Choose Strong
For Tim.
Dad was hospitalized again, this time for stomach pain which later was diagnosed
as some inflamation in the pancreas. In addition to himself, the Zhaos and my
cousin had to risk the coronavirus. I don't know when I can go back with the
plague raging over the land. The helplessness of the situation reminded me of my
friend Fausto.
A Mexican American, my former neighbor Fausto Garcia was a construction laborer.
He welcomed us to the neighborhood by helping us move out of our San Jose
apartment in Apr 2008. Our first house needed a lot of work and my friend was a
great help in the years we lived there.
His house on the same block was a showpiece. With his own hands, he molded it
into a sparkling resident with lush grass lawns, graceful plants and rustic
decor, and a pavilion BBQ in the backyard where he entertained his guests
with food and live music.
He added a room with a bath to his house and his wife opened up a daycare which
became an international institution. Working-class neighbors of many races sent
their potty-trained precious toddlers there and the parents learnt that despite
of how different we looked we all loved our kids. My son used to go there during
school breaks and get a good exposure to Spanish.
The Garcias worked hard and for long hours and raised two great kids. Polite
well-mannered youth, both graduated from college and became professionals.
Fausto used to tell a story about visiting the nearby mall with his daughter
Liliana when she was about 14.
The mall, a monster two-story structure, squats on a rectangular piece of land
by the freeway and hosts a single straight arcade. One can enter from the north
end through Sears which used to sell everything a household needed but closed
its doors in 2019, losing to online shopping. Once on the first-level, to the
left you can find See's Candies which promises happiness if you consume their
chocolates. To the right, down a couple of shops you see a sports shoe store
where the sales guy would convince you that a pair of Nike-Air would enable you
to fly across a basketaball court like Michael Jordan. And as you keep on going,
you come to a jewlery store where if someone who loves you buys you a diamond,
you are settled for life. After all, diamonds are forever, as they say.
And in the end, you would come to this 10-feet long dark bronze statue of a
baleen whale in a horizontal posture with its tail and head up and its mouth
open. It may remind you of the fish that swallowed Jonah or the one gulped
Pinocchio. In front of it were a coin slot and a button which you can push and
make a wish as Lili did that day.
"What do you want, kid?" asked the whale. It was a woman's voice.
"Are you a woman? I always thought you were a man." Lili said.
"What's the difference? I am a fish. Tell me what you want."
"I want happiness." Lili said.
"That doesn't exist. Wrong wish. What else do you want?"
"I want true love."
"That doesn't happen either. Love ain't all it's cracked up to be. What else?"
"OK. How about a long life?"
"You might regret that, kid. It's hard to explain. Come back after you turn 50
if you still want it. Meanwhile think of something else."
"What can I get for a quarter?" asked Lili.
"A quater? For a quarter, I can tell you this. Wherever you go and whatever you
do, kid, just remember: it could be worse. Okay? If you grow up and you should
be extremely lucky: you live in sunny California, you have a job, you have a
house, etc. When someone tells you that you are lucky, just look at them in the
eye and say: 'Yes. It could've been worse.'"
[Credit: I borrowed the phrase 'It could've been worse' and a couple of
dialogs from Garrison Keillor.]
