Felix P@felix_p

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Pak Yan and Joe Chan StoryCorps

A paper streamer stretched between a ship and a Hong Kong dock was the last thread holding Pak Yan and Joe Chan together. They’d been inseparable since they were kids in the same neighborhood, learning to ride bikes and walking to school side by side. But in 1962, the Great Chinese Famine pushed Joe’s family to leave for the U.S. while he was just in sixth grade. Pak remembers clutching that streamer as the vessel pulled away, and for a long time after that, they kept their bond alive with weekly airmail letters. Then addresses changed and the letters stopped. Pak never let go of a single one. Decades later, after he’d also moved to America, he sat down one afternoon in 2000 and typed “Joe Chan” into Yahoo. 108 results came up. He called every number, leaving voicemails, and on the 104th try, the right Joe answered. “I was overwhelmed,” Pak said. “I couldn’t believe I finally found you.” They slipped right back into their old rhythm, weekly bike rides and dinners, as if no time had passed. Joe joked, “It’s like we just continued from where we stopped. You just have a little less hair now.” Both of them know some things you can’t put a price on, and friendship is right at the top. A StoryCorps story that really stays with you ❤️

1mo

Felix P@felix_p

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Pak Yan and Joe Chan StoryCorps

A paper streamer stretched between a ship and a Hong Kong dock was the last thread holding Pak Yan and Joe Chan together. They’d been inseparable since they were kids in the same neighborhood, learning to ride bikes and walking to school side by side. But in 1962, the Great Chinese Famine pushed Joe’s family to leave for the U.S. while he was just in sixth grade. Pak remembers clutching that streamer as the vessel pulled away, and for a long time after that, they kept their bond alive with weekly airmail letters. Then addresses changed and the letters stopped. Pak never let go of a single one. Decades later, after he’d also moved to America, he sat down one afternoon in 2000 and typed “Joe Chan” into Yahoo. 108 results came up. He called every number, leaving voicemails, and on the 104th try, the right Joe answered. “I was overwhelmed,” Pak said. “I couldn’t believe I finally found you.” They slipped right back into their old rhythm, weekly bike rides and dinners, as if no time had passed. Joe joked, “It’s like we just continued from where we stopped. You just have a little less hair now.” Both of them know some things you can’t put a price on, and friendship is right at the top. A StoryCorps story that really stays with you ❤️

1mo