Herbert Hoover Tom

Reflecting upon my dad's life, I can't help but think of two men in history that indelibly impacted his life: the man whom after he was Named, and the man whom after he Followed. Born November 29, 1928, Herbert Hoover Tom entered this world in a small rural farming community in Northern California. He was the 7th of 8 children born to Sun Tsue Tom and his wife Shee in a small Chinese community located in a town known as "Colusa". Setting the stage for his birth, the nation was optimistic, buoyed by the success of the "Roaring 20's" and jubilant of that November's landslide presidential election of "The Great Engineer" to lead the country. The nation had enormous hopes in its 31st President of the United States, Herbert Hoover. And so whom better to name your son after, than this great president? Yes, and so named was he - Herbert Hoover Tom. But events quickly turned for the worse in our nation: the Great Stock Market Crash of October 1929 followed by the Great Depression into the 1930's. Banks and businesses failed across the country. Millions lost their jobs, homes and savings. Many waited in bread lines for food and lived in squalid shantytowns. And President Hoover, criticized for being indifferent to suffering Americans, became deeply unpopular and lost a landslide election to Franklin D Roosevelt in 1932. The result? The name, "Herbert Hoover" lost its luster and instead became notoriously infamous during a very bleak and dark period of our nation. This is no fault of anyone, for who would've known? Yet the effect on my dad of this unpopular name cannot be ignored. I mean, how many people do you know named Herbert Hoover (and particularly in the Chinese community where the letter "R" is difficult to pronounce)? So wherever he went, his name followed. And along with it came the shame and embarrassment. I know this, because my dad would tell me in a laughing and jokingly way. And I think this is what contributed to his jolly and easy going personality. Why fight it? Just get along and be friends. So dad grew up spending his time mostly outdoors with his dog "Blackie" hunting and fishing conveniently across the street off the levee in the Sacramento River. This contributed to his love for nature and gardening. Which of course led to his love for cooking - gotta eat what one catches (fish, crab, clam, abalone) or what one grows (squash, zucchini, beans, tomatoes, melons). And so dad led his wife Joy and his children (Gregory, Marvin and Sandra) to love the same outdoors - fishing and camping nearly every weekend first in a tent to eventually in a variety of different camping trailers. What I remember as a child about my dad, was his dedication to attending church. It didn't matter whether we were camping out in the wilderness or traveling to Yellowstone, Mexico or Vancouver Island, we found a church to attend every Sunday, no matter where we were. So although dad loved fishing and camping on weekends, he made Sunday church a priority. This devotion originated in his family while growing up in Colusa with his older brother George and his 6 sisters Evelyn, Grace, Cal, Mary, Mary Lou, and Francis. And this priority did not go without meaning or purpose. For by it, my dad's life was indelibly altered by another man whom he followed until he died. It began when my dad realized that he had wrongfully violated this man. And when dad fully understood this, he asked the man to forgive him. And the man, graciously forgave him. Grateful, my father discovered more about this man by reading the very words written about him. Previously, he heard these words while attending church. But it wasn't until he began studying these very words for himself, that he then recognized that although forgiven, there is No escape of judgment for his actions. Like any crime, pure Justice requires punishment even if the victim has forgiven the perpetrator. So although forgiven, dad faced a just punishment for his actions. And dad fully understood the just punishment he deserved for what he had done. But it was this man Jesus who placed dad's punishment upon himself. He suffered what dad so justly deserved. Dad then understood - greater love has no one than to lay down his life for his friends. And a new and living way had commenced. My father committed himself to love and follow this man Jesus in return. In the last several years, after an accidental fall my dad was confined in bed and unable to walk. He was frustrated and anguished by an ostensible prison cell, restricted to a bed while slowly deteriorating, unable to feed or care for himself. And he felt bad. He believed that he was causing us undue hardship, an inconvenience and an unnecessary burden. But as we talked about it, we both realized that he was actually helping his family. He was giving us time to let him go. For you see, we weren't ready for him to depart this life. And so he suffered for us. He endured the pain and hardship of imprisonment; he was extending his love to us until we were ready to let him go. This is grace. This is the same grace and love shown to him by the man Jesus. March 31, Thursday, the time had come. We were ready. And so was dad. Early the next morning, April 1, he proved that he was no fool. He Gave what he could not keep, to Gain what he could not lose. He gave up this earthly life to gain eternal life. A life that never ends. So what's in a name? Does your name matter? For my dad, it did matter. It was a ghost that haunted him wherever he went. But in the end, it didn't matter. For he was reborn unto a new creation. His body remains here. But his soul lives in heaven above. And in this I rejoice. For we shall be united again. Until then, I follow after the same man my father did. To Him be the Glory forever and ever. Amen! Marvin April 6, 2022