Wang Ger, also called Joe, has been trying to teach me to speak more words of Hmong.
“I have learned English; you can learn more Hmong.”
I am not a good student, but he does not give up.
Patriarch of an illustrious family, he called me brother, kwv, one Sunday.
Kwv is what an older brother calls a younger brother.
As Joe’s older than I, I answer, tij laug.
Touched, I teared up. Ua tsaug/thank you.
Mike Hazard decided to make a picture story of a person every day for a year, posting them on Facebook in an album called 365 Friends. He’s had so much fun, he can’t stop. He is a current recipient of an Artist Initiative grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. With Legacy funding, he will click photos within walking distance of home for a collection called LOCAL COLOR.