Tuesday, June 14, 2005
In Memory of Our Classmate and Friend - Chiu Ping Fun
I knew Chiu Ping Fun in 1959, the year that BWFLC established. We were placed in Form 1B together. He was short and small, but with very alert and clever eyes. As a result one of the teachers gave him a nickname "little rat', and the other teacher called him "little pepper". To the end he was known as "little rat" during his 5 years in BWFLC.
We were separated in Form 2. He was placed in Form 2A and I was in Form 2B. For the next 3 years, we seldom talked to each other, though we might tease at each other during the PE lessions. All I remember is that he grew much taller than before, and was no longer a "little" rat but a tall and thin one. He was scare of the soccer ball, and was never active in the soccer field. Academically, I knew he was doing very well for he was always number one in his class.
We were together again in Form 5. Our friendship rekindled very fast as the Form 1B students came together again. Chiu Ping Fun was very serious when we talked about school work, but he was very playful in other daily matters. He also developed a sense of humour. He was quite impulsive and 'courageous'. I remember that after receiving our first term report card in Form 5, we talked and walked to his house. He planned to have a picnic with two other girls whom we did not know very well. I was not sure whether we were interested in these girls or just because of our teenage hormones. He brought me to visit one of our female classmates, and asked her to invite them. I was scare but he was the one talking to our female classmate. Though she promised to invite them, they turned our invitation down flatly.
Ah Chiu, as we called him in Form 5, was a straight foward guy. He expressed his feeling quite openly. Some may criticize that he was too expressive and his style might turn people off. I found his character was quite complementary to mine. I am a very reserve person, and I do not know how to express my feeling. His character made me very easy to talk to.
Ah Chiu was the only one in the Class that received distinction in biology in the HK English School Certificate. Once I asked if he would do medicine in the university. He told me that his family could not afford sending him to medical school, and he might not be able to go to the university.
After matriculation from Queen's College and working for a few months in an accountant firm, he joined the Hong Kong Housing Authority. During his first two years with the Hong Kong Housing Authority, he came to supervise the Sai Wan Chuen Estate quite often. Whenever he came, he always dropped by my house to say hi for half an hour. As a result, my parents knew him quite well.
The last time I saw him was in 1995 in his office, where he was the Manager of the branch. He told me that he became a Buddhist. It was a surprise, and then he explained to me that he was influenced by his aunt. He found it very comfortable to attend one Buddhism lecture from time to time. He still maintained his sense of humour. I asked him to visit Canada, but he told me that did not want to travel overseas. He preferred staying in Hong Kong.
In 1999, I was on the way to Wuhan, and stopped overnight in Hong Kong to change plane. I called him but he was visiting China. I called him again when I returned to Hong Kong. But he was still in China.
When I heard the news that he got liver cancer. I was completely numb. How could an energetic and optimistic young retiree suddenly face death without warning? I tried to recollect my friend's life. However there were so many blanks in between. We did not communicate in writing after I came to Canada in 1971. It was neither one's fault. I was lazy and he was too. However, whenever I visited Hong Kong, I always tried to get in touch with him.
As we are planning to have a global Class-64 reunion in 2006, I am looking forward meeting my friend again in Hong Kong to revisit our high school impulsive dreams. Now my friend is gone, and I can only meet him in my dreams.....
What is life? Life is only a dream........
We were separated in Form 2. He was placed in Form 2A and I was in Form 2B. For the next 3 years, we seldom talked to each other, though we might tease at each other during the PE lessions. All I remember is that he grew much taller than before, and was no longer a "little" rat but a tall and thin one. He was scare of the soccer ball, and was never active in the soccer field. Academically, I knew he was doing very well for he was always number one in his class.
We were together again in Form 5. Our friendship rekindled very fast as the Form 1B students came together again. Chiu Ping Fun was very serious when we talked about school work, but he was very playful in other daily matters. He also developed a sense of humour. He was quite impulsive and 'courageous'. I remember that after receiving our first term report card in Form 5, we talked and walked to his house. He planned to have a picnic with two other girls whom we did not know very well. I was not sure whether we were interested in these girls or just because of our teenage hormones. He brought me to visit one of our female classmates, and asked her to invite them. I was scare but he was the one talking to our female classmate. Though she promised to invite them, they turned our invitation down flatly.
Ah Chiu, as we called him in Form 5, was a straight foward guy. He expressed his feeling quite openly. Some may criticize that he was too expressive and his style might turn people off. I found his character was quite complementary to mine. I am a very reserve person, and I do not know how to express my feeling. His character made me very easy to talk to.
Ah Chiu was the only one in the Class that received distinction in biology in the HK English School Certificate. Once I asked if he would do medicine in the university. He told me that his family could not afford sending him to medical school, and he might not be able to go to the university.
After matriculation from Queen's College and working for a few months in an accountant firm, he joined the Hong Kong Housing Authority. During his first two years with the Hong Kong Housing Authority, he came to supervise the Sai Wan Chuen Estate quite often. Whenever he came, he always dropped by my house to say hi for half an hour. As a result, my parents knew him quite well.
The last time I saw him was in 1995 in his office, where he was the Manager of the branch. He told me that he became a Buddhist. It was a surprise, and then he explained to me that he was influenced by his aunt. He found it very comfortable to attend one Buddhism lecture from time to time. He still maintained his sense of humour. I asked him to visit Canada, but he told me that did not want to travel overseas. He preferred staying in Hong Kong.
In 1999, I was on the way to Wuhan, and stopped overnight in Hong Kong to change plane. I called him but he was visiting China. I called him again when I returned to Hong Kong. But he was still in China.
When I heard the news that he got liver cancer. I was completely numb. How could an energetic and optimistic young retiree suddenly face death without warning? I tried to recollect my friend's life. However there were so many blanks in between. We did not communicate in writing after I came to Canada in 1971. It was neither one's fault. I was lazy and he was too. However, whenever I visited Hong Kong, I always tried to get in touch with him.
As we are planning to have a global Class-64 reunion in 2006, I am looking forward meeting my friend again in Hong Kong to revisit our high school impulsive dreams. Now my friend is gone, and I can only meet him in my dreams.....
What is life? Life is only a dream........
