Shortly after the September's first Farewell Party sponsored by Mary and Kevin Lo, Tony moved to Washington D. C. to start his new position in National Science Foundation. During his brief return to Los Angeles in early November for a week end visit, Monica organized a second Farewell dinner in their house on November 11th, 2006. Most of the local W&M members as well as other friends and neighbors joined in for the celebration.
After the Hor d'oeuvres and delicious dinner, the entertainment programs began. Since Mary and Kevin were out of the country, they pre-recorded a video segment to wish Monica and Tony to have wonderful time in D.C.. Immediately following watching the video on TV was a memory game to test everyone on their first impression of Tony and vice versa. Somehow, the critical time period was focused on how Tony met Monica. SL remembered that he loaned his green sporty Mustang for Tony's dating. It was quite juicy. We also discovered that Tony graduated from the same high school in Hong Kong as Steve Chou did.
On the cultural side, Paul Lee again, composed another beautiful poem:
Lydia presented a poem as follows:
to: Tony Chan
by: Lydia Chou
Our paths never crossed in New Haven,
Not on High Street, not even on Hillhouse…
But this group’s story began in Pasadena
And comes back full circle to southern California.
Your Pasadena post-doc pad may not have had heat,
But tennis and friends provided warmth aplenty.
Don’t talk to strangers!
Stay close to home!
Every mother’s words,
Every mother’s dream...
Words Tony evidently did not heed!
Good thing too, else much would have been lost,
Especially in 1978 at LAX!
As you head for DC and points beyond,
Bedazzled by a kaleidoscope of new faces and places,
We put our faith in your talent
For nurturing relationships long distance.
Your track record bodes well for us…
Witness a long distance romance,
Leading to a wedding prepared long distance,
And now a commute few of us would brave.
Numbers may be music to your ears,
As they turn and play like notes in your head.
(I refer to numbers in your unfathomable theorems and proofs,
and not to mundane entries in your checkbook…
yet you’ll be crunching budget numbers for NSF ??!! )
But again we keep faith:
Calculate us, your old Wine & Meat fellows,
Into your newly configured life,
Since like fine wines,
We too improve with age.
As you disburse from the largesse of the NSF,
Bestow with equal generosity your time and thoughts
On those you leave behind.
Like the song says,
“From coast to coast,
from east to west,
you are the best…”
So now our paths may as likely cross
At airports and international borders,
But if home is where the heart is,
Then know that we keep you,
Monica and Tony, in our hearts.
One of Monica/Tony's neighbor, Mimie surprised us by her daughter's interview of Tony. Her report was accurate and complete:
Be prepared to meet a remarkable immigrant who rose from the pits of obscurity to a position of world renown and recognition. His story is inspirational in how it demonstrates the opportunities offered by this country to a person with a brilliant intellect and a passionate dedication to excellence.
Tony Chan was born in Hong Kong in 1952 to working class parents who lived near a stone quarry in a remote area outside of the city. As a child, Tony woke up every morning to the thunderous jack hammering and dust of the quarry. There was hardly a clear day when he could see the sky and he spent a lot of leisure time just kicking rocks around. He recalls going to the market everyday to shop for food, and eating fish primarily at home. He finished his elementary school at Salesians, a little known school run by an order of priests dedicated to serving the poor. He went to a high school also run by missionaries. He was an outstanding student in school and his favorite subjects were math, science and sports. When it came time for college, he applied to the few schools he heard of in the United States, one of which was California Institute of Technology, one of the top universities in the whole country known for its rigorous curriculum and remarkable talents. The school sent interviewers to Hong Kong to visit some of its prospective applicants, and when Tony was asked what he wanted to be when he grew up, he stated that he wanted to be a college professor. This answer drew laughs among the interviewers, who thought it an impossible dream for this puny little Chinese boy who didn’t even have any idea of what college is. He was subsequently accepted into Cal Tec; they obviously recognized the exceptional talent and brilliance of this little boy in Hong Kong.
When he took the plane for the first time to come to America, he recalls it was a Boeing 707, and it had to stop in many places before arriving in Los Angeles. He recalls stopping in Japan, Alaska, Seattle and San Francisco before finally arriving at Cal Tec. Life was drastically different here in the States than Hong Kong. There seemed to be wealth everywhere and an abundance of all kinds of material things. It also seemed like such a huge place and there was hardly anybody around, compared to crowded Hong Kong. Life was exciting in Cal Tec, where he could really learn and challenge himself. He found the curriculum interesting and valuable, and after graduation in Engineering he continued to obtain a masters degree in Math from Stanford. He never lost his dream of teaching, so after completion of his degree in Stanford he taught Math in Yale. Finally he came to UCLA and started teaching there. He quickly rose through the ranks and different industries consulted him, including movie and T.V. productions. He explained to me that Math is integral to everything around us, even though most of us think that Math is dry and useless in everyday life, and that animation in movies like “Jurassic Park” requires very detailed mathematical computations. He also consulted with businesses and corporations all over the world and traveled extensively to further his research and obtain funding. He became the Dean of Physical Sciences, meaning that he oversees the Math, Chemistry, Physics and Biology disciplines.
I interviewed Mr. Chan while he was over at my house for a dinner gathering my parents hosted. I could hear his voice and laughter thundering in the dining room. He is a born orator, he loves to talk, laugh and ask astute questions to make people think. My mother says he is a lucky person because he loves his job and you can see that he lives his life with true gusto. He is thoughtful, perceptive and offers insight and perspective in any social gathering. He stays in close touch with his family and many of his friends from Hong Kong, while making new ones here. Immigration has certainly changed his whole life and opened doors unthinkable to him in Hong Kong. The dinner my mother hosted was a farewell dinner since he has been invited to serve as the Assistant Director of the NSF (National Science Foundation) in Washington D.C. for a few years. He will be making key policy decisions for the whole country in the area of scientific research and development. He is very excited about the move because of what he thinks he can contribute to the improvement of the science community in his adopted country – the country which has the resources to nurture and catapult him to a position where he can make a meaningful contribution to so many.
Other entertainment of the evening included Kenny Chan played Er-Wu with his friend to accompany him with piano. A Trio presentation included Kenny played harmonica, Tony played guitar and Monica sang. This can be seen in the following pictures. It was a fun evening. We all wish Monica and Tony to have a great adventure in the Capital. Please let us know when you come back to a visit so we can have an excuse to get together again.
