En Route – 10/16/2015
Ben, a reluctant window seater, took these remarkable aerial
views of Washington DC on our American Airline flight. If you follow the Potomac River along, you
can see the white house, the Mall with Lincoln Memorial, Capitol Hill and of
course, the landmark, Washington Monument all the way from Reagan International
Airport. It’s time for you folks to come
in 2017 for NCKU World Class Reunion to enjoy our hospitality. We all agree that the unspoken reciprocal
relationship between us, there won’t have another 46th year class reunion.
Dallas Bound – Photos From Above
Everything is really bigger in Texas. Betty Li, my giveaway, Professor MinChiang
Li’s wife gave me the photo of this Lone Star State comparing to the continent
of Europe. She found out that I just
came back from Ben’s 46th year ES class reunion from Texas. It’s quite interesting that we would be locating
ourselves in the country of Germany when we landed at Texas Dallas Fort Worth
International Airport.
Speaking about the country, “Don’t mess with Texas” was a great famous quote from “Saturday Night Live” mocking George W. Bush’s debate with Al Gore in 2000.
Speaking about the country, “Don’t mess with Texas” was a great famous quote from “Saturday Night Live” mocking George W. Bush’s debate with Al Gore in 2000.
The history did indicate on March 2, 1836, Texas declared
independence from Mexico after Texas Revolution War. It’s very similar to the United States
Declaration of Independence against Great Britain Government in the American Revolution
War. I wonder if the students from “Proud
Texas” require studying the history of Texas and taking the pledge of
allegiance and celebrate its Independence Day or not. We will find out the answer one day from Wen Sheng, Pen Yuan and Shinyee. All of them have children graduated from Texas educational system.
Dallas-Fort Worth displayed its big, busy, rich, glitzy and Texan’s
self-confidence among the impressive spider web freeways going in all directions. The downtown gleaming skyscrapers were
looming large in front of us.
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| The impressive structure caught my eyes while leaving DFW Airport-永華, please clarifies more about this interesting art project or some kind of radar devices? |
The host, Dallas National Cheng Kung University Alumni Association picked this beautiful lakeside Hilton DFW Conference Center for the 10th year NCKU World Carnival and 11th year North America NCKU Alumni Foundation Conference. It’s a little confusing for such complicated business functions. We hope it will combine into one event one day.
For some reason, Ben and I both were very happy to make the trip together. World class reunion with 450+ alumni – young and old strangers, as far as Taiwan and Malaysian and as close as Houston neighbors – may not evoke much of emotional memories. But the calling from Wen Sheng (詹文聲) and Yaung Hwa (盧永華)to host the 46th year ES (Engineering Science - 工科系)
Please read Wen Sheng’s schedule planning for
us.
Shinyee (張心儀) (71 FLLD - 外文)
Te-Lin Yau (姚德霖) and his wife, Rae(蔡瑞華) (74, Chines- 中文),
Pen-Yuan(施本源), his wife Hsieu (王修), and
Frank Chen(鄭明泰) (66, Accounting-會統 ) and his wife Gwei Hsian (林貴香).
Shinyee (張心儀) (71 FLLD - 外文)
Te-Lin Yau (姚德霖) and his wife, Rae(蔡瑞華) (74, Chines- 中文),
Pen-Yuan(施本源), his wife Hsieu (王修), and
Frank Chen(鄭明泰) (66, Accounting-會統 ) and his wife Gwei Hsian (林貴香).
Oct. 16 (Friday)
1.
Pick up Shinyee Chang from DFW Airport at 10:17am (UA1247)
2.
Pick up Ben and Janice from DFW Airport at 11:18 am (AA137)
3.
Leave Airport for gathering lunch and drive to Hilton Hotel after lunch
4.
Pick up Te-Lin Yau from DFW Airport at 4:21 pm (UA 294)
5.
6:00 pm: NCKU Alumni welcome party at Hilton Hotel (Austin Ranch at
Hilton)
6.
PY’s family and Cheng’s family meet at the Hotel.
A Trip Together
Ben and I used to be so cooped up with our work as two well-documented workaholics. Ben hates airplane ride, too much business trips during his "Intelsat" era burned him out physically and mentally. There used to be a time when he would prefer driving long distance (8-10 hours) without letting me touch his steering wheel - my begging wouldn't help! I enjoyed being a story-teller to relieve his driving fatigue and he loved it!
Warm Hugging at Dallas Fort Worth International
Airport
The big surprise was to see Wen Sheng, Yaung Hwa and Shinee, my college roommate were already waiting at the baggage carousel when Ben and I came down from the escalator. Three Texans – Dallas and Houston! Wen Sheng, smiling and a bit pale and fatigue, probably from sitting long hours in his office cranking up papers all years while Yaung Hwa, bearing a striking resemblance of that strong, tough, and loving Miss Ellie, the southern matriarch of the Ewing’s family from The Dallas, soap opera during 1970s. She recognized me immediately and hugged me warmly. I still had hard time to picture her with gray-hair and dark face from the relentless sun exposure in her hey farm. Imagine Shinyee had never seen both of them before in school and she could mingle with them quite well like ES family. It’s a mind-melting moment of joy. Three hours of flight in the morning was no big deal at all.
The Decision Maker – The Man Who Holds the Steering Wheel
Wen Sheng pulled up his minivan in front of Olive Garden Restaurant before Yaung Hwa had suggested something else for lunch. He’s probably ahead of us thinking about the airport pickup Te-Lin and Rae from Oregon at 4:00 p.m. We’re running a bit late. The meal was Italian family style, from the famous bread-sticks, lasagna, pizza to all kinds of cheeses mixed dishes – Parmesan, my favorite, but, Wen Sheng was no fan for that! Yaung Hwa claimed matter-of-factly that she once had 9 bread-sticks on her record. Wow! Wen Sheng ordered a chicken dish without cheese while we dived into the second large bowl of green salad. It was all friendly chit-chat like long lost friends until the little green Texas stink bug wiggled out in my spoon. That was the high-light of our lunch. The manager apologized immensely offering us free deserts or anything he could to maintain the reputation of Olive Garden. We just declined politely with our old-fashioned non-western culture. I’m sure the manager knows how to take care of his business.
Austin Range – Texas-themed Welcome
Party
From the outside, this large party venue is across from the
horse ranch with the faint smell of horse manure that brings life back to the
Texas country. Behind the spacious party
room are the jogging trails, outdoor swimming pool and tennis courts facing a
beautiful water fountain blended in the surrounding lake. I took the early morning jog around 6:30
a.m. I finally know the name of DFW Lake
Executive Conference Center.
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| Shinyee & I dipped in the pool a couple of times-daily exercise |
Unfortunately, the audio sound system was poorly equipped
inside. The announcer’s voice bounced
back and forth on the microphone amid the humming noises of the crowd. We could barely hear a thing. But the informal BBQ Texas style – beef
briskets, potatoes and corns boasted the true hospitality of the host – Dallas
NCKU. We understand how difficult it was
to organize such a big event and we were very appreciative that the alumni were
quite entertaining.
We found ourselves celebrating and exchanging the story lines
among our friends. Through the pages of
photos, we shared the long-forgotten images. Some faded, some gone. We have revealed in each other’s success,
like Yaung Hwa’s big hay farm after her retirement. We also shared the lessons of our
failures. Hope we will be bonded again
one day in DC soon.
A Time to Remember
NCKU-DC 成大 - 華盛頓 DC 校友會校友 & 蘇慧貞校長
Behind every successful man, there is a strong, wise and hardworking woman -
蔡瑞華,盧永華吳玉琴,王修,林貴香
A team of husband and wife as lovers, couples, kid's Ma & Pa, working partners and what else? - FRIENDS!
According to the book, "Rhett Butler's People" by Donald McCraig, a sequel to "Gone with the Wind" -
"Sometimes more than we care to admit, the inconsequential decisions change our lives forever."
Agree or Not?
施本源 shared his newly-found stories with 張清評 while 詹文聲's still searching for his - a bit too late?
成大華盛頓 DC 校友會校友 held the business meeting with 蘇慧貞校長 regarding 2017 site
A Time to Remember
江國富 (86工科),姚德霖,張清評,黄秉驥 (76 工科 ), 詹文聲 - the back row
蔡瑞華(74 中文),盧永華(70 會統) - the front row
69 成大工程科學系 - 四大金鋼 - 施本源,詹文聲,張清評,姚德霖
69 成大工程科學系四大金鋼, + 兩小鐵漢 (86 江國富,70 黄秉驥)
Behind every successful man, there is a strong, wise and hardworking woman -
蔡瑞華,盧永華吳玉琴,王修,林貴香
 |
| I introduced my roommate, best pale, 張心儀, to her Lockheed Martin's coworker, 施本源. |
According to the book, "Rhett Butler's People" by Donald McCraig, a sequel to "Gone with the Wind" -
"Sometimes more than we care to admit, the inconsequential decisions change our lives forever."
Agree or Not?
