京都三月的樱花和溪流
三月末的京都，到处是梦幻一般的景色。
小巷里，朝阳送来塔寺的剪影，鸭川上，绿水变成了樱花之溪。风来了，人们喜沐着漫天的粉红色花瓣，雨停了，苍翠的岚山竹林像被涂上一层油。金阁寺前攒动的人头，把水中的金殿渲染得格外离奇，
走在伏见稻禾神社无穷无尽的红色鸟居中，感受到那种久违的虔诚，信仰，和坚韧。
一切都像是梦境。而属于我的那个梦此时正悄悄地向我走过来。
我们乘出租车从金阁寺回到京都东区那家别致的旅馆。那旅馆位于清水五条附近小街纵横的老城区，我们选择那里是想要多吮吸一点这座古城的地气。那里大多数街道只有一辆车的宽度，然而只要有定义为路的地方，那些敬业的，
大多数是十分年长的出租车司机都会耐心地，谨慎地把你送到目的地。每次回到旅馆，我们总是对司机千谢万谢，他们的回报也是千谢万谢再加上一个鞠躬礼，但是绝不收你的小费。这一次，
我们请司机在京阪本线和清水五条的交界处就放我们下去，让我们步行回到旅馆。我们选择那大约二十分钟的步行，一是不想让司机费心在小街中煎熬，二是可以见识一下沿途各色各样的老屋和风情。
那是春风夕阳中一次愉快的步行。
回到旅馆刚坐定，我就发现找不到我的手机。“我的手机好像不见了。”
“手机不见了？”妻重复了一句，并不十分在意。这给她的感觉，好像是鞋子不见了，眼镜不见了一样，无非再买一个拉倒。
我寻遍所有有关的地方之后，向大家喊出了我的结论，“我的手机不见了！”我见还没有引起轰动，便气急败坏地大声说，“那是手机，不是眼镜！里面不光有照片，还有我所有的信息！”然后像泄了气的皮球，摊坐在沙发上。
这时屋里才拉响了警报。大家停住了手中的事情，都过来帮我四处翻找，帮我回忆是掉到了什么地方。我清楚地记得，在金阁寺出门时，我用手机拍了最后一张照片，就把它塞进裤包，那就应该是掉在出租车上或与出租车有关的地方。
妻查看了我所穿的休闲裤的裤包，“裤包只有两寸深，坐在出租车里磨磨蹭蹭，装在里面的手机不掉才怪！”
大家讨论下来便断定，手机是掉在出租车里了，但是找到那辆出租车的希望基本上不存在。我们是用现金付的车费，没有索要发票，对出租车所属的公司，车牌号，司机的信息一概不知。我们在远离旅馆的地方下车，
司机没有旅馆的任何信息。
另一个希望是打那个手机，引起司机的注意。妻和女儿向那个手机打了几十分钟的电话，电话是通的，但没有人接。这是因为一到日本，我们在机场租了携带式无线网络硬件，这样走到哪里都可以使用Wi-Fi，
于是我关掉了手机的数据流量。在这种情况下，如没有重新设置Wi-Fi的连接，那只手机就无法和外界通讯。
寻回那只手机的希望全部破灭，现在只能盘算它的丢失会带来什么样的后果。
我是个怕麻烦的人，手机没有设密码，任何人拿到它就可以立即使用。手机里有与家庭相关的所有银行的网站信息，股票投资公司网站信息，保险公司网站信息，医疗机构网站信息，亚马逊购物网站的账号信息，等等,
总之，所有使用网站进行操作和联系的单位的信息。最令人恐怖的是，进入这些网站的用户名和 密码都存在手机里，用时会自动填入。任何人获得了这只手机，就完全掌握了我们家的经济命脉。记得就在最近，
我用这只手机从Fidelity 转出一笔可观的资金到另一个银行账号，简直是轻而易举。
越想越恐惧，我埋怨自己怎么会做这种事，情绪极度低落。
女儿过来安慰我，我不愿听。然后她讲了下面的话。
“Dad，每个人都有可能做一些蠢事，那是逃也逃不掉的，但这种事总会过去。我想告诉你我作的蠢事，看你会不会感觉好点。”下面是她的故事。
几个月前，女儿要出差到外州去参加一个会议，早上10点的飞机。在慌慌忙忙从家赶到旧金山机场的过程中，接到一个电话，是她的银行打来的。电话告诉她，几天前她申请取消的一笔购物付款已经批准，银行发了一个通知给她。
如果她同意，点击通知上的“核实”键，这桩事就完成了。她心中很快核查了一下，电话里谈到的所有信息，包括银行账户的号码，安全信息，购物和付款的所有细节都毫无问题。她在匆忙中点击了“核实”键，就上了飞机。第二天，
她发现银行账户中 有7000多美元的资金被转走。向银行报案，转钱的人信息全无。
“钱是被转到 Cartier Store （卡地亚）买了首饰。这是家有名的高价珠宝店。他们没有转走几万，十几万，算是对得起我了。做这些高智商盗窃的，说不定就是斯坦福大学的高材生或我身边的人。”
女儿的故事对我的情绪是起了点作用，一是把我的注意力引到对女儿的关心上去，二是让人从另一个高度来看待人生的那些烦事。然而，像女儿这种在硅谷附近混了十来年的专业青年，都逃不出犯罪分子的魔掌，
那些人高度的犯罪智慧更使我胆寒。且不说他们获得受骗人所有信息的能力，他们还对每个人作了完美的心理分析。他们精确地知道女儿那天的日程，有意让她在大脑和身体的匆忙中来接受欺骗。他们转走钱的数目，
与一个年轻专业人士可能的消费模式相吻合，如果他们转走的不是 7000多美元而是是70000多美元，银行可能会作更进一步的核查而使诈骗失败。
我们感到迫在眉睫的，是改变那些会自动填入的网站密码。我们试图在女儿的电脑和手机上进入银行，fidelity，Amazon等网站。因为她的电脑和手机都是我的那些账户中从未使用过的设备，网站要求对其进行安全认证。
我的账户中所设置的接受安全认证码的设备只有我的手机，和我的gmail账户，而我的gmail账户此时同样需要作安全认证，那又回到我那该死的手机。以那只不存在的手机为焦点，我们无法跳出这个安全认证的死循环，
因而无法进入任何一个网站。
在这种情况下，唯一的办法是打电话到各个网站，去改变密码。此时正是美国时间星期六晚上，加上星期日24个小时，总共有30多个小时无法获得服务。这意味着，如果手机落到了高智商的黑客手中，
他们是有足够的时间来对我们家庭进行摧毁。越往深处想，越不是滋味。
“我们已经做了我们能做的，只有听天由命了。日本可能不像美国那样危险。”女儿说着这话，做了最后一件把死马当作活马医的事。她用日文向我的手机发了一条信息：“先生或女士，如果您见到这个信息，请用下面的电话和我们联系。
这是我父亲的手机，他十分焦急。”下面给出了她和她妈妈的手机号码。
第二天我们的安排是去广岛，清早出发，晚上再回到京都的那个旅馆。
坐在新干线列车的窗口旁，日本农村和小镇的景致从眼前飞快地闪过。我无心观赏，只希望这一天赶快过去，甚至这次旅行赶快过去，让我的这个噩梦尽早结束。我自认为不一是个手机狂或者手机的附庸，无事时很少去刷手机，
因为外出不带手机，经常受到家人的呵斥。然而，一旦这个自己不以为然的东西失去了，才知道它已经以那样的深度融入我们的生活，那不是以个人意愿和喜好为转移的。在现代生活中，把手机比喻为人的一只手，一条腿，或半个大脑，一点不过分。
此时，我是多么羡慕那些手中握着属于自己的手机，并认真保护好它的人啊。
列车行驶了好一阵后，我发现妻不声不响地走过来坐在我的旁边，“还在生着气啊？”我白了她一眼。“你的手机找到了！”我一听，惊呆了。
她告诉我，女儿的手机里刚刚收到了出租车司机发送的信息：“您父亲的手机在我这里。很遗憾耽搁这样久才通知您。告诉我你们旅馆的地址，我给你们送去。”
我坐在那里，一言不发，像做梦一般，心中却百感丛生。最强烈的感觉是，以后为人要善，要认真保护好我的手机。
我想起了那位出租车司机，白发，慈祥，穿着整洁的工作装。离开他的出租车时，我见他手握方向盘，转过头来送给我们一个微笑，但我没有想到，他还会把我的噩梦变成一个好梦。
京都啊，你真是一个生产梦的地方！
（2023年4月）
English Version ---------------------------
Kyoto dreams
Kyoto at the end of March is full of fantastic scenery.
In the alley, the morning sun sent the silhouette of the pagoda and temple, and on the Kamo River, the green water turned into a stream of cherry blossoms. When the wind comes, people enjoy
bathing in the sky full of pink petals, when the rain stops, the green Arashiyama bamboo forest seems to be coated with oil. The crowds of people in front of the Kinkakuji make
the golden temple in the water extraordinarily bizarre. Walking in the endless red torii gates of the Fushimi Ina Shrine, you can feel the long-lost piety, faith, and tenacity.
Everything is like a dream. And the dream that belongs to me is quietly coming to me at this time.
We took a taxi back from Kinkakuji to our chic hotel in the eastern part of Kyoto. The hotel is located in the old town with many small streets near Qingshui Wujo . We chose it because we
wanted to absorb a little more of the atmosphere of this ancient city. Most streets there are only the width of a car, yet where there is a something defined as “road”, dedicated, mostly very
elderly taxi drivers will patiently and discreetly drop you off at your destination. Every time we go back to the hotel, we always thank the driver, and they return a thank back to you plus
a bow, but they will never accept your tip. This time, we asked the driver to let us down at the junction of the Keihan Main Line and Kiyomizu Gojo, and let us walk back to the hotel.
We chose to walk for about 20 minutes, one is that we don’t want the driver to bother to suffer in the small streets, and the other is that we can see various old houses and customs along
the way.
It was a pleasant walk in the spring breeze and sunset.
As soon as we got back to the hotel and sat down, I found that I couldn't find my mobile phone. "My phone seems to be missing."
"The phone is missing?" my wife repeated without paying much attention. This gave me the feeling that she was considering my shoes or glasses were missing, it is no big deal just bought another
one.
After I searched all relevant places, I shouted out my conclusion to everyone, "My cell phone is missing!" Seeing that there was no sensation, I shouted angrily, "That's a cell phone, not
glasses! There are not only Photos, and all my information!" .
Only then did the alarm sound in the house. Everyone stopped what they were doing, and they all came over to help me search around and help me remember where I fell. I distinctly remember
taking the last picture with my cell phone on my way out at Kinkakuji, stuffing it into my trouser pocket, which should have been dropped in a taxi or somewhere related to it. My wife
checked the trouser bag of the slacks I was wearing. "The trouser bag is only two inches deep. It's no wonder that the mobile phone in it can't be dropped after sitting in a taxi!"
After discussion, everyone concluded that the mobile phone had been dropped in a taxi , but there was basically no hope of finding that taxi. We paid the fare in cash, did not ask for an
invoice, and did not know the company, license plate number, or driver's information of the taxi. We got dropped off far away from the hotel and the driver didn't have any info on the hotel.
Another hope is to call that cell phone and get the driver's attention. My wife and daughter called the mobile phone for dozens of minutes, the call was connected, but no one answered.
This is because once we arrived in Japan, we rented pocket Wi-Fi hardware at the airport so we could use Wi-Fi everywhere we went, I then turned off my phone's data traffic. In this case,
the phone cannot communicate with the outside world without resetting the Wi-Fi connection.
All hope of finding that phone was lost , and now I can only figure out what the consequences of its loss will be .
I don’t like the complicated security procedure of using smart phone, so I did not set a password for my phone, and anyone who gets it can use it immediately. The mobile phone has website
information of all banks related to the family, stock investment company website information, insurance company website information, medical institution website information, Amazon shopping
website account information, etc., in short, information for all units that use the website to operate and contact. The most frightening thing is that the user names and passwords to access
these websites are stored in the mobile phone and will be filled in automatically when used. Anyone who gets this mobile phone has full control over the economic lifeline of our family.
I remember just recently, I used this phone to transfer a decent sum of money from Fidelity to another bank account, it was a breeze.
The more I thought about it , the more fearful I became . I complained about how I would do such a thing , and I was extremely depressed .
My daughter came to comfort me, but I didn't want to listen. Then she said the following words.
"Dad, everyone has the potential to do something stupid, there's no getting away with it, but it's going to pass. I want to tell you about the stupid things I did and see if you feel
better." Here's her story.
A few months ago, my daughter was going on a trip out of state, and the plane flew at 10 am. In the process of rushing from home to the San Francisco airport in a hurry, she received a call
from her bank. The phone told her that a shopping payment she applied to cancel a few days ago had been approved, and the bank sent her a notification. If she agrees, hit the "Verify" button
on the notification, and the job is done. She quickly checked in her mind that all the information discussed on the phone, including bank account numbers, security information, and all details
of shopping and payment, were all right. In a hurry, she clicked the "verify" button and boarded the plane. The next day, she discovered that more than $7,000 had been transferred from her
bank account. Report the case to the bank, but there is no information about the person who transferred the money.
"The money was transferred to Cartier Store to buy jewelry. This is a well-known high-priced jewelry store. They didn't transfer tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands, which is worthy of me.
Those who do these high-IQ thefts may be top students at Stanford or people close to me."
My daughter's story has played a role in my emotions. First, it draws my attention to my daughter's concern, and second, it makes people look at the troublesome things in life from another
height. However, professional youths like my daughter who have been around Silicon Valley for more than ten years cannot escape the clutches of criminals, and the high level of criminal
intelligence of those people makes me even more terrified. Not to mention their ability to get all the information about the person they duped, they also had a perfect psychoanalysis of each
individual. They knew exactly what my daughter's schedule was going to be that day, and they intentionally made her accept the deception in the rush of her mind and body. The amount of money
they transferred matched the likely spending pattern of a young professional, and if they had transferred not more than $7,000 but more than $70,000, the bank would have conducted further
checks to defeat the fraud.
We feel the urgency is to change the passwords of those websites that will be filled in automatically. We tried to get into banks, fidelity, Amazon, etc. on our daughter's computer and phone .
Because her computer and phone are never-used devices in my accounts, the website requires security verification for them. The only devices that accept security verification codes in my
account are my mobile phone and my gmail account, and my gmail account also needs security verification at this time, so it goes back to my damn mobile phone. Focusing on the non-existent
mobile phone, we cannot break out of this endless loop of security certification, so we cannot enter any website.
In this case, the only recourse is to call various websites and change the password. At this time, it was Saturday night in the United States, plus the 24 hours on Sunday, there were more than
30 hours in which the service could not be obtained. This means that if the phone falls into the hands of highly intelligent hackers, they have plenty of time to wreak havoc on our homes.
The more I think about it, the more unpleasant I am.
"We have done what we can, and we have to resign ourselves to fate. Japan may not be as dangerous as the United States." Saying this, my daughter did the last thing to treat a dead horse as
a living one. She sent a message to my mobile phone in Japanese: "Sir or Madam, if you see this message, please contact us at the number below. This is my father's mobile phone. He is very
anxious." Followings are her and my wife's cell phone number.
The next day our arrangement was to go to Hiroshima, depart early in the morning, and return to the hotel in Kyoto at night.
Sitting next to the window of a Shinkansen train, the scenery of Japanese countryside and small towns flashed before my eyes. I have no intention of watching, I just hope that this day will
pass quickly, and even this trip will pass quickly, so that this nightmare of mine will end as soon as possible. I don't think I'm a mobile phone fanatic or a vassal of mobile phones.
I seldom use my mobile phone when I have nothing to do. Because I don't bring my mobile phone when I go out, I am often scolded by my wife. However, once this thing that we don't take
seriously is lost, we will know that it has been integrated into our life to such a depth, and it is not based on personal wishes and preferences. In modern life, it is not too much to
compare a mobile phone to a human hand, a leg, or half a brain. At this time, how much I envy those who hold their own mobile phones in their hands and take good care of them.
After the train had been running for a while , I found my wife came over and sat next to me without making a sound , "Are you still angry?" I gave her a blank look. "Your phone is found!" I
was shocked when I heard it.
She told me that her daughter’s cell phone had just received a message from the taxi driver: “Your father’s cell phone is with me. I’m sorry for the delay in notifying you. Tell me the address
of your hotel, and I’ll send it to you.”
I sat there without saying a word, like a dream, but my heart was full of emotions. The strongest feelings are two, which seams not relevant, that I must be kind to others in the future and I
will protect my mobile phone carefully.
I thought of the taxi driver, white-haired, kind, in neat work attire. When we got out of his taxi, I saw him holding the steering wheel and turning his head to give us a smile, but I didn't
expect that he would turn my nightmare into a good dream.
Kyoto, you are such a place where dreams are produced!
(Aprial 2023)