A three-miracle day

Miracles happen every day. Auntie Barbara looked stronger and more "present" on Sunday, than Saturday. Her eyes were wide open. Her light was shining through. The spark was still there. She wasn't barking orders to everyone like in the good 'ol days when we were kids, but she was curious, engaged and wanted to find out what we were up to. That was Miracle #1.

Miracle #2 was that our converstion threaded its way through music, film, Auntie Rosita's old boyfriend, Wayne Wang*, "The Joy Luck Club," to Auntie Barbara's request that I remember her generation in a film--the Chinese scholars of the 50's who came to study in America, set down roots, started little Chinese Camelots within all-white university towns. They shared their appreciation of Chinese arts and culture with the local community and became cultural bridges. Her eyes sparkled brightly when she talked about this. I suggested that she write her story, then turn it into a screenplay. It would be a wonderful story!

Miracle #3. In one fell swoop, not only did Auntie Barbara have something to look forward to, so did I. I felt that her idea renewed the spirit in both our souls. I needed something to jump into to keep the engine going. So did she.

I am going to complete the screenplay for "Heart Mountain" by May. Then I'll work on Auntie Barbara's project. In the summer, Mason and I will co-write "Ivy Dreams." Wow! All these unexpected miracles!

* On Wednesday, I found out that Rosita's boyfriend was actually Peter Wang, not Wayne Wang.