29-09-21
A boyfriend is good enough when he can spend sweet moments with you, but you may not want to go to the next level. A husband may be an unexciting and simple man but he takes exceptional care of your well-being and is keen to be kind to your family. A boyfriend is a man to have romances and fun although he gives you no security. A husband must be reliable, sensible, good at planning and will inspire mutual trust. Having been considered in the light of the above, Hong Kong well-known artiste Alex Fong(方力申) is the best candidate for the job of a good husband in the eye of the beholders. Besides, he is handsome, pleasant, clever and shows respect to others.
Alex is an endangered but unprotected species in the Hong Kong entertainment industry. He is multi-masterful: Olympic swimmer, TV program host, sportscaster, founder of a swimming school, actor and singer. Regrettably, he is not a painter or art gallery owner but his eminent father is. He was the agent for the late renowned artist Wu Guanzhong (吳冠中) whose painting hit the record price of millions at auctions. Alex was given a nickname of ‘Prince Flying Fish 飛魚王子’ for his swimming achievements in Hong Kong. He first represented Hong Kong in international swimming races at the age of 11 and later represented Hong Kong at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. Several Hong Kong records got broken when Alex took to the pool. He graduated from The University of Hong Kong in 2004.
Alex laughed, “I am not rich and neither is my family. I am not highborn but our bloodline is around swim and art. My grandfather, father and younger brother were great swimmers. My dad’s gallery is a modest success too. Art gallery’s fundamental is to invest in the talent of an artist but often after the first-price selling of a piece of art by a gallery, other hunches on amazing price moves are another story.”
Alex paused, “Participating in sports early in life gives me a lifelong sense of discipline together with the necessary team spirit which implies an awareness of responsibility to the swimming team and Hong Kong both of which I belong to.” He satisfied his sweet tooth with a variety of afternoon tea snacks and smiled with a relief, “A family is a team. I want to create a winning family team and the common goal, in my case, is love. This may be why I am reluctant to leave my parents and move to live in Shanghai to look for more performing opportunities. For me, happiness is having a caring and close-knit family in one city, our lovely Hong Kong. The reality, unfortunately, may ask me to go.”
My sporting event expert friend Owen Chan(陳尚來) said to me, “I knew Alex when he was 15. He was helpful and determined. Even now, I saw Alex often carrying heavy equipment for the camera crew when he did outdoor sportscasting.”
I expected a different answer, “The above will make you a very ideal husband?” Alex gave a wry facial expression, “Are you serious? The above might be a problem. Dating should be a stage of pure romantic relationship but if it is always aimed at drifting between getting married and having children, the stress may become an obstacle to developing a possible relationship. I may not be an ideal husband as I am too busy and have sudden work commitment one after the other.”
I dared to speculate, “As a successful athlete, can you see the common key to the success in sport and of marriage?” Alex gave it a thought, “The word ‘discipline’ comes up to my mind. Being good at something often requires great efforts. Countless hours of swimming training have made me disciplined and responsible. I obey rules, observe a code of behaviour and try to reach the best goals. I guess if you want to be a good husband, son-in-law and father, discipline and sense of responsibility surely relate to a man’s duty of giving love and joy to a family. That can be an effortful job.” Owen added, “A sportsman may be a boring husband but he will likely take you to travel to watch Super Bowl, Wimbledon or Rugby World Cup.”
I asked, “You are almost perfect and is there anything over that you can lose by a thin margin?” He jumped into his feelings, “Oh! I can be terrible at people skills. I am very bad at answering the six questions of who, what, where, when, why and how suddenly proposed by entertainment reporters to me. Such questions will be difficult to answer when they are about the private life or love relationship of other artistes. If I refuse to comment, the reporters may consider me boring or uncooperative.”
It was said that a husband should be a woman’s best friend, greatest support, biggest comfort, strongest motivation, most helpful teammate and her deepest love. Did you find your Mr. Right? If not, I am sure Alex would soon not answer my texts as he would be too busy being chased by women who believe, after reading this article, that Alex should be the safe harbour where a true love story begins.
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