Hey Chi Lap, Lapster, LapDawg,

Happy 50th Birthday!

Do you remember the summer of 1988 in Ann Arbor? To this day, I still recall that time as one of the best periods in my life. We had a lot of fun, didn’t we? Here are a couple of random memories:

1/ “Bronx Science, Bronx Science, We Love IT!” I’ve never been to this school, but I consider myself an alum and I do love it, thanks to you.

2/ Painting “Cool Brothers” on the Rock at the corner of Hill and Washtenaw. We put some real planning and work into this nighttime project, and we did it with enthusiasm. No matter that the whole thing had run into an illegible mess within an hour of our finishing, the Grolsch beer still tasted mighty nice, and I think I still have the bottle somewhere as a souvenir of our collective artwork.

3/ Before sunrise, after a sleepless summer night of sorting out the world’s problems, you and I headed off to Angelo’s Restaurant on Catherine Street for a classic Ann Arbor breakfast. We took a basketball with us because that’s just what we did back then. After breakfast, we ran all the way home throwing the ball back and forth (and on and off things) the whole time. The goal was to catch each other’s passes, but I’d be surprised if we managed doing that even 80% of the time. When we returned to the apartment (which was miles away, on the other side of campus), you added some philosophical meaning to the whole thing by saying, “Listen, my good looking, strong and intelligent friend, we didn’t catch every pass, but we had a great time doing it, and this is how we are living our lives.” Or something like that. And, you know what? I suppose you would say the same thing today. Thanks for being a great friend, Lapster, and always putting a positive spin on things. Your happy and thoughtful approach to life is infectious and inspirational.

We can’t wait to see you and the family here in Hong Kong in less than a month. I’ll dust off my basketball just in case. There are a few more hills here in Hong Kong, and we are a bit older, but we could still run back from a nice breakfast in the early morning with the same lively spirit and laughter as we did that magic Michigan summer of 1988.

Love,
Tup

Chris “Cool Brother Tup” Hall