Beijing
By Mike McCaffrey
All good tales must come to an end . . .
Judging by the number of little stories I've recently submitted, one would think I'd been around for a 100 years. Not quite. I left out the five years Stateside as Branch Chief of SA-32 and the Unclass operation of Diplomatic Pouch and Mail out here in a pleasant Virginia suburb. But at this point let me wrap this up with my final submission: Beijing . . .
China has been of immense interest to me since I was a kid. My last overseas post was in Beijing, and we were excited to head out to the Middle Kingdom. My sponsor, Jack Busbee, took us around town when we first got there. One place I REALLY wanted to see was the Forbidden City. I was like a little kid, touching the walls of that historic place!
I studied the history, the language, and customs, and here I was, finally! Months after we had settled in, my wife and I went back to the Forbidden City to take pictures and soak up the scene.
One place anyone visiting China must see is the Great Wall. It’s a kind of “Grand Canyon” reaction thing when you first see it: “Wow!” And, of course, one should try as best one can to actually WALK the thing. HOW FAR is merely academic: depends on your lung capacity! I found out, quickly, that I was … all too obviously … in miserable shape. OLD Chinese people were scuttling about without any obvious effort, and noting this Foreign Devil gasping for air! I mean, those inclines are something!
I freely admit to rather quickly retreating to the security of the air-conditioned bus and calling my feeble efforts on The Wall, something to be lied about in future conversations.
One thing I did want before heading back to the States and retirement was one of the Terracotta Warriors, famously unearthed in the district of Xi'an. I mean, how cool to have one in my house! There was an enterprise known as THE FRIENDSHIP STORE, where a lot of expats went for great pastries and stuff. They also had a section featuring the kinds of things I had in mind, including THE GENERAL! I kept visiting the store and looking THE GENERAL over. Finally, just before we were to pack out, I made a determined effort. I went back to the store, found the same section manager who’d been watching me watch THE GENERAL for some time. The price they were asking was prohibitive, but I WANTED the darn thing! I pulled out the credit card and told the manager: “We’re leaving China. I want this statue. This is my credit card. I will say this only one time, and then I’m gone. I will pay you “X” for THE GENERAL … RIGHT NOW! YES or NO? He saw I was totally serious and said: “I could not accept without my boss’s approval. I would have to call him.” There was a phone right in front of us. I told him, pick it up; call the boss. He did, got a surprised look on his face, hung up, and took the credit card. It was a bit of a sight watching four guys from the store coming down the main drag with THE GENERAL on a little flat cart. THE GENERAL sits in my Family Room, watching protectively over my wife and me. And I think he would approve of me now ending my little stories and saying SAYONARA to my fellow CANDOERS. I hope some of what I sent gave you a chuckle along the way!
My very best,
MIKE