Now that you have a little backstory on the Jeepney I have a story about the object in the picture. One day my mother was going to the airport to visit her sick mom (my grandmother) who was sick with cancer. She used a Jeepney. She got onto the Jeepney but got off to buy some knick knacks before she got onto the plane. She bought a toy Jeepney (the one that was shown in the picture) for her dying mother (as a gift). It was packed into her bag and she took off for the US. She landed in Chicago where she visited her sick mom in the hospital. She had a 90 percent chance to live but she died anyway. When she died the Jeepney was next to her on the table. Then she got married two years later, and she had my older brother. Then she got citizenship in 2008, four months before I was born. Then in 2011 my sister was born. Sometimes when I see a picture of my grandma and think about the Jeepney that was there at her deathbed. When I think about it I remember when I was a toddler I felt somewhat attached to the Jeepney and played with it when I was little. My family and I have cherished that Jeepney. I’ve actually rode an actual Jeepney in the Philippines myself. We now live in Chicago, happy, healthy and safe.

– Michael

Relationship:  Child of im/migrant Child of im/migrant