That one time that my sister knocked over an old lady

Our mother went inside the grocery store in Chinatown to shop while we stood watch on the crowded sidewalk with her “cart” of bags. I was likely around 7 years old and my sister was only 6 years old. Curious, I wandered over to look at the random produce and bags. By accident, I bumped into an older lady. Surprised, she took her cane to whip me and I ran back to my sister, tears forming on my face. “I got hit!” I said, my lip trembling.
“What do you mean?”
“That lady!” I said and swiveled around, pointing at the older lady who was now scanning the wrinkled oranges 25 cents a pound. “She used her cane and hit me in the leg!”
“Okay, Big Sister,” she said. “Stay here.”
With agility, she sped straight to the older lady. Never mind that the older lady was at least double the height of my sister. With her pigtails bouncing, she rammed the older lady with her head from behind. My sister promptly ran away before the older lady could see. Shocked from the bump, the older lady dropped the oranges on the ground, the orange balls rolling all over the sidewalk. Other shoppers shook their head in disgust.
My sister returned, triumphant. “Good job!” I exclaimed. “She got what she deserved.”

How to be social

1. Don’t think of about what you’re saying
2. Silence is okay and even golden.
3. Pet the dog
4. Say hello to kids. Especially if they’re under 8.
5. Hear what people are saying, especially if it’s emotional. Then repeat it in your own words.
6. Maintain eye contact.
7. Ask questions about the other person.

It starts out traditional, then it’s not

My sister did the unthinkable. Well, that is, she married before me. In a traditional wedding.

I had been thinking that I would feel different. But I don’t. It’s a ceremony. It’s a gathering. It’s a celebration. A party.

What does it mean that my first buddy in life has found another lifelong buddy?

What I know is this: I don’t remember meeting her when she was born. I was only 14 months and 2 days old. The world was hard to understand, the complexities of color and the layered human behavior. All I knew was that she was always there. She was always someone who shared my same life, understood my challenges and nuances of family life, and unconditionally was there.

“That’s not okay,” she said to a former boyfriend who yelled at me. “It’s not okay.”

In my dreams, I dance

It was exactly like in my dreams.

As I watch Maddie Ziegler dance across my laptop screen at the Apple event and the accompanying music videos, I instantly recognize the dance. That’s how I move in my dreams. A floating, expressive movement. Something that is rarely ever present in my reality.

I wonder how it happened that way. How did interpretative dance play such a role in my mind? In my dreams?

A growing Facebook event

The event promised many delights—beauty, nature, plants! People clicked “interested”. Just to show some interest. Just to mark it on their calendars. Just in case. What if they miss out? FOMO? It was nearly more than a month away, so why not?

In the meantime, everyone else heard about the event. “Your friend so-and-so is interested in the event.” So then it spreads. Slowly at first, maybe it’s just the garden’s staff and their friends. Then it’s those friends of friends. And then the friends of the friends of the friends. Maybe it’s the city mayor staff who spreads it not only to their friends, but then publicized it in things to do. “Support city funded activities!” Maybe a local celebrity finds it interesting, after all, she just read a book on the beauty of nature. So she tweets about it. And the number of people interested suddenly increases all the way to the thousands, almost reaching a million.

But then the date soon gets closer. People start to realize. Well wait there’s this other BBQ I want to attend. I am too tired. I have too much work. The kids would rather go to the zoo than here. And then the interest is just the interest that is feigned. And a here there is a trickle of people. No more, no less than the same amount of people anticipated before the event was even posted.