Memories of my Grandfather

My Grandfather from my mom's side died in 1989 when I was very young.  However, I have very clear memories of him in my mind.  He was quiet and kind.  His face would light up when I came to see him.  He suffered from Diabetes which eventually took him in the end.  In his last moments at home at the house in LA, he lay in bed and was very weak.  My grandmother had a bowl of strawberries and a bowl of sugar which Grandpa was really too weak to eat.  He shared his strawberries and sugar with me and was smiling as I indulged in this delicious treat.  My mom came up and told me to stop eating Grandpa's food, and Grandpa smiled and told her in Korean that it was just fine.  That was my last memory of my Grandpa.  I wish I had more time to get to know him better but in a sense I am him, just in a younger more American form.  My mom missed him very much and I sat next to her at his funeral as she silently cried.  They are strong people, my mom's family, and rarely reveal when they are hurting or in pain.  My Grandmother has never remarried and still lives in the old house in LA till this day.  Someday she will be reunited with him.

Researching Family

I had a mandatory Hawaiian studies course in college at UH Manoa.  The first assignment was to make a family tree and bring it to class and share it.  I wasn't too thrilled at the time because it meant that I had to call home to California and get all the information needed.  I thought to myself, what's wrong with this teacher?  What does my family have to do with Hawaiian studies? 
Little did I know it would spark an interest that carries with me today.  Something really hit me when I saw ancestors who were born in the 19th century and my investigative side came out when I realized that there were some dead ends in the family tree.  I wanted to know more.

My interest was permanently planted on the day my mentor, dean and professor at the school of Journalism at UH Manoa retired.  Dr. Bev Keever, one of the first women reporters in Vietnam during the war, a true inspiration to all.  She came to speak to us and see us for the last time.  We all talked and asked her what her plans were.  She said she was going to spend time with her 90 something year old mother since she had devoted so many years to her career.  None of us students ever had the nerve to ask her how old she was but we all guessed she was near 80. 
Anyways, she pulled us together and told us that in her life she had 2 big regrets:
1) She never kept a diary.  As a journalist she was always documenting events but never bothered to document her own life.
2) She didn't document her family's history.  She recalled being a little girl in New York and hearing her grandmother talk of traveling in covered wagons.  Today, this information would be like gold, but when her grandmother died, all that information went with her.

I'll never forget this day.  There I was in my early 20's hearing this amazing woman at the end of her long career talk of her life's biggest regrets.  I wanted to make darn certain that I wouldn't have the same ones.