It’s been a long time since I contributed an article to JustOneOpinion.com and I realized how much I missed it. So I asked my webmaster to publish this article on that site and also here. I hope to do more articles in the future, but I’ve been busy writing a sequel to Farewell My Beijing that I hope to have published sometime this summer. The title of the new book will be My China, My World.

I’ve also been busy with my other activities. I love to bake, and like to try out a new recipe at least once a week (I just removed 40 mini pecan tarts from the oven). I also play tennis and duplicate bridge.

Three things happened to me within the past few months that were both scary and delightful. I want to share them with you.

On Saturday, March 31st, I went to visit an open house in our neighborhood. The floor of the foyer was white tile that continued into the living room. There was a small step that I did not see and I fell face first. When my head hit the living room floor it sounded like a rock thrown on the tile. The right side of my head near my eye immediately swelled up like a balloon, and I had bruises all the way down to my foot. I was positive I had broken every bone in my body and had suffered a concussion, a broken neck and back, and would never be the same healthy person again.

I was in the emergency room for five hours and endured four X-rays and a CAT Scan. Those were the longest four hours in my whole life. Finally, the doctor came and told me that nothing serious happened and he thought it was a miracle. Poor Dick had to take over the household chores and cooking (which he knows nothing about ) because I was so bruised and shaken. I was ordered to get an MRI on my foot because it was badly swollen and bruised. The MRI showed a fracture and a torn tendon.

The next day I remembered Costco had invited me to do a book signing for my memoir “Farewell My Beijing” on Saturday, April 7th. My family, my friends, and even the General Manager of Costco advised me to reschedule it for a few weeks later, but I refused. Costco had been advertising it for two weeks, and the store had placed a huge poster of me  at the front entrance. I decided I was not going to let them down.

I wore a hat tilted enough to hide my black and blue face and just carried on like nothing had happened. It was the day before Easter and thousands of people were shopping and I was in the middle of all that commotion. In less than three hours I’d sold the entire case of books that Costco had ordered. I met and talked to people of all walks of life and made many new friends.

It was a wonderful experience in spite of everything. My publisher came to see for himself, and when all the books were gone, he came up to me and paid me a compliment.

“Chi, I have decided that you could sell refrigerators to the Eskimos.”

I also wanted to share the news that my eldest granddaughter, China Rae, was awarded an Honors Scholarship ($60,000) at the University of Arizona. She also won another $10,000 award for two essays she contributed.

She will be moving into the brand new Honors Dorm here in September. I know that someday she will be a famous brain surgeon.

I am so happy that I will be a part of Just One Opinion again. I want to wish everyone happiness and good health.