MARCH 6-9, 2008

by Katharine Schroeder

Goodbye Baba

On February 26, 2008, Jackie Chan’s father Charlie passed away at a hospital in Hong Kong. He was 93 years old. Everyone who knew him called him “Baba,” the Mandarin word for papa or daddy. Even Jackie’s fans referred to him as Baba. He was everyone’s Baba. And now he was gone.

Jackie was in China and had just completed filming the final scenes of his latest movie when he received the news. Although we all knew that Baba was dying, when the word came that he was actually gone, it was shocking. There is little that can prepare you for death; even a long illness and the knowledge that there is no hope doesn’t soften the blow. 

Preparations

Shortly after receiving the news that Baba had died, the staff at our office in Hong Kong began arranging the memorial service. It was Jackie’s wish that Baba be buried with Lee Lee, Jackie’s mother, in Canberra, Australia, where they had lived for over 40 years. The arrangements would have to be made over a long distance, but Baba had many friends and family members in Australia and Hong Kong who would work together with our staff to plan the event. The list of details was seemingly endless, but everyone helped and slowly things began getting done. Our phones rang constantly; friends of Jackie or Baba called to express their condolences and ask if there was anything they could do. The outpouring of sympathy was massive, sincere, and heartfelt. Baba had touched innumerable people’s lives and so many of them wanted to share their grief and offer to help.

Fibe and I were given the job of writing Baba’s biographical information for the press. Fibe would write the Chinese and I would write the English. To help prepare, we took a copy of the Traces of a Dragon video upstairs to the viewing room and watched it again. Traces of a Dragon tells the story of Baba’s life and of family secrets that Jackie did not know about until only a few years ago. As Fibe and I sat and watched the video, tears welled up in our eyes. It was heartbreaking to think that this vibrant, funny, and loveable man was gone forever.

As the days went by, there was more and more work that needed to be done. Jackie returned to Hong Kong and he had specific ideas for the memorial service. We were all doing our best to fulfill his wishes. The biggest project was a photo exhibition that Jackie wanted to create to be displayed at the venue, and he asked me to gather and prepare the photos. Luckily, several years ago someone had scanned many of Jackie’s family photos, and there were many more pictures that had been taken in the past few years. There was a lot of material to work with and so I began sifting through hundreds of pictures to choose the ones that would be displayed. Because Baba had so many friends, Jackie wanted to use only photos that showed him with family members. He was afraid that if we included shots of Baba with friends, we would leave someone out and he didn’t want anyone to feel upset that they weren’t included. Once all the pictures were ready, they were sent to JC Design, some to be printed and others to be put into a memorial booklet.

While I was working on the photos, Xavier Lee was putting together a special memorial video. Once he was finished, we got together to write the English subtitles. As we prepared to watch the video, X Lee handed me a box of tissues and told me to get ready to cry, then loaded the tape into the player. The video contained the most touching footage of Baba with his family and friends that X Lee had ever taken. The editing was brilliant and this twenty minute memorial aroused a myriad of emotions. X Lee had been right to hand me the tissue box. You couldn’t help but cry while watching all of these special moments in Baba’s life and listening to Jaycee singing in the background.

We began the job of adding the English subtitles to the video. At one point, X Lee was stumped by something Baba was saying on the tape. Although X Lee is fluent in Mandarin, Cantonese, and English, he just could not figure out what Baba was saying. You see, Baba had his own unique way of speaking; mixing Mandarin, Cantonese, Shanghainese, and English together in an often unintelligible mishmash of words that frequently left those who were listening scratching their heads. In fact, for Baba’s 90th birthday, Jaycee had written a song that included a reference to this. In the song Jaycee sings about Baba’s ability to speak many different languages, and jokes that despite this skill, no one can understand a word he says.

During the week following Baba’s death, the plans for the memorial service were finalized and it looked like all the details had been attended to. Everything appeared to be ready; it was time to head for Australia.

March 6: Off to Canberra

On the evening of March 5th, our office manager Maggie, videographer Xavier Lee, and I headed for Hong Kong International Airport. Our suitcases were bulging with materials for the memorial service and supplies for packing up and labeling all of the things from Baba’s house that Jackie would surely want to bring back to Hong Kong. We were the first to head for Australia; many more people would be coming along in the following days. Jackie had commitments in Singapore and he would fly to Canberra once he was through with his work.

March 7: Day One, Canberra

After an exhaustive 8 hour flight, we arrived in Sydney just as the sun was rising. Although we flew throughout the night, it was impossible to sleep very much on the plane and when we arrived, we were bleary eyed and a little dazed.

The rising sun, as seen from the airplane window.

Xavier Lee and Maggie on the plane.

We were met at the airport by some of Jackie’s family members from Canberra and after loading the suitcases into their van, we began the three hour drive from Sydney. Once we arrived in Canberra, we went directly to work, visiting the venue where the funeral would take place, going to the florist to arrange for delivery of the flowers, and stopping by the candle shop to buy all the candles for the memorial service. Finally we were finished and we headed home, to Baba’s house.

I knew that Baba lived in a very modest home in Canberra, and so I was not surprised when we pulled into a development of three or four bedrrom ranch houses situated in a suburb of the capital city. Each house had a lawn in front and a small yard in back. This is the kind of neighborhood you will find in suburbs all across the world.

You might think that the father of one of the most famous men in the world would live in a mansion overlooking the ocean or in the penthouse of a luxurious apartment building. Not Baba. Although Jackie had offered time and time again to buy his parents a bigger, fancier house in Australia, they were quite happy to stay in the house they’d bought when they first arrived in Canberra in the 1960s. After Jackie’s mom passed away, Baba continued to stay in the Canberra house whenever he was in Australia. This was his home and he was quite content to live there.

We pulled into the driveway and unloaded our suitcases, then went inside the house. It was indeed a very modest home, with a small living room, four bedrooms, a large kitchen, a dining room, and a family room, all on the upper level (some call this style of house a “high-ranch” because the garage and basement are situated at ground level and the living quarters are above). In the living room there was a memorial table set up in the traditional Chinese style. Baba’s photo sat amidst burning incense, flickering candles, and bowls of fruit. After paying respects to Baba at the memorial, Maggie, X Lee, and I settled in for our stay in Canberra.

After unpacking, I took a walk around the neighborhood. It was a beautiful sunny day and it was easy to imagine Baba strolling along these same roads, watching the neighbors watering their lawns, playing with their children, chatting on the front steps. At the end of Baba’s street there was a wooded area where the residents of the neighborhood could walk or perhaps have a barbeque. It was quite beautiful and very peaceful. I looked down at the ground and on an impulse I picked up a rock and put it in my camera bag. I wanted to take a small piece of Canberra home with me.

Back at the house, the kitchen was bustling with activity. Jackie’s half-sister Lisa lived next door and she and several family friends were busy cooking. The air was full of wonderful smells which reminded me that we hadn’t stopped to eat. We were all famished. Still, there was work to be done, so during lunch we discussed more of the details of what we had to accomplish before the memorial service which would take place on March 8th.

After lunch we went back to the venue where the funeral service would be held so that we could begin figuring out where and how we would display the dozens of photos that we’d brought for Baba’s photo display. You may be surprised to learn that Baba’s memorial service would take place at a vineyard, but once you saw what the place looked like, you would understand why it was chosen. The grounds were vast and lovely, with sprawling lawns and vineyards that appeared to go on forever in each direction. The building itself was reminiscent of a chapel and was bright and elegant. There would be plenty of room for the guests and it was Jackie’s wish that the service be non-traditional. He didn’t want the usual “noisy” (his word) ceremonies taking place. He wanted the funeral to be a light-hearted celebration of Baba’s life. Those who knew Baba know that he had a particular fondness for good wine and the occasional glass of whiskey. Jackie thought that Baba would find it quite appropriate to have the service at a vineyard and offer people a taste of wine while they viewed the photo montage and visited with each other. We talked with the manager and decided to use wine barrels as tables to hold flowers, glasses, and bottles of water for the guests. After several hours figuring out all the details, we finished up and went back to Baba’s house. By this time, we were dead tired and decided that the best thing to do would be to go to sleep. More people would be arriving late that night; some would stay with Lisa next door, some at a nearby hotel, and others at Baba’s house. Jackie would arrive the next morning from Singapore. In preparation for the late night commotion, I put earplugs into my ears and within seconds fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.

March 7: Day Two, Canberra

After what seemed like only a few minutes, I was awakened by light streaming in from under the door. I wondered why someone would have such a bright light on in the middle of the night. When I opened the bedroom door, I was shocked to see that it was morning. Ten hours had gone by in a flash! In the kitchen I ran into Jaycee; that meant that Irene, Jackie’s business partner, was also here since they were coming together from Hong Kong. Jackie's Beijing manager Yuan Nong and her daughter Cindy also arrived. Within a few minutes, everyone was up and Lisa was back in the kitchen cooking breakfast. We were joined by Brad Allen and Paul Andreovski, two of the JC Stunt Team members, and Paul’s wife Cel. Paul and Cel  had driven from their home in Melbourne to help with the preparations and to attend the funeral. Brad flew in from Los Angeles.

Just as we were about to leave, Jackie arrived from Sydney. He looked completely drained and exhausted; more tired than he’d looked just a few days ago in Hong Kong. He’d insisted on sticking to his schedule and had gone to Singapore for a visit to a children’s cancer hospital, refusing to cancel his trip because he knew how much the kids were looking forward to seeing him. The added strain showed clearly on his face. After some discussion it was decided that Jackie would stay behind at the house to relax while the rest of us went to the venue to set up. So we packed everything into the cars and headed over to the vineyard.

When we arrived we immediately went to work to figure out just how to arrange the photos on the panels that were set up along one wall. X Lee was in charge and he was soon assigning people to jobs in different “departments.” There was the Cutting Department, the Sticky Department, the Mounting Department, etc. Each photo had to be mounted on a board and it was up to X Lee and Irene to decide what photos went on which boards and how they would be attached to the panels (we ended up using Velcro stickers). A lot of care and thought went into determining just where each photo would go, and X Lee and Irene, two very creative people, did a splendid job in organizing the effort.

While we were working I happened to glance outside and I saw several photographers with telephoto lenses trying to take pictures of what we were doing. With the help of the vineyard staff, we blocked the windows with large posters in an effort to ensure privacy. The photographers were not discouraged, however, and they came right up to the windows and tried to photograph through the gaps. The manager finally went outside and spoke a few strong words to the photographers, who eventually moved away.

We had been at the venue for about an hour when we received a phone call from Jackie. He was not happy to be at the house by himself and he wanted to come down to help. Paul went to get him and when they came back, Jackie walked around looking at all the things that we’d done and getting himself involved in the arrangements. Several times during the building of the photo display, Jackie could be found looking at the pictures and weeping softly. It was very difficult for him, but he wanted to be there. Really, there weren’t many words to say to comfort him; all we could do was hand him a tissue and rub his back or put an arm around him. He needed to work through his grief in his own way.

Finally the photo wall was finished and the flower arrangements were brought in and placed along the bottom of the display. After it was all set, Jackie took one last look at it and as I watched him going along from picture to picture, I could see the wheels in his head begin to spin. He began to describe an idea that he had. He wanted the wall to have printed narration from the beginning to the end. He pulled me over to the first photo and began to talk. I took out my notebook and a pencil and began writing down what he said. We went from photo to photo with Jackie describing his thoughts and feelings. We did this until we came to the last panel in the display, then he looked at me and asked, “You can do this for me?”  I reassured him that I’d made notes about everything he’d said and that I would make sure it was done just the way he wanted it. Secretly I was wondering how in the world I would ever have the time to do this before the ceremony the next morning. But I didn’t want Jackie to know that, so I just told him not to worry.

When we got back to the house Jackie began choosing the things that he would take back to Hong Kong with him. He wanted to take things that were meaningful to both Baba and to him and display them some day in a special room. Before we began removing photos from the walls or mementos from the shelves, Jackie asked me to go around the entire house and take a photo of each group of pictures on the walls and all of Baba’s possessions and decorations. I began in the living room and slowly made my way through the entire house. As I was doing this, I heard Jackie call my name and I found him standing in front of the shelves in the family room looking at Baba’s things. “You see this?” he asked, pointing to Baba’s pipes lined up on the shelf. “For me, this is Baba.” Then he pointed to another little collection of Baba’s things – a penknife, a lighter, a small screwdriver – and said, “And these things here. My father.”

As I went through the house taking photos, it became quite evident that Baba was a very proud father and grandfather, and a devoted husband. There were photos everywhere. Jackie’s movie posters hung on the bedroom doors, framed photos of Jaycee as a baby were propped on the nightstands, pictures of Lee Lee were hanging on the walls. Charles certainly loved his family. All of the things I’d done in the past week to help prepare for the funeral had taught me more and more about Baba. I’d only known him for about three years, and I didn’t know him well. But when you look through a lifetime of someone's photos and spend time in their surroundings with their possessions, you can't help but get to know them better.

When I was finished taking the pictures, I went out into the back yard to sit for a few minutes in the beautiful sunshine. Baba’s house has a tiny but very charming yard where he kept about a dozen small yellow birds (they look like canaries) in a large cage. There was another cage sitting empty beside the back fence. As I stood looking into the cage and wondering what kind of animal used to live there, Jackie came out and told me that Baba had once caught a wild bird and put it into this cage. When Jackie came to visit, Baba proudly showed him the bird. Jackie asked him why he would want to keep a wild bird caged up like that. Apparently Baba didn’t answer fast enough or well enough, so Jackie opened the cage door and released the bird back into the wild. I asked Jackie how Baba reacted to this. “He just laughed and laughed."

Jackie went back into the house and I sat down on a small stone wall. There was an area in the yard which looked like it had once been a vegetable garden. I imagined that Baba might have grown his own herbs or vegetables, but there was no one there to ask, so I never found out the answer. Soon I was joined by X Lee and we sat together and enjoyed the warm sunshine for a few minutes before going back inside.

Jackie and Jaycee share a quiet moment.

That night, Lisa and the other family friends prepared dinner for everyone again. I wondered about all this cooking (there was enough food for an army) and so I asked someone about it. I was told that this is the way they were expressing their grief, by cooking together and taking care of the others who are in mourning. It’s like a ritual or a type of therapy. I understood a little better about why all of these people were spending so much time in the kitchen. They wanted to help and by cooking and serving the meals, they were indeed helping. It was really very touching to see how much time and care went into preparing each meal and we all appreciated it.

After dinner we continued sorting through some of Baba’s things, talking, and preparing for the funeral the next day. After a while Jaycee and Jackie sat down in the family room and amidst all the noise, Jaycee drifted off to sleep. He was exhausted since he hadn’t slept at all the night before. I wondered why he just didn’t go into his room and go to sleep, but  I realized that he took comfort in being surrounded by his family and friends, even while he was barely awake. Soon we noticed that Jackie had also dozed off, so we closed the doors and gave them a little peace and quiet.

Xavier Lee and I would write the narration for the photo display together, so I got my laptop, the portable printer, and my notes and set it all up at the small kitchen table. It was already quite late when we began to work, and we had to carefully take Jackie’s words and put them into the proper format for the narration. We worked for hours, taking a break now and then to step outside into the cool night air for a breather. Jackie woke up and came into the kitchen, and after staring at us thoughtfully for a few seconds, he turned around and left us to our work, heading off to his room. Jackie likes to get involved in most things that are going on, but at 3:00 in the morning, he seemed to decide to leave it to us. By the time we finished it was almost 4:00 and we had to wake up at 7:00 to get ready for the ceremony. When the final paper was printed out, I breathed a sigh of relief, said goodnight to X Lee, and went to bed.

March 8: Day Three, Canberra

I awoke only a few hours later to the sounds of everyone in the house getting ready for the funeral. Jackie and Jaycee were up and as they dressed, Maggie, Irene, X Lee, Yuan Nong, Cindy, and I took turns using the bathrooms. So many people sharing two bathrooms is challenging, but not impossible. Incredibly, we were all dressed and ready to go on time and we gathered our things and drove over to the venue for the funeral. The place looked very beautiful and elegant; flowers lined the hallway leading into the reception area and there were arrangements placed all along the walls. We quickly mounted the narration papers and soon everything was ready.

Friends and relatives began arriving and after they’d paid their respects to Baba, they took a look at the photo display and talked amongst themselves. Jackie went outside to speak for a moment to the press, who were waiting quietly and respectfully in a fenced area that the venue managers had constructed outside.

When all the guests had arrived, Minister-Counselor of the Chinese Embassy Li Jiangning and former ACT Chief Ministers Kate Carnell and Gary Humphries took turns speaking. The plan was for Jackie to briefly introduce the memorial video, but instead he talked for a little while about his feelings of loss, and about his wish that everyone be happy and celebrate Baba’s life instead of mourning his death. By the time Jackie finished talking, half of the room was in tears and the other half looked on the verge of crying. For those whose tears hadn’t yet come, it would happen quite soon as the video that X Lee had put together began to play. The video included footage of Baba at his 90th surprise birthday party, of Jackie presenting him with an apartment in Hong Kong for his birthday, of time spent just being together. It was both funny and sad and everyone in the room was moved by it. When it was over, we got ready to accompany Baba’s coffin out to the waiting hearse.

Jackie watches the memorial video.

The banner reads "Celebration of the Life and Times of Charlie Chan."

Jackie and Jaycee led the way for Baba’s coffin to be carried out to the limousine; Jackie holding Baba’s portrait and Jaycee carrying Baba’s favorite fishing pole, hat, and pipe. The slow and solemn parade was as sad as you can possibly imagine. After the coffin was loaded into the hearse, X Lee and I got into the lead car so that he could take some video, and the procession to the graveyard began.

Once everyone had arrived, we gathered around the grave of Jackie’s mother and watched as Baba’s coffin was lowered to rest beside Lee Lee’s. Then Jaycee read the following poem written many years ago by a poet named Mary Frye:

Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am in a thousand winds that blow,
I am the softly falling snow.
I am the gentle showers of rain,
I am the fields of ripening grain.
I am in the morning hush,
I am in the graceful rush
Of beautiful birds in circling flight,
I am the starshine of the night.
I am in the flowers that bloom,
I am in a quiet room.
I am in the birds that sing,
I am in each lovely thing.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there. I did not die.

When Jaycee finished speaking, the only sounds you could hear were those of the birds in the trees and of people softly weeping. It was unbearably sad. In a few moments, people began approaching to drop a single rose into the grave to wish Baba a final farewell. When they were finished, I picked up the last rose from the basket and said my own goodbye. As people began to leave the area, I stood looking at Charles and Lee Lee’s graves and felt tremendous sadness for all the people they’d left behind. Jackie approached me and looked at the graves, then looked down at the basket that had held the roses. It was empty. There had been exactly the same number of roses as there were guests despite the fact that we’d told the funeral directors that we could only estimate that between 40 and 100 people would come to the service. Jackie was amazed that this had happened. Had Baba had lent a helping hand in doing the arithmetic? Perhaps he had.

We left the cemetery and drove to a nearby restaurant where we would have a Farewell to Baba luncheon. The gathering was not quiet and depressing as one might imagine it would be. Instead, people talked and laughed and shared their stories and memories of Baba. This is what Jackie wanted and he appeared happy that people were enjoying themselves. He went around and visited with everyone, taking photos and listening to them reminisce about Baba. One group of people showed Jackie a photo taken over thirty years ago when Jackie worked as a bartender in Canberra. They asked Jackie to autograph it for them, but before he did, he had me take a photo of it so he could keep it. Here’s Jackie the bartender from the 1970s:

During the luncheon I went around with my camera taking photos of all the guests so that Jackie could have a memory of who was there. Many people knew that this might be the last time they would see each other because their only connection had been Baba and now he was gone.

After lunch Jackie went off on a short side trip with Jaycee, X Lee, and Irene. Back at the house, I took the opportunity to sit again in the little sunny yard and admire its peace and beauty. Before long Jackie was back and after changing into more comfortable clothes, we worked for a while to finish packing up the photos and mementos that he wanted to ship back to Hong Kong. As we worked, the doorbell rang and outside on the front porch we found two young women with their mother. I recognized them from the funeral service and after talking to them for a few minutes, I found out that they used to live in the neighborhood and that they’d been playmates of Jaycee’s when they were children. Jackie and Jaycee came out to say hello, and the women, Josie and Angela, produced some photos taken when they were kids. In one photo, a very young Jaycee sits on the couch holding hands with Angela. We teased Jaycee, saying that he was pretty young when he began having girlfriends and that he obviously liked older women. Josie and Angela and their Mom stayed for a while and talked about their memories of the neighborhood and of Charles and Lee Lee. It was wonderful to meet them and we took some photos to share with you:

Here's Jaycee with Josie now.

And here they are as children.

Jackie with Angela, Jaycee, and Josie.

From left to right: Josie, Angela, Jaycee, and two other playmates, John and Robert.

Jaycee (wearing red shirt) plays with the other children in Baba's neighborhood.

After the women left, Jackie promptly fell asleep on the couch, so the rest of us went to our rooms to rest for a while as well. Later, as I sat on my bed sorting through photos on my computer, Jackie poked his head in and said, “Come with me.”  I asked him where we were going and he said, “To meet with the Prime Minister.”  I didn’t have time to get nervous; I just grabbed my jacket and my camera bag and climbed into the car with Jackie, X Lee, Paul, and Cel. As he drove to a nearby restaurant, Jackie chattered away about how pretty the roads were and how fresh the air was. He said that Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was supposed to attend Baba’s memorial service, but was called away on urgent business, so they’d arranged to meet for dinner instead. Jackie was so relaxed, much more like his old self and it seemed as though a tremendous burden had been lifted from his shoulders. This is not an unusual reaction after a funeral service. Once the person has been buried, there is a sense of peace and finality. I believe that Jackie was already beginning to feel this. I hoped that he was.

Soon we arrived at a very modest restaurant in Canberra and after parking the car, we went inside to a private room where a table was set for about ten people. The Prime Minister arrived and I took a few quick photos, then sat down at the side and waited for some kind of signal from Jackie as to what I should do. He came over to me to give me his phone to hold and I asked him if he wanted me to stay and take photos and he said no, it wasn’t necessary. He just wanted me to go enjoy dinner with X Lee and the others. So after making sure that he had everything he needed, I left the private room, joined the others, and proceeded to have a lovely evening, talking and laughing with X Lee, Paul, Cel, and Brad Allen, who’d also joined us. At a nearby table were the Prime Minister’s bodyguards and security agents. This had turned out to be a very interesting evening. I felt grateful to Jackie; he had arranged for all of us the English speakers to have dinner together. Although we can speak and understand some Mandarin, it was nice for us to talk and listen without having to translate in our heads.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd talks with Jackie.

After everyone was finished, we said our goodbyes and left the restaurant. Jackie had really enjoyed his dinner with the Prime Minister and the others; he was smiling and telling stories the whole ride home. When we got back to Baba’s house, we went out into the back yard because Jackie wanted us all to look at the stars. The night air was cool and clean and there were no clouds, so we could see millions of stars. We tried to locate the constellations and then Jackie pointed to a swath of stars and asked me if it was the Milky Way. I told him that I knew it was possible to see the plane of the Milky Way from the Northern Hemisphere, but I wasn’t sure if was possible to see it from Australia. I told him that it sure did look like the Milky Way and he smiled and said that was good enough for him. Jackie was enthralled by the star-filled sky and he asked me if I thought we could take a photo; I told him we couldn’t because we didn’t have a tripod. I told him about the photos I’d seen of star trails; you take the photo by setting your camera on a tripod and opening the shutter for several hours. When you’re through, and if you’re lucky, you’ll have a picture of the trails of light that are left by the stars as the Earth rotates and your camera exposes the night sky and the stars. It’s a beautiful thing, but unfortunately we couldn’t do it. In addition to not having a tripod, I told Jackie that we would need complete darkness. There were too many lights on around the neighborhood.

We sat in the yard for a while and just enjoyed the cool night air, then I went inside to do some work on my computer. About 15 minutes later, the electricity in the house suddenly went off. Someone (Jackie, it turns out) had blown a circuit. I wondered if he’d done it on purpose so he could get a better look at the stars, but of course he hadn’t. The house was just a bit overloaded. If you’ve ever been in a house when the power goes off, you know that feeling of being thrust into sudden and complete silence and darkness. Everyone began fumbling around and trying to figure out what to do, and we couldn’t help but laugh because here we were, a bunch of adults who, when the lights go out, revert back to being little kids and get all nervous and panicked because it’s so dark and quiet. After a few minutes of bumping into each other and feeling our way along the walls to try to find the basement door, someone finally found the circuit box and put things right.

We stayed up very late that night, mostly because the stress and tension was so much less. We talked about Baba and about people we had lost in our lives and just enjoyed being together. Eventually we said good night; tomorrow would be another busy day and everyone needed to sleep.

March 9: Day Four, Canberra

In 2002, Jackie donated a large amount of money to the Australian National University’s John Curtin School of Medical Research in Canberra in honor of his mother, Lee Lee Chan. Jackie has continued to support the school, so today we would return to the John Curtin School for the dedication ceremony of the Jackie Chan Science Centre. After we had breakfast, we quickly got ready and piled into the car for the short ride over to the University. On the way there, Jackie talked about the beauty of Canberra and of how much he admired the lovely greenery that lined all the streets. You may think that Jackie is particularly fascinated by this and you’d be right. Because he travels to so many different cities, he always notices the way places look to visitors. He is particularly impressed when the route from the airport to a city is well presented – he says that first impressions are important to visitors.

Soon we arrived at the school and were followed almost immediately by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. When Jackie had told the Prime Minister that he’d be at the dedication ceremony, Mr. Rudd immediately said that he wanted to attend. And here he was, keeping his word. Inside the new Jackie Chan Science Centre, Jackie and the Prime Minister spoke to the press briefly and then there was the unveiling of a special showcase which described the work that would be done at the center. Jackie appeared delighted to be there and he walked along the corridors with the Prime Minister, looking at all the displays and meeting with some of the researchers that were on hand for the ceremony.

The Jackie Chan Science Centre at the John Curtin School of Medical Research.

Excited kids wait for Jackie to arrive.

A small tribute to Jackie in the hallway of the Science Center.

The inside of the building.

Jackie admires his display.

Jackie's presence caused quite a lot of excitement!

Talking to the press.

Jaycee visits with some of his own fans.

When Jackie was finished touring the building we got ready to leave, but before we did, X Lee wanted to take some video of Jackie running up the stairs to the building. We were having quite a time trying to clear the stairs of all the students and press who had come to see Jackie. Finally, Jackie had no choice but to pretend to leave and then circle back. While we waited, Jaycee was drawing a crowd of his own and he signed some autographs and took some photos with fans. When Jackie came back, X Lee quickly filmed the video and we ran to the car, jumped in, and left.

This is the result of telling X Lee and Jaycee to "act natural" for a photo in front of the Science Center.

X Lee, Jaycee, and Cel act natural.

Jaycee eyes the commotion down below.

Jaycee with some admirers.

Jackie was thrilled with the new research center.

Back at the house there was still sorting and packing to do, so we got to work. Jackie wanted most of the photographs to be shipped back to Hong Kong and we had to remove many of them from their frames and pack them carefully for their long trip home. At one point I was sitting with Jackie in the living room talking and when he got up and approached Baba’s memorial table to light some more incense, I quickly slipped out of the room so he could have some privacy. I stood quietly in the hallway waiting for him to finish and was startled when he poked his head around the corner and with a big smile on his face said, “What are you doing?”

“Well, I was giving you some privacy,” I answered.

“I was talking to you and when you didn’t answer, I turned around and saw that you were gone,” he laughed. “If anyone had come by, they would have seen me standing there and thought that I was talking to Baba, asking him all kinds of questions.”

“Well, that would be okay, I guess…” I replied.

“Anyway, it’s a good thing no one walked by or they’d think I was crazy.”

It was really nice to see Jackie’s sense of humor returning. He’d been under such strain lately and he seemed to be settling down.

A little while later Lisa and her husband, along with family friends Jenny and Maike came over and prepared lunch for everyone. It would be our last meal at Baba’s house. We ate quietly and when we were finished it was time to leave.

Our last meal at Baba's house.

After lunch, Jackie sat for one last time in Baba's favorite chair.

Jackie had rented a bus which would take us all to Sydney, and after loading our suitcases into the coach, we gathered together on the stairs outside for one last photo at Lee Lee and Charles Chan’s beloved house in Canberra.

Goodbye to Canberra

On the way to Sydney, we stopped at the cemetery so that Jackie could have a private moment at the graves of his parents. It looked very different from the way it had the day of the funeral. The tent had been removed, there were no press photographers hiding in the woods, and there were very few people around. After everyone paid their respects at Lee Lee and Charles’ grave, we took a look around at some of the other monuments nearby. Jackie was quite interested in the way that some people memorialized their loved ones, pointing out different statues, photographs, and inscrīptions. He struck up a conversation with an old woman who was visiting the graves of her relatives. She was Croatian and she told him all about all the Croatian people who had settled in Canberra and who were buried in this cemetery. The woman’s daughter saw her Mom talking to this stranger and came right over. The look on her face when she recognized Jackie was priceless. I suppose she never thought she’d run into Jackie Chan at a cemetery in Australia. Despite her shock, she stayed calm and respectful; after all we were at a cemetery. Still, she whipped out a camera and asked to take a photo, which Jackie agreed to. It seems that no matter where Jackie goes, he will run into fans; even in a graveyard. But it didn’t bother him at all; he was happy to say hello and pose for a picture.

It was very quiet in the bus as we drove away from Canberra for what would most likely be the last time. It had been a week full of emotion, of tears and some laughter, and of course, of goodbyes. It was all over now. Jackie said that we shouldn’t be sad; that Baba would not approve. He said that to honor Baba, we should enjoy our friends and family, have a positive attitude, and live each day as if it were our last.

You may think this is the end of this Australia story, but it is not. Jackie had a treat planned for all of us – we would stay in Sydney for two days for a holiday. For some of us, it was the first time we’d been to Australia and for others – like Jackie – it would be a chance to take a look at Sydney and enjoy time with family and friends. But I will tell you about that trip in another Scrapbook. This was Baba’s story and so it will end here.

Note: I want to say a word about the photos that were taken inside the venue before and during the memorial service. I take a lot of photos of Jackie and in all the time I’ve been doing this, I never felt like I was intruding on his privacy. Never once has he put his hand up to me to say "No photo." Over the past few years I have learned to tell when it’s not appropriate and during those times I put my camera aside. However, I was unsure of what he expected of me in terms of taking photos at the funeral service. I knew that my camera was the only one allowed inside the building during the ceremony, yet I wasn’t sure how to handle this. I wanted to document the ceremony for Jackie, yet I wanted to be respectful at the same time. Before the guests arrived I told Jackie how I felt and asked him for advice. He told me just to do whatever I thought was best. If I wanted to take photos, then I should take photos. If I didn’t feel comfortable doing it, then it was okay not to. After speaking with him, I felt better about being there with my camera and so I did my job and took the pictures. 

Click here to read the next article about Jackie's trip to Australia.

Text and photos ©2008 The JC Group. All Rights Reserved.

Back to top