Second opinion
Q. Ahh, Daniel. I must know- did you write Betsy back?
Gene Stutzman, Bluegill Krik, IA
A. Yep, I wrote Betsy back and told her she needs to be a writer. I thought her letter was deeply, touchingly honest -- she admires my independence but is obviously puzzled by it; she connects this thought to the broader idea of the Chinese people being deeply rooted in home and family, while Westerners have the urge, and the opportunity, to "fly and fly, over moutains;" she misspells artfully (e.g. "moutains," "problom," "wheather"); she writes with such typical Chinese humility and modesty, taking pains to draw attention away from herself; she expresses exuberance freely, whether about her feelings upon my opening her letter ("I would be in the seventh heaven") or about my learning the Chinese language ("You will find her charming"); and she directly states the obvious ("you ultimitely have it made") about those of us who won the lottery and were born into English-speaking countries.
She says so much with so few words, in such a sincere tone, that I can only be inspired. To use her words, it's her basic nature that charms me. Now, I have to figure out who she freakin is! I asked for her to identify herself in my classes last week, but no one would admit to being Betsy.
