The Longbow Papers

This is my first Chinese New Year spent alone--and it is good. From the office balcony of my apartment at Beiwai, I can see and hear a splendid pyrotechnic display of explosive color with every size of bang-bang imaginable. The campus and my apartment complex are pretty much deserted; most folks I know and care about are at home with their families all over this Earth.

Like all old ballplayers, I am superstitious--not religious, mind you; spiritual yes, religious no--and there have been a number of "signs" that "tell" me a corner in my life has been turned, for the better. Yes, I know that just thinking that thought, much less writing it could very well jinx me. But, so be it; because much--very, very much--has changed in my life of late, and that is a fact, and cannot be undone. New fears, anxieties, maladies, insecurities, obstacles, nay saying malcontents and detractors await me in the tomorrows to come as they have all of my yesterdays; fine, that is as it should be, lest we grow complacent and too confident to deal with what lies ahead, the bitter with the sweet, the ugly with the beautiful.

Tonight, as I shut down this magical word factory, which I call Ophelia (all of my writing machines, from typewriter to Pentium 4 computers, have been named Ophelia, go figure) for the day and evening and set out into the cacophonous merriment of my neighborhood outside the university in search of food, I want to say "Thank You" to all whom helped bring me to this moment of almost elderly maturity, loved ones and foes alike. Perhaps, foes even more than loved ones. Enemies test the mettle and depth of us more often and more deeply than do those who love us unconditionally; that dynamic can only make us better, stronger human beings.

Happy New Year and Spring Festival 2007 to each and every one of you who might read these pages! I treasure you all. It matters not what you think of me; it matters a lot that you think of me at all. Think about that.

 

Links to this post:

<\$BlogBacklinkControl\$> <\$BlogBacklinkTitle\$> <\$BlogBacklinkDeleteIcon\$>

<\$BlogBacklinkSnippet\$>
posted by <\$BlogBacklinkAuthor\$> \@ <\$BlogBacklinkDateTime\$>

2 Comments:

Dear professor,
You should have called me earlier!!
I was in the city and we could have got together and had fun with some of the firecrackers shown in your pictures.
The article about Madam Gao is heart sinking for the upcoming year.
rogerren

By rogerren, at 12:42 AM  

Dear Roger,

It's great to hear from you, my dear friend! Thank you for thinking of me for New Years, and I am sure we would have had a good time. But, please be assured, I was fine; indeed, I spent the entire Spring Festival Holiday quietly, happily--for the most part-- writing; and procrastinating over just about everything else. I mean, I have really been lazy this past month!

The Madame Gao story is distressing; you are of good heart. We need more in our profession such as you.

I owe you an e-mail. It's on its way already.

All the very best

Joseph

By Joseph, at 7:15 PM  

Post a Comment