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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