The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to President
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to President
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
  • Login
  • Register
  • Login
  • Register
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
  • 1

    Homeless women struggle to find place to spend night

  • 3

    More than dozen chaebol scions indicted on alleged drug use

  • 5

    People attempt to cut surging heating costs with creative solutions

  • 7

    Shunsuke Michieda overwhelmed by Korean fans' support for his coming-of-age film

  • 9

    Life prisoner sentenced to death for beating inmate to death

  • 11

    Kim Hyun-joo says humanity is at heart of action film 'Jung_E'

  • 13

    Korea's childbirths hit record low in Nov.

  • 15

    Korea's GDP shrinks 0.4% in Q4, 1st contraction in 10 quarters

  • 17

    S. Korea to increase joint air defense exercises following N. Korean drone incursions

  • 19

    Gov't seeks to limit where child sex offenders can reside

  • 2

    Koreans stunned by spike in heating costs

  • 4

    Heavy snow hits Seoul, surrounding areas

  • 6

    Netflix series 'The Glory' draws focus to real school bullying

  • 8

    Inflation weighs on households

  • 10

    'I was a stock investment addict': psychiatrist seeks to help addicted people through his book

  • 12

    INTERVIEWPartnerships with Korean companies help Delta Air Lines' post-pandemic recovery

  • 14

    PHOTOSAnother day of heavy snowfall in Korea

  • 16

    Gov't to double subsidies for vulnerable households as energy bills soar

  • 18

    Renaissance aesthetics meets surreal fantasy in Park Min-joon's oil paintings

  • 20

    VIDEODo Koreans know K-pop idols well?

Close scrollclosebutton

Close for 24 hours

Open
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
Opinion
  • Yun Byung-se
  • Kim Won-soo
  • Ahn Ho-young
  • Kim Sang-woo
  • Lee Kyung-hwa
  • Mitch Shin
  • Peter S. Kim
  • Daniel Shin
  • Jeon Su-mi
  • Jang Daul
  • Song Kyung-jin
  • Park Jung-won
  • Cho Hee-kyoung
  • Park Chong-hoon
  • Kim Sung-woo
  • Donald Kirk
  • John Burton
  • Robert D. Atkinson
  • Mark Peterson
  • Eugene Lee
  • Rushan Ziatdinov
  • Lee Jong-eun
  • Chyung Eun-ju and Joel Cho
  • Bernhard J. Seliger
  • Imran Khalid
  • Troy Stangarone
  • Jason Lim
  • Casey Lartigue, Jr.
  • Bernard Rowan
  • Steven L. Shields
  • Deauwand Myers
  • John J. Metzler
  • Andrew Hammond
  • Sandip Kumar Mishra
Sat, January 28, 2023 | 05:37
Deauwand Myers
For Terra
Posted : 2022-08-28 16:12
Updated : 2022-08-29 13:06
Print PreviewPrint Preview
Font Size UpFont Size Up
Font Size DownFont Size Down
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • kakaolink
  • whatsapp
  • reddit
  • mailto
  • link
By Deauwand Myers

Deauwand (at seven years old): "Grandma, I didn't know that."
Grandma (Alice Missouri Myers): "What you don't know could make a world."



My maternal grandmother's favorite color was lavender. She was beautiful, with deep-set dimples and perfect teeth, an infectious laugh, and skin so pale, the color of milk with a few grains of coffee. Honestly, I thought I was adopted. The vast majority of my family and extended family looked...white or something near about. Younger me was a gold complexion but my years of playing outside under the hot and humid South Carolina sun made current me decidedly chocolate.

I became the color of my maternal grandfather (Arthur Plato Myers), his shock of full, white, white hair a striking display. A seminarian, in his youth he was a butcher at Lippoff's, a kosher butchery. So beloved was he that the owners insisted he come by whenever he wanted for complimentary meat. They insisted he do this for the rest of his life.

When I visited them in Philadelphia, I ate things I never ate in South Carolina: kosher white sandwich cheese, matzah balls and most fascinatingly, beef bacon.

Granddaddy would bring these foods when he, Grandma, and Aunt Vickie would visit South Carolina. Oft, during their visits to South Carolina (almost always in summer) they'd take me on grand road trip vacations to far-flung destinations: Nova Scotia, Canada, Cheyenne, Wyoming, the Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Lake Sakakawea, The Badlands, North Dakota, Mount Rushmore and the massive Crazy Horse Memorial of The Badlands of South Dakota. (Carved into the side of a granite mountain, this monument of the famous Native American warrior was commissioned in 1948, and only Crazy Horse's head has been completed. When finished, only the Statue of Liberty would be a larger monument on earth).

These vacations were magical for me as a young child. Swimming pools, buffet breakfasts, unique state cuisines, massive beds, hot tubs, long naps while driving, my awe as we drove through dangerous curves off highways tunneling through mountains, my (eccentric) delight of traffic jams and the beauty of all the places we visited still make me smile. They, all three, loved me.

Granddaddy died, ironically, while picking up meat for a repast in which he would officiate the preceding funeral. Having packed the meat in the trunk, he sat in his car, the key into the ignition and his heart simply stopped. Forever. Years later, my grandmother died in her sleep.

I, of course, loved my parents with all my heart. But my sadness in their passing was tempered by the fact they lived long lives, my grandfather into his late 70s, my grandmother into her mid-80s.

This wasn't the case with Terra.

Funny, smart, very much pro-Black, generous, with her long, thick black hair and supernaturally white teeth, whilst in Korea, she and I were very good friends.

We vibed on similar wavelengths, from fastidious fashion and personal grooming (although for me this was a simple shower, fresh haircut, nice outfit, and Dolce and Gabbana's Light Blue cologne; hers was a far more intricate and an exceedingly expensive, affair), politics, movies (in which I inevitably fell asleep for ten minutes in the middle therein); we both believed in giving good gifts. We always agreed on where to dine. She loved my cooking. Well, everyone loved my cooking, but I digress.

We never had an argument. Not once.

Looking back on it now, I wonder about that something that was irretrievably perishable about our relationship, like strawberries or sashimi outside on a warm day.

Terra was excited about returning to America after her long tenure as a teacher in Seoul for the majority of her adult life. She was accepted to a great graduate school program and she would reunite with her family, who loved her more than I ever could.

Then, suddenly, she died.

A mutual friend of ours called to inform me. She said it like a seminarian, which she is. It was comforting. I don't remember much after that on this particular night. Best I don't. I do remember, after my fourth martini far past midnight, asking to no one in particular "how?" She was in her mid-30s. What a waste of human talent and potential.

Unlike the words widow and widower, there is no word for a friend who lost a friend, at least that I could find.

I wanted to console her mother and brother, but what would I say? It would be inadequate. I sent pictures to the major Facebook group she administrated. I think there are hundreds of her and me, like at the opening of Black Panther.

I wanted to ask her what her Thanksgiving plans were this year, as this is when I held Thanksgiving parties at my place. Now, I'll never know.


Deauwand Myers (deauwand@hotmail.com) holds a master's degree in English literature and literary theory, and is an English professor outside of Seoul.


 
wooribank
Top 10 Stories
1People attempt to cut surging heating costs with creative solutions People attempt to cut surging heating costs with creative solutions
2Seoul to work with Hanoi to pursue peace on Korean peninsula Seoul to work with Hanoi to pursue peace on Korean peninsula
3SK E&S retains gov't support for Barossa gas project in Australia SK E&S retains gov't support for Barossa gas project in Australia
4Cabinet ministries turn deaf ear to watchdog's advice on sexual minorities Cabinet ministries turn deaf ear to watchdog's advice on sexual minorities
5More Korean manufacturers enjoy Georgia's hospitality More Korean manufacturers enjoy Georgia's hospitality
6Superintendent of Seoul Education Office gets suspended jail term Superintendent of Seoul Education Office gets suspended jail term
7KT&G aims to become global top-tier company KT&G aims to become global top-tier company
8Indonesia celebrates 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties with Korea via virtual event Indonesia celebrates 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties with Korea via virtual event
9LGES to capitalize on US IRA, Tesla partnership to continue record earnings LGES to capitalize on US IRA, Tesla partnership to continue record earnings
10Middle East 'sales diplomacy' picks up speed Middle East 'sales diplomacy' picks up speed
Top 5 Entertainment News
1Shunsuke Michieda overwhelmed by Korean fans' support for his coming-of-age film Shunsuke Michieda overwhelmed by Korean fans' support for his coming-of-age film
2Kim Hyun-joo says humanity is at heart of action film 'Jung_E' Kim Hyun-joo says humanity is at heart of action film 'Jung_E'
3Renaissance aesthetics meets surreal fantasy in Park Min-joon's oil paintings Renaissance aesthetics meets surreal fantasy in Park Min-joon's oil paintings
4Jang Keun-suk steps out of his comfort zone with 'The Bait' Jang Keun-suk steps out of his comfort zone with 'The Bait'
5TXT brings together 'pansori' and fairy tale in new song 'Sugar Rush Ride' TXT brings together 'pansori' and fairy tale in new song 'Sugar Rush Ride'
DARKROOM
  • Nepal plane crash

    Nepal plane crash

  • Brazil capital uprising

    Brazil capital uprising

  • Happy New Year 2023

    Happy New Year 2023

  • World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

    World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

  • World Cup 2022 France vs Morocco

    World Cup 2022 France vs Morocco

wooribank
CEO & Publisher : Oh Young-jin
Digital News Email : webmaster@koreatimes.co.kr
Tel : 02-724-2114
Online newspaper registration No : 서울,아52844
Date of registration : 2020.02.05
Masthead : The Korea Times
Copyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.
  • About Us
  • Introduction
  • History
  • Contact Us
  • Products & Services
  • Subscribe
  • E-paper
  • RSS Service
  • Content Sales
  • Site Map
  • Policy
  • Code of Ethics
  • Ombudsman
  • Privacy Statement
  • Terms of Service
  • Copyright Policy
  • Family Site
  • Hankook Ilbo
  • Dongwha Group