名過其實的智慧

2006年2 月5日《坐看雲起時》專欄﹐2 月7 日上網

      一位大陸來的年輕人在網際網路上說﹕

      「來到美國才知道信懷南這個人﹐我爸每周都去買世界周刊，禮拜天的副刊總有一篇他寫的雜文。他什麼都寫，時事政治， 明星影視，人生感悟。幾乎他的每篇文章，都可以讓我感到有趣和有意。60 歲的老頭，看過了，經歷了﹐慷慨的與我們分享他的智慧。」

      掌門人信口開河﹐大愚若智。既然被誤認為「智者」﹐新春開筆﹐總得發點智慧的光芒才行。

      智慧的光芒曰﹕「天下萬物﹐大多數都是名過其實 (over-rated) -- 包括寫這篇文章的人在內」。今以食衣住行試舉例說明之﹕

      大閘蟹是名過其實﹐香乾肉絲是實過其名(under-rated)。每年大閘蟹上市季節﹐兩岸三地的「傻客」(sucker) 把牠當寶貝。售錢亂貴不算﹐現在還有蓋印驗明正身的新玩意出現。陽澄湖撈上來的﹐比別的湖養大的有多大區別﹖吃到肚子後去的地方是一樣的﹐幹嘛要那麼貴﹖

      該蟹我吃過好幾次﹐是在香港有錢人家吃的「正宗極品」。味道嘛﹖「麻麻的」(廣東話)。咱們四川老鄉比較土﹐沒上海人那麼文明。吃大閘蟹嫌道具太多﹐端的費事﹐遠不如吃阿拉斯加大螃蟹腿痛快淋漓。

      香乾肉絲者﹐五香豆腐乾炒肉絲的簡稱也。我曾與電視名主播盛竹如同班。盛兄是湖南人﹐午餐「便當」帶的香乾肉絲﹐色香味俱美。高三上數學課﹐老師採要聽就坐前面﹐不要聽就坐後面不要吵﹐幹啥都行的民主作風。有時聽到筷子輕敲「便當」盒的聲音﹐我們就知道是盛兄偷吃便當﹐把紅辣椒揀開的習慣動作。掌門人十年前在台灣搞「台獨」﹐三餐都在外面吃。「西華」後面有家叫「六和」的小餐館﹐香乾肉絲一級棒。最近回台﹐「六和」人去樓空。讓人頗有晉太元中﹐武陵人﹐此「店」可待成追憶﹐只是當時已惘然的感覺。

      男人的領帶是名過其實﹐女人的旗袍是實過其名。掌門人打了半輩子的領帶﹐長的短的﹐寬的窄的﹐花的素的﹐土的洋的﹐貴的廉的都有﹐結論是除了上吊不需要另備繩子外﹐想不出領帶還有什麼其他好處。倒是女人的旗袍﹐東施穿起來都像西施。如今風華難見﹐相當遺憾。

      游泳池是名過其實﹐壁爐是實過其名。掌門人的白頭髮﹐少說四分之一是為了家中游泳池搞白的。所謂游泳池﹐比台北洗三溫暖的池子大不了多少。樂趣早隨家中孩子長大而 GWTW。剩下來的後遺症﹐麻煩一大堆。

      倒是壁爐﹐在停電的夜晚﹐天寒地凍的冬天﹐功用非常大。你領略過把桔子放在爐火中烤熱來吃的味道嗎﹖「蓋滿白雪的屋頂﹐難道屋子裡就不能有熊熊的火在燃燒嗎﹖」是60 歲老頭追年輕美眉的名言。壁爐不但有實用價值﹐還俱人生哲理﹐豈是游泳池可比﹖

      敞篷車名過其實﹐兩條腿走路實過其名。朋友買了一部紅色敞篷小跑車﹐開來載我去兜風。我說﹕你和小孩最大的區別是你的玩具比較貴。大太陽下兜風﹐見光的地方曬得通紅。風大聲音吵﹐聊天和聽音樂都很費勁。手排檔一衝一衝的﹐開車的人可能過癮﹐坐車的人活受罪。車停後還要把收音機取出來鎖好﹐真是像脫了褲子放屁﹐多此一舉。

      我每天六哩的短征獨行﹐越走越有心得。獨行用眼睛看﹐用耳朵聽﹐用腦袋想﹐用腿運動﹐就是不用嘴巴。內外輕三功一齊練﹐持之以恆﹐效果明顯﹐朋友們還以為信大俠吃了千年何首烏呢。

     人生行旅﹐本來就是在天地間對萬物做名過其實﹐還是實過其名的認定。智慧的光芒﹐點到為止。「更無柳絮因風起﹐惟有葵花向日傾 」﹐願共勉之。

懷南補記﹕其實你應該知道﹐這篇文章是標準的「信文」。前面全是似是而非的「信口開河」到了最後﹐突然風格一變﹐正經起來。尤其是用「更無柳絮因風起﹐惟有葵花向日傾 」共勉。其中有真意﹐欲辯已忘言。

     說到正經的事。FNDR Foundation 正式上路。從今以後﹐信懷南的所作所為都以這個 Foundation 的成長為第一優先考慮。英文說﹕"Don't count the chickens until the eggs are hatched." 在過去的三個多月﹐我收集了不少「蛋」。從現在開始﹐我要看多少蛋能孵出多少「雞」。如果你還不是我們的一員﹐請看 《 Fndr Project 最新認捐結果 》。 和請看下面我寫給 FNDR 專案成員最新的一份專案進度報告。我真希望你能加入我們的行列。

My Dear Friends:

      Thanks to my good-old-buddy Mr. Robert Chang of Robert Chang Accountancy Corporation, FNDR Foundation is incorporated. A bank account is now established.

      Before you decide to turn in your checks, please allow me to reiterate the following key points, and I beg your pardon for my bluntness:

  1. FNDR is not a 501C(3) organization yet. This means the check you send me now is not tax deductible.
  2. Eventually FNDR Foundation will become a 501C(3) organization. By then, your contribution to FNDR Foundation will be income tax deductible.
  3. I have no plan to "spend" the money I collected from you any time soon. I'd treat the bank account as a "saving reservoir" for a while. Until the total deposit reaches to a certain level -- say $30,000 for example, we won't touch it.
  4. My original plan (have enough money to build a school) remain to be the #1 choice of the first FNDR Project. This plan however, is neither our final decision nor our only choice. At this moment, I have not targeted any individual or organization to support.
  5. The most important ingredient of the FNDR Projects is our mutual trust. If you have any doubt of my intention, style, method, or any concern of to whom the money I should or should not send to. Please do not send in the check. By the way, I think it is safe to say I will not send your money to Fa Lun Gong (they have a lot of money already. Amazing!).
  6. I'd be more than happy to listen to your suggestions, leads, and will keep you well informed. But this is not a "management by voting" operation. I reserve the right to make the final decision by myself alone.
  7. John MacArthur Foundation remains to be my ideal model. Therefore, the name of FNDR could stand for many things, but the one I like is "Friends of Never Demand Returns". That's our spirit.

     So, you may send in the checks now. Make sure to pay to the order of FNDR Foundation, P.O. Box 325, Orinda, CA 94563

      Once your check is received, I'll e-mail you to confirm. I will update 0502 survey result table accordingly. Please include your e-mail address in your letter for quality control.

      May I take this opportunity to thank Mr. Robert Chang again. I kept on asking him to tell me the cost of incorporating the foundation. But he refused to comply. Who know, may be old age makes us all mellow. Or may be he feel "guilt" now -- when we were young, he used to clean me out on Ma-Jiang table (almost all the time) ....

      Yes, I am going to Chicago to give a talk on March 5, 2006. They promised to support our project. If you are coming to the meeting, please make sure to introduce yourself before or after the meeting. I like to meet you and say thanks to you in person.

懷南/Bob
FNDR Project -- We do it simply because it is the right thing to do

請代號 "hh" 住 Milpitas California 的朋友與我聯絡。你的 e-mail 似乎有誤。信老被退回。