By Khoa Tran
I could be walking home, walking with friends, or simply just playing video games with friends, yet I would randomly just have my uncles voice pop into my head and I would get hit with sadness. A fond memory I have with my uncle is when we were at the park playing tennis.
As I stood on the tennis court holding my racket waiting for my uncle to serve the ball, I could see kids running around trees and families leaving as they head to their car. With the smell of someone making bbq in the distance, the sweet smell of the meat on the grill. Nearby, you can smell the gas of cars driving by. “Ready Khoa?” My uncle shouts as he sees that I am distracted, I then get into my ready position.
The impact that he had on me was pretty significant because how often he would play around with me when I was younger. He would often mess around and try to scare me because I was kind of gullible back then. He'd always ask me if I was doing good after he greeted me. Things like that seemed small but that actually stuck to me. Whenever I came over to his house he would make jokes with me before he would head off to hang out with the adults. It's kind of funny because his death affected me alot but we didn't do much together.
As I stood on the tennis court holding my racket waiting for my uncle to serve the ball, I could see kids running around trees and families leaving as they head to their car. With the smell of someone making bbq in the distance, the sweet smell of the meat on the grill. Nearby, you can smell the gas of cars driving by. “Ready Khoa?” My uncle shouts as he sees that I am distracted, I then get into my ready position.
The impact that he had on me was pretty significant because how often he would play around with me when I was younger. He would often mess around and try to scare me because I was kind of gullible back then. He'd always ask me if I was doing good after he greeted me. Things like that seemed small but that actually stuck to me. Whenever I came over to his house he would make jokes with me before he would head off to hang out with the adults. It's kind of funny because his death affected me alot but we didn't do much together.
I think the funny thing in this story is that when I learned that he had passed, I didn’t feel anything at the moment. I wasn’t crying like people normally would. I seemed fine around people but when I was alone, I shed tears as I could remember some of the convos I had with him. I know that I don’t tend to shed tears in front of people as I don’t really try to because it seems weak. I held it in until I was alone.
Sometimes when I was lay down to go to sleep, I could just remember that one line he said to me every time I saw him. “Hey Khoa, How are you doing today.” I think the fact that it hit me the hardest was learning that he died at work and couldn’t see family members before he passed. He suffered a severe heart attack while he was at work due to the addiction of smoking, and although he was rushed to the hospital, he didn’t make it.
While interviewing my dad, I asked him about his relationship with my uncle. He told me that he was his brother in law. “It was shocking finding out he passed because I saw him the other day,” as my dad said . He also told me that he found out while he was at work because his sister called and notified him. His sister told him to not leave work as my uncle past away 3 hours away from where my dad worked.
According to the American Heart Association, smoking is the most preventable death in the United States. Smoking can cause some lung problems building up in arteries, which increasing blood pressure and the tendency that the blood will clot.
Although I don’t like talking to my dad’s side of the family, due to family issues between my mom and dad, I really liked talking to my uncle because he would check in on me the most and it made me feel welcomed and cared for from someone on my dad’s side of the family.
It has been a few years since he had passed. His death doesn’t affect me as hard as it did when I first learned that he had left, but I still have fond memories of him whenever he pops into my head randomly every now and then. I would run away from him just to play games when I could’ve spent it with him playing tennis. I just end up smiling a bit knowing that I had a good time with him even though I didn’t do much with him. Now that he is gone, I wish I’d spend more time with him before he left this world.
Sometimes when I was lay down to go to sleep, I could just remember that one line he said to me every time I saw him. “Hey Khoa, How are you doing today.” I think the fact that it hit me the hardest was learning that he died at work and couldn’t see family members before he passed. He suffered a severe heart attack while he was at work due to the addiction of smoking, and although he was rushed to the hospital, he didn’t make it.
While interviewing my dad, I asked him about his relationship with my uncle. He told me that he was his brother in law. “It was shocking finding out he passed because I saw him the other day,” as my dad said . He also told me that he found out while he was at work because his sister called and notified him. His sister told him to not leave work as my uncle past away 3 hours away from where my dad worked.
According to the American Heart Association, smoking is the most preventable death in the United States. Smoking can cause some lung problems building up in arteries, which increasing blood pressure and the tendency that the blood will clot.
Although I don’t like talking to my dad’s side of the family, due to family issues between my mom and dad, I really liked talking to my uncle because he would check in on me the most and it made me feel welcomed and cared for from someone on my dad’s side of the family.
It has been a few years since he had passed. His death doesn’t affect me as hard as it did when I first learned that he had left, but I still have fond memories of him whenever he pops into my head randomly every now and then. I would run away from him just to play games when I could’ve spent it with him playing tennis. I just end up smiling a bit knowing that I had a good time with him even though I didn’t do much with him. Now that he is gone, I wish I’d spend more time with him before he left this world.