Sunday, November 04, 2001
It's been a strange weekend...

Past this entire last weekend, I was looking forward to seeing the opening to the new Jet Li flick "The One" on Saturday. A lot people came including Shiv and I had a good time... the movie was some spectacular eye candy and besides, where else can you see Jet Li versus Jet Li? hahaha. (confused? visit the link...)

Nope, the crazy thing was that all Saturday, my mother was trying to call me... it turns out another one of my relatives passed away. This time, it was my Uncle Wil, whom I've known nearly as long as mine own parents. His loss hurts in ways that are hard to describe, except to say that perhaps my Uncle Wil was more like my grandfather than my uncle. Bloodline-wise, he's related to me through his wife, Auntie May who is my father's father's youngest sister. My father's father died when I was about 5 or 6... my mother's father died before I was even born. As far as I knew, Uncle Wil was in perfect health for his age... but I guess the timing of his passing is as much of a shock as the probability of him dying. Word from my mom is that I'll be flying out Thursday to attend his funeral. That makes it three funerals in almost three months... if I were a more superstitious person, I guess I'd realize the odd tendency of things to happen in three's.

Uncle Wil was a man everybody respected... and not just because he was a Christian, but because he acted with the character of Christ. He could be stern, practical, driven... yet at the same time, compassionate, incredibly generous, and very funny, with his dry and sarcastic wit (something that's definitely in the family). Uncle Wil looked out for those he loved, especially his family. He and Auntie May were one of the few relatives who insisted upon attending my high school graduation... I think much it was the love they had for my father, whom they helped to raise almost like a son. My father too grew up for a time in a single parent family, his mother dying when he was young. It was Uncle Wil and Auntie May who made a point to reach out to him and try to steer my father on the right path in those Oakland streets, growing up in a non-Christian home. When my father died, he flew up immediately to help my mother and care for me & my sister. In the years following, whenever I saw him, he'd never fail to ask me how I was doing and give me advice, while reminding me that it was also my responsibility to look out for mother and sister.

Thanks for everything, Uncle Wil... I'm sure you've gone home to heaven to be with the rest of the Chan family men. Part of me is glad to know that you're watching over me with them.

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in?scrip?tion (n-skrip-shun)n.
1. The act or an instance of inscribing.
2. Something, such as the wording on a coin, medal, monument, or seal, that is inscribed.
3. A short, signed message in a book or on a photograph given as a gift.
4. The usually informal dedication of an artistic work.
5. Jeremiah 31:33

the facts.
name. Gar AKA "that Chinese guy" "Sleepy.McSleeping"
ethnicity/nationality. Chinese/American, 4th gen.
location. Sea-Town, WA, USA Kawanishi, JAPAN
occupation. less-cynical poor grad student
age. younger than you think, older than you know

 



 

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