美國新冠疫情日記06/20 Celebrating Father’s Day

Celebrating Father’s Day ~ Remembering My Dad

This Saturday morning there is a light rain falling in Houston, Texas. We are still worried about the Coronavirus pandemic spreading out into our community. The county government will now enforce the mask rule requiring all residents to wear their masks when they are out celebrating Father’s Day. Everybody in their life has had different experiences with their dad. Unfortunately, some people were born without knowing their father, or they were raised with a single parent. This also has become one of our big social issues. And many have come from broken families.

My dad passed away when he was just in his 60’s. Because in his generation they were experiencing war, they had to leave their hometowns and go to foreign lands and fight for survival in a different culture and lifestyle. My dad didn’t have the opportunity to use his talents. But he always wanted the next generation to have a better future.

When I was a kid, I saw my dad use cotton and starch to write on a big piece of cloth that was two feet wide with Chinese words printed in a bright red color. This banner was handed out on the street or at wedding parties. In my heart I felt that my dad was such a great artist and calligrapher. As a kid, I would hide behind my dad’s back and try to read the newspaper with him. I would ask him questions about current events until I fell into sleep.

Many years later my parents arranged for me to attend a middle school in a nearby city so I could get more education. I remember when my dad would leave me at the school, I would hold onto him and cry. I didn’t want him to leave. That was the first time that I really experienced the love of my family.

For almost the next half century I was by myself, either in school or struggling in my business world. During that time, I was not able to spend too much time with my dad, but he always wrote me letters with beautiful brush calligraphy to try and encourage me to fight for future.

My dad left us many years ago, but I still hang his calligraphy writings on the wall. Today I looked at that beautiful paper again, especially now before Father’s Day. I felt so touched and just cried again.

In the last several decades my whole family, including my wife, my brother and sisters, are all in the media business, trying to be of service to the society. We all think Dad should be very happy and proud in heaven that we have accomplished his dream that he was not able to finish in his lifetime.

Happy Father’s Day. We all need to cherish what we have today.

       懷念與追思

             ---  寫在父親節節前夕

今晨德州休斯敦陰雨不停，窗外刮起微風，疫情未竭，令人憂心。

明天就是父親節，在我們每一個人的生命中，對自己的父親可能有不同之感受的人生經驗，但是父親在每個人的生命中永遠有其不可磨滅的記憶，不幸的是，許多人可能在出生時，父親早已離家或不知去向。

今天我們的社會變化，造成許多單親及不幸之破裂家庭，許多單親媽媽依靠社會救濟，在沒有父親之情形下把孩子拉拔長大，許多孩童有些連自己生父也從未謀面，這也是我們當前非常嚴重的社會問題，但是我們絕大部分的人對自己的父親仍然有深刻的記憶和影響。

我的父親可說是英年早逝，六旬過後即離開我們，主要是他生長在大動亂時代，年輕時離開家鄉遠走異域，生活和心理上的打擊加上內向之性格，在他的人生戰場上，始終有懷才不遇的遺憾。

在我的孩提時代，有天我見到父親在家中准備了一桶用米熬成的水漿糊，地上鋪有白布，他要我幫忙拉直，于是他用棉花團粘下漿糊，在布上塗寫了一個大喜字，並加上百年好合四個大字， 寫妥後再塗上紅色土漆，完工後一幅秀麗挺拔的大型賀儀大布條，令我們都露出了成功的微笑，在我幼小的心中，對父親之書法和才華十分震撼 ，在我幼年成長之時代，父母因國內戰亂，他們得離鄉背井，遠走他鄉，但是父親對自己故有文化從未忘懷，每天就寢前都在床上閱讀當天的日報， 渴望得知天下事，我總是躲在其背，窺視他手中之報紙，並不時請教些內容，常常就在報紙堆中進入夢鄉。

數年後在父親的安排下，我幼小年紀就離家到城𥚃上學，當他把我學校安排妥當要離去時，我們都非常不捨，我抱住他痛哭，這是我生平首次嚐到和親人離別之苦痛。

從此我和父親相處見面的機會越來越少，數十年來，在學業和創業的奮鬥曆程中，總是定期接到父親以挺拔秀麗的毛筆寫下的家書和勉勵家訓，多年來父親的親筆信已經是我人生之座右銘。

時過境遷，父親早已離開數十載，我們非常慶幸逃過上一代之戰亂，母親和姐妹兄弟們都能禀持家訓，在媒體傳播事業上爲社會盡力做出些微貢獻，也不負父親多年對我們的期望。

數十年歲月彈指即逝，今晨再次目睹懸挂在璧的父親墨寶和勉勵，似乎又見到他的身影，令我黯然淚下。

父親，你在天國安息吧。

2020年6月20日父親節 前夕 于隴西勤荘