Journalist, Author & Syndicated Columnist
There is a concept in tort law called “duty to rescue,” where a party can be held liable for failing to help a person who is in peril. It was the basis of a plot line in the season finale of “Seinfeld.” It kind of boggles my mind that there needs to be a law to cover this. At what point does a person take it upon themselves to help a stranger who may be in need?
My son is learning the concept of, “Ladies first.” We’ve been telling him that as he grows up, it’s polite to let girls and ladies go first. And that everyone should let the elderly go ahead of them.
I have a slew of press passes from concerts and red carpet events. The event that I was thrilled to cover was the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. John Kennedy Jr. was there and, as could be expected, he was very charismatic and charming. But the celebrity I was most excited to see was…Chris Rock! He and his date were alone behind a roped off area.
Like a lot of Koreans of their age, my parents survived war and led very difficult lives. Books were an escape. My dad used to joke that had he learned Russian instead of English, we may have immigrated to the (then) Soviet Union instead of America.
Valentine’s Day is sold as a day of romance, where you buy each other romantic gifts. And, if you’re alone, well, too bad for you. But Valentine’s Day really should be a day about love, not just romance.
The other day, my son and I were talking about bullies, and how it’s important not only to protect yourself, but to also look out for children who are getting picked on. I told him how I had been picked on when I was little.
On this particular day, my son couldn’t think of anything to tell me about school. And I grew angry. The kind of silent anger that I didn’t voice, but he could sense. I saw him nervously flipping through his binder of schoolwork containing words that he didn’t understand. He was looking for something — anything — that he recognized so that he could make me happy.
Earlier this year, my husband said we should go somewhere nice this winter. I asked why? He just stared at me. Oh, yeah. It’s our 10-year wedding anniversary.
I made a gingerbread house with my son, and it looked nothing like it was supposed to. But, it was still fun.
The Hot Dog, the Lion and Darth Vader followed around the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man — to houses they had already been to — just because they thought the costume was so awesome. They were laughing hysterically and had a great time trick or treating.
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Why are the Power Rangers still popular? I don’t get it. But the little kids understand…
Last year, when my son was 4 years old, he said he wanted to become an astronaut when he grew up. I was almost dancing with joy when he said that, because, well… he wanted to become an ASTRONAUT!
My son joined his school’s chess club a couple weeks ago. I had been hording this Justice League chess set for just this moment. He loved it! 
In about a decade, I predict that our ‘hood will be filled with angst, as childhood friends look at each other as possible romantic interests. Nooooooooooooo! But, for now, these kids are good friends whose affections aren’t complicated by gender or jealousy.
Our local Boy Scout troop could’ve had an opportunity to learn that there are repercussions to their actions; and that sometimes, the worst action is in pretending that a wrong never happened. Instead, they learned that if they deny something enough, they can get away with being cruel to youngsters and disrespecting members of their community.
I was embarrassed, and I wanted to tell her that I have spent almost all of my life in the United States, and that I have been fighting an uphill battle to retain my Korean language skills. That I was encouraged by my parents and teachers to speak only English, so that I could assimilate better. But that once I became fluent in English, my Korean all but disappeared.
My little boy is growing up to understand and accept death, which is an important part of life. It’s a concept that I still have difficulty comprehending.
