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About The Asian reporter. (Portland, Or.) 1991-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 6, 2014)
OPINION Page 6 n THE ASIAN REPORTER January 6, 2014 Volume 24 Number 1 January 6, 2014 ISSN: 1094-9453 The Asian Reporter is published on the first and third Monday each month. Please send all correspondence to: The Asian Reporter 922 N Killingsworth Street, Suite 1A, Portland, OR 97217 Phone: (503) 283-4440, Fax: (503) 283-4445 News Department e-mail: news@asianreporter.com Advertising Department e-mail: ads@asianreporter.com General e-mail: info@asianreporter.com Website: www.asianreporter.com Please send reader feedback, Asian-related press releases, and community interest ideas/stories to the addresses listed above. Please include a contact phone number. Advertising information available upon request. Publisher Jaime Lim Contributing Editors Ronault L.S. Catalani (Polo), Jeff Wenger Correspondents Ian Blazina, Josephine Bridges, Pamela Ellgen, Maileen Hamto, Edward J. Han, A.P. Kryza, Marie Lo, Simeon Mamaril, Julie Stegeman, Toni Tabora-Roberts, Allison Voigts Illustrator Jonathan Hill News Service Associated Press/Newsfinder Copyright 2014. Opinions expressed in this newspaper are those of the authors and not necessarily those of this publication. Member Associated Press/Newsfinder Asian American Journalists Association Better Business Bureau Pacific Northwest Minority Publishers (PNMP) Philippine American Chamber of Commerce of Oregon MY TURN n Wayne Chan Holidays aren’t holidays without peace, love, and an inflatable Santa Correspondence: The Asian Reporter welcomes reader response and participation. Please send all correspondence to: Mail: 922 N Killingsworth, Suite 1A, Portland, OR 97217-2220 Phone: (503) 283-4440 ** Fax: (503) 283-4445 News Department e-mail: news@asianreporter.com General e-mail: info@asianreporter.com SUBSCRIPTION RATES (U.S. rates only) Individual subscription (sent bulk rate): q Half year: $14 q Full year: $24 q Two years: $40 Individual subscription (sent first class mail): q Half year: $24 q Full year: $40 q Two years: $72 Office subscription (5 copies to one address): q Half year: $40 q Full year: $75 q Two years: $145 Institutional subscription (25 copies to one address): q Half year: $100 q Full year: $180 q Two years: $280 NEW SUBSCRIBER / ADDRESS CORRECTION INFORMATION FORM: Subscriber’s name: Company name: Address: City, State, ZIP: Phone: Fax: E-mail: Mail with payment or Fax with credit card information to: The Asian Reporter, Attn: Subscription Dept., 922 N Killingsworth Street, Suite 1A, Portland, OR 97217-2220 Phone: (503) 283-4440 * Fax: (503) 283-4445 q q q For VISA, Mastercard, or American Express payment only: Name (as it appears on the card): Type of card (circle): VISA Mastercard Card number: American Express Security code: Expiration date: Address of card: The last four issues of The Asian Reporter are available for pick up free at our office 24 hours a day at 922 N Killingsworth, Suite 1A, Portland, Oregon. Back issues of The Asian Reporter may be ordered by mail at the following rates: First copy: $1.50 Additional copies ordered at the same time: $1.00 each Send orders to: Asian Reporter Back Issues, 922 N. Killingsworth St., Suite 1A, Portland, OR 97217-2220 eer pressure … It’s the single most power- ful motivation to get you into the holiday spirit. After a whirlwind weeklong trip to Europe, our family was tired but glad to be home. It was a quick trip before the end of the year, and now we could spend the last couple weeks of 2013 relaxing and gearing up for the New Year. When we arrived home from the airport and pulled up to our driveway, I immediately noticed something that set me back a bit. In the short week we were gone, everyone in the neighborhood had put up their Christmas lights and decorations. Well, nearly everyone. The neighbors to the right had icicle lights along the roofline and big, shiny ornaments hanging from the trees in the front yard. The neighbors to the left had twinkling lights covering all the bushes and shrubs and artificial reindeer lined up on the driveway, some with their heads bobbing up and down. In the middle, there was our home … empty and dark, with only a single light glowing, that being a lamp in the house — the one I’d put on an automatic timer to turn on while we were gone. Compared to our neighbors’ houses, our home looked like we had disconnected our electric service and decided to live “off the grid.” The next morning, as I was walking our dog Ally, I again noticed the holiday decorations along the street, but also observed that our home was not the only one devoid of holiday cheer. Our neighbors across the street also did not have decorations of any kind. Let me just say that I’ve always loved celebrating the holidays. I love singing carols. I love watching reruns of all my favorite holiday movies. I love getting together with friends and family to laugh and celebrate. But after so many years of stringing the lights and setting up the Christmas tree, only to be followed by packing all the lights away and recycling the tree just a few short weeks later, I thought, maybe just this once we could skip that part of the holidays, especially if our neighbor across the street was thinking the same thing. We could still be jolly, even without all the bling. P The following afternoon, my wife and I attended a neighborhood holiday party. After catching up with everyone, I turned to the host of the party and decided to share my decoration-free holiday plan. I said, “You know, Mary, we just came back from our trip. We’re a little tired and I decided I’m not going to decorate the house or get a Christmas tree this year.” There was a hush in the room. “Oh …” Mary said, with a look of grave concern. I went on. “I mean, I normally would have put up the decorations last week, but we were gone, and if I put ’em up now, I’m just going to take them down in a couple of weeks. It’s such a hassle.” The room was silent, but now people were glancing at each other, as if I had just announced plans to build a toxic waste dump in my back- yard. Mary looked at me with an intense stare and said, “Wayne, you’ve got to put lights up! It’s the holiday spirit!” Twenty pairs of eyes were on me. It was like they were looking at the man who cancelled Christmas. Actually, there was one exception. My neighbor across the street, who also didn’t have any decorations on his house, was there. I could see him gently nodding his head in approval, slightly gritting his teeth and clenching his fist. I knew what he was thinking. Come on Wayne. You and me, brother. Don’t give in. We don’t have to put up any stinkin’ lights. Stay strong. We’ll get through this together. Semper fi! We got home after the party, and I hadn’t given in. We would be fine. We could still celebrate Christmas without the lights or a tree. And then, my mom called. She said, “Wayne, we’ve all decided to celebrate Christmas at your house this year. We love how you decorate the house.” The next morning, I was in the yard with my ladder, an extension cord, and 14 boxes of lights and decorations. Our home and our neighborhood, would all be merry once again. Well, everyone except for my neighbor across the street, who glared at me as he pulled his ladder out of the garage. Opinions expressed in this newspaper are those of the authors and not necessarily those of this publication. The Asian Reporter welcomes reader response and participation. If you have a comment on a story we have printed, or have an Asian-related personal or community focus idea, please contact us. Please include a contact name, address, and phone number on all correspondence. Thank you. Go paperless! 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