With every passing year, BEC proves that it still has surprises left for us.

As it was, I realized choosing the study of Chinese literature as my life's work was probably a mistake.

Conversely, I came to realize that being good at something is hardly a reason to avoid doing it.

Most of my teachers probably found I made less trouble if they let me read.

Travel provided many interesting experiences, but perhaps the most useful lesson I learned was that I really had no proficiency for learning the thousands of characters of the written Chinese language.

It was there I met my future wife, Celeste Landry, although our lives took us separate ways for many years and we were not to marry until more than ten years later.

The 1970s, the decade of my teenage years, was a transitional period in American youth culture.