1st of May

During 1960s, my world was just about singing hit songs and playing the guitar. The general mood by Christmas time 1969 was such that liberal teachers, by popular demands, would allow volunteers like me to sing to the class before they taught. Even in Spring 1970, I would daydream to sing Bee Gee's"First of May" on 1st of May - but I was just crazy.

In Summer 2000, I travelled to Chengdu to take part in a WIPO Regional Symposium on Trademarks and Geographical Indications. There I met my Australian counterpart, and after exhausting business talks, chats became personal. He shared with me his mid-life crisis in a romantic Asian context and wondered what he should do next.

Having balanced the pros and cons and in particular the ethical issues, I deployed the moral of the Hollywood movie "An Officer and a Gentleman" and suggested that he should behave as a gentleman. He did; the couple happily married and the family size grew from two to six members. The Canberran family paid me a visit in Hong Kong years ago.

In February 2018, while I was motoring around the Sydney area, I saw the "Canberra" signage and realized that the capital was not far away. When I travelled to Sydney again in late April, I fixed a side trip to pay a visit to the Canberran family on 1st of May. There, I sang the verses of the love song to the children who were new to the old song!

#1stofMay