It was a beautiful crisp autumn day in Beijing, the overflowing capital of the People’s Republic of China. The leaves on the trees that lined the broad boulevards had turned from a lush, verdant green to various shades of red and gold, giving the appearance of soft, glowing embers on the verge of losing their light and warmth to the relentless onslaught of another bitter Chinese winter.
We were in a small 8 yuan taxi stuck in traffic in the busy crowded streets, headed, I know not where, that eventually turned out to be the dusty government offices that oversaw the citizens residing in this particular neighborhood. This visit would change my life in ways I would have never expected.
In this place, we handed the clerk our documents, duly signed and sworn to be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
Being the only tall by Asian standards, American foreigner in the place, and was carefully watched and scrutinized by almost everyone in the place at that particular time of day. The security guard, cautiously standing by the door, placed his hand gently over the grip of his sidearm, and it seemed he may have been particularly concerned about the possibility that I may try to abscond with the lovely young Chinese girl by my side, without first paying the prescribed fees. Once the fees were paid and seals sealed and stamps stamped we were presented with little red books as shown above and hence forth officially recognized as Mr and Mrs and free to register in any hotel in the country as such.
In the laws and customs of the Chinese people the woman does not change her name when she becomes married, so it was necessary to present the little red double-happy book wherever it became necessary to prove that we where indeed legally authorized to do so.
From that day forward, our lives were bound together in a way I would have never expected. I won’t try to fit twenty-eight years of our lives in this story, but will say that after all of the difficult times we endured, the constant travel and living in ten different countries and cities, this lady has filled my life with constant surprise, love, laughter, endless happiness and most of all two beautiful and wonderful children.
Thank you Wang Hai Ying Boland for always being my rock.
感谢王海瑛博兰德一直是我的磐石. 纪念日快乐
28 October 2025
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