Finding Ping

No question about it. The very first book I can remember was about Ping, a little yellow duck that lived on the Yangtze River. I now know that the book is The Story about Ping, written by Marjorie Flack and illustrated by Kurt Wiese, first published in 1933. For some reason, Ping has stayed with me over the years, never quite out of mind. I made sure both of our children knew it. When we have grandchildren, I will ensure that they know it.

I am also certain that Ping had drawn me to China, and in particular, the Yangtze River, with the long-standing wish to go there, perhaps to find Ping. At last that trip materialized. I must admit that I fell in love with the Chinese people immediately—attractive, happy, family oriented, hardworking, polite. One of the American women on the trip, an actress with a certain mystique, spontaneously asked if we knew a book about Ping. I knew then that I was on the right path for my little yellow duck.

On an evening flight from Guilin to Chongqing, I most unexpectedly found my Ping. Our seats were forward in the aircraft for the 2-hour flight. Suddenly there was a commotion behind us, and I noticed oxygen tanks being rushed from the cockpit to the exit areas behind us. I got …