The earliest recollections of my life are obscured in smoke bombs and the smell of burning sulfur. I was born in a small Vietnamese village in a modest hut, watching my elders prepare their traps and practice their shooting. Life was simple, we had all we needed to survive, but that's all we wanted... it was at least all we hoped for.
One day, when I was about 5 years old, we had found out that one of the men in our village had left looking for food, and never came back. This news alarmed our village elders, but we barely had time to act before we were ambushed by the Americans. These men emerged from the bushes and trees, in shades of green as if they had been rooted in the ground themselves. Our men tried to fight back, but they were catching bullets like Tupac and Christopher Wallace. I saw my father drop to his knees before my eyes, as well as my uncle, and his uncle before him (who was going to die soon anyways). Me and the other crying children and women were in a panic, and could only think to retreat back to our huts. Past all the screaming, the gunshots, and the overwhelming despair that loomed over our humble village, I saw a piece of debris fly into our small hut. It was a live grenade.
I woke up in a haze, a flash of white light struck me like lightning as I opened my eyes. I felt a mixture of sanguine and rebirth- as if I had been given another chance at life when I should`ve been dead. As my pupils began adjusting to the light, I witnessed a large, dark green figure progressing towards me. I was expecting the end of my life, but then realized this man was intending to save me. In his rough gweilo voice, he said to me, "I would help ya up, but it looks'it ya missing 'er couple arms thurr, buds!"
I tried to extend my arms and legs, but I discovered that my limbs were blown clean off. I looked deep into his oceanic blue eyes, and could only get one word out of me... "why?"
"Ah can't unnerstan' yo Cha-nees jibba jab", he exclaimed as he slung me over his back. "an' ah can't take ya back to Amurr-ka, but ah' know juss tha place fer' you!"
A few years have passed. I was living with my new G.I stepdad Williams, and had resided in an isolated Vancouver shanty. By that time, I had grown accustomed to life without the luxury of limbs I once had, but I sometimes wondered what it would be like to walk again. G.I Williams told me stories everynight, especially a "pinnochio" like fairy tale of a young limbless boy who wakes up one day with arms and legs, just by believing. I was torn between being grateful of life and hating my physical limitations, but I pressed on anyways. Without this hope, I would have never made it to this day.
I realized that living as a head and a torso was only a challenge because I believed it to be. Because leaving yourself in self-pity does not solve anything, I instead chose to be driven through life with dedication, and hard work. The greatest challenges can be with ourselves, but hope and belief can conquer our most difficult problems. Just look at me now, a fully functioning Asian-Canadian, well to do and successful! Everything begins by trying!
One day, when I was about 5 years old, we had found out that one of the men in our village had left looking for food, and never came back. This news alarmed our village elders, but we barely had time to act before we were ambushed by the Americans. These men emerged from the bushes and trees, in shades of green as if they had been rooted in the ground themselves. Our men tried to fight back, but they were catching bullets like Tupac and Christopher Wallace. I saw my father drop to his knees before my eyes, as well as my uncle, and his uncle before him (who was going to die soon anyways). Me and the other crying children and women were in a panic, and could only think to retreat back to our huts. Past all the screaming, the gunshots, and the overwhelming despair that loomed over our humble village, I saw a piece of debris fly into our small hut. It was a live grenade.
I woke up in a haze, a flash of white light struck me like lightning as I opened my eyes. I felt a mixture of sanguine and rebirth- as if I had been given another chance at life when I should`ve been dead. As my pupils began adjusting to the light, I witnessed a large, dark green figure progressing towards me. I was expecting the end of my life, but then realized this man was intending to save me. In his rough gweilo voice, he said to me, "I would help ya up, but it looks'it ya missing 'er couple arms thurr, buds!"
I tried to extend my arms and legs, but I discovered that my limbs were blown clean off. I looked deep into his oceanic blue eyes, and could only get one word out of me... "why?"
"Ah can't unnerstan' yo Cha-nees jibba jab", he exclaimed as he slung me over his back. "an' ah can't take ya back to Amurr-ka, but ah' know juss tha place fer' you!"
A few years have passed. I was living with my new G.I stepdad Williams, and had resided in an isolated Vancouver shanty. By that time, I had grown accustomed to life without the luxury of limbs I once had, but I sometimes wondered what it would be like to walk again. G.I Williams told me stories everynight, especially a "pinnochio" like fairy tale of a young limbless boy who wakes up one day with arms and legs, just by believing. I was torn between being grateful of life and hating my physical limitations, but I pressed on anyways. Without this hope, I would have never made it to this day.
I realized that living as a head and a torso was only a challenge because I believed it to be. Because leaving yourself in self-pity does not solve anything, I instead chose to be driven through life with dedication, and hard work. The greatest challenges can be with ourselves, but hope and belief can conquer our most difficult problems. Just look at me now, a fully functioning Asian-Canadian, well to do and successful! Everything begins by trying!
I feel that this story represents an entirely ironic concept of responsibility to the American foreign policy. It brought a tear to my eye when the GI took responsibility for a fallen angel and took him in. Lovely story!
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