I'm at the KH airport, boarding gate, minutes before boarding. I'm going to Hon g Kong on a visa trip. It's late afternoon and I thumb through Time magazine during the last few minutes. Across from me is a rotund Taiwanese man, about my age, jovial smile, “Good afternoon.” he greets me, as our eyes meet. “My name is Michael.”
“Hello. My name is Malcolm.” I reply in teacher talk. I expect to go through a series of ESL routines like, “ Hello-how-are-I-am-fine-and-you.”
“Malcolm,” half asking, and then before I can say anything, “like Welcome, with an 'M'. It's a common name in Australia”
I have a feeling that this is not going to be your average English chat session. I decide to overlook the difference in the vowels. It's a good mnemonic. I use it to this day, when I introduce myself.
So, I wasn't too surprised to hear, “Have a good die”.
I raised my eyebrows, “excuse me?”
“In Australia, that is how they speak. The first time I heard it, I said,'what? who died?'”
OK. This is not gonna be your ordinary chat.”You're English is very good.”
“No, where, where.”
We both laughed at his parody of the Chinese expression of modesty. I felt as if I were in the presence of the Laughing Buddha ( 笑佛 )
Here's my card. Call me when you come back to Taiwan. Maybe you can teach my office staff.”
We exchanged cards and promised to get in touch.
When I returned from Hong Kong, being quit involved with a project, I postponed calling Michael for a couple of weeks. When I did call him, he recognized my voice right away,” Ma Tai-i. I am so glad you called. Tell me where you are. I will come and pick you up. “
“There's no need. I can take a cab.”
“No, I insist.”
He picked me up on Wu Fu Road and took me to his music school and trading company in Fong San. I met his mother, his office staff, mostly relatives Over the next 2 hours, he called in many of his sales staff and his kids to meet me. And we drank a lot of tea. I t became apparent to me that this man was the center post of a tent, a very large tent, consisting of a very extended family, a music school, a day care, a trading company, a construction company and an active life with the Lion's Club.
He told me how he used to work in the foreign affairs police department but was disillusioned by certain inconsistencies between what is practiced and what is preached.
“What do you call it when the power of relationships is used to go around the law?”
“Nepotism?”
“Yes, that is it.”
Within a week I was teaching his office staff, a month his immediate family, in 2 months his extended family to prepare them for emigration. I began to wonder if I hadn't, at some time, inadvertently rubbed his belly.
I could write a book on Michael and his beautiful family. The times we shared are among my fondest memories of Taiwan. Whenever the drudgery of life got me down, thoughts of him encouraged and inspired me. Never in my life have a known a man to have such even temper, quiet patient wisdom, thoughtful consideration for his family and his staff. He lived by a code ethic which he kept to himself. Through his actions, over the years one could discern it. He was consistent, never a double standard. He was a mountain of a man in character. And like a mountain provides water, wildlife, shade, runoff soil for the ecosystem below. He too was very good provider for all who touched him.
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