A Man from 50 Years Ago

There you are, this gorgeous Man smiling at the camera in front of him, when he was taking this picture at his age of 18 when he joined the Army. He looked confident and courageous, and you are still who you are fifty years later.

There is just a date at the back of the photo, “1956/04/12”. This day is the day you proudly graduated from high school and joined the rebuilding of the country. This day is the glorious day for a rising star to shine. This day is the day marked the growing up of a giant. This day is the capture of a magnificent Man at his young age. This day is the day remembered a Hero who was going to save the world with his power.

I would love to share one of my poems for this Man:

I often wonder about your profession,

to see if your duty

was just to stay pretty.

I often wonder about your job,

to see if your responsibility

was just to maintain your beauty.

I often wonder about your occupation,

to see if your obligation

was just to be sealed in perfection.

I often wonder about your existence,

to see if you were truly

the most gifted Babe created by accident.

I tried very hard to depict the beauty of this Man in words, but I can never find enough beautiful words to write for him. I tried to illustrate this Man with my pen, but I can never have enough colors to manifest his true beauty. I tried to write him into melodies, but I can never have the perfect harmony for this beautiful Angel.

Until now, I can still remember the day he saved my life.

Many years ago, I was a new graduate from high school. I was a willful and naughty girl who was not afraid of anything. I went to a University that was so far away from my home and despite my parents’ objection, I went there anyway with my student loan. I rented a room in that strange place and started to party and have savage life over there in that city. That was a military base, so there were many Army Officers and many rules to follow. I guess I was very lucky as the city was so safe that the crime rate was almost zero. However, despite all the luck I had, I still thought I was an abandoned girl who was neglected by my parents and carried on with my wasted life. Until my classmates started their internship and started their careers, I started to feel panic. I wasted so much time doing nothing. I felt lost and abandoned, and I didn’t see my future.

And then you showed up in my life, like a gorgeous Angel. You talked to me and patiently accepted my imperfection. You taught me that, life is like failing and trying, never be afraid of failing, and you just need to keep trying. You showed me how you opened your computer store, how you built your boat and how you became a computer scientist. I remember the moments when you showed me how you hacked the school system. I remember those moments when we were on your boat. I remember the moments when you were in my class and I was so obsessed about your intelligence. You were my Hero, my Savior like Jesus.

My time in that city was awesome, I was staying there for four years but I didn’t feel like I was wasting my time. You gave me all the enjoyable moments over there and I learned everything I needed for work. I was not a smart kid, but you made me feel smart even when I was doing something stupid. You were my professor teaching, and I was your student who admired your work.

I was at the bottom of my valley and you rescued me, just like what you did in the Humane Society. Saving lives had always been your forte. Remember those moments when you were at the battlefields, when you drove tanks and airplanes to go to work, pointing at a map in the field as an Army Officer, directing your platoon soldiers in the battle, giving them orders to make sure they did all their jobs, negotiating with terrorists to rest their armed forces and made peace with countries. Remember those moments when you were in Cyprus where conflicts happened, and you served as a middleman in that territory and trying to make peace with parties. All the intelligence and wit, all the courage and compassion are fully demonstrated in your body. Your holistic body created by God.

I could never say enough for this veteran who has the best virtue for everything. He is kind and loving, smart and brave. He never looked back and always moving forward. He is handsome and beautiful but never brag about his beauty. He is humble and never show off his glories and victories. I feel very proud that our country has this Man as our National Hero, and most importantly, he is my Hero who has the most optimistic and happy character which cheers me up through all my time. He is my inspiration for moving forward and keep going with my life.

Back to the place where my family live, I started a sponsor page for our Veterans and started to work on fundings for mental health research for Veterans, because my Hero said, PTSD is a serious disorder among Veterans, it is a devastating disorder that causes a lot of death and suicide among Veterans. It would be a huge loss for the country to lose all these courage Man and role models who served the country with their sacrifice.

Look at the picture, you still look like fifty years ago, except that, right now, your smile is prettier and calmer, your skin is still so smooth, your hair is still so soft and your face looks so gentle.