Manhattan, New York - 1980's

My grandfather came to New York in the 80’s as a young man. He often tells the story in a dramatic way that begins along the lines of “I had two hundred dollars to my name.”

South Korea in the 80’s was just figuring out how to become a functioning democracy. Although there were new financial opportunities in Korea, too, my grandfather only graduated elementary school, so he said his opportunities were severely limited to simple labor-intensive jobs.

He eventually worked hard enough to own a small grocery store in Manhattan. I remember visiting the store as a kid and grabbing whatever candy or ice cream I wanted. He worked seven days a week, even through Christmas and New Year.

He has many stories to tell of his time running the store. One that he loves to tell is of the “great blackout” of 2003. He always starts the story the same way: “It was just an ordinary day then boom!”

August 14th, 2003, Manhattan lost its lights, and it wouldn’t come back for another 29 hours.

My grandfather said there was a mass exodus of people trying to get home by 5 pm. Since the entire city lost power, there were no traffic lights. Everyone walked. Brooklyn to Manhattan. Queens to Brooklyn. Bronx to Manhattan and so on.

He said he had never seen so many people on the streets. What’s more, they began to fill his store to buy anything and everything. Candles were the first to go, obviously, he always says matter-of-factly. I agree, “Naturally.”

Then he waits for me to ask about the refrigerators. What about the drinks? The ice cream!

He would smile and tell me how this city gave him so many things. About how hard it was but that he was grateful for everyone and everything. He proudly reveals how he gave away all the ice cream for free. He gave away many things, from sandwiches to baby formula to toilet paper at steep discounts. He’d say that the streets were darker than they have ever been, but that people simply hung out into the night, ice cream in hand or a drink in hand. Some even brought out lawn chairs and enjoyed each other’s company.

He always finishes the story with "That's NY for you!"