As a little girl, I grew up with my 'Uncle Servant’. He was always there for me and for my family whenever we were in need of help. Like Aladdin's magic lamp, he magically appeared in the nick of time with his big smiling! Sometimes, he appeared with snacks when I was craving for something, other times, he appeared in the middle of nowhere to help/rescue me. Whenever I saw my ‘Uncle Servant’, I ran to him. He hold me and gave me a big hug and then he always asked, “How’s my baby princess?” I liked to be called “princess”!
He gave me either piggy back rides or horseback rides. He sometimes gave me a ride in his A-frame carrier. This was one of my favorite things to do. I loved riding on his back. I loved being higher than his head. He knew how to make a little girl happy. I was singing and dancing on his back. Sometimes I grabbed his two ears imitating to drive cars. My parents and my grandma did not like what I was doing with him even though he told them that he loved doing it to hear my laughter. Anyway, I always got what I wanted because I was the only baby at my house!
My 'Uncle Servant’ always appeared for me and my family. My grandma told me, my 'Uncle Servant’ became our servant voluntarily because he promised to be our servant to my household out of gratitude. My great-grandpa was a Korean traditional doctor and treated his mom’s severe illness when he was young and could not afford to pay. After my great-grandpa saved his mom, he came to my great-grandpa’s house to be a servant, but my great-grandpa kicked him out and told him to go home to take care of his mom. My great-grandpa told him that’s the first and foremost priority in his life. Despite of the fact that he insisted to be a servant, he was not allowed to work at my great-grandpa's house.
A few years later after his mom’s death, my 'Uncle Servant’ came to my house to clean and shovel early in the morning without anybody noticing him. One day, he got caught by my grandma who told him not to come. He cried and told my grandma that coming to our house was the least he could do as pay back so that he could meet his mother in heaven with a smiling face. He begged to my grandma not to kick him out when he cleaned and farmed for my household. My grandma reluctantly agreed to let him to come to our house.
Because he told me that he is my servant---my ‘Uncle Servant’, I was getting all the special treatments from him, becoming my toy and my horse--and my Aladdin's magic lamp. In fact, he loved listening my non-stop talking because I loved talking. We need each other because we are friends and family. Today, I miss my 'Uncle Servant’ so much! I miss his BIG smiling!
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