What kind of ancestor will you be?

And what are your ancestors’ stories?

Photo by Mike Alonzo on Unsplash

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Lately, for some reason, I’ve been thinking about my great-grandfather Otis. He lived a long life so I still have memories of him, essentially holding court amongst his grandchildren and great-grandchildren during summers in Wyoming, seeming extremely pleased. Did his father — my great-great-grandfather, Luk Wing — ever expect to have a little blonde girl raised in D.C. as one of his progeny? Did he think about it at all?

As I think more about the arc of time, our places in humanity and what it means to make this world better, I think a lot about our own ancestors and what we know of them and how we can honor them.

I think I’ve done a poor job of honoring my own, because I don’t really know their stories.

I’ve only recently started to know the real story of Luk Wing Hoy, my great-grandfather. He immigrated to San Francisco from Kwangtung Province, China in 1871 when he was only 12 years old, arriving on Chinese sailing vessel and…