Thursday, October 19, 2023
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My Sister, Jane
By Alvin Eng
“When I need you
I just close my eyes and I'm with you
And all that my soul wants to give you
It's only a heartbeat away.”
My sister Jane first recited this verse to me when I was a fourteen year-old boy––bewildered by the recent passing of our father, King Wah Eng. She explained how that song, sung by Leo Sayer, comforted her loss and consoled her longing for Dad. Now, as a sixty-one-year old man, I sing this verse to Jane and the universe to comfort my loss and console my longing for her. Rest in peace, my dear sister.
She always looked out for me, hosting me and my brother, Herman, as “Fresh Air Kids” visiting Canastota from NYC during most summers of the 1970s.
During those long years when I was the caretake of our mother, Toy Lain Chin Eng, during her sunset years, Jane repeatedly expressed her gratitude for my looking after our mom.
A few years after the painful loss of her own husband (and multi-term Mayor of Canastota!), Mark Lavonas, it was a joy to see Jane mingling and dancing with family and friends at my wedding to Wendy Wasdahl. With this verse from “When I Need You,” I feel as if we can continue dancing together.
With all our love,
Alvin & Wendy
