Goodbye, Aunt Ceil (2016-03-05)

I flew from Seoul to Texas to attend the funeral of my late Great Aunt Ceil. I got the bad news last week, then after I got the date of the funeral, I started making plans to be there.

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/opinion/2016/03/137_200579.html

I'm glad I came here. I last saw my Great Aunt in March 2014, at her sister's (my grandmother's) funeral. There were tears during the funeral, but the funeral was as she had lived--love, joy, optimism.

We had a lovely time reflecting on her life, older relatives telling stories. I learned many things about her and about my family. The best thing was seeing my aunts and uncles. One of my uncles threatened his patented "bear hug," but he was not alone in carrying out the threat.

* * *

Last year one of my lovely aunts passed away (and one of her sons passed away around the same time), but I was busy with so many things that I didn't return to Texas. I could only send condolences, and greatly regretted it.

* * *

Some random thoughts:

* People who think I am tough on people who show up late at events need to meet my relatives. I picked up some tips this weekend about how to deal with people who don't know what time it is...

* In Korea, people often tell me that I look like some black person in the news. I reject these comparisons: I do have some relatives who look somewhat like me. None of them include Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Mike Tyson.

* Everyone was delighted that I flew in from Seoul to attend the funeral. Funerals are for the living, not the dead, so I suppose it means something when people travel long distances to say goodbye to a loved one.

.* Yes, I have had enough to eat during this trip. When people in Korea ask me why I am in Korea, I will now start to answer, "To avoid my relatives who always try to overfeed me. I don't want to weigh 400 pounds."

* If you are one of those people who complains about people taking selfies or about people taking photos with others, then.. you must be someone planning to live eternally and think everyone around you will also. Plus, you are a busybody idiotic analyst. Five years later, several of the relatives from this funeral have themselves passed on. We aren't here for long, let's enjoy the party while it lasts.

* * *

Bear Hugs in Texas, published in the Korea Times a short time later.

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/opinion/2016/03/137_200579.html

Bear Hugs in Texas, published in the Korea Times a short time later.

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/opinion/2016/03/137_200579.html

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By Casey Lartigue, Jr. As interesting as Kookmin University professor Andrei Lankov’s writings are, there is nothing quite like attending one of his lectures. He can barely restrain himself behind the podium, often pointing and waving his arms. I also enjoy his unscripted speeches, but his answers in Q&A sessions are like the difference between watching Michael Jordan shoot baskets in warm-ups and an actual game. I have finally discovered the secret behind Lankov’s consistently solid analysis about North Korea: Use common sense. At an Asan Institute conference last summer, he argued that North Korea watchers should try to understand North Korea from its perspective. Don’t most people know that you must understand the mindset of others you are dealing with? Yet, common sense in theory gets ignored politically. From the North Korean perspective, nuclear weapons are the best thing they’ve got going. They will NOT give them up easily, even if President Obama ...

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National Assembly member Park Jin makes the welcoming remarks at FSI's conference featuring North Korean diplomats. Park Jin | Greeting message to FSI and Casey Lartigue mention - YouTube

2015-10-16 speech: Legacies of the Korean War at GMU (Korea)

Yesterday I was one of the speakers at a special event at George Mason University's campus in Seongdo (Korea). Charles Cousino, an 84-year-old Korean war veteran, discussed his connection to Korea. I discussed Teach North Korean Refugees. And North Korean refugee Sehyek Oh talked about what freedom means to him. It was the speech he used to win TNKR's second English speech contest. Special thanks to Roland Wilson and Michael Dunne for making it happen! support TNKR: www.lovetnkr.org/donate

The Casey Lartigue Show!

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