Growing up, I heard snippets — little details about everything from overseeing gambling operations and protecting member Chinese merchants to espionage and violence — but I never asked for details.
I am still grieving over the immeasurable loss of Mom, and now that grief has deepened with the inexpressible loss of Taoist Temple Museum artifacts due to a devastating fire two weeks ago. The fire nightmare still plays in my mind in an endless loop. I find myself, even now, shaking and crying as I type.
On Wednesday evening, May 12, Steve and I received a phone call around 10:30 p.m. alerting us that the Taoist Temple Museum was on fire. We rushed to the Alley, calling my brother, Damon, on the way.
Arriving at the Alley, I was terrified that all of our Sleeping Beauties would soon be engulfed in flames, the fire was so large that both the Hanford and Kings County fire departments were present. I took out my phone and started filming. Watching it later, I heard the howls and deep guttural sounds I was making as tears coursed down my face.