林榮峰 | Emily Lee
Oil Painting – 24” x 36”
夫妻情
我想牽著你的手，
從心動，到白首；
我知道——
上帝也牽著我的手，
從此刻，到永遠。
五十六年前的今天，我們結婚了。
那是1969年，趁著美國陣亡將士紀念日長週末（Memorial Long Weekend），我們在美國俄亥俄州中部的一個小鎮上舉行了婚禮，人生地不熟、經驗全無，一切都得靠自己動手。
我親手縫製婚紗，請帖原本請二姐從台灣幫忙印製，但因為誤用了「海陸」寄送方式，收到時已經來不及了，加上我們也不知道當地哪裡可以印，我們只好決定自製。用打字機一個字一個字打，而且每個字都打兩次，加深字跡，再噴上紅漆，一個個紅色「囍」字，完成一張張喜帖。當時沒有口罩，我們就用毛巾綁住臉，兩人齊心合力完成這個任務。
我自己用立體剪裁做了自己的婚紗，點心和蛋糕則由我們的好朋友幫忙訂的。婚禮雖然簡單，卻格外隆重而難忘。清澤是那所學校第一位亞裔留學生，深受教授們與系主任的喜愛，許多老師都親自出席婚禮表示祝賀，也有很多從外地趕來的朋友。婚禮結束後，大家回到我們的住處，一起聚會、歡笑、聊天。
最難忘的是——我們用我們最喜歡的速食 Arby’s Roast Beef Sandwich 來招待大家飽腹！簡單卻實在，也代表著我們滿滿的心意。
婚後我們借住在一對博士後夫婦的家中，他們暑假外出研究，將房子借給我們當新居。清澤每天趕寫博士論文，而我就坐在我們收到的結婚禮物——一張熨斗板前，替他打字。電視天天播放著阿波羅11號登陸月球的歷史時刻，彷彿也象徵著我們人生一個新的開端。
更驚喜的是，清澤同時收到三個工作機會——在當時的情況下是非常難得的。我們最終選擇了德州大學奧斯汀分校心理系的職位。
眼看只剩一個月，他要完成論文、通過口試。蜜月，就這樣在忙碌中悄悄展開。沒有旅遊，沒有度假，但我們心中卻充滿踏實與希望。
關於藝術家
林榮峰（Emily Lee），六十歲開始學畫，致力以藝術記錄生命歷程與家族記憶。現為雙語創作者，常以中英文書寫搭配繪畫，表達深層情感與文化交融之美。
Love and Marriage
I want to hold your hand,
From our first heartbeat to growing old.
And I know—
God holds mine too,
From this moment, to eternity.
Fifty-six years ago today, we got married.
It was 1969, during the Memorial Day long weekend, and we held our wedding in a small town in central Ohio. Everything was unfamiliar, and we had no experience. We had to do everything ourselves.
I sewed my own wedding dress. Originally, I had asked my second sister in Taiwan to help print the invitations. But they were sent by surface mail and arrived too late. We had no idea where to get them printed locally, so we decided to make them ourselves. We typed each word, twice over to deepen the impression, using a typewriter. Then we spray-painted red over the double happiness “囍” characters, one by one, completing every single invitation by hand. There were no masks back then—we tied towels around our faces as we worked side by side to finish the task.
I used three-dimensional tailoring to create my own wedding dress, while the refreshments and cake were kindly ordered by our close friends. The wedding was simple, but it felt solemn and unforgettable. Ching-Tse was the first Asian student at that school and was well liked by professors and department head. Many of them attended the ceremony in person to offer their congratulations, as did friends who traveled from afar. After the ceremony, everyone gathered at our home, laughing, chatting, and celebrating together.
The most unforgettable part— We served our favorite fast food: Arby’s Roast Beef Sandwiches to feed everyone! Simple but heartfelt, and full of meaning.
After the wedding, we stayed in the home of a postdoctoral couple who had gone away for the summer and generously let us use their house as our first residence. Ching-Tse spent his days racing to finish his dissertation, while I sat in front of our wedding gift—an ironing board—and typed for him. Every day, the television played the historic broadcast of Apollo 11’s moon landing. It felt like a symbol of a brand new beginning for us as well.
What surprised us most—Ching-Tse received three job offers at once, which was incredibly rare at the time. We eventually chose the position at the University of Texas at Austin, in the Psychology Department.
With only a month left, he still had to finish the dissertation and pass his oral defense. Our honeymoon quietly unfolded amid the busyness. No travels, no vacation, but our hearts were full—with purpose and hope.
About the artist
Emily Lee （林榮峰）began painting at the age of sixty, using art to document her life journey and family memories. As a bilingual creator, she often combines Chinese and English text with visual imagery to express deep emotions and the beauty of cultural fusion.