With some college classmates, I visited a couple who recently became parents of their new born son.

A photo sticks on the back of the father's cell phone.Father, mother and their baby boy.

Both of them are our college classmates as well, so it is like a small reunion for us. The father told us that one day before the birth, they just had a discussion with their obstetrician about arranging a caesarean section, in case the labor came too late. In Chinese tradition, people usually avoid birth in Ghost Month. The OB, however, suggested the mother to take some exercise to help inducing the labor. As advised, the couple went for a walk in National Central University, which is near to their home, in that afternoon. Coincidentally (or perhaps the OB had foreseen this), in the midnight, contractions began and after twelve hours of labor, their son was born.

After the visit, some of us went on to watch a baseball game. Recently, Taiwan's professional baseball is clouded by a scandal that involving players and gamblers who tried to fix matches. Before the game, a ceremony was hold to plead fans's continuous support of the nation's most popular sport. Judging from the amount of fans, I think the chances are looking pretty good: we are still here.