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4 BROTHERS AND SISTERS

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The Rice Room
This chapter is in the book The Rice Room
•• 4 •• BROTHERS AND S\STERS I did not know what a wedding was. At age six in the fall of 1951, all I knew was that I was going to be involved in a -big one. One of Grace Fung's sons was getting married, and somehow, among Grace and her husband Jack and my parents, it was decided that I'd make a perfect ringbearer. I could tell it was a big deal by the way my parents spoke to me. My father always spoke firmly, but with an agreeable laugh, while my mother offered the gentle touch, a softness leavened by the understanding that in our house, she handled most of the discipline. Now, as they told me of my responsibilities, I sensed that I was about to do something grown-up. This wasn't just going to school, or joining my siblings in a simple chore, or singing a song at the neighborhood grocery. This was stand-alone time. 32
© 2023 University of California Press, Berkeley

•• 4 •• BROTHERS AND S\STERS I did not know what a wedding was. At age six in the fall of 1951, all I knew was that I was going to be involved in a -big one. One of Grace Fung's sons was getting married, and somehow, among Grace and her husband Jack and my parents, it was decided that I'd make a perfect ringbearer. I could tell it was a big deal by the way my parents spoke to me. My father always spoke firmly, but with an agreeable laugh, while my mother offered the gentle touch, a softness leavened by the understanding that in our house, she handled most of the discipline. Now, as they told me of my responsibilities, I sensed that I was about to do something grown-up. This wasn't just going to school, or joining my siblings in a simple chore, or singing a song at the neighborhood grocery. This was stand-alone time. 32
© 2023 University of California Press, Berkeley

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS vii
  3. Contents ix
  4. PROLOGUE 1
  5. 1 THE MAl FONG 7
  6. 2 CONNIVERS 11
  7. 3 THE ALL-AMERICAN CITY 23
  8. 4 BROTHERS AND SISTERS 32
  9. 5 THE GAMBLER 51
  10. 6 LIFE WITHOUT FATHER 57
  11. 7 ROUTE 66 70
  12. 8 WORKING FOR A LIVING 82
  13. 9 A NEW HOUSE 92
  14. 10 THE PINK PRISON 96
  15. 11 SUMMERTIME BLUES 106
  16. 12 SUMMER SONG 116
  17. 13 COLLEGE DAYS AND NIGHTS 120
  18. 14 GROOVY KIND OF LOVE 130
  19. 15 ON OUR OWN 138
  20. 16 ENDINGS AND BEGINNINGS 145
  21. 17 1968 160
  22. 18 ALMOST CUT My HAIR 163
  23. 19 DAZED AND CONFUSED 182
  24. 20 INTO A MINE FIELD 196
  25. 21 AN UNCOMMON DEATH 207
  26. 22 Do You STILL FEEL THE PAIN 215
  27. 23 LOVE THE ONE YOU'RE WITH 222
  28. 24 GOING HOME 238
  29. 25 FULL CIRCLES 252
  30. 26 REVISITING THE RICE ROOM 261
  31. EPILOGUE 275
Readers are also interested in:
https://doi.org/10.1525/9780520949911-006

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS vii
  3. Contents ix
  4. PROLOGUE 1
  5. 1 THE MAl FONG 7
  6. 2 CONNIVERS 11
  7. 3 THE ALL-AMERICAN CITY 23
  8. 4 BROTHERS AND SISTERS 32
  9. 5 THE GAMBLER 51
  10. 6 LIFE WITHOUT FATHER 57
  11. 7 ROUTE 66 70
  12. 8 WORKING FOR A LIVING 82
  13. 9 A NEW HOUSE 92
  14. 10 THE PINK PRISON 96
  15. 11 SUMMERTIME BLUES 106
  16. 12 SUMMER SONG 116
  17. 13 COLLEGE DAYS AND NIGHTS 120
  18. 14 GROOVY KIND OF LOVE 130
  19. 15 ON OUR OWN 138
  20. 16 ENDINGS AND BEGINNINGS 145
  21. 17 1968 160
  22. 18 ALMOST CUT My HAIR 163
  23. 19 DAZED AND CONFUSED 182
  24. 20 INTO A MINE FIELD 196
  25. 21 AN UNCOMMON DEATH 207
  26. 22 Do You STILL FEEL THE PAIN 215
  27. 23 LOVE THE ONE YOU'RE WITH 222
  28. 24 GOING HOME 238
  29. 25 FULL CIRCLES 252
  30. 26 REVISITING THE RICE ROOM 261
  31. EPILOGUE 275
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