Fr. Kennedy taught Geography when I was in F1B. He would come in telling us to “pipe down” and threatened us with a big ruler. I think he had used it on some occasions, something that is unthinkable nowadays. He had a genuine interest in Geography. He also had a sense of humor. I remember in our textbook there was a picture of a giraffe bending down a river to drink water. One of the questions in the final exam was to draw a giraffe drinking water.
He was form master at 2B and taught us several classes. During one of the class picnics, we settled down and had lunch. A devout Protestant in our class came by and asked Fr. Kennedy: "Why is it that a Catholic priest does not say grace before meal?" Fr. Kennedy answered that he had said it silently. The student walked away, looking a little doubtful. Fr. Kennedy said to me: “It was embarrassing being caught out by a Protestant.” I thought he had great presence of mind to offer this defense. But I wondered whether he had to add lying along with omitting to say grace in his confession.
Beside the official class picnics, Fr. Kennedy organized little outings. One time he borrowed an old car from a friend and we would go to Hong Kong island. In those days you drove to Jordan Road to take the car transporting ferry. We waited in line and when it was our turn to get onto the ferry, the car would not start. Fr. Kennedy tried and tried and failed and we learned a lot about English words that we did not normally encounter at Wah Yan. I think we finally abandoned the car and took the ferry.
At the end of Form 2, Emmanuel Song immigrated to Brazil with his family. Fr. Kennedy hosted a dinner and I was invited also. We went to a nice Chinese restaurant. Fr. Kennedy had to ask Fr. Mallin, the Minister, for money. He explained that he let Fr. Mallin make the first offer and ended up with quite a bit. We had a good dinner. When we came out of the restaurant, we passed a movie theater. Fr. Kennedy said he still had enough money to go to the movies. In principle, he needed permission from the bishop to go to a movie and he was afraid that someone might report him. At the end, we did not go to the movie mainly because Fr. Kennedy determined that movie was not a good one.
Around this time, Fr. Kennedy acquired a scooter. It was a Vesper and he was mightily proud of it and looked down on lesser scooters. Vincent Chu and I took a loop through the New Territories on bicycle. It was tiring but fun. When we repeated the adventure, we told Fr. Kennedy about it and he said he would join us at a designated point in his Vesper. He came with pots to make tea for us. Perhaps it was in one of these trips that I asked him how long it took to study to become a Jesuit. He said that a person needed a university degree which would normally take three years. In his case, because of his special intelligence, it took four years. This honest revelation was very refreshing.
We had Fr. O’Neill at Form 4 but we still went to trips with Fr. Kennedy. I think it was around this time that someone asked him: “Why did Fr. O’Neill become a priest seeing that he is so handsome.” Fr. Kennedy replied that the question was insulting to him and he would not answer it. A few years ago, I was writing a review of a book on Jesuits in Hong Kong and came across a picture of Fr. Kennedy when he was a seminarian. He was quite good looking and his reply was perhaps justified.
Around this time, a group of us started studying and practicing Bridge. One day Fr. Kennedy saw us and asked what we were doing. We explained that we were playing Bridge. He asked us whether we were gambling. We said no; we were just playing for fun. He said that was not good; you need to put a little money into it otherwise you would not improve. Unfortunately we did not take his advice seriously and ended up being mediocre players.
Fr. Kennedy was running the Poor Boys’ Club. Economic conditions were tough in those days and a good meal was enough attraction for many of the youth. I went to a Christmas dinner in the school cafeteria when some of the mothers were present. Fr. Kennedy gave each one a $10 Lai See. An older girl came instead of the mother and did not get the Lai See. She said something to Fr. Kennedy and he gave the $10 to her too. Such little gestures of kindness brought a lot of happiness in those days.
After I left Wah Yan, I exchanged an occasional letter with Fr. Kennedy. He always showed good humor. When I visited Hong Kong, I always looked him up. On one occasion he took me to the priests’ quarters to have afternoon tea. He warned me that the coffee was atrocious but the tea was fine. He took me to see Fr. Doris. We knocked and when Fr. Kennedy did not hear any reply, he explained to me that Fr. Doris was getting a little deaf. But I heard Fr. Doris’ reply so Fr. Kennedy was having hearing problem also. At that time, I thought it was very funny. Now it is time that these things would happen to us.
Fr. Kennedy was a good person.