A Happy Gathering with a Wise Man and a Nice Lady

This noon, I had a lunch date with Principal Lin (林煇校長) and a dear friend Mei-hua (許玫華老師). Mr. Lin was principal of Chieh-show Junior High School and then NHSH, the only two schools I've taught. A very good and competent leader who was excellent in boosting the morale of faculty and students and also a man with integrity, Mr. Lin was highly respected and admired wherever he went. I still remember the big smile on his face when he stood at the school to greet teachers and students every morning. Students felt so close to him that they called him Brother Hui (煇哥). With him as a model, teachers at both schools were devoted to educating the students. I was really lucky to be led by Mr. Lin.

At our gathering, Mr. Lin mentioned a Chinese poem Mr. Lee Yuan-tsu (李元簇), once a vice president of R.O.C., wrote in calligraphy for him on Mr. Lee's 90th birthday, which very well describes Mr. Lin:

心中寬廣山川小

眼內澄清日月明

耳邊天籟人間吉

腳下風沙不染塵

Mei-hua was a colleague of mine at Chieh-show and is a lifetime friend of mine. She is really nice and kind. There was a time when I, then teaching at NHSH, helped compile English Textbooks for Junior High School Students and had a meeting every Monday afternoon. My son, then in elementary school, went to her office at Chieh-show, doing homework, playing with Mei-hua's son, and waiting for me to pick him up. I have been more than grateful to her.

Today we chatted for about 4 hours, adding another memorable page to our life.







Mei-hua's birthday happens to fall in July. A happy birthday song was sung to her.

 











Mr. Lin was writing some words above the photo taken and given to us by the restaurant.

 



We've known each other for more than 30 years!