December 8, 2005
How are you? I hope this letter finds you healthy and happy as ever!
This year, we were preoccupied with the weddings of our son and daughter. Our daughter Min-Ying was married on the 22nd of May. The groom is her high school sweetheart and they are both working in New York City. They chose a private garden in the suburb of Baltimore for the wedding. In a nonreligious ceremony, a priest presided the wedding under an arch by the Chesapeake Bay. With many guests coming from near and far, it was a very memorable day. Our son Min-Yen's wedding will be in Singapore on the 23rd of December. We will go there on the 19th. The ceremony and banquet will follow the Chinese tradition. While we are quite ignorant about the traditional customs, we are also too far away to render any help. Fortunately, the bride's family took on most of the tasks. We will tell you how it goes after we experience through the event.
In March, Kit-Keung had a one-person show in Grotto Gallery in Hong Kong. Our stay in Hong Kong was quite short and we saw only a few friends. However, we visited Tokyo and Kyoto on our way back to the United States. We visited our good friend Kazuo Yoshihiro, an old acquaintance at University of Maryland when we were graduate students. He and his wife guided our tour in Tokyo and we enjoyed their company very much. On this first trip to Japan, our deepest impression is the little noodle shops that use a vending machine as a cashier. You order at the machine and take the receipt to the kitchen for the chef to prepare your food. The shop is manned only by one or two persons in the kitchen. So simple and convenient!
In April, we visited Professor Li Chu-tsing in Lawrence, Kansas, who is a world expert of Chinese painting history. We also visited the Nelson-Atkind Gallery in Kansas City, which is a power house in ancient Chinese paintings. According to Professor Li, the museum had knowledgeable collectors in China as early as the nineteen thirties and many important pieces were acquired at that time. The current exhibition of Chinese paintings was drawn from the museum's early Ching collection, including works of, Chu Ta, Tao-chi, K'un-ts'an, Hung-jen, Kung Hsien and the four Wangs. Two famous hand scrolls of Kung Hsien were rolled out in their entirety. We admired and studied them for as long as the time allowed.
In July, Yuen-Han was invited to receive an award for her work at Kennedy Space Flight Center in Florida. Remember the tragic disintegration of Colombia when it reenters the atmosphere almost three years ago? Yuen-Han's award was determined right after that and was planned to be commenced at the shuttle's first launch that followed. That launch was July. We were invited to go to Florida to be treated with five days of ceremony and celebration. At the end, the launch was scrubbed as you may remember and we were at the VIP stand staring at the motionless shuttle.
While in Florida, we thought of our first year in the United States when we studied at University of Florida in Gainesville in 1968. So, we drove to Gainesville during a free day there. We found the apartment where Kit-Keung had stayed. The little house where Yuen-Han had lived was gone. In its stead is an apartment complex with four or five stories. The university library where we spent most of our times together was under renovation. Department of Physics and Astronomy had moved to a handsome, gigantic and new building. We read through the directory of professors in the department and found only one name that is remotely recognizable. We also visited the Church where we got married and the laundry shop where we cleaned our cloths every week. They did not change much though. The department store where we brought our first new year present in the US was gone. It must be replaced by shopping malls sprouting around the city.
Yuen-Han is going to retire at the end of the year and to start her worry-free days without going to office. Recently, she ate pumpkin (the one with green skin and yellow spots) regularly. She found that this winter squash is very effective in lowering blood sugar, more effective and nutritious than the medicine she is taking. We are very grateful to Mrs. Chu who introduced this squash to her. We encourage anyone with high blood sugar to try it.
Kit-Keung is busy on his art as usual. Recently, he and an artist couple are planning a show of installations with calligraphy and found objects.
Badminton remains to be our regular sport. Counting also Tai Chi and walking for Yuen-Han and running for Kit-Keung, we have a full exercise schedule. Kit-Keung had run marathons in Nashville, Tulsa and Washington, DC this year.
We wish you a joyful and prosperous new year!
Sincerely,
Yuen-Han and Kit-Keung
email: kkan@verizon.net
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