Halloween Meeting 2008

I won, I won, I won the Spookiest Costume Award Thursday evening, October 16th. Upon President Carrie Chiang's request, every member brought a flash light to the special Halloween meeting this evening. It was the first time I attended a meeting with a bunch of witches, vampires, phantoms in a dark hall with a spine-tingling background music. Surprisingly, nobody seemed to be particularly scared, neither was I. I was immunized to Halloween ghosts in New Orleans twenty years ago.

I remember the first Hawlloween I had in the US. On October 31st, 1979, in the middle of Medical Microbiology class, two medical students dressed in skeleton costumes walked into the class and sat next to me, one to my right and the other to my left. I was in a total shock trembling and must have turned pale. I couldn't remember what the professor taught for the rest of the class, I could only remember the two huge ghosts snikered at me and bet I wouldn't dare to leave the classroom at once. They were right, my feet got cold and I was stunned to death. Who can be more frightening than ghosts? Of course, those mock ghosts pretended by human beings, who else?

I was assigned as the individual evaluator for Rock Chen in order to hone my skills before Divison H evaluation contest this coming Sunday afternoon, October 19th. Rock delivered his 4th speech "How to Say it" of the communication manual. He told us a touching story of Pablo Casals about how he let us know Bach. Out of instinct, I turned into Pablo Casals under my mask and costume, and thanked Rock for introducing me to Taiwanese people. I also mentioned how much I missed my friend Pianist Alfred Cortot and Violinist Jacques Thibaud. We were called the Trio of the Century. At last, I gave a high praise of Yo-Yo Ma's "Bach Inspiration Concert" in Taiwan. Strangly, I didn't feel at all uncomfortable speaking up at age of 132. I even played a short Bach's Cello Suite No. 1. It felt good to be in Taipei.

Trick or Treat aside, it was a very special evening. First, a long time no see member Ellen rejoined Grand's family. She passed the government examination test successfully and started working for Taipei City Government from this Monday. She invited all members and guests to be her guest at the second party even she hadn't received her first paycheck yet; second, two second timers guests decided to join Grand as new members this evening.

At the second party, President Carrie and I got a lot of encouragement from members to compete at the coming Division H Humorous and Evaluation Contests Sunday afternoon, October 19th. Go, go, go, Carrie and Sherry, go bring the trophies back to Grand!