I have known Yongping since almost two years ago when she applied for a PRA position in our lab. Among the many applicants, she excelled easily with her excellent scientific background and experiences, and her interview really charmed us with her gentle personality and warm smile. I have since had the privilege to work directly with her for the last one year and 10 month.
Through the daily working together times, I have gradually come to know her not only as an excellent colleague, but also as a close friend. We have had many conversations on a wild range of shared interest topics when we have little breaks here and there during various animal experiments. We are both mothers/wives that love our families and we are both hardworking scientists. We both love travel and nature. And probably most importantly, we both love Chinese literature and keep our interest in Chinese writing after many years of living in USA. At one point I thought I have known her very well, however, this view has changed dramatically with the tragic accident that took Yongping away from us. I still remembered the moment that I read the sad email from Yongping’s husband later in the night on January 11, 2014. I read that email so many times, but just cannot comprehend the meaning of it……
During the next few days, as I first-handedly witnessed the difficult times Yongping’s family had to go through to cope with the sudden leaving of her, I started my own painful and disturbing journey to say good bye to Yongping. One thing that I did not fully realize and appreciate until the very recent couple of days before this memorial service is that: this journey would present so many touching moments to allow me to get to know Yongping all over again. The various little stories about Yongping told by her husband, her sister, her college and graduate school friends, and even the co-workers in our lab and on our floor……each and every one of us remembered a little bit of Yongping that I did not really know before. Together, these memories/stories, along with the many pictures of her that you will be able to view during this service, showed a very different Yongping, one that is so vividly alive in my memory now, one that I know that would be impossible to say good bye to for many years to come……
So dear Yongping, this is not a good bye, but simply my admiring gesture to the wonderful and fulfilled life you have lived and will be continued to live through our treasured memories of you.
Thanks to the internet ages, we found a little poem written by Yongping herself on 12/30/2012. Upon the request of Yongping’s husband and the help from my Chinese friends for translation, I will read Yongping’s own poem in both Chinese and English to end my words here: to many of us that know Yongping and re-know Yongping recently, nothing is better than these her very own words to summarize her colorful life:
半辈大海情愫，一生高山胸怀。
冷暖试东西洋，高低攀南北峰。
粗读杂书千卷，闲碾车辙万里。
喜育金花两朵，笑发雄文几篇。
Half of my life my burning passion lies in the vast sea
Throughout the years the tall mountain dwells in me
Chill or warm? To west and east I test the ocean drop
High or low? Up north down south I climb to mountaintop
Thousands of books I've leafed through just for fun
Myriads of miles I've driven leisurely under the sun
Having raised two golden flowers, so proud I am
Academic papers published, I'm as happy as a clam |
发表于 2014-1-23 08:29:25
发表于 2014-1-24 02:32:36
楼主
你在小站玩久了，自会认识那些”才华横溢“的才子佳人们。
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