Tag: youth
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Chapter 13: Salvation
I landed in Los Angeles International Airport in the summer of 1996 rockin my blue Adidas windbreaker outfit. I wore matching sandals and beanie and thought I looked like a dope Asian break dancer. After waiting on the curb for over an hour I realized that my Aunt wasn’t coming – she was stuck in traffic…
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Chapter 12: Suicidal
My mom was clinically depressed and was taking pills to deal with it. I didn’t know it at the time but she was suicidal. Life was a deep black hole and she expressed it to my aunt living in Los Angeles in one desperate phone call in 1996. “I don’t know what else to do…
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Chapter 11: Sandals
I had to check in periodically with my probation officer downtown. His name was Officer Hewitt. Sometimes he was cool and sometimes he was an ass. This day he was an ass. “Do you like pets?” asked Hewitt. “Nah.” I answered. “Are you allergic to them?” he asked. “No, why?” I replied. “Ok, good. I’m…
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Chapter 10: Gunplay
Getting locked up in juvenile hall didn’t change my heart, it only forced a break in my criminal activities. The first thing I did upon my release was smoke a joint with the homies to celebrate my time in jail. Recognition from peers was more important than any type of consequences drummed up by the…
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Chapter 8: Monkhood
My mom tried everything to keep me off the streets, even religion. In Southeast Asian Buddhist culture it is customary for young males to spend time in their local temple as a novice monk. It’s a way to earn merit for our past offenses and a way to earn respect from the surrounding Asian community.…
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Chapter 7: Typical Day
It was 1996. The sun was shining and I had just punched some white kid in the face. I picked up his glasses and threw them down the street as he begged me to stop. I let him get on his bike and said, “You tell your brother to never talk s*** again. Get the…
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Chapter 4: Respect
Sixty seconds can seem like a long time, especially when you are getting pummeled from every side by gang members. I was getting jumped into an Asian gang called Local Oriental Killers (LOK). It was an organized beat down. The only rules were no shots to the groin and face but everything else was a…
The Asian Rough Rider 