CHAPTER 121

Original: 2008-09-02

Rewritten: 2026-01-14

Revisiting this travelogue seventeen years later, my feelings are entirely different.

After touring the famous cities of eastern Canada in the summer of 2007, and returning to Hong Kong at year’s end to visit relatives and friends, I learned before departure that my liver cancer had recurred. My spirits sank for a while, but to avoid any unspoken emotional “magnetic field” affecting Lun’s mood, I kept it from him and resolved to set my worries aside for the time being. The result was a thoroughly enjoyable trip. At the time, the Canadian dollar stood at one to eight against the Hong Kong dollar; even my younger son, who had little concept of money, was delighted.

After returning to Canada, I followed up with treatment. One day I underwent a session of ablation, and afterward treated myself to a bowl of ginger-and-lily milk custard at a seafood restaurant as a small reward. Tomorrow is never certain; while I could still move about freely, we decided to travel east again at the end of the year. My wife took charge of signing us up for a tour of the eastern United States.

What left a particularly deep impression on me was seeing American flags everywhere—far more than in Canada. It wasn’t that every household flew one, but in large shopping malls, commercial buildings, institutions, small businesses, gas stations, and restaurants, the American flag was always there, fluttering in the wind.

At the financial and trade center on Wall Street in New York, the exterior was not especially grand. Yet from the top floor hung a gigantic vertical banner flag, covering the most prominent face of the building. The entire structure became a massive picture frame, creating a striking spectacle. (By the end of that year, the global financial tsunami would also spread from here.)

From the highways looking toward downtown—whether in Baltimore or Boston—you could always see buildings with large, dynamic Stars and Stripes painted on their walls. Americans love their country, and they express that passion in the simplest and most direct way.

Canadians love their country too. More precisely, we really like our country; we tend to feel that it is quite a good place. Our affection is gentler, tinged with appreciation.

Americans love with fervor and greater intensity, taking pride in their nation’s strength. Canadians are less demonstrative; when speaking of national identity, we prefer to mention our ethnic roots, preserving a little more of our original cultures.

While cruising along the river on a sightseeing boat around Manhattan, the middle-aged captain spared no effort, introducing each landmark one by one, explaining its history and origins. With deep emotion, he recounted the 9/11 terrorist attack on the Twin Towers and how New Yorkers rose again from trauma.

He was more like a preacher, praising and spreading America’s ideals and spirit of freedom and democracy. And the preachers kept appearing.

At Capitol Hill, the tour guide was equally meticulous. What was admirable was that, despite repeating the nation’s founding history countless times every day, he remained enthusiastic and friendly. One could feel that he was not “spitting words” merely for a living, but respected his role as a goodwill ambassador. I asked him to take a photo with me as a keepsake.

From the planning of Washington, D.C., one can see the vision and boldness of the founding fathers. With the Washington Monument as the center, and in view the Capitol, the Supreme Court, and the White House, nine museums rise along the grand avenues on either side. The layout is simple yet majestic, surpassing that of Ottawa.

Admission is free. That day we could only visit two museums, hoping someday to return and see all the treasures within, to enrich my heart and mind. The ingenious planning of the founders laid out the America of today (in 2008).

What truly remains unforgettable are the American flags flying everywhere. (The End)

(Afterword: More than seventeen years later today, as storms batter the human world, I myself have no interest anymore in traveling to Washington.)