My grandfather grew up in Kyoto, Japan. He was born in to a family of silk merchants. He was the eldest of three boys. He was quite a playboy, spending his time with women and drinking with his friends. To remove him from this environment his father sent him to San Fransico. During a stop in Hawaii he met a man who offered him a job, and my grandfather jumped ship. In Hawaii he met my grandmother. She did not complete high school but rather was a very accomplished seemstress. They married and had three kids, Racheal, Danny, and Andrew. My grandmother went back to Japan for a bit to aquaint herself with my grandfather's family. There she movied to Tokyo, where she opened up a tailor shop. She was even summoned to the Russian embassy to do some work. She returned to Hawaii with the three kids, where she and my grandfather opened up Popeye's Grocsher. All three kids eventually finshed high school. Racheal married Philup Preston, an American business man, while she was in Japan. They had four kids Dawn, Ken, Martha, Jo-anne. Danny married my aunty Myoko, from Japan, whom he corrisponded via letters. They have two girls, Grace, and Audry.My father, Andrew, went to public school until high school, where he attended Iolani. At the time his family could not afford the luxury of sending him to a private school. The fact that he did was due to the kindness of one man, Father Bray. He was the football coach for Iolani and in appreciation for the use of the Washington Intermediate School's band during football games, Father Bray, offered two scholarships to Iolani on the condition that he played football. Andrew, imediately jumped at the opprotunaty. So he played football for Father Bray as a third stringer, or as we like to say; a first string bench warmer, for three years. Upon graduation my father left Hawaii for Grinnel College, in Iowa. Receiving a political science degree there he went to the University of Washington in Seattle with a fellowship in Japanese studies. However, after a year, he felt that it would be better for him and his family if he switch departments. He finished up at UW with a degree in law. He finally returned to Hawaii and began work at the district attorney's office. After a few years he started his own law firm that specialized in workers compensation. I discribe my father's law practice as the following: he is not the best lawery in town, but he is the cheapest. Many a night I remember him working on cases for the underdogs at home. He only charged his clients for the time spent in the office. Sometimes, I think he didn't even charge them that. His fees were what his clients could afford. Inorder to send me through college, in his late fifties he quit law and became a retainer for a Japanese company, taking care of the American business ventures.
Sometime in his late twenties he met my mother on a double date, she was his friend's date. Anyway, his friend and my mother, Beryl, were not really involved, so my father went to see my mother at her optometric office with a small poem about her name. And they started to date The Japanese side and the Chinese side were not too happy about the situation. When my father came to pick up my mother he had to wait outside. When they married they were the only two smiling. Eventually what brought the two sides together was my sister.
Everyone loved my sister when she was born. Even I will admit that she was a cute kid (See the Momi Pictorial History). Like me she went to public school until seventh grade and then attended Punahou. She was not too happy there. Infact I'd say she pretty much hates that school. During her time at Punahou, she played the saxaphone, did stage lighting, played basket ball for a year, volleyball for three, and did crosscountry for her senior year. She went on to MIT, where she did two important things. One, she got her physics degree. And two, she met Scott Texter. They moved to Los Angeles together. She started graduate school at UCLA, while with his PhD in nuclear engineering started working at TRW. A year later, in 1987 they married. And almost a decade later they are still doing th same things. She has a deal with Scott, if ever they have kids the boys are Texters the girls are Onos.
Final note, we are not related to Yoko Ono.
Chun-Clan History
Origianlly named Ching, my mother's side changed their name to Chun, when they came to Hawaii. The reason for this has to do with the chinese character for Ching and Chun are the same, but the Ha-ka and Cantonese pronouncation differ. My grandfather was the eldest of ten boys and one girl. Because of this, the family's educational endevors lay solely on his shoulders. He went to school in Hawaii and eventually became a school teacher. Sounds a bit boring...well, I guess you could say that.The second son had a much more colorful life. He was sold/given away at an early age. Went back to China for a bit and then returned to the family in Hawaii when he was in his teens. After that he went to the mainland (USA) and moved around until he started a family in New York. We lost contact until his death. How we learned about his death no one really knows, but the general concensus is that he is died in the late 80's early 90's.
Anyway, my grandmother had much more exciting life. Before she was born she was sold to another family. In a few years that family had very hard times. So much so that they delt in opium and as a little girl she was running opium across the streets of honolulu. In high school she was the team captian of the girls basket ball team. Infact they were the state champions that year. However, at her graduation she recieved a blank diploma, having revolted against the administration for not getting the team letters for their athletic achievements. She, like my grandfather, went on college and became a school teacher.
My grandparents met during a summer that they both worked at a pineapple plantation. My grandfather said that they met because of her voice. He heard some loud girl taking in the cannery line. Saw hear and started taking to her. Then later heard the same loud voice at the general store and saw her again and started talking to her. Things went on like this for a while, load voice of my grandmother attacting him like a syren. Anyway, this sporatice meetings eventually became schedual dating. They married and had three childern, Cynthia, Beryl, and Micheal. Cynthia became a school principal and married Wallace Leong and had five children Aletha, Eric, April, Julie-Anne, and Angie. Micheal married my aunty Pinky in college and has three children, Terry-Lynn, Derick, and Shelly.
My mother, Beryl, skipped two grades in public school and transfered to Punahou for her senior year. She spent two years at the University of Hawaii, then transfered to the Optometric School of Southern California. She stay up in Southern California for a few years and then came back to Hawaii to start her private practice. Sometime after coming back to Hawaii she met my father and fell in love with him and eventually married him. They have two children, my sister Momi and seven years later, me. After having me my mother stopped her private practice and started working at Kaiser Permanente. She has just taken an early retirement and is working on re-doing her house in Kahala, on Oahu.
Here is a Side note of some interest. Aunty Pinky's cousin's daughter's son is Jason Scott Lee, the movie star. I met him once at Terri-lynn's wedding reception. He was introduced to me as someone else in California. I asked him what he did, he said he studied acting. And of course I thought to myself, 'oh, another starving actor'...silly me.
Breif History of myself:
I guess, I should say something about myself, since you have decided to venture forth this far into my homepages. Well I was born on November 7, 1971, to Andrew S. Ono and Beryl B. Y. Chun, in Kapiolani Childrens Hospital in Honolulu Hawaii. I went to public school for a number of years, until the seventh grade where I transfered to a private college prep school for snobby rich kids, where I had a very mediocre high school carear. After high school I moved off the rock and went to Hell also called Harvey Mudd College. I had the typical college experience, studying 60 to 70 hours a week and experimenting with sleep deprivation. Being a pritty much an unremarkable student I found myself with no job prospects. So, I went to graduate school at UCLA's Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, where one turns sleep deprivation to an art form.
Do I sound a bit bitter?...well, life really wasn't and isn't that bad...