From Anran Luo

When I was a little girl, I thought my dad could do everything. He could ride the bike, he could swim like a fish, he could play the piano, he could speak Hungarian, he could play chess, he could play basketball, he could make the computer work properly when I messed it up…and the list goes on. Now I know that the reason I thought my dad was superman was because he did his best to share his knowledge and skills with me at every opportunity. He was always patient with me and he used clever methods to trick me into learning. For example when I was learning how to ride a bike, I was a really big chicken. I would climb onto the bike, peddle for two seconds, and then put my feet on the ground and start to whine. My dad never lost his temper with me. He would just calmly refuse to let me give up. Finally he told me that he would hold on to the seat while I peddled so that I wouldn’t fall. He promised me he wouldn’t let go of the seat. So I agreed and as I was riding the bike I would continuously ask him “Hey dad you haven’t let go right?” and he would reply “No, of course not.” But eventually I realized that his voice was sounding further and further away. What had happened was that he had actually let go and I was riding on my own and he was standing to the side looking very proud of his sneakiness. I was quite upset with him at the time for tricking me but now I must admit that my dad was definitely quite a talented teacher. I’m eternally grateful to him for everything that he has taught me, and also for putting up with my complete lack of eagerness to learn sometimes - we won’t go into the time when he tried to teach me Java and C++. He may no longer be here with me in this life, but I will never forget everything that he has given to me. Dad, if you don’t already know this, I love you and appreciate you. Please rest in peace. Thank you.

10/21/2007