This is a tribute to my amazing dad Frank Piedpiper

This is a tribute to my amazing dad Frank Piedpiper (whose real name is not even Frank), a unique and beautiful man who shaped me in so many ways? ** ** ** Something that still amazes me to this day

is my dad's level of commitment to us … and I don 』 t mind sharing something embarrassing about me to show how dad has ALWAYS been there for us: I know now I come across as the most organized OCD person in the world, but that came from years or self-reprogramming; I was in fact born as a go-with-the-flow ENFP who was disorganized and forgetful. In elementary school, I used to forget things at home all the time. BUT … whenever I left homework/crayons/lunch/school supplies, etc at home, I would just call my dad: 「 Dad! I left my crayons at home! 」 And without fail, dad would leave work, go home to pick up whatever I needed, and bring it to my school for me!!! And never got mad at me! It wasn't until my adulthood when I became busy with work that I realized the tremendous level of commitment this is and truly appreciate it. Starting from a young age all the way until high school, dad was ALWAYS there to read stories to me (in 2 languages) and help with homework whenever I needed help. Every single time I performed on stage, he would not only show up but also bring a dozen of his friends to shower me with flowers and make me feel supported and loved. Thanks to my dad, I grew up with a great role model who showed me what it 』 s like to have a male figure always there to support and love me throughout my life?. ** ** ** My dad, a Fulbright Scholar with a Master 』 s Degree in English literature, is the most scholarly man I know. Few scholars in this world are as well-versed in both Asian and Western culture as him. He taught English literature in university, authored a series of books on the Book of Change (I-Ching), and is pro at connecting it with modern ideas--One of his books discussed the interconnection between I-Ching and EQ and he created the term VQ, Value Quotient. He published an innovatively annotated encyclopedia of I-Ching that 』 s considered one of the most authoritative books on the subject. To this day he 』 s a prolific essayist, publishing on average one essay every 3 days on his blog. His essay can start with discussing anthropological trivia about the Qing Dynasty and end with quoting Dylan Thomas. … or discuss connections between Fascism and WW2 Germany, Lord of the Rings, Thomas Mann, Faustus, Adrian Leverkuhn, Zeitblom, and Beethoven — all in one article. … or talk about the relationship between block chain technology, Lao Tzu, and Daoism. Growing up, I 』 d attend dinners with his professor and scholar friends where everyone (both Asian and Caucasian!) could effortlessly slide back and forth between discussing Greek tragedies or Victorian poetry in English and then Daoism or Qing Dynasty novels in Mandarin. … He also casually uses the word 「 salient 」 in text chats with me. Who does that? John and I grew up with this deep love of words, etymology, literature, scholarly pursuits, and eloquent verbal expressions thanks to my dad. I 』 m incredibly grateful he created an environment for us where being bi-cultural and multilingual was the norm. This expanded my world for the rest of my life. ** ** ** People are always shocked when they find out that my dad taught himself to play the piano at 60 by--Watching Youtube Videos!!! I am not making this up! After a couple of years of self-taught lessons through youtube videos (I still find that amazing) and learning to play Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Chopin, Mozart (this still blows my mind), … he even had his first PUBLIC RECITAL and performed a Haydn concerto!! Dad instilled in me the beauty of developing a passion for lifelong learning by showing us what it looks like in himself — he will always be my inspiration. ** ** ** Dad started teaching me core concepts in the Book of Change 易經 when I was 5 years old. There are audio recordings of our lessons lol ….I 』 m astounded by how extremely patient he was because I was super ADD and asked questions non-stop lol. He is a firm believer that profound classical wisdom like I-Ching is something all toddlers can absorb. When I was around 3, my dad used beautifully artful Chinese calligraphy to write Chinese classical epic poetry and hung it in our hallway for me to learn to memorize — for me, learning was always associated with love and art because of those early childhood memories. When John and I were in elementary school, once a week he would read with us essays from Time Magazine and analyzed world issues with us. He trained us to be critical thinkers through these weekly chats. When I wanted to learned Japanese, he had experiences to share with me, When I started learning French, he also shared his treasured French tapes with us because he wanted us to learn Parisian accent not Quebecois accent that 』 s prevalent in Canada. From him being a role model, I learned that it 』 s never too old to keep learning learning new things. But from how he (and my mom) raised me and my brother, I learned that one is never too young to start learning what most people might consider 「 too complex 」 and that my learning potential is limitless. That 』 s probably the most valuable gift my dad has ever given me. ** ** ** He also instilled in us a joyful frivolity in life. He 』 s the embodiment of Oscar Wilde 』 s 「 Life 』 s too important to be taken seriously 」 While other dads 』 pastimes are golfing, drinking tea, or whatever other senior activities they do, What my dad thinks is a fun way to spend time is writing an entire interview in French, find an AI software that would interview him, record an entire interview as if he 』 s being interviewed by a French radio show, and send it to us as a prank to see if we can tell it 』 s not real. He loves making jokes (even though he 』 s also the King of dad jokes lol). He loves talking to strangers. We went on a family cruise last summer, and I think his favorite part was the buffet, not because of the food, but because he could talk to everyone he encountered and he made friends daily. By the end of the trip we would walk into the buffet and random 「 new friends 」 would call out his name. From my dad I learned the art of not taking life too seriously, And the art of always staying vivaciously young at heart. ** ** ** My dad went to school in New York in the 70 』 s, and even though he didn 』 t become a full-on rebellious hippie Flower Child, he was definitely surrounded by a ton, and it definitely contributed to him being a total non-conformist. (As a matter of fact and ironically, a couple of years ago on father 』 s day, he wrote an essay about why he thinks Mother 』 s Day and Father 』 s Day should be abolished after exploring the history of the holidays … so I 』 m not sure how much he would approve of me writing this tribute to honor him on this day he doesn 』 t believe in) Even though he taught at a university, he used to always tell John and I: 「 College degrees are useless! 」 or 「 Don 』 t let schooling interfere with your education! 」 or 「 A lot of my friends are professors so I know a lot of professors are MORONS. You don 』 t need to idolize university professors and you don 』 t have to go if you don 』 t want to. 」 So unlike most other Asian immigrant parents who give their kids insufferable pressure and the limiting beliefs that university degrees determine your fate, I grew up believing that I am in charge of my own education. Growing up with my dad liberated me from conformity, Because he taught us to challenge conformity, fully live outside the box, and carve out our own paths. ** ** ** Dearest beloved Dad Frank Piedpiper, (even though your name is Tony and not Frank but you are kind of a Piedpiper for your thought followers), I feel like I won the Dad Lottery for having you as my dad! I 』 m so grateful for who you are, So grateful for the amazing dad that you 』 ve been to us our entire lives So grateful for all the amazing memories we 』 ve created and shared, And look forward to many more years and decades of creating more beautiful memories with you!!! We love you so much!!!! Happy Father's Day!!!!