EDITOR:

One look at me and you can tell that I am an old Chinese woman. My classmates who also came to the USA in 1961 as exchange students are now all living in big cities in states like New York, California, and Illinois, and they keep warning me: “You’d better not go anywhere these days! We’re all staying home to play safe! Old Asian people are being attacked in various ways as a result of hatred!”

I’ve been living in Bark River since 1982. This is what I’ve been confronting these days whether staying home or going out:The young gentleman from FedEx would carry my huge packages into the house and stack them for me, and before leaving he would shovel the snow and chop the ice off my steps. The gentleman from the Post Office would do the same. Strangers in parking lots would help me push my cart and load my things into my car. Men and women in different places would open and hold the doors for me. Store clerks would take time to help me assembling things and teach me how to use them. Checkout people would show me how to use the complicated credit cards. I don’t look either physically or mentally challenged. I’m being treated with kindness and compassion here because we the Uppers are different.

Ching Yun Bezine

Bark River