A pretrip to Glacier with the g’kidz

A planned preamble to another white water rafting trip down the middle fork of the Salmon replete with many grade 3-4 rapids. Then, a road bump and a decision. Eight interminable nosebleeds – 3 ED visits, a (very descriptive) rhinoRocket, 20% blood loss with anemia, finally ENT cautery of an ethmoid artery bleed, left me vulnerable. A vital debate – probably OK during rafting vs. possible rebleed during trip with no cell service/medical access for six days (? helicopter out, ruined trip for 25) … finally canceled for medical reasons. Still, 36 hours at Glacier with the two g’kidz.

Adaptability
Despite arriving early at 8:30, the park ranger indicated that parking lots for Logan Pass and the major hikes were already likely full so we should shuttle instead of drive. But after an hour of shuttle waiting/going nowhere (first took only 2 more, the big bus only 12 more – up to us, the next headed the opposite way … every 15-30 min, hopes were dashed, and we envisioned our wish list being chopped to one hike and the planned boat ride and the Going-to-the-sun Road itself! A frustrated 3-way huddle led to scrapping the boat ride, restarting the car, and chancing open road-side parking. Beautiful untrammeled waterfalls and streams, flowing crystalline blue water and chilly wadeable pools opened up for Jack and Naomi. A lucky spot for Avalanche Falls but we went opposite to find a traversable, wide stream to build a city of cairns (stackable rocks). Another spot along Cedar Trail to redirect the stream and fashion a tiled pool. And after reaching the penultimate Logan Pass in mid-afternoon … still no parking as John drove the lot for 30 min … and we were apparently back to viewing the rest of park from the road. And magically at 4 pm a spot opened up and we topped the day at Hidden Lake Overlook with its sweeping vistas of mountains and valleys filled with blue water, deer, and, THE best, white mountain goats clambering high on the mountainsides, with the King of the Mountain Goats seated majestically within 15 feet as we paid photo homage. Of course mid-course corrections can one astray but in our case, flexibility and redirection led to a very satisfying day.

Big vs. little agendas
Usually, ambitious travel itineraries stack up a pile of planned and suggested attractions and the natural impulse is to maximize the opportunities. The desire to see as many waterfalls and vistas vs. the kids needs for d-own time. As it turned out, their frigid wading, cairns city building and stream diverting/pool creating rejuvenated and reenergized them and rebalanced the equation towards the little. At the end, as the adults were winding down, they were zigzagging off the path onto rocks and back … and wanting more.

Mother Nature and National Parks
No litter. Azure skies. Unimaginable wide and steep vistas quite different from Yosemite. Sheer drop offs on the edge of the road. Water falls. Crystalline blue water – falling, crashing, careening, bubbling and placidly streaming. Uphill, breath-drawing and breathtaking hikes. Many people on the main trails, and many walking toddlers. When walking with Rachel, despite the many places visited while growing up, we could only recall one national park (Smoky Mountain National Park) visited as a family. We didn’t prioritize that as a family as others’ had. Did we miss out?

Views, large and small
The large vistas were my favorite. But really, how could I pick one part of the many rich concatenary experiences, both large and small. Simply watching a 10 and 12 year old use water, small and large stones and sticks in creative ways. I found myself enthralled by nature’s smaller patterns. Although not a ‘nature’ person, I gazed at the patterns of erosion around the streams leaving smooth circular pools or wave-like undulations, the colored stones forming a natural mosaic or art work. Have I been too immersed in art lately, now seeing the world through aesthetic spectacles?

Unplugged yet connected
Borrowing from John’s toast to our very first Salmon R rafting trip, we were without internet, forced to observe, participate and play in nature by itself, even if for a fleeting moment. Unplugged from the electronic multiverse, connecting to family and nature. Even Jack commented, ‘it was a great chance to connect with you Gong Gong!

Revisiting my father and mother with renewed eyes

Five former graduate students of my father gathered for a mini-reunion in town in early June. Kurt, Susan, Janet, David and Pat have all had successful careers in Chinese or Japanese art history as professor, curators, architect and art appraiser/author. I was uniquely privileged, as a ‘bee’ on the wall, to listen to two full days of reminiscences of how each became his students, his pedagogy, teaching and mentoring style, and his and my mother’s impact on their lives. While here, they viewed his Chinese ink art collection including some that I have recently added while interpreting colophons and poems, linking paintings to classical painters, placing them in their historical context, and providing many stylistic and technical insights. Not only did I learn a lot, most of all their refreshing view of my parents, quite counter to my own, was frankly lifechanging.

I knew that my father was a dedicated scholar of Yuan dynasty painting, having written several monographs on the artist Chao Mengfu. My mother told me he was one of the very first chaired professors at the University of Kansas and ultimately trained around 25 PhD and 75 Masters students, apparently the record in liberal arts, so surprising for such an arcane field. Nancy Steinhardt of Penn wrote ‘every student during this period turned to Li’s Autumn Colors on the Ch’iao and Hua Mountains as the model for both study of a seminal painting and the specific questions to ask about a masterpiece’. This gathering, which of course cannot be considered unbiased, confirmed that he is considered amongst the three giants in the field including Wen Fong and James Cahill. Yet staying out of the art history politics and not self-promoting, he may not have attained the full recognition he deserved.

And, I also knew that my father discovered and promoted the 5th Moon Group led by Liu Kuosung in Taiwan, an avant garde ink painting group, then completely unappreciated. While other scholars group largely ignored this new movement, my father presciently and proactively plunged into this new wave by organizing exhibitions, writing catalog introductions, and grants to bring these artists to the US to provide additional training and exposure. All of his efforts radically changed their career trajectories from struggling in Taiwan to success and appreciation in the West. The reunion group described his efforts as an ‘obligation’ of one in a high position to help struggling artists whom he viewed as the future of Chinese ink painting. In effect, he became their academic ‘patron’ a role which has a long history in China.

So what was it like to be Dr. Li’s graduate student? They all recalled the thrilling Thursday evening seminars held in the storage room of the Nelson-Atkins Gallery where Laurence Sickman the Director and my father would preside over monumental Song Dynasty (900 AD) paintings just for teaching purposes! That couldn’t happen today. My father emphasized broad connoisseurship training (knowing objects) that enabled them to either become scholars or hands-on curators. Today, the narrow training focused on a specific research area no longer prepares them to teach survey courses or discern fake from genuine objects. He was ‘fatherly’ in his approach taking on ‘project’ students, writing innumerable letters of introduction to scholars and curators in Taiwan, Japan and China to facilitate their doctoral research, and successfully obtaining fellowships to support their overseas training … even approving their marriage partners. He organized two ongoing ‘internship’ positions at Taiwan’s Palace Museum dedicated to KU graduate students and similarly at Nanjing University when China finally opened its gates. He avoided asking students to work on his projects, as many professors do to further their own efforts, instead had them chose their own dissertation subject. In hindsight, some wished he had pushed some to work on contemporary Chinese artists he was helping on the side as that would have put them at the forefront of an emerging field. If he didn’t know much about a particular painter or topic, he would connect students to other international experts. He seemed to know and be respected by everyone, everywhere all at once (sounds like a current Asian movie). And, he constantly invited visiting scholars and artists to visit and teach. In essence, he was a selfless and relentless advocate, neither territorial in advancing his own research agenda nor limiting their exposure to alternative viewpoints. He was uber mentor and prepared teacher but … he had a boring lecture style. My mother also played an important team role as a thoughtful sounding board, even guiding students on how to navigate my father. Such a team.

So how did I experience my parents? Hmmm, it’s hard to recognize them as the same persons described above. My mother was an Uber controlling Tiger that two of my pediatric colleagues called abuse. Unquestionably her demanded discipline, delayed gratification, and home summer schooling laid the foundation for my eventual professional success for which I’m appreciative. Although the other parent or a sibling mitigates the impact, my father later admitted that he had fully delegated my upbringing to my mother. Perfect storm. The unintended costs were several rounds of counseling to extinguish one memorable episode that allowed me to posthumously achieve peace with her. My father was aloof, unapproachable as he went directly from dinner to newspaper to nightly type-written research stint from 9 pm to 3 am. He was hypercritical and, not unlike his Chinese peers, never uttered a word of praise. One which could be taken as such occurred after my being elected president of our professional society. I had hoped for a compliment at the pinnacle of my career, but he immediately rejoindered ‘now you can be a dean’, which I took as falling short of his raised bar, a memorable crestfallen moment. When caring for him near the end, I recognized I had very few father-son memories other than in museums – all others involved fathers of friends. And it finally explained why from age 11-34, I sought a male mentor at every stage of my life to fill an immense void in my four-chambered soul. Before she passed, Teri asked me to continue in therapy and I finally attained peace with him too. We all have our respective parents to bear.

This gathering of former students provided a wonderful appreciation of how much he gave of himself in his uniquely selfless way. They constitute his penultimate extended as his fatherly concern was dispersed so widely and tangibly to so many students, artists and colleagues and the game-changing good that resulted. As well as my mother’s important adjunctive role. In the overall cosmic balance, their gains outweighs my loss. Ironically, my segue to get him to talk with me was to ask about his work especially about the artists he discovered. I began to appreciate his prescient, aesthetic eye and his key role in facilitating the development and careers of contemporary Chinese ink artists. This seed grew into deeper appreciation of the art and a commitment to expand his collection into the 21st century. I do know he would be surprised and proud. And while much of my life was spent trying to distance myself, ironically I now discover that not only do I use a similar approach to my mentees, I even trapse in his giant art footsteps.

Chasing cherry blossoms, while limping

Why write about my 11th trip to Japan? Well, it was a wonderful and fulfilling trip, but not without significant snafus at the intersection of age, health and international travel, perhaps a signpost?

Most still mask in public and on public transportation. Shinjuku subway station close to our hotel transports 2.4 million passengers/day. We swam through them at rush hour only to be packed like sardines. It remains one of the safest spots in the world anwhere, anytime day or night. The cultural ethos cherishes aesthetics down to each package wrapper. The buses, trains and shinkansen (bullet) arrive within the scheduled minute. 7-11 and department stores have great fast food and top restaurants, respectively. They cannot fathom that we cannot see the menu outside replete with colorful, realistic, plastic models. (How do you know what you are getting?) Well-tended temples and shrines offer peaceful respite in the busiest bustle of metropolises. Tiny family-run specialty shops (incense) survive from the 18th and 19th C. Japan is such a unique amalgam of treasured tradition, astounding aesthetics, yet contemporary convenience.

My pre-trip hurdle included my third prostate surgery one month before followed by an unexpected post-operative abscess smack in the middle of my back that required intervention and daily redress by my nephew Matt, still not quite closed upon departure. Then, on the 2nd day while chasing cherry blossoms around Mt. Fuji, my feet started swelling and wouldn’t fit in my sneakers. I woke repeatedly at 2 am itching terribly. Long story short … it was scabies. Where the … did I get scabies in Japan … slippers? And then blepharitis of the right eye. So yes, a humbling reminder of how vulnerable we elders can be in the most awkward … fortunately my pediatric friend/host came to the rescue near the end.

Friends helped make this trip special. Tony did the bulk of the planning and his Chinese literacy helped with place names but that didn’t keep us from getting on the wrong train or Google maps leading us astray. We met five of Tony and Martha’s friends including a retired octogenarian who has worked in 30 countries and her expat cousin who has taught university English for 25 years and will retire in Istanbul. My five included Akira, Naomi and their 1st year medical resident daughter and Shun and his girlfriend Alisa. Shun is about to complete his PhD at Tokyo U, inaugurated the first patient support group for the disorder that I study, and started up an NGO that connects patients with rare diseases with doctors who study them. Alisa has spent a year at NYU, worked in Russia, and works for a start-up that markets NFTs (digital originals?). Not only interesting people, but friendship, and 3-D insight into Japanese life and times.

Now the pictures (apologize for jumble): Legends:

Oldest teahouse in Japan with T&M, Mt. Fuji unshrouded in clouds, last cherry blossoms in central Japan (other days blossom-less)

Azaleas and wisteria, wet gardens Taizo-in (Kyoto) and Isui-en (Nara)

Yayoi Kumasa is everywhere - in moving robot, Naoshima Island and her latest installation

Tadao Ando Nariwa museum in Okayama Pref

Osaka Castle, G-7 meeting in Kurashiki, coi and tea competition (kimono clad) in Koraku-en, Okayama

Dry garden - Ryoanji (model for my backyard) Temple (Kyoto) and bamboo at Arashiyama

Christmas 2022

A Christmas card rather than the usual Chinese New Year message, for a change.

Rachel, John Jack and Naomi visited from NJ over CHristmas and we all went skiing in Vail, they downhill and me flat-lined. Jack's in 6th (math wiz), Naomi in 4th (flag football phenom), John with PCI Pharma and Rachel subbing frequently at Westmont Montessori where the kids attended (what would Teri think?). Meimei their bishan-shih tzu was Pet of the Month in their local weekly. Ben, Theresa, Flora and Juna. Flora is in a Mandarin pre-K planning on a Mandarin-immersion public school, Juna is a 2 y/o pistol (watch out), Ben is in his 2nd year as Emergency Medicine faculty at Denver Health and had a successful grants season for their gun violence prevention program. Theresa continues in the high tech industry in a new job. Jen, one of the main reasons I moved here, continues as Director of the Center of Humanities and the Arts at CU-Boulder, after an intense 2 years as a talking head on anti-Asian racism (NPR, CNN...) during COVID and as President of the Association for Asian American Studies. Matt her husband the Spanish major continues as a nurse in CLINICA a hispanic clinic. Chaucer their Corgie has recovered from repair of his torn ACL. For me continued academic activity (3rd Int'l Symposium on Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome), Tai Chi progress in Vancouver (learned Old Frame 2nd Routine), road biking, hiking Rocky Mtn Nat'l Park and traveling (Machi Picchu and Canada). I have a combination gallery (in honor of Dad) and Tai Chi studio and a backyard Zen rock garden based upon Ryoan-ji in Kyoto. May you have health and family,

March of the Penguins at the NASPGHAN (Double) 50th Anniversary Celebration

It was the first in person annual meeting of North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition in 3 years and quite a number of us were meeting face-to-face for the first time rather than as talking Zoom heads.  NASPGHAN is the national professional organization that represents all 2,700 pediatric gastroenterologists, hepatologists and nutritionists in the US and Canada recently affiliated with our Mexican colleagues.  Typically some 1,700+ meet annually for a Single Topic Symposium on Wednesday, the annual Post-Graduate Course Thursday and then the annual meeting on Friday and Saturday.  Also attending in tandem are the Association of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition Nurses and Council of Pediatric Nutrition Professionals who work with us in multidisciplinary gastroenterology clinics (e.g. inflammatory bowel disease, celiac disease, eosinophilic esophagitis and cyclic vomiting syndrome). The interminable sitting in a dark room watching innumerable slides erupts with a Saturday nite shindig with buffet dinner, a DJ and becchanal dancing.  

This year was special for two reasons.  A double 50th.  It was the 50^th Anniversary of the founding of NASPGHAN in 1972.  It would also be our 50th wedding anniversary.  This year, the former presidents (13 of the 29) were to parade during the plenary session.  One suggested we wear a tuxedo but I rejoindered that I would not be dressed as a penguin so close to Halloween.  In the pictures you will note that all of the former presidents are white – I was the first minority and the first Asian American to be elected.  Times they are a changin’, four of the most recent eight presidents have been female and our just elected is president-elect is an Asian-Canadian Vicky Ng.

Jenifer Lightdale current and Ben Gold immediate past presidents on the red carpet 

The still-able-to-stand past presidents 

At the annual meeting, it is my honor to congratulate the annual winner (10^th year) of the Teri Li Award in education awarded to a young faculty who has made an extraordinary national contribution to gastroenterology education.  It warms my heart to hear her name announced every year - and wish she was here to see her impact as it is also our 50th anniversary!  I also congratulate the winner of the ‘Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome Award in honor of B Li’ given to the best poster abstract on nausea, vomiting and cyclic vomiting syndrome.  Given that I’ve been around so many years, I also get to congratulate many other award winners.  This year, especially because of the 50^th anniversary, many of my ex-trainees, mentees, former colleagues, committee appointees including chairs under me thanked me for mentoring and opening doors for them.  Oh, what a feeling.

This gives a sense of how much meaningful interaction is interwoven in early morning committee meetings, the breaks, the lunches, the dinners, the late evenings … apart from the meeting itself.  And as I am a pediatrician, it is a delight to watch these trainees grow and develop, build families and even become your boss!  . 

 

Here are some bios of a few of the characters that I wanted to highlight.  Their snapshots are below.  

 

This year’s Teri Li Award went to Brian McFerron, a young faculty member from Riley Chhildren’s and the Univ. of Indiana in Indianapolis.  Based upon rigorous criteria, he was selected by our national committee of educators for his novel work in training GI fellows.  Besides the engraved glass and monetary award, I send a bouquet of tropical flowers from Hawaii (Teri’s favorite) and a letter describing Teri’s passion for teaching young children.  It is hoped that this award early in one’s career will provide an incentive to keep active in the educator pathway.  He wrote back 'Thank you so much for the stunning flowers!  They are beautiful and look better every day.  My wife and I so enjoyed reading about Teri and your family.  I am deeply moved and honored to receive the award in her honor.  I hope I continue to make her proud!'

Brian McFerron 2022 Teri Li Award recipient

This year’s CVSA Award in honor of B Li was awarded to a pediatric resident Ben Jack from the Uniform Health Services Hospital in Bethesda.  His study highlighted children with cyclic vomiting syndrome who require hospitalization.  He would like to subspecialize in pediatric gastroenterology.

Brian Jacks 2022 CVSA/B Li Poster Award 

Carlo DiLorenzo, chief of pediatric gastroenterology at Nationwide Children’s & Ohio State Univ and a native Italian, received the 2022 Shwachman Award.  This is our top academic career achievement award in NASPGHAN.  Due to his famously humorously presentations, he is bar none the most popular speaker in our society and the face of our organization.  Carlo is a fellow Ohio State Buckeye fanatic with whom I celebrate and commiserate and has become a good friend as I continue to return to Columbus for one game a year.  In fact, I attended last weekend’s Indiana game held in the 30^o weather replete with snow, sleet and wind.

Carlo DiLorenzo 2022 Shwachman Awardee

Glenn Furuta, gastroenterologist from Colorado Children’s and U. Colorado in Denver received the 2021 Shwachman Award but was only able to hold a belated in person celebration this year.  He is the world’s leading researcher on eosinophilic esophagitis, a food-related immune reaction that inflames and scars the esophagus in both children and adults.  I helped him launch the very first Single Topic Symposium on this topic and routinely have lunch or dinner with him in Denver.  He is an ardent Univ. of Texas football fan.  Asian trio - Paul on the right is a crazy dancer.

Glenn Furuta 2021 Shwachman Awardee

Norberto Rodriguez is a transplant hepatologist at Dallas Children’s & UT-Southwestern in Dallas who originally hails from Puerto Rico.  He was awarded the Master Educator Award, a career achievement award in education - I just happened to be the inaugural winner 4 years ago.  Norberto is an especially creative teacher who developed a friendly GI Jeopardy Quiz competition between faculty and fellows now held annually at our national meeting.  After I appointed him as Chair of the International Committee, he developed a Spanish language program for our Latin American attendees that has become a permanent fixture at our annual meeting.  He was just elected Secretary-Treasurer of our organization.

Norberto Rodriguez 2022 Master Educator Awardee

Vicky Ng is a transplant hepatologist from Toronto Sick Kids and U. Toronto in Toronto and was just elected President-elect of NASPGHAN.  She is the 5^th woman and first Asian-Canadian woman to head our organization.  I’ve known her since she was a junior faculty and we have discussed a number of challenges that Asian professionals have and of course shared dim sum together in Vancouver. 

Vicky Ng, President-elect NASPGHAN

Diana Lerner is an interventional (removes, stretches, injects) endoscopist who was a fellow mentee and fellow faculty at Children’s Wisconsin & Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee.  She was born in the Ukraine was just awarded a year-long fellowship to do extra training in interventional procedures (e.g. ERCP).  Diana has also made instructional cartoon videos to teach children about endoscopy they are about to undergo.  In Milwaukee, we have have dinner together with her two children and husband Isaak (in IT) and we will get together as the family temporarily relocates to Denver for the coming year.    

Diana Lerner 2022 Advanced Fellowship Awardee

Cara Mack, a transplant hepatologist and basic researcher on biliary atresia, is the new chief of pediatric gastroenterology at Children’s Wisconsin & Medical College of Wisconsin.  She is a native Wisconsinite and is returning to her home state where eight siblings live.  In fact, she was my first fellow at Lurie Children’s Hospital in 2001 but was already in her last year when I began as training director.  She is a trainee who has become my boss yet in so doing ‘promoted’ me to Emeritus Professor.  She is organizing a mini-symposium in my honor this December. 

Cara Mack, former fellow, now division chief & 'boss'

 

Katja Kovacic is the former fellow, mentee, research collaborator, NIH-funded neurogastroenterologist (gut-brain) and superstar in our field.  I highlighted her in the previous blog.  She is Finnish but from an island that is Swedish-speaking.  She was a Division 1 scholarship tennis player, represented USA at the senior World Tennis Championships and recently beat two of us playing against her solo!  Her children speak Swedish, Croatian and English.  I’ve become a fan of her 14 y/o daughter who is one of the top point guards in Wisconsin and have attended a number of her travel games over the last two years.  

 

Katja Kovacic + Cara & I had lunch but lost the pic

One picture shows  former co-fellows Khalil El-Chammas, a neurogastroenterologist (gastroparesis) at Cincinnati Children’s and U. Cincinnati, and Vi Go, a nutritionist at Children’s Hospital of Philadellphia and U. Pennsylvania.  They have three and two children respectively and now work at two of the top three pediatric gastroenterology divisions in the US.  We all caught up!

Former co-fellows Khalil El-Chammas and Vi Go

 

I have known Christine Waasdorp-Hurtado since she was an itsy-bitsy fellow at the U. Colorado at Colorado Springs after leaving military medicine.  She is now a mid-level faculty focusing on undergraduate medical education.  When she was the Fellows Committee Chair, she came to me with the grandiose idea of editing a Board Review Book for Fellows.  I helped raise the money and it became an 800-page reality.  It lead to us bonding over editing the second edition together and to having an mandatory lunch at the annual meeting.  She now has college-aged kids!

Christine Waasdorp-Hurtado long-time collaborator

 

There was one very sad note.  Jim Heubi, a hepatologist at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and Dean of Clinical Research at U. Cincinnati and Past-President of NASPGHAN, passed away unexpectedly at in August 2021.  We were both long-term NASPGHAN Committee Chairs rising to President and would always commiserate and jog together at the executive retreats.  He was low-key, soft-spoken, thoughtful listener and tirelessly helpful – almost like an Asian brother.  Teri and I went out to dinner with he and Margo.  When Ben interviewed for medical school at Cincinnati, Jim spontaneously offered to take him to dinner.  Margo, and daughters Chrissie and Liz, attended the Past-Presidents 'procession' in his stead - tears flowed.  An incredible human being who will be missed.

Jim Heubi, in memoriam

In highlighting these former trainees and colleagues from around the country, you can see the close professional relationships that emerge in our society that make attending the annual meeting a warm annual reunion and collegial renewal.  It is heartening to watch career growth of each of these individuals as well as growth and dynamism (advocacy) in our society, and especially the growing diversity with more and more women and minority leaders and award winners.  And of course I’m especially tickled when other Asian Americans and Asian Canadians do so well …

 

Until next year …

Young friends and passing of a friend

As I mentioned in the previous blog, I’ve developed some young friends – who are they?  I thought I would provide a few snapshots.

 

Katja is Finnish(Swedish-speaking)-American, a protégé, a mother of three (4-14), an ex-Division I tennis player, and now an NIH-funded clinical scientist who is not only carrying on my Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome Program yet independently pursuing novel vagal neuromodulation therapy.  She is Superwoman – she walked across the Atlantic ­– uphill both ways!  Her children speak Swedish, Croatian and English, and her eldest a girl is a top point guard whom I’ve watched hit 3-pointer after 3-pointer.   She is such a highly motivated, organized researcher, efficient writer and critical thinker from which we accrue bidirectional benefits, and clearly has shown she can outdo her mentor.  Special.

 

Fanny is Cantonese-Canadian acrylic and mixed media artist, and fellow Tai Chi student.  Her early years were spent on a Pacific Island, then Hong Kong for elementary school, then Canada for high school and college, and then the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing for a Master’s.  She’s trying to make it as an independent artist while teaching private art students.  She did a hand-painted replica of an exquisite ‘blue moon’ Boddhisatva that I saw on a trip to the Silk Road in 2016 and I have since collected/commissioned several other pieces.  Last year, she drew me into the Vancouver International Film Festival where she saw 40+ films and I first saw the later-named NY Times top 10 film ‘Drive my car’ from Japan.

 

Donna is Vietnamese-American woman who is the current President of APAMSA (Asian American medical student organization I began in 1995) and is like a daughter who sends me unexpected greetings, asks me to do things for APAMSA, and requests umpteen letters of recommendation.  She shared her family story – also in a TEDx talk – that inspired her intentions to focus on public mental health in Asian Americans combining an MPH and psychiatry residency.  Yesterday she asked for help on a presentation on APAMSA for the Health Equity Subcommittee of the White House AANHPI Commission.  Today she wrote “My helpful mantra is ‘What Would Dr. B Li Do?’”  Awwww.

 

Quintin is Shanghainese-South African who grew up as the only Asian (no sibs) in his South African town – not unlike my upbringing in Iowa City.  After his undergraduate degree there, he moved to Norway for nine years to set up a company to develop a new interactive, non-violent video game.  Feeling a bit out of place socially, he screened the world for a landing spot and without foreknowledge, moved to downtown Vancouver.  He is a thinker with global perspective and game designer who is also a cinephile and we’ve shared a number of repasts and watched a number of movies together.  And his girlfriend is from Ukraine and finally on her way.  Just where in the world is Carmen San Quintin?

 

A moment of silence for Jeff Perry

 

Jeff Perry (spouse of Becky) passed away this past Saturday.  He is aptly self-described as an ‘independent, working-class scholar’ who was educated at Princeton several years ahead of me followed by a PhD in history from Columbia.  Yet for 50+ years he was active working-class postal worker eventually serving as the union shop steward.  Meanwhile, he was continuously involved in social justice issues ranging from affirmative action, worker’s, women’s, tenants’, Black, Latino and Asian rights, anti-war and anti-imperialist work. 

 

Yet on top of his job, family and proactivity and, outside of academia, he became an independent respected scholar focusing on ‘the role of white supremacy as retardant to progressive social change and on the centrality of the struggle against them to progressive social change efforts.’  As part of this passion, he completed a two-volume biography (second nominated for the Pulitzer prize) on Hubert Harrison (1917), the Father of Harlem Radicalism and founder of the militant ‘New Negro Movement’.  And he felt Mr. Harrison’s analysis laid the groundwork for that of Jeff’s mentor Theodore Allen’s two-volume “The Invention of the White Race” 1994, 1997.   

 

What a remarkable, impactful life for this proactive autodidact who dedicated his inexhaustible efforts to social justice in life and in academics – an old-school life that ran on all 8 cylinders!

https://www.jeffreybperry.net

Vancouver life: a self-assessment

I’m taking a moment to reflect over the past 11 years as tomorrow is the Teri’s anniversary.  A montage of memories of her insurmountable 19 month illness with innumerable complications confronted with grace and equanimity;  followed by care for my declining father for 3½ years 22/7 while working and learning new life skills with no time for grief;  another 3 years to organize his memorials, academic and collection legacy, and, with the help of family, friends and counseling to come to peace with the hand dealt and finally emerging into refreshed air.  It has been a full journey to the depths and back.

 A glimpse of my Vancouver life as an indicator of progress.  My life remains peripatetic with more than 50% time on the flight path but here is the single spot where I stay firmly entrenched during summers, focusing on one thing, Chen Tai Chi, in a self-imposed boot camp.  This year, I’ve crouched up to 17 hours per week and my knees have been accommodating and my balance, proprioception and strength have noticeably improved.  Post-COVID, the Sifu Paul and disciple Mary are back to basics (even warmups) retooling hand placement, knee positioning and hip movement with a fine microscope.  Any inch off is called out and redone until revamped.  Although my Boulder biking has consequently declined to a single weekly long ride, I’m swimming twice weekly.  My intermittent fasting, portfolio diet + chia, hemp, flax seeds and CoQ10 have reshaped and rejuvenated me.

 

Art has become a major endeavor that began by listening to my father’s stories about artists and his career as this was the main way that I could get him to relate to me.  Chinese contemporary ink painting began to become my passion while organizing his papers and collection.  Now, I have expanded his collection in a thematic way, made a gallery using his chosen name and commissioned calligraphy, and plan to have private showings for friends to curators.  I have focused my attention on Margaret a near nonagenarian artist who in the 1960-90s was an avant-garde ink painter who was close to my parents and now my close friend.  After interviewing her weekly during COVID, I gave my first art history lecture on her career.  Although my relationship with my father was limited or one-sided, I strangely find myself following in his extra-large footsteps … and appreciating his remarkable prescient, open-minded eye for abstract ink and my own subsequent visual high.  

 

Close friends and family are widespread representing lived places from Iowa City/Lawrence, NYC, San Francisco, Madison, Columbus, Chicago, Milwaukee, Vancouver and now Boulder and a geographical challenge to maintain.  They are a diverse lot from friends, former neighbors, fellow residents and faculty mentors, gourmet club, colleagues (Geezer’s Club or Grumpy old Gastroenterologists), artists, and biking and Tai Chi buddies.  Of course, the 46-year relationship with three generations of Chuns who treated us like family (‘Teri was like a second daughter’) continues as does the 45-year history with Steve (best bud) and Mary and their three generations – our most secure life-long anchors.  What is interesting is that my continued physical moves, academic involvement, APAMSA board activity, and art interests are forging new relationships with old and young’uns the latter are helping me to better understand and appreciate gen Z’s from which hope springs for better, beyond our current quagmire.

 

So, my self-assessment in Vancouver tells me that my life is refreshing and meaningful, still on a slightly upward, exploratory, adventurous incline despite the world as it is and aging as it will be.

 

Best  

 

 

From cannery town Ladner, just north of the Tsawwassen Ferry

To downtown Van from 40th floor

Overlooking the convention center, cruise docks

And the view at sunset