社評 0721 受傷的城市仍然活力充沛

受傷的城市仍然活力充沛

今天我再次造訪久違的聖安東尼市，從休斯敦出發一百九十九英里在十號州際公路上非常𣈱通無阻，此行主要目的也是到此追悼多年來有業務往來的廣告公司創辦人卡森老先生，他出生於聖安東尼市，是歐洲希臘裔移民，他和其子手創之卡森廣告公司業務鼎盛，代理許多公司之廣告業務。

聖安東尼位於德州中南部，是德州第二大城,人口近一百五十萬，當一六九一年西班牙探險者到達此地區之時，正值葡萄牙的聖徒帕多瓦的聖安東尼之聖日，因而得名，此城駐有強大的美國空軍基地，由于受到西班牙及墨西哥文化影響，充滿了拉丁文化之氛圍，其中過半人口是西班牙血統，白人只佔百分之三十二。

每年接待二千萬人次的南方大城，可以感受到美洲原住民和古墨西哥合成之氛圍，漫步在市中心的河濱步道，品嗜到拉丁美食，阿拉莫紀念碑，海洋公園是遊客聚集之地。

遺憾的是就在上個月離開此地一小時車程的伊瓦利小鎮，發生了震驚世界的小學屠殺案，二十一條生命犧牲在一名青少年槍下，使整個社區籠罩在哀傷之中。

今午我走在這個受傷的美麗城市，看到熙熙攘攘的人群，我們不知如何去解釋人性的醜陋面，這個受過重創的城鎮 要我們大家的關心和祝福來彌補傷痕。

                                                                    This Injured City Is Still Full Of Vitality

I came to San Antonio to pay my respects and mourn the founder of the Carson Advertising company, Mr. Paul Carson. We have been doing business with them over the past several years.

Paul Carson was born in San Antonio 83 years ago. He and his son John had been running a very successful business in Houston. Paul had a full and wonderful life with a beautiful family.

San Antonio is located in the south central part of Texas. It is the second largest city in Texas with a population of over 1.5 million. When the Spanish explorers arrived in this area in 1619, it was on the holy day of St. Anthony, Saint Padua in Portugal, so the city is named after St. Anthony. Lackland Air Force Base is located here. Due to the influence of the Spanish and Mexican cultures, the city is full of Latin culture. More than half of the residents are Latino.

This southern city welcomes more than 20 million tourists annually and you can feel the atmosphere of Native Americans and ancient Mexico here. Walking along the River Walkyou can taste the best cuisines from different worlds. The Alamo and SeaWorld are popular gathering places for tourists.

Unfortunately, the town of Uvalde is nearby. It suffered the tragic school shooting massacre in which twenty-one lives were lost due to a teenager killer. This tragedy covered the whole city and the nation with so much grief.

This afternoon I walked into this injured and beautiful city and saw the bustling crowds. We just don’t know how to explain the ugly side of human beings. This severely damaged town needs our prayers and blessings to take care and heal their scars.