12/28/05
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Yester-Trade |
A couple of weeks ago, we attended the semi-surprise 60th birthday and possibly retirement party for Chiu Chung-Wo (D25) organized by his loving wife, Tina. Chung-Wo was sent to the wrong restaurant so that by the time he found his way to the correct place, the guests were all seated and ready to greet him. Aside from all the behind the scene efforts, emails and telephone calls, Tina could be seen dashing all over the restaurant floor, much like a busy butterfly, making sure all the last minute details were in order. A timeless figure, Marilyn Monroe, dropped by in her famous gown to sing to our birthday Engineer the happy birthday song just as she did for President Kennedy in their happier days. Guests danced to the Karaoke music in the background before, during, and after the dinner. A good time was had by all. Maybe later, Walter Mok (D18) and Benjamin Chin (F1) will post some of the digital photos taken with their sophisticated digital cameras to the Lighters' website. As Tina was planning the dinner party, she asked me to sing a song for the occasion. I picked the Beatles' "Yesterday". The reasons for so doing are many: Firstly, one of the Beatles, George Harrison, was in the news recently. He was in the hospital for some form of very treatable leukemia. He is 58. It dawned on me that the Beatles are our contemporaries. They must have become famous while we were still in college, or shortly after we graduated. I don't think they became known while we were still in Pui-Ching for then they would be only around 16. Oh, well, I just lose track of time. Anyway, let us wish him a speedy recovery. Secondly, there is one line in the song that says: "I am not half the man I used to be." What a truism that can be interpreted in many ways! Some of them are quite appropriate for the occasion. Physically, our health may render us half the men, or women as the case may be, we used to be. In my case, that is literally true after my spinal injury. Ng Kam-sik (C11) almost lost his sight. Last time both of his eyes were operated on to repair the inner lining of his eyeballs as well as a developing cataract lens. The operation has about a 75% success rate. Sure enough, one of his eyes required a follow-up operation which was scheduled for the next Tuesday. It must be a week by now. I shall give him a call to see how he is doing. Cheung Wang-Chou (D15) had his legs' varicose veins operated on recently. He is doing fine, walking without aid. Tony Kowk (B10) is now totally recovered from his liver aliment suffered almost a decade ago. He considers himself having a second chance at life. At one time he looked so bad that a sales clerk in a Chinese grocery store told his colleague in their village dialog that this fellow, meaning Tony, will not have long to live. Little did he know that our Tony is also from the same part of China and understands the dialog fluently. Tony snapped back, much to the embarrassed clerk's surprise. If not for his devoted wife, Gladys, a few years back, Jai Yee (A42) wouldn't be with us to-day. The first morning he was shaving and getting ready to work after returning from a trip to China, his lung collapsed. He was in such pain that all the strength he could muster was just barely enough to utter a cry to Gladys. With her trembling hands, she dialed 911 twice before getting through. The paramedics were there in five minutes and were experienced enough to instantly recognize the symptoms and took him to John Muir Hospital around the corner from their home. All within 15 minutes. Imagine what would have happened if he were traveling in China or en route home in an airplane or if he were living alone. At my Taiwan University 35-year reunion dinner, a similar story was told by one of our classmates. He proudly presented his wife and thanked her for her quick action that made a triple by-pass possible. Otherwise, he said, he would have earned a star right next to his name on the address roster, signifying an early departed classmate. William Kao (C33) and wife, Karen, were also there for the occasion. Bill has been hard of hearing for many years now. That gives him an excuse for not hearing what he doesn't want to hear! Lighters must still remember his pinched spinal cord operation a couple of years back. Karen did a tremendous amount of research to find him an outstanding neurosurgeon. It was a dangerous and successful operation. In my spinal injury support group meetings, I hear many horror stories of neurosurgeons' accidental slips of their instruments, leaving their patients in wheelchairs. Financially, if you trade NASDAQ stocks, you are probably not half the man you used to be. The market used to go up and down, with many more ups than downs. These companies' high valuations were due to their hyper-explosive growth potential which is no longer the case. Many stocks hit a two-years low. That implies they will take at least two years to come back if the future business environment is as favorable as the past couple of years. We all know that the last few years' prosperity in the stock market was a once in a lifetime phenomenon due to the perceived potential of internet commerce. Now that reality has checked, coming back in a couple years seems quite remote for most of them; not coming back at all, for many of them. Turning around in the coming fourth quarter will probably turn out to be just wishful thinking. Lighters beware! Career-wise, many of us are contemplating retirement, if not already retired. Most of us have already experienced the empty-nest syndrome now that our children are grown. The responsibilities resting upon our shoulders were probably not half of what they used to be. At our age, love is probably less a problem than finance. I altered the lyrics a bit to reflect that. I just learned that Paul McCartney claims that "Yesterday" was the one and only song that he wrote all by himself. He wants to put his name ahead of John Lennon's on "The Beatles Anthology". Lennon's widow, Yoko, just says no! With Bonnie's help, here are the altered lyrics which I named "Yester-Trade." Maybe we can all sing together when we next get together.
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