It was my 70th birthday. Lolit and I were walking around on our last day in Taiwan 12 years ago when we saw a small group of people having tea inside a small house. When they asked us to come in we joined them at the table.
The gentleman with me is a Buddhist and also a tea master. In the course of tasting different kinds of tea, he asked me what I did. I said, among others, that I practice Tai Chi Chuan. Please show me, he said.I did a short segment from the solo fist form of Classical Yang Family Tai Chi Chuan. When I was done, he assumed a prayerful and serene posture, closed his eyes and chanted a Buddhist sutra. I am sure I’d heard it before from my collection of CDs but I cannot remember now which one it was. And then he chanted another, also one I had heard. Lolit was so touched she could not hold back her tears.
Different teas were passed around in boxes, each one possibly 20 fluid ounces. One was 20 years old: US$400. Another was 15: US$300. Lolit was nudging me: You want me to get you one for your birthday? I said, No.So thoughtful of her, but I did not think I could tell the difference between a US$400 tea and a US$10 one. Well, the price went down to US$150, a 10 year old. Lolit insisted I should get it. Well, I agreed. I thought that if I kept it for 10 years it would be worth US$400! I promised to break it only for a special occasion. The tea sat in my study for 12 years … until October 29, 2022 when I received the SOBBA (Society of Black Belts of America) Certificate of Honor and we toasted the occasion.
The 12 dishes at the birthday dinner cooked by Mrs. Wang, the mother Aishuan. They included black chicken cooked with herbs, steamed fish,Soy Sauce chicken, eggs boiled in tea, and dried fish eggs. I cannot remember the others.There was also the obligatory cake with one candle.
I look back on the years and I feel nostalgic for the natal celebrations in my life — annual events spent wityh family and friends. Now 82, I look at some of my birthday photos in my file. How many more birthdays are left to celebrate?
