Is Dr. Tom The Hero In My Life?

[JustMe]

Excerpts from the pages of NY Best Selling Book "Is Dr. Tom The Hero In My Life"

June 29th 1994

Today my mom allowed me to go help my Uncle Tom move into his new appartment.  We lived across town but Uncle Tom had picked me up from my house. Uncle Tom was the only person my parents would allow me to hang out with.  The rest of my relatives were considered me nyuam neeg loj leeb.  They dyed their hairs, kept long bangs, smoked, drinked, and ran away from home most of the time.  Uncle Tom was different, he was still in school, dressed conservatively (fobbish), he knew how to talk to our elders and our traditions.  Uncle Tom only recently moved to the United States from Ban Vinai, a refugee camp in Thailand but he was becoming more assimulated as each day passes.  

He owns a 1994 Toyota Celica, that is painted green on the bottom half and brown on the top half.  There were four different colored pin strips to blend in the green and blue. He installed a spoiler on the back trunk which I helped him build using 2x4's, some drywall screws and bondo.  It still was a pinkish color because we didn't paint it yet. He has two 12 inch subwoofers in the trunk.  One is a Pyle Driver and the other is just blank with no name. The whole system is connected to a amp that only has one side working.  The sound quality is really bad, but Uncle Tom doesn't really notice.    

About 15 mins of driving We are almost to his new apartment.  During the drive, the only thing i could do was look out the passenger window, smile, and try not to die lauging in my head.  Uncle Tom was playing his new 2 live crew tape he just bought from the Flea market.  I tried to block it out but I could hear him.  "Oh, kuv so horny, Oh Kuv so horny, Oh, oh, oh, kuv so horny..."  I just wanted to bust out lauging but was afraid he might have really been trying to sing this song.  

[JustMe]

We pulled in front of the gate to his apartments and waited for it to open.  As I looked around I can see that the residents had turned a small open space into a garden.  Sugar canes bordered the perimeter of the garden. There was a row of three feet high greens with little yellow flowers on the tips; a row of what looked like Thai eggplants, Some pepper trees scattered around, corn, and lemon grass.  In the corner was an old ladder overgrown with vines of the bitter melon.  An old lady probably in her sixties crouched on her knees was weeding out grass from her plants with an infant strapped to her back sleeping. 

The gate opened and Uncle Tom started to drive into the parking lot.  Kids were running around barefoot playing tag, hide n seek between the cars while the parents watched.  I noticed any spot which wasn't cemented was converted into a garden.  As we passed everyone stop and stared.  "Hey Uncle Tom, Lower your radio they are starting at us" I whispered over.  "Tsis K lawv os" Uncle Tom replied back laughing.  I didn't know if it was the loud music or his multicolored car; but I was praying that no girls were around to see me right now.

[Calypso]

haha... Ed, so r u the narrator in this story or r u the Dr. Tom character? Just wanna know how u fit into this story...

[JustMe]

haha... Ed, so r u the narrator in this story or r u the Dr. Tom character? Just wanna know how u fit into this story...

I'm Ed.. The Narrator.. 

[JustMe]

We finally parked the car, I rolled up my side of the window and got out as quickly as I could.  Uncle Tom lives on the second floor so we walk up a flight of stairs.  The stairs are connected from the ground to a small 6 foot by 8 foot balcony.  The handrails were made out of hollow steel.  I felt like it would fall apart if I was to lean too much on it.  Each step I took the stairs wobbled and swayed side to side.  I felt like my external organs were crawling inside my body as we went higher up. "Hey man, these stairs safe?" I asked.  "Tsis yog koj di pim lauj"  he laughed. 

"na man.. just asking"

"Tsis Txhob ntshai ntshai tuag mas"

"whateveros, i'm not scared"

"Pim li kos thaib, tsis tauj pim aim lo" lauging while he kept shaking the stairs. 

When we got to the balcony I thought my fright would subdue.  Unfortunately it didn't.  The balcony was made from what seems like old antique wood.  Each step the floor squeaked and sunk downwards.  I just wanted Uncle Tom to open the door so I could get inside.  From the balcony I could see the whole apartment complex.  There was a laundry room accross from his building on the first floor.  Behind the complex was a middle school and a railroad track. 

Uncle Tom opened the door and we walked in.  Most of his items were already setup.  He had a Framed picture of General Vang Pao on his wall.  He blew up pictures of girls and had them taped all over.  A picture of a airport strip surronded by mountains hanged on the his kitchen wall.  It was really dark in the room.  Uncle Tom didnt have blinds so he hanged bedsheets as curtains.  Very little light was able to come in through those sheets.  The kitchen was directly connected to his living room.  Both areas were probably less than 500 sq foot.  All that was in his kitchen was a folding table and steel folding chairs.