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A Letter to Richard |
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| 緒言、懷念、摯友、懷念、再見、記憶、瀟灑一生、記憶中、痛失好友、再會、無名英雄、長存我心、好生好死、指導員、給Richard的信、A Letter to Richard、A Letter from William Lee、A Light that Shines、永留我心、記憶中的Richard、悼東衡夫人、茶友會、編後感想 | |
| by Bruce Yang |
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Dear Richard: When I got the email from James informing the bad news that you had passed away on Dec. 15, 2010, due to lung cancer, I was too astonished and sad to believe it. Why did bad things always happen to nice people? I doubted. I attended your memorial service, read the memorial book edited by the pastor in charge of your memorial service to know more about you. I came to understand you were far greater than I could imagine when the blind children from Hui Ming School read their appreciation from the bottoms of their hearts and sang songs for you. You are an unsung hero to have spent much time accompanying, teaching and encouraging these physically challenging kids. After the memorial service, we gathered outside the church. Charles said he was the first person to shake hands with you when you first joined Fengyuan Toastmasters club regular meeting. Charles told us how you managed to travele the world alone with little budget. From Jessie and Ming?wei I knew you were Tachia Toastmasters Club’s mentor and during the first year you almost attended their every meeting… Even though I was never a member of Fengyuan Toastmasters Club, I could feel your hearty welcome whenever I visited Fengyuan 2001?2002. I especially thanked you and Charles for your supports and encouragements when I was responsible for Speech Marathon section for 2002 Fall Convention held in Tachia. Without your help, I would have never made it. To me, you are a very humble person. Never did you talk about your achievements or your personal life. However, on the other hand, you are humorous, confident and never say No in Toastmasters. You ever told to me,” I would rather focus on finding ways to solve problems to finish my assignment than simply keep complaining it’s not fair.” You taught me to lead by setting examples, so when I was President of Changhua Toastmasters Club, I asked all officers to join in ?club speech contest, with me announcing my speech title first. With a poor pronunciation and awkward body language, let alone dance on the stage, I was doomed to fail in Toastmasters. However, your persistence epitomized the very spirits of Toastmasters, which inspired me that so long as I kept going without giving it up, I would find my own triumph one day. Finally I decided to achieve DTM and fulfilled my dreams at long last. Without your and Charles’ encouragements, I dared not to dream big. I know you would hate to see us sad for you. So, we would hold a memorial meeting for you on Jan. 25 night. Many senior members and old friends would attend the meeting. So would I. You must be very happy to see so many good friends to see you off, even though we can’t hear your laughter any more. Last but not the least, I sincerely hope you would have a new beginning with your late wife in Heaven. May God bless you. Bruce |
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