Memories

The other day while clearing out my garage for the weekend garage sale I came upon two boxes. I don’t remember how long they have been on the shelves but I’m guessing no less than 3 years. They are about 16"x12"x8" in size, lids covered with dust. I wiped the dust off one of them, opened it and found several bundles of old letters, greeting cards, strips of negatives. I picked up one letter randomly, "December, 1981", the year my family moved to the US. It came from a classmate of mine.

It dawned on me then, our 30th anniversary in the US is creeping up in 2 years. 30 years, that’s a long time by any measure. From a wide-eyed teen to a father of two, no kidding! 30 years!! As I sat for the next 20 minutes flipping through stacks of papers, many of the faded memories began to come back. There are many miscellaneous items as well. Each and every piece carries with it certain memories, some good, some forgettable. But I will treasure them all.

I can no longer call Taiwan home, not anymore. For my family had uprooted and settled in the US for most of my life. Somehow, deep down, I feel there is a certain part of me still very much connected to my birthplace. This feeling is calling out to me and it’s getting louder and louder. It has been 28 years now since I first said good-bye to that ever so familiar island called Formosa. It has been over 11 years now since I last set foot on its soil.

For several years now, I have put away nearly all my English CD’s in my car. Taiwanese, Mandarin CD’s now occupy just about all slots in the CD changer. I don’t get to hear people talk in Taiwanese or Mandarin too often. The familiar dialects coming through the speakers sort of fill that void. Until we visit Taiwan someday, hopefully soon, I have two boxes full of memories with me. They will stay with me for the rest of my life, that’s for sure.


台北 ~ 1970 野柳 ~ 1973

original post date: June 8, 2009