Originally Written by Wang Dingding and Li Weilian
Translated from Chinese by Ma Jun
Li:
On the first floor, Betty introduced varieties of files including many photos of Prof. Buchanan to me while Prof. Buchanan and Dingding talked with each other upstairs. Betty told me unconsciously that a reporter once came to interview Prof. Buchanan but his questions made others not know whether to laugh or cry. After that Buchanan House made its rule that all academically ineligible reporters would not be given any interview. When mentioned this, Betty said in a low voice with her finger pointing to the upstairs that Prof. Buchanan enjoyed dingding’s questions.
Wang:
As expected, I received Betty’s email after only 2 days later:“ ……Prof. Buchanan and I , we both welcome you to visit us. Hope you inform me your arrival date and interview schedual at once.” The aim I cite this sentence is to remind audiences to note Betty’s tone. “Prof. Buchanan and I……”, I think it indicates the big difference between an old assistant who has been in charge of rountine bussiness for Buchanan since several decades ago and a new prissy secretary.
Betty dressed in a black and white suit with a signal brooch on the collar which was a linkage of three diamond diagonals. I recognized that it was the logo of the International Society of Public Choice. This logo elicits a series of my associations including Prof. M. Olson, an old friend of Prof. Buchanan, who has passed away not long before and Prof. North whom I just interviewed on June 24. There are much controversies among them. I told myself to remember to ask Betty the derivation of this brooch (Betty told us afterward that it was made to order by the International Society of Public Choice specially as a 70th-birthday gift for her ). At that time, Betty and Xiao Li were talking and laughing cheerfully. Were it not for Xiao Li arranging rountine affairs for me, my pilgrimage would have been given up halfway many times. My line of sight shifted from Betty to various parts of Buchanan House including Ann a secretary who was sitting and typing.
I think it is appropriate for me to translate “the Buchanan House” into “Bu Can Nan Xiao Wu”. Looking from the outside, this two-level wooden house is a sheer farmhouse surrounded by a small plot of forest and a large plot of grassland. Especially that alley snakes to an old pine tree in front of the house only allowing a car to drive on. There are two old rocking chairs in the porch opposite to the old pine tree. A wild flower raised in a basin is hanging on the window. Although all of this are incompatible with the magnificient style of George Mason’s buildings, they are just Professor Buchanan’s taste.
Li:
At this time, Prof. Buchanan came downstairs with a coffee cup in his hand. He kindly shook hands with us respectively. Mingming, our daughter, came with us because we couldn’t left herself home alone in Hawaii. She is an intelligent girl who has written down lots of notes and several poems during this trip. Dingding took a great fancy to her poems. It’s a pity that they will lose the magnetic charm whenever translated into Chinese. I found that all of these over 70 years old Nobel Laureates loved children very much. So Mingming added lustre to Dingding’s “scholary journey”.