A Mom and Pop Store, and Then Some

generations_retailI knew how to count from 1 to 10 in English. I could recite the alphabet. And that was about it.

Ronald Reagan was starting his first term as president when I immigrated from South Korea with my mother and two older sisters. We came to reunite with my father, who had set up an Asian gift shop in Manasquan, N.J., and there I was, 10 years old and fresh off the plane, standing behind the bank of showcases in the middle of our store, waiting to serve customers.

[read more]

An essay on the realities of retail that I wrote for the Times.

One thought on “A Mom and Pop Store, and Then Some

  1. I really enjoyed your essay, which inspired me to write “The Dairyland Time Machine.” It’s great to read essays like yours where we learn a little about ourselves, even if the writer is from a completely different side of U.S. culture…

Leave a Reply