AsianWeek » Person on the Street: Mother’s Day

Person on the Street: Mother’s Day

By: Bradford Low, May 11, 2008

Tags: Bay Area |

Q: What’s the craziest thing your mom has done?

She left me in Berkeley all by myself when I was 12 years old. We had just gotten into a fight; I wanted to go to a birthday party, but she wanted me to buy new clothes for it. We went to San Francisco and they didn’t have my size, so we went to Berkeley to shop. I was complaining all the way, so she just gave up on me and left!

Michael Fong, 20
student
San Francisco

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If my dad and I were in trouble, she would make us kneel on the ground and reflect on what we did wrong. If we didn’t stay kneeling, she would throw whatever she had in her hand at us. Then, if my dad tried to help me out when she was yelling at me, she’d tell him in Chinese: “Oh, my God! Slap yourself!” And if he didn’t do it hard enough, she’d warn him, “I’m not playing! Do it!” She was angry, but she would just laugh afterwards because my dad would ask her, “Are you serious?”

Sarah Kim, 28
social worker
Los Angeles

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Driving thirty miles an hour on the freeway! Talk about bad Asian driving!

Danny Sasaki, 37,
construction worker
San Jose, Calif.

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My mom totally opposes me listening to rap music, but one time I caught her grooving to my Tupac CD.

Philip Pham, 27
rapper
San Diego

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1) Raise four kids, 2) Hide from missiles, and 3) Survive the Vietnam War.

Melissa Diep, 40,
legal secretary
Boston

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She used to chase chickens around the house so she could kill them for dinner!

Jane Reyes, 45
retired,
San Jose, Calif.

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The craziest thing she’s ever done was buy me a brand new car!

Audrey Santos, 34
insurance agent
Hayward, Calif.

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My mom actually took off her belt to whip me because she was so mad that I didn’t want to do my homework. The only problem was she couldn’t catch up to me! By the time she had me cornered, her pants had fallen down, and she was so tired and embarrassed that she forgot all about the spanking!

Ryan Wu, 53
barista
Riverside, Calif.

Comments

Although I love my mom dearly, she has done a lot of crazy things. I remember since my parents’ divorce my mother was too scared to hit me; thus, she threw things at me. Frozen foods, my super nintendo (this hurt me both physically and emotionally), books, cassette tapes, small animals — you name it, she threw it!

–Andre Nguyen on May 11, 2008
Wow…I know how you all feel. Thank GOD I’m not the only one. Try this one - Throwing dishes, swinging a broom (HEAD HUNTING, might I add), and later on in life throwing punches (like Mike Tyson’s Punchout) with “the girlfriend.” Temper, temper Asian Moms….I have a theory: Higher Rice Consumption = Shorter Fuse. Gotta love ‘em.

–Dodger Fan on May 12, 2008
My mother brought the rice cooker , a bag of rice, and 3 days of cooked dishes on a road trip to Vegas…. Her logic: food is expensive in Vegas and we might not find a convenient place to eat on our way there. We ate in the car.

–My Asian Mother on May 12, 2008

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