Challenge Accepted: Win Free Beers Arm Wrestling in Taiwan at 16!
Taiwan, a Country Seeped in History ..Issue #27
Our family business depended on International manufacturing. Taiwan, one of the Four East Asian Tigers, played an integral part with Hong Kong, South Korea, and Japan.
Wow, I was so happy to spend my summer vacation traveling in Asia. I spent time with Dad and learned about how our family business works. I started to understand why my father was overseas so much, and this trip helped me to come to terms with all of this.
TAIWAN
Here we were in Taipei, Taiwan. Another city I was excited to see and learn about, and I was so happy to have the opportunity. This visit was different as I was getting used to the Asian culture more and gaining some confidence.
Once we were settled in, I started to go bar hopping; as tall as I was young, everyone thought I was of apparent drinking age, and my friend Scott was taller and a year older, so we both fitted the bill perfectly. We had a blast, bar after bar.
Then, a bartender asked me the strangest question, “Can you arm wrestle?” Maybe arm-wrestling was a thing back in 76’. The deal was as follows:
I would get free beer if I beat my opponent.
I would pay double if I lost.
Everyone wanted to participate. They were mostly strong men, but somehow, as inexperienced as I was, I would win and win a lot, so I drank a lot of free beer, which was excellent and fun.
After my first experience, I started to go into bars asking if they wanted to arm-wrestle; I was getting cocky. Drinking in Taipei was virtually free for me. I was 16; who drinks for free at 16? Back home in the USA, you had to be 21, so I was loving life.
Dad thought it was funny; he wasn’t upset at all.
If I had been drinking on a trip at 16 with my mother, oh boy, my ass would have been raw beef every day.
My dad’s brother, John, lived in Taiwan and managed my dad’s business dealings there, so we got to see the shady side of the city; motorcycles were everywhere and the primary means of transportation for everyone.
Uncle John was clever. Very clever indeed! John worked for Boeing in Seattle, Washington, where he invented the reverse thruster for airplanes. Oh, did it make him prosperous, really, really rich? No Chance; he got a $25 bonus and had to sign over any Patent rights to Boeing, so much for the big spender.
John also had a love of building tiny works of art from metal. Engines you could use on remote control airplanes. He made each one of these engines to perfection, and all pistons and parts were 100% the best. He had loads of hobbies, and that was just one.
Our time in Taiwan went by fast; there were many places to see and places to go. More factories too, and by now, I was beginning to understand why I had never seen much of Dad growing up. The work and the travel were not dull at all.
One of the moments I shall not forget was seeing military fighter planes landing in the streets of Taipei.
Yip, alarms were going off, and everyone was running underground for these drills that happened often. That was nothing to laugh about. It was real and scary as the military used the streets as landing strips for both take-offs and landings. Dad just smiled and said he was used to it. All I wanted to know was if we would be leaving soon.
ifOnlyi… I always remember to be kind, honest, giving, and thoughtful. Keeping my word, most of all, where would I have gone in my life journeys?
….ifOnlyi…. short stories are published chronologically and follow my life growing up in California from 4 years old. If you’ve just found me, the stories will come together when you start reading from….Issue #1
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