Один босс навсегда, Стефани

On December 18,2011 at 9am, Stephanie came to pick me up in her Porche to go see an investmentproject in Murrieta. Stephanie’s last name is Wu, Taiwan descendant. Her skinis lightly tanned, and she has a pair of dimples when she smiles. She is very livelyand talkative, almost like a young student, and reveals a kind of mellowbeauty.
I sat in thepassenger seat, and as she drove, she introduced herself in a Taiwan accentwith English words mixed in the Chinese. When she said that she was 48 yearsold and a mother of 4 children, I was astonished, and said, “But you’re soyoung! I thought you were an interning student!” She smiled at me knowingly.She told me that she became pregnant twice, first with a pair of twin girls,then with twin boys.
When she gotto the topic of work, she introduced herself as Howard Hom’s assistant, and Iasked her how long she’s been at this job. She smiled and said she met Mr. Hom whenshe was 17 and began working for him at age 19, making this the 30th year onthe job. I was again astonished, and felt an added sense of respect. “Wow! Thatmeans you’ve only had one employer your whole life!” She smiled again. I was intrigued,and we conversed on this topic for over two hours.
She told methat Howard Hom is a very good lawyer, and is now an administrative law judgeof California. She received his recognition and help at a young age. He helpedher with tuition, taking care of her family, and also taught her a lot ofthings over the years. Because of Howard Hom’s highly regarded reputation, manypeople wanted to have her work at their companies, but she never wavered. Now,she feels that her whole life is very worthwhile, having one great boss thatshe’s worked with for so long, and also having a happy family, a nice house,car, boat, etc. I said, this is just like digging wells. If you dig many wellsyour whole life and none produce any water, you might as well just dig onewell, which will always give you water if you go deep enough, and the deeperyou go the more water there is.
On our wayback in the afternoon, she treated me to Japanese ramen. Over lunch, shementioned that she stayed by her bedridden mother-in-law’s side all last nightand was a bit tired. I was once again pleasantly surprised, and respected hereven more. The foundation of Chinese personal philosophy should be love andrespect for ones parents and elders.
I have readmany books, traveled to many places, and met many people, but in getting toknow Stephanie, I was still amazed three times: first, that she is 48 but hasthe appearance and aura of a 28-year-old, second, that she’s had one employerher whole life and worked meticulously and tirelessly for him, and third, thatshe is very respectful too her in-laws and can stay by their bedside all night.We naturally became friends, and every time I reminisce about my journey to theU.S., I always think of her, and often speak of her to my friends.
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