us for the whole morning as we jaunted about the Big Apple. We rode the Staten Island Ferry where a woman cussed me out for sitting too close to her. If you look really closely, you can see the Statue of Liberty.

We saw the New York Stock Exchange where I took a picture with my girl who knows a lot of things about money.

We spent almost a whole day at the 911 Memorial. It was A LOT but well worth the time and emotional energy.

We visited Central Park and I was giddy to see the Chinese Gardens and Central Park Fountain where the Impractical Jokers do a lot of their pranks.

Times Square was really quite a sight at night! On our last day, we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge and enjoyed lobster rolls and lemonade.

We hopped on a train at Penn Station and skipped town right ahead of the flash floods and hurricane.

Sometimes having a good time is easy. But sometimes having a good time takes energy and intention. I’m grateful that we had the opportunity to share this experience together and to make these memories. My kids often express gratitude for the things I’ve taught them. I hope that they will one day recognize all the beautiful lessons that I learn from them.

Thank you for reading!