I Must Know Too Many Asians

When we were on our China tour several years ago, we met a Chinese husband and wife from California, somewhat younger than ourselves. They spoke perfect, unaccented English, and I never thought of them as anything but fellow Americans.

Towards the end of our tour, I was standing next to the woman, looking over the side of our ship, watching an almost naked old farmer near the bank plowing his field with a water buffalo. I was very surprised when she turned to me and said thoughtfully, “You know, that could be my grandfather.”

Oh, right, I reminded myself, once Chinese, always Chinese to we native Americans, and you are at least of Chinese descent.

Rwalck@Verizon.net