OUR BELOVED ANCESTORS

 What’s all this hubbub about restoring grandpa’s grave?  He’s gone—what’s past is past; we should be concerned with the present and future.

 Until a few years ago, I didn’t care about our ancestors and had this very attitude about our forefathers.  I have thought about it, and have come around 180 degrees.  You’ve heard this before—“if grandpa/grandma/uncle/aunt/dad/mom, etc. were not here, you wouldn’t be here”.  How true this is.

 They paved the way for us.  They made a difference in their lives so we could be here, making a difference in ours for the future generations.  No matter how small each of our ancestors’ contribution, it made a difference so that life would be better for future generations.

 It’s hard to explain, but I’ll try.  Who knew Aunty Hannah?  Not many of us.  We called her “Goo Mah”, why?  I do not know.  She was almost always never home.  I went to Apo’s house, where Aunty Hannah lived, almost every day when I was young, but would run into her maybe once in six months—honest.  What I knew about Aunty Hannah is that she left for work at 4:30am in the morning to catch the bus to Schofield Barracks where she worked as a nurse.  Back in those days the bus system was nowhere close to what it is today.  The transit time from Kaimuki to Wahiawa must have been 2 ½ to 3 hours.  She would work all day, then catch the bus back home, arriving around 7:30-8:00pm.  She would do this every day, six days a week.  On Sundays she was out to church and shopping.

 When Goo Mah was home, she hardly said anything to me.  How, then, did she make a difference?  Think of all the “Aunty Hannahs” out there.  In her case, she took care of soldiers needing medical care.  The Aunt Hannahs contributed to our community, and proved to the world that immigrants can become solid citizens in our modern society.   Their efforts helped our state’s economy, which in turn benefited our country.  Our country prospered, which allowed the Woo family to prosper, which in turn allowed you and I to be here.  Although Aunty Hannah had no children, she helped set the “bar” higher for the next generation, merely by example.  She worked hard, was dedicated to what she did, and did not complain about the hard life (by today’s standards) she had.  She knew that her forefathers had an even tougher life, and was grateful for the position she was in.

 All of you are successful individuals, making a contribution to society.  All of us have set or are in the process of setting, the bar higher for the next generation, believe it or not, so that life will be better for them.

 We remember our forefathers for this.  It is not a big commitment to stop and remember our ancestors every now and then.  Remember your parents, and their parents, and please don’t forget the “unsung heroes” of the Woo family, who have no children to remember them.
 

(If you would like to submit a story about your Woo Family hero, or would like to add to this one,
please email it to Brent Soo Hoo, brent.soo.hoo@gartner.com, who will post it on our website.)