9/09/10 The Pine Garden

Weather wise, it had been a miserable day.  The whole country was covered by a storm system that had typhoon potential, but like it was said by my teachers in the past, the storm never applied itself.  It kind of hung there not doing anything.  Rather than resign myself to an afternoon in the confines of Space’s office, I walked out to the Pine Garden.

The Pine Garden was an old hostel used during the Japanese occupation of Taiwan.  It was there that kamikaze pilots would spend their final weeks before departing on their last missions.  At the pine garden they were treated to whatever indulgences they desired; after all, they were about to give up their lives for the benefit of their country.

An odd thing about the Pine Garden: although I could not read any of the signage, Space tells me that there is no mention of its prior purpose and the activities that took place there.  The signs only refer to the beauty of the Hualien coast and there is an art gallery full of landscapes that look strangely European in style.

The rain began to fall hard and I took refuge under one of the covered terraces.  I sat there for a while relaxing with the background soundtrack of rain and a view of the ocean through the tall pines and I was reminded of the message to enjoy every moment I was spending here.  The rain helped in this respect.  With no umbrella, no rain coat and no pressure to do anything other than sit and appreciate.

It wasn’t long before the locals broke the silence.  The younger generation doesn’t quite have this “quiet contemplation” thing figured out.  Any spare moment turns into a photo shoot and there were three of them going on around me.  My ability to ignore my surroundings reached new heights, the ocean was just too peaceful.  But my resolve was broken when a guy started making his girlfriend jump up repeatedly so he could et a shot of her in the air.  I was worried for her because I didn’t think her impossibly skinny toothpick legs could stand the impact of landing.

The rain died down to a drizzle and everyone taking shelter took their leave, including me.  A dark drizzly day…they can’t all be perfect.  As good as things were for me, halfway across the world a tragedy was unfolding.  Sometimes the weather you feel reflects the mood in places you cannot see.

The view from my relaxation post