This deserves a livejournal post!
So when I was twelve years old I went to Boston with my parents and brother for a reunion of my dad's side of the family; imagine a huge group of short, slim Chinese people with dark hair and sarcastic humors, great vocabularies and appetites for Indonesian-Chinese food. We made our usual trek to Barnes and Noble to poke around and my grandfather, who was then 89 years old, came out of the store carrying a small bag.
"Hey Grandpa," we said, "what book do you have?"
"I don't have the heart to tell you," he said. We coaxed him into showing us and out of the bag he pulled the store's last copy of The Vagina Monologues. Sheepishly he told us that he had asked the clerk to fetch the last copy from the store window, since all the others had sold out.
The Vagina Monologues!
Even better, he encouraged us to do group-readings. Hearing my 89-year-old Chinese grandfather say "clitoris" was... unexpected? But awesome!
Anyway, fast-forward five years; I've just tried out for, and gotten a part in, my university's production of the Vagina Monologues (which is going to be really funny; me + a bunch of preppy English girls shouting about sexuality). Today is my grandfather's 94th birthday so I sent him an e-mail, including the following:
"Oh, and I'm pleased to announce that I have auditioned for and gotten a part in the University of St Andrews's production of the Vagina Monologues! And you know I probably wouldn't have gone out for it if it hadn't been so memorably introduced to me in Boston that one time... ;)
Anyway, happy birthday wishes to the most technologically savvy, vagina-positive grandpa I know!
Love, Leonore"
And guess what he wrote back?:
"Wow! What a very pleasant surprise getting your email moments ago, proving that you are a fun and funny girl at heart. Auntie Babs happens to be visiting with Grandma and myself from Seattle right now. Both Babs and I got a good horse laugh reading your message which describes me as being techno-savvy and vag-positive at 93 years of age! In fact, Babs was so elated that sheimmediately forwarded your literary gem to "our Boston group" members Jessica and Harumi separately. BTW, I consider myself as a dummy about technology and as a dilettante about the Mysterious, Prurient V. "
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
THIS GUY IS AWESOME
"Hey Grandpa," we said, "what book do you have?"
"I don't have the heart to tell you," he said. We coaxed him into showing us and out of the bag he pulled the store's last copy of The Vagina Monologues. Sheepishly he told us that he had asked the clerk to fetch the last copy from the store window, since all the others had sold out.
The Vagina Monologues!
Even better, he encouraged us to do group-readings. Hearing my 89-year-old Chinese grandfather say "clitoris" was... unexpected? But awesome!
Anyway, fast-forward five years; I've just tried out for, and gotten a part in, my university's production of the Vagina Monologues (which is going to be really funny; me + a bunch of preppy English girls shouting about sexuality). Today is my grandfather's 94th birthday so I sent him an e-mail, including the following:
"Oh, and I'm pleased to announce that I have auditioned for and gotten a part in the University of St Andrews's production of the Vagina Monologues! And you know I probably wouldn't have gone out for it if it hadn't been so memorably introduced to me in Boston that one time... ;)
Anyway, happy birthday wishes to the most technologically savvy, vagina-positive grandpa I know!
Love, Leonore"
And guess what he wrote back?:
"Wow! What a very pleasant surprise getting your email moments ago, proving that you are a fun and funny girl at heart. Auntie Babs happens to be visiting with Grandma and myself from Seattle right now. Both Babs and I got a good horse laugh reading your message which describes me as being techno-savvy and vag-positive at 93 years of age! In fact, Babs was so elated that sheimmediately forwarded your literary gem to "our Boston group" members Jessica and Harumi separately. BTW, I consider myself as a dummy about technology and as a dilettante about the Mysterious, Prurient V. "
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
THIS GUY IS AWESOME