Lisa’s German Shepherds, Rocky and Mimi, sounded like they’d like some tasty leg of Lee. They soon calmed down.

I spoke with Lisa Wong Esposito at her home on Long Beach Blvd and Beech St.

Lisa’s garden is a splendid tribute to her deceased husband, Frank Esposito.

Frank, a Vietnam vet, died of mesothelioma (asbestos cancer), having contracted it as a combat engineer in the Army. I wrote about Lisa’s garden and Frank in a past essay.

This time, I asked Lisa about her arrival in America.

She was fourteen when Lisa and her family left Hong Kong for America. It was the early seventies, and she recalled the first striking difference between Astoria, their first home in America, and Hong Kong.

She said Hong Kong was so congested with tall skyscrapers and walls of people in the streets. Astoria, where they first lived at 48th St. and Broadway, was spacious, with low-rise homes and fewer people. The spaciousness made her feel “like you had the freedom to do what you wanted.”

Another difference was the weather: Lisa said, “In Hong Kong, I’d never seen snow in my life. 
I remember the first time it snowed here. I sat by the window for three hours watching it, and since then, I have hated it,” she laughed.

Hong Kong returned to China’s governance in 1997, but it was still under British rule when Lisa lived there. She said, “They were very good to us, but the opportunities were not equal for a woman because the job always went to the man first.”

“Birth control wasn’t very popular at that time,” she said, “So before you know it, you have five or six kids.”

Her dad was the only family earner. He owned a sewing machine company, and her mom tended the home. But with four children, they were not well off. Her dad worked seven days a week; he wasn’t home Christmas morning either. He did take off three days for the Chinese New Year.

Lisa’s dad gave up his company to move to America. Lisa said, “Our uncle sponsored us, but it took ten years from the day he applied for us to the day we came here.”

She said of her dad, “He wanted a better future. That’s why he came here, the living standards, the spaciousness. That’s why so many people from South East Asia or all over the world, want to come here.” 


She said, “It’s because they enjoy the lifestyle here. First, it’s free. You can pretty much do whatever you want, say whatever you want, with limitations.”

Lisa recalled the difference in markets. In Hong Kong, the meats were hung open and unwrapped. They were fresh and clean; the people of Hong Kong were clean. But in the U.S., the meats were wrapped in plastic, and so were many vegetables. Not so in Hong Kong. She said, “The markets weren’t as developed as here.”

Lisa said, “And one thing about here, it doesn’t matter what nationality you are; you accept it because everybody is a foreigner at one point or another. It wasn’t that way there. No, because it’s the British colony. Although the British were good to us, opportunity was not equal.”

She said, “It was not because of discrimination but because that’s the way it was. It is still somewhat true these days, but work back then was worse. It was hard for a woman to get a job.” She said, “Especially a good job. At that time, the man was the only one working in the family, the supporter of the family.”

Lisa remembered Pope John Paul visiting Hong Kong. He held Mass in a giant soccer stadium. She said it was such a joy to see him and to wave the little white and yellow flag.

She saw Pope John Paul once again—this time in America.

When he visited the U.S. in 2015, Lisa worked as a cocktail waitress at the Ritz Carlton Hotel at Central Park So. and 59th St. She saw his limousine (or Popemobile) drive by.

Lisa recalled that the schools under the British system were not very good. So, her family sent her to a Catholic school. Catholic schools there were free in Hong Kong, which was great for her family.

The school, still in operation, was run by the Maryknoll Sisters.

“It had the best education system,” Lisa said. “People in the United States would send gifts to the Mission.” Catholic Relief Services would provide free basic food like powdered milk and other basic things.” She said, “There are many churches in Hong Kong, and right next to most of them is a school.”

Americans would send clothes to the Maryknoll Mission. Lisa remembers the scent of mothballs in them. She said, “It was all good stuff, all clean, pretty dresses for little girls.”

Americans also sent gifts at Christmas. Lisa recalled a gift she would not have received if not for America—a Barbie doll.

Lisa said, “The donations through those services are doing a good job; they’re really helping people. They provide for people in Hong Kong, Southeast Asia, the Philippines, and Africa.”

Frank Esposito thought so much of Catholic Relief Services that he left them $50,000 and $50,000 to his church, Our Lady of Mercy in Forest Hills. Lisa still contributes regularly to Catholic Relief Services.

The garden at Long Beach Blvd and Beech St is an icon of Long Beach beauty all year round, but it is especially so at Christmas. Lisa said she is grateful for what she has and wants to share it with the Long Beach community.

We stood in Lisa’s garage when she showed me Frank’s bike, her birthday present to him. Although he died eleven years ago, the bike was still standing by the wall, like new.

We who have lost those we loved often keep their things to remember them by. But when we look at those things or anything, we do so through eyes and hearts influenced by their presence in our lives. We see life differently than if they had not been. And so—they live on through us.

Lisa said, “I like to share more because of what happened to Frank. I look at life differently. I’m not saying I look at life in sadness, but I understand that it is so fragile. Anything can happen, and you can’t take the money with you.”

She said, tilting her head, “You know what I mean? Poor Frank worked so hard. You know, we were hoping to have a good life, a good retirement life together. And that didn’t happen.”

Lisa said, “So, whenever I feel like it, whatever makes this whole community happy, I’ll do it. She pointed to her coat and said, “You know me. I don’t have fancy clothes. I mean—this is my thing.”

Be well,

Leebythesea