On a trip back to California sitting next to a hip Chinese couple. Yes, Hip. Wilken Lee and Mrs. Lee.
I booked my flight ticket back to San Francisco because I wanted to be included in my cousin, Yvonne Lee’s, wedding this coming Saturday. It was about 900 dollars and I decided it would be fun to surprise my family since I’m flying halfway across the world. It was so exciting to talk to my mom and cousins on this amazing calling and messaging program called Skype and tricking them into thinking that I won’t be able to come home for the festivities. My mom doesn’t know and I kind of know how she’s going to react. She’s going to have a smile and express that she’s happy, but then ask me why I spent so much money on a plane ticket to come back.
I just came back from an interesting journey to Ireland and England with My, my Swedish friend who lives across from me in my corridor in Björnkulla. I’m pretty exhausted from being on planes, ferries, cars, trains, buses, etc. Oh god. Thinking about it makes me want to yack.
I’m sitting next to the most life experienced man I’ve ever met. He’s lighthearted, funny, cute, and I feel honored to be in his company. He’s also Chinese-American and his wife is sitting beside him on the other aisle. He speaks broken English and Chinese to his wife. I started to talk to him and he is so funny and cool. He’s born in 1934 and his name is Wilken Lee. He and his wife lives in Castro Valley in California and has 3 children. His oldest son is about 47, middle son is 44 and his daughter is 38.
“My youngest grandaughter is 10 months and the last time I saw her, her hair was sticking up and long. She’s cute.” He said as he was putting his hands beside his almost bald head and showing me how the hair was. He went on describing his four grandchildren.
He’s done many things in his life that I wish I spent more time asking, but he shared enough for me to have the softess spot for him. He moved to San Francisco when he was 4 or 5 because during 1938-1945, Japanese troops occupied Guangzhou which forced to people escape their villages into safer places like refugee camps to different countries. There were bombings during this period in Guangzhou and Wilken said that he has a good memory, he remembers the time when the bomb dropped near his city. He said that he was an old man and people question ‘How in the world can you remember so far back?’ “I just can.”
His family and his children all went to well known schools, the top schools like Stanford, Berkeley and all of them very successfull.
The most lively and bubbly topic that got us both smiling was his life through the time of Elvis, the Beatles, his college life in Berkeley and then we moved onto movements in the US, FDR, segregation, first man on the moon, Martin Luther Kings Jr., etc. All of the events and music before the dot com boom.
“You know how to make Apple pie? I can make a bomb apple pie. When you open you cafe I can be your partner.” He smiled as I toldhim my aspirations in my life and what I was doing in Sweden. That sentence melted my heart and made me think for that moment and for every time I think about Wilken how fragile and precious life is. He is almost 80 years old and saying that he will be my partner for my cafe showed me that people in life won’t be on this planet forever and with people like Wilken being around for not much longer makes me think. I can’t breathe whenever I think about what I’ve always wanted to do, what I’ve always wanted to say, what I’ve always kept to myself, why wait? I was enchanted to meet Wilken and he makes me feel all these emotions when I think of “Wilken.”
He said that he remembers when he was drafted into the army in 1957 to go to France. He said that he almost got drafted the first time while he was studying in Berkeley during his college, young, and fun loving days. He said that all he did was party and drink beer. He was this close to failing his courses which results in being drafted into the army, but he said he barely passed. Then he finally got drafted for other reasons.
“I respect the guy. He drove people around like was a normal guy. He was a great man.” He told me that Elvis was also in the army during about that time and he was drafted in Germany while he was in France. It was just so exciting to listen to these stories. THat he lived through the time that I wish to live.
“I just came back from Liverpool and Dublin just 2 days ago.” I said as we were talking about everything and anything interesting.
“I remember I was in Liverpool in 1958 and taking many ships here and there.”
“So you lived there right before the Beatles became a world wonder.”
“Girls were going crazy. When they were in San Francisco, I remember the croud going so wild.”
Then he went on talking about the 60’s and 70’s style of fashion, Martin Luther King Jr., the lifestyle in San Francisco, and so on for about an hour and a half. We paused for a while and then he talked about the terms of love.
“Do you have a boyfriend?”
“No, I don’t need them.”
“You’re still so young.”
He met his wife through his cousin merely on a picture that was shown to him. His cousin asked him to pick the prettiest lady in the class picture and he pointed at this girl in the corner. This girl is now his wife for 47 years.
“It doesn’t come easy. There’s ups and downs.”
He’s now retired and traveling with his wife all over the world on cruises.
Pause.
“Through your experience of life, what have you learned that you can give to a person like me?”
He thinks for about 5 seconds.
“Meet a bad boy.” He said jokingly. I don’t know if he was serious or joking because he didn’t say anything after that. He just laughed his sweet and chuckly laugh.
I fell asleep for the rest of the time only waking up every now and then for food, bathroom breaks and ICECREAM! It was one delicious cup of ice cream. mmmmmm
“Hello Sir, what would you like to drink?”
“A Heineken Please. And water.” I honestly think that he ordered it because we were talking about young love, his college days and years ago that he wanted to feel young again and feel alive. So he ordered a beer. It was sooo hilarious to see. He would often look over me to see if I’m enjoying my food or if I notice he’s drinking beer.
“Don’t drink sooo muchee, sooo strong!” His wife never joined our conversations because she wanted to relax, but when she did talk, she would always nudge his arm while drinking beer, drinking wine, eating ice cream, or just lying back on his seat. In her strong Chinese accent she would demand of him,
“Don’t eat so much dessert, so sweet, so sweet!”
“Don’t drink all of the wine! So strong, you going to get headache!”
She would often grab a pillow and stuff it behind his head to make him feel more comfortable. While she worries about him and making sure he’s comfortable, she just going on with whatever he’s doing and not responding. It was just to most sweet and hilarious thing I’ve seen. Old couples are together for so long that they show love in just the most tough and annoyed way, yet it’s tender and silly. I often wonder how they can last being with each other for so long!
I watched some movies also and Wilken had a hard time sleeping. He kept looking over to my screen and curious of what I’m watching or itching to start another conversation. It was funny and nice, but I was so tired. He told me he couldn’t go to sleep.
The last conversation we had was when we landed and waiting for the seatbelt sign to go off.
“I’ll remember you Queeny.”
…
“I’ll remember you too, Wilken.”
All of a sudden he chuckles his laugh and nudges me in the arm and pointed at me giving me a face that says that I’m clever. He told me that I was soo funny. I didn’t understand why I was so funny, all I said was that I will remember him.
“You’re so funny, you said you will remember you too. You’re good, you’re funny.” He chuckles again and nudges me with his elbow.
“No, No, I said I’ll remember you too Wilken.” Emphasis on his name so that I know that he knows that I now his name too.
We stood up to grab our bags from the overhead bins and we said it was nice to meet you with a handshake. Then, you know that he was really Chinese when he hit me on my arm and chuckled. He didn’t hit me hit me, he gave me affection by hitting me. Chinese people don’t usually show affection the way westerners do, kiss and hug and close contact. Usually it’s a gentle hit on the face, smelling people’s cheek, or in this case, hitting me and smiling.
Everytime I think of Wilken I smile and I will always remember him. When I open my cafe, I will name my apple pie, Wilken’s apple pie. I hope to see him again one day.
Show your love, tell people how you feel because our life is so precious to pass the moment of telling people how they make you feel or how much of an impact they can make on your life with just a simple one and a half hour conversation. Just do it in anyway you can.
Love,
Dandelion Traveler
dandeliontraveler 