Ye-Shey

Ye-Shey is one of my favorite tenants. At 89 years old she is a snappy dresser and a stunning looking woman. She has a great sense of humor and is incredibly competitive. It is not unusual for her to yell out "Mama Mia" if she fails to pick up a spare in bowling. Her oldest daughter Hong Wei is a Buddhist monk in Texas and she is also the proud grandmother of a recent West Point Graduate. She has been a widow for thirty years and is very independent. Tonight she apologized for being late(she's always late!). I said Ye-Shey, were you out dancing again with your boyfriend?" With laughter in her voice and that devilish look in her eye she said- "Me no have boyfriend - just a husband and that was enough!"

Her story begins as an 8 year old girl living on the island of Taiwan when the Japanese invaded. In order to protect her child from being taken  her mother had her birth certificate altered to state that Ye-Shey was only "four" and therefore too young to leave home. To this day her birth certificate states that she was born in 1926 and officially she is only 84. Life on the island was difficult and all children had to learn to read, write and speak Japanese. She was even given the name Kasumi. The intent was to completely wipe out the Taiwanese culture. Life must have been extremely difficult and Ye-Shey talks very little about this time but I could see a far away look in her eyes as she related this story to me.
Something else that I find interesting is she makes it clear that she is Taiwanese and not Chinese.
BTW, she often hops the bus into Chinatown, meets up with friends and goes dancing. She always tells me and then says: "but don't tell my son!

She finally went to the Dr. office last week as she has cataracts. Rose M. took her to help translate and she will need surgery but she is afraid. Many of the  other tenants have had  success and everyone is trying to reassure her that she will see much better. I finally had to say to her:"Ye-Shey if you don't get the cataracts removed you will go blind like my dog and there will be no more secret trips into the city and I will tell your children on you!!
Needless to say- Dec. 20th is her appointment