Monday, April 13, 2020
Mary Mar Memorial 2010
Uncle Hong's loving wife Mary passed away in 2010. It was very emotional, as my father adored Uncle Hong and we all adore their daughters. Auntie Mary was a remarkable woman and I am happy to have captured her memorial service to share.
Thursday, April 9, 2020
Mar family experiences of World War II - Ida Yep
Well it's time to start posting my treasure trove of family video interviews. When Dad got his lung cancer, he decided to buy a video camera and have me film him telling his life story. It makes for a grand epic and it's also a heart-wrenching document of his physical decline, but I'm so glad I have it.
Following that up, I started making interview videos of other family members of that generation, with the common thread of "Tell me what your experience of World War II was like." I particularly was looking forward to interviewing Aunt Ida because Dad's story of his travel with his mother from Guangzhou to the village in 1943 is the most harrowing and emotional event of his life. But I knew Aunt Ida and Uncle Harold made the same journey on a different route, in order to spread out the family for safety. So I wanted to get her story of that.
Surprisingly, considering how easy it usually is to tempt Igoo into telling old stories, she was kind of evasive about doing an interview video. I finally got some time where she couldn't escape... waiting for our plane in San Francisco for our flight to Aunt Mary's memorial service. Even then, she still tried "Later, later, let's do it later."
So I said, "Igoo, we can do it later, but just so you know, I'm going to want to hear about is your side of the story when you and Uncle Harold had to travel from Guangzhou to the village." That got her launched right into 40 minutes of stories until our flight was called to line up. Afterwards, the gentleman sitting in the seat behind her said, "I'm sorry for eavesdropping, but that was the most fascinating thing I've heard in a long time." So classic.
Here's the video:
Following that up, I started making interview videos of other family members of that generation, with the common thread of "Tell me what your experience of World War II was like." I particularly was looking forward to interviewing Aunt Ida because Dad's story of his travel with his mother from Guangzhou to the village in 1943 is the most harrowing and emotional event of his life. But I knew Aunt Ida and Uncle Harold made the same journey on a different route, in order to spread out the family for safety. So I wanted to get her story of that.
Surprisingly, considering how easy it usually is to tempt Igoo into telling old stories, she was kind of evasive about doing an interview video. I finally got some time where she couldn't escape... waiting for our plane in San Francisco for our flight to Aunt Mary's memorial service. Even then, she still tried "Later, later, let's do it later."
So I said, "Igoo, we can do it later, but just so you know, I'm going to want to hear about is your side of the story when you and Uncle Harold had to travel from Guangzhou to the village." That got her launched right into 40 minutes of stories until our flight was called to line up. Afterwards, the gentleman sitting in the seat behind her said, "I'm sorry for eavesdropping, but that was the most fascinating thing I've heard in a long time." So classic.
Here's the video:
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