Yesterday, Nurse Ken talked to me over an app called KakaoTalk. KakaoTalk is the Korean equivalent of Facebook. It's very famous. Everybody on the peninsula uses it.
He said, "Hi Dad! I haven't spoken to you in so long. How have you been?"
I call my eldest son at least four times a week, but he usually never answers. He currently lives with my mother in Texas while he attends nursing college. Because of my poverty, his tuition is covered by grants and scholarships. And due to his grandmother's generosity, he's not on the hook for the price of a dorm room, either.
I said, "I'm doing OK. I just get up and go to work. Then I come home and watch sports."
"Nice. You're really living it up, huh?"
"How have you been doing?"
"I'm fine."
"Are you working at the same place?"
"Yes, still making pizzas on the weekend."
"Granny told me that you bought a new car."
He nodded and grinned. "It's a pre-owned Lexus. I have to pay $450 a month for the next five years."
"Sweet. You haven't been drinking have you?"
He shot me a guilty smile. "I've been enjoying some whiskey and a big can of German beer."
"You have to be careful. Nursing is a serious profession. They don't want drunks in charge of the patients. Plus you can actually lose your license if you get caught driving under the influence. It's very strict, so please don't be stupid."
He laughed out loud. "Don't worry. I'm merely unwinding in my room. The last thing I'm going to do is get behind the wheel of a car. It's two o'clock in the morning over here. Everything is closed."
I shrugged. "Just saying. Be smart, son. That's all I'm asking."
I've been in the teaching game for thirty years, and I simply don't trust children or young adults. They lie. They cheat. They steal. They smoke in the bathrooms. They beat the crap out of each other at the drop of a pin. The list goes on and on. Therefore, you really have to keep your eyes on them at all times.
Nurse Ken is now 21 years old, and I rue the day that I sent him to America. He's changed. My mother is a pagan, and now my boy never goes to church. This lack of God in his life has really affected his behavior. He wasn't a drunkard when he was living in Asia. The worst thing he ever did was spend too much time playing with his computer. But you can't keep them forever. They have to step into the world and lead their own lives.
Later that evening, I watched the game between the New Orleans Pelicans and the Phoenix Suns. The Pelicans won again. That makes six in a row, and they are doing this with two of their best players on the bench. Zion Williamson is really a force of nature. He's so big and strong that it's impossible to stop him once he gets in the paint. I just hope he can stay healthy.
I walked into the living room. Rice-Boy Larry was playing with Dolly the dog.
I said, "You have to go to church tomorrow."
He said, "OK. I don't mind."
"You've missed the last three weeks."
"What do you want from me? This is Korea, and I had to study for those freaking exams."
I nodded. "You're right. LIfe's not easy."
I went to my room and enjoyed another episode of American Horror Story. I really like the actor who plays the psychotic gay nurse. Ryan Murphy is the creator of the show, and he always finds interesting off-beat actors to be part of his projects.
I eventually went to bed at 10 p.m., and I slept like the dead.
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