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Asian Pacific friends remembered
Walking past this lowered flag in Spokane, I was reminded again how thankful I am for the good friends from China; Samoa; Korea; Philippines; and Japan that I’ve had (and still do). It was good to see that Spokane neighbors are remembering too. All of my Asian Pacific friends are some of the most delightful, kind, dedicated, hard-working, honest, endearing and non-judgmental people I’ve ever met!
Asenati, the beautiful daughter of a Chinese diplomat and Samoan mother, taught me how to drive; Holly Lee taught me how to sing “Jingle Bells” in Korean; Mataoko was a roommate and beautiful artist with an equally beautiful soul and delightful parents who brought me Christmas gifts from Japan; Vi was a brilliant calligrapher who started to teach me the Chinese alphabet before she transferred out of state….
The list goes on and my heart goes out to all who unfortunately and unjustly stand in danger from those whose hearts have been hardened by prejudice and hate. I pray that all of us can set aside preconceptions about cultures different than our own, and realize that just as it takes many different instruments to create a beautiful symphony, it takes many different peoples working together to create the most beautiful, full and vibrant lives for all of us.
Terrie Jelsma
Spokane