Mick

Carl, I wish you well in your new capacity as Honcho of CFL. I cannot think of a more capable and appropriate person to take over the reins now that the Donster has decided to hang up his mouse. I am starting to work on that little project you gave me and, with any luck, should be completed before the end comes on 12/21/12.

As Gomer Pyle might say: SHEEEZAAAYYYYAAMMMM! I didn't see that one comin'. Don, words can't express what your efforts, your heart, and your soul have meant to this board since Day One. Hope you do more than lurk. You will be missed my friend. You know how to reach me if you ever need anything (and yes, even pecans, should I find a way around that three-legged dog).

Well, now that is a thorny issue for sure. Like the lawyer from U. of Vermont said, statehood is probably safe. What I remember about North Dakota goes all the way back to the summer of 1974. A couple of buddies and I took an extended sojourn around the country, staying on the road for about three months and camping out most of the way. Drove across North Dakota on U.S. 2 on our way to watch Evel Knieval try to jump the Snake River Canyon on his rocket cycle. We drove across North Dakota at night and I recall listening to Mystery Theatre on the radio out of Canada. Also, stopped at a truck stop in Rugby, which is the geographical center of the North American continent.

Garl dang it, Griz! That sounds like one heck of an ordeal. Spinal fusion is no easy road, even if it does give your back increased integrity. Be sure, once your are able, to follow up with physical therapy, rehab, and lots of exercise as prescribed. I have several friends who have had spinal fusions after numerous lamenectomies and good follow up seems to be the critical factor in ongoing recovery. Our prayers are with you.

Congrats and best wishes for a wonderful future. Nice to hear a story of someone having a smooth ride at the interview.

Indeed it is, Don. I taught in Hefei one year, before moving on down to Guangdong Province. In fact, it was in Hefei that I met my darling wife. Carl, Hefei is an interesting city and, at least for the most part, the folks there are friendly. My wife taught high school there for about six years or so. I taught at Anhui Institute of Education, which was a teacher training university. I lived there in 1998, so things have changed a lot since then. Even back then, they had most of the usual western fast food joints, like McDonalds, KFC, etc. Also, several of the restaurants have decent western food if you get a bit homesick. By far the two worst things about Hefei is the smog and the weather. The air, at least back when I was there, was an absolute horror. The former Holiday Inn (they have a second one now I hear), had a revolving restaurant on the 29th floor and there were times we ate up there and literally could not see the ground. In addition, Hefei is the hottest, most humid place I have ever been in. And I grew up in the swamps of southwest Florida. Winters, on the other hand, are frigid with a wet cold that gets into your bones. Plan on either taking along, or purchasing, some warm gear for the winter. Things start going cold around November. Those are the bad things about the city, but there is a lot of good. Be sure to check out the "Round the City" park, which encircles the downtown area. It is built along the course of the ancient moat, which has been widened and deepened. Xiaoyao Jin Park is also worth a visit, especially in late October when they have the flower show. Hefei is the capital city of Anhui and the folks there like to view themselves as "cosmopolitan," but we found, as China goes, the values are fairly conservative. The party remains strong there, whereas it is less so in other cities. This may have changed some since I lived there. Like I said, it was a long time ago. To give you an example of the conservative nature of the place, let me relate an experience we had. Li and I were engaged during our year in Hefei. She was not allowed in my apartment past 11 pm and this policy was enforced by both her school and mine. If we were at my place, someone always called at 10:30 and knocked on the door at 10:50. It was absurd to say the least. When we moved to Guangdong, it was entirely different. The university provided us an apartment where we lived together and they gave Li a job teaching English to freshmen students. It was like a whole different world. I enjoyed my year in Hefei and whenever we return to China for a visit, I plan to go there for a few days. We have many fond memories of the place. Another member here on Candle adopted a pair of girls from Hefei, so he may want to chime in as well. I think he has been there a little more recently than I. I'll write more when I have a little free time. Good luck.....

I hope Griz recovers quickly, but I am thinking about this problem, and other people have posted also having back problems... It makes me wonder. Does marrying a Chinese woman perhaps contribute to our various back ailments? You may have a point there! B)

I know you are getting plenty of exercise, but get back to your walking asap - it's good for the old ticker. As a fellow member of the zipper club, I salute you for yer stamina and acrobatics with that eyehook Don was tawkin' about! Now don't forget yer meds.....even those damnable beta blockers, which on occasion, have been rumored to take the lead outta yer pencil....but ifin' you don't take nitrates, I guess you could take atair Viagrer or atair Seeallis....I take nitrates, so I cain't enjoy emair four hour marathons. Course, with my heart, four hours and I'd be sailin' up that tunnel toward the light.... All kidding aside tsap, our thoughts and prayers are with you and the little rabbit. If ever a couple deserves a visa and a fair shake, it is you guys.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery, griz. Please keep us posted as best you can.

Way back in the old days when we applied (2001-2003), they did not ask for any info on ex-spouses other than their names on the various forms. I am uncertain as to when they started requiring this. Maybe it is case by case, as someone stated.

Cuzin' Tsapperooni, you have yerself uh good trip goin' ovair and wunst ye git ovair, have yerself uh good ride, ifin' yuh kno whut I meen. As fer atair stage show, I wuz uh wunderin' ifin' ye did any uh emair songs in thuh raw - I don't meen nekkid - I meen without instruments - I meen whut theys sumtimes cawls "akerpeller." As fer atair gasseous rendition uhv thuh Star Speckled Bandaneer, be kerful cawse you ain't as young as ye oncet wuz and I'd hate like heyyull fer sumpin kinda odiferous tuh drop on thuh stage - I thaink thuh lyrics is sumpin like "plop plop, fizz fizz, oh what a relief it is..." In any case, I'm shore the audience is gonna love you.... Seriously, I have you guys in my thoughts and prayers for a successful time with the powers that be and that at last, at long long last, you can bring your family home with you. And also, enjoy your time together, especially your first night. I recall once during our relationship Li and I had to be apart for about eight months when I moved down to Guangdong and she had to finish teaching her school year before joining me. Luckily, I had airbags installed in the bedroom before her arrival. Believe me, I needed them.

Very sound advice. I agree 100 percent.

Keep the faith tsapper old buddy - yore time is cummin' jes roun the bend - yessiree bob, it shore nuff is.

Thanks, Don. That, indeed, brought back a few memories. BTW Randy, they used an ultra-sound for part of my prostate exam. After looking at the images, the doc then put on the old rubber glove and went to work. I swear by the time he was finished I figured he was going to offer me a cigarette....

I lived in China five years and could tell you hospital stories of such horror that they would cause Stephen King to piss his pants. Somewhere in the bowels of Candle is my post about having an ear unplugged. I am not technically skilled enough to find it and post a link, but trust me when I say it was not something you want to go through. On the other hand, I had first rate cardiological care the whole time I lived over there. For a guy with severe heart issues, it was a blessing. I have no complaints about that end of things, only praise. Oddly enough, both the ear and the heart were treated at the same hospital. So I guess each place may have both good and bad. Also, cleanliness is not a virtue in most hospitals. In most case, at least from what I observed, the family is expected to take care of patients when they are in the hosptial - bathe them, take care of bedding, etc. Not like in the West. In the hospitals where we lived (there were five of them I recall), families also provided food for the patients.

In regards to the last one, David (No. 5), I think you were very wise to mention this. It is important to understand that the real issue is not so much what is true or fair, but instead, what the VO perceives to be true and fair. In their eyes, certain cities (and provinces) have a reputation for scamming. It may or may not be the case, but again, that really doesn't matter. What matters is what the VO thinks is the case. People really need to understand this and I'm glad you mentioned it David.

Congrats and best wishes for a great future together. Your post brought back a lot of memories. My wife and I lived in China five years before getting a visa to return to the States back in 2003. We have been to the Victory Hotel many times.

I suspect folks wiser than I are correct in stating that the certificate is not needed with submission. Yet I recall vividly our AOS interview, which was back in December, 2004. We had our daughter Salina with us (she was about eight months old at the time). The interviewer asked point blank to see her birth certificate, not to verify that she was a citizen, but to verify that we were the parents. Fortunately, we had a copy with us and there was no problem. This may not be a concern now as I understand that interviews are not always a part of AOS now. Back then interviews were more common.

I'm not expert, but I agree with what the folks above have said. You have to ask yourself what's going to happen if the immigration officials find out you have a child. I would be wary of any attorney that advises you to lie to USCIS. Keep in mind they will view your lack of disclosure as a lie of omission and an attempt to deceive. I understand your attorney's reasoning, but in my mind it is a risky business to start out with deception.

Wanna hear something really weird? In this little hamlet we live in (Population: 2,800), we have two states and four counties. Depending on where you live, your tax might be quite low or way too high. For example, folks living in Giles Co. TN will pay more on a house assessed at 100K than folks in Limestone Co., AL will pay on a house with assessed value of 150K. Where we live (Lincoln Co., TN.) we are kind of in the middle tax wise. Tennessee, however, has no state income tax. Cigarette taxes are interesting as well. A pack of Marlboro might cost 4.00 on one side of the street, and 5.50 on the other side. Strange little place we got here. Also, you can buy beer on one side of Main Street, but not on the other. We used to have a restaurant out by the Interstate that straddled the state line. It has since closed, but back when it was open it was a trip. The kitchen was in Alabama and the dining room was in Tennessee. The issue was sales tax (nine cents/dollar in Alabama; ten cents/dollar in Tennessee.); courts decided, because the cash register was located in Alabama, Alabama tax took precedent. Some day, when time permits, I'll write about what happened on a Main Street project to install a left turn lane, when the state line runs right down the middle of Main Street. The left turn lane would service west-bound traffic, which was in Tennessee, but the turn lane would be located in Alabama. It took years of debate on deciding who would pay for it, not to mention its upkeep. Working for the newspaper at the time, I got to cover all those meetings. You want to talk about small town politics? I'll tell you, banana republics ain't got nuthin on this place.

Randy, I remember the four years Li and I lived in Guangdong, our only English language tv came via cable out of Hong Kong. On the news programs, whenever a taboo subject was mentioned (Taiwan, Tibet, Falun Gong), the tv would go blank, followed by a public service announcement. As soon as the objectionable material was finsihed, the news would come back on.

Wow,low taxes and on top of that, you ain't fer from Chatternooger..... B) Axly I'm a fur peece from Chatternooger........over yonder in them northeast Gawga moununs.....pert neer that thar Chatooger river wheres they made that ol movie Deliverence. Taxes is low and youse can do what ya want with yer house. Deliverence? Why I thaink that's thuh flik whut muh cuzin' Malvin wuz in. He played uh kid ona porch wif uh banjer..... Fowks sez me n him favor but I don't thaink so. Chatooger? You must be ovair next tuh Souf Carroliner. Is you wun uh them thar Clemson fowlks?

Wow,low taxes and on top of that, you ain't fer from Chatternooger..... B)

As someone mentioned, pics that demonstrate the passage of time are important. When Li and I went through this process, way back when, we had four years together by the time we sent in pics. We demonstrated that in several ways, but the most visible was the fact that her hair length was different in various photos. Early on, her hair was a bowl cut, barely above her ears. In another batch, it was halfway down her back. Again, anything that gives visible representation to the passage of time is good.

Ah, good to hear life is good for you folks. Have a blessed future!