[Rhodes22-list] Gone West

[Brad Haslett]

The phone rang around midnight last night (noon Beijing time) and my first
thought was, "this can't be good".  My older boys are finally well
established in their responsible young adulthood period so my next thought
was "parents".  Fan's father got up from the breakfast table, said he didn't
feel well and was going to lie down for a nap.  He never woke up.

Mr. Shen was an interesting man.  He was born into a prosperous family that
had their wealth confiscated after the civil war ended in 49'.  He and his
wife were both mechanical engineers and he was well respected as an engineer
and manager of several different factories. During the Cultural Revolution,
he was stripped of his job and title and the associated privileges, but
later partially re-instated because even idealistic revolutionaries need
people who "know how to make things work". Throat cancer at the age of four
and the resulting surgery robbed him of the ability to speak louder than a
whisper.  When he spoke, people somehow knew it was worth the extra effort
to listen carefully.

While living with us, he quickly became Gracie's best friend.  She couldn't
wait for the first walk of the day and would quietly wait for him to
practice his Tai Chee excercises. I was still a Rhodes 22 owner then and he
and I built a cradle for the boat in the back yard.  His English was on par
with my Mandarin, non-existent, but with patience and pictures and lot's of
hand gestures, we usually got our points across to each other.  On a later
visit I taught him how to drive (in a parking lot) and how to sail,  flying
was next on the agenda.  He loved to share with his peers back home all the
new skills he'd learned.

Attached is a photo of Mr. Shen on his grand daughter's sailboat. He was 78
this year.

Brad
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