my and @Austin's ma's ma,
a few years ago, got surgery for stomach cancer, and lived.
more recent, got mystery disease. flown to taiwan for better care.
we liquidated her room at senior care. i got the clothes.
under her mattress we found hundreds of ca lotto tickets—none were winners.

grandma was born under nippon occupation. her first given name is japanese.
"why visit japan? it's just like taiwan but worse" she says.

ma tells great stories of her childhood, such as when grandma gambled away the house and factory. or when she gambled it all back. or when grandma wanted to hit me for not being potty trained but mom and dad refused "get out of my house, we don't do that in america!"

it's ok tho
it took many many years
but i can now comfortably use the bathroom in a clean and timely fashion.

i visited my grandma in taiwan last year right after she moved over. skin infection. it got to her caretakers: my ma's dad (97), my ma's little brother, my aunt-in-law. they quarantined, and grandma was moved to ICU and intubated.

that aunt-in-law is a widow. her husband (ma's older brother) died of colon cancer in his 30s-40s. and her son (my cousin) is flying from washington DC back to taipei to enlist in the taiwanese army.
in my big family tree we got people from both sides of the chinese civil war.
my grandpa used to make bullets to arm the roc against the commies. now he don't care.
"if they take it they take it," said the old man.

my grandma got out of the hospital in taiwan a few weeks ago.
"where is my money?" she keeps asking.
she's a proud 美國 citizen
and idk in which land she wants to die.
that's why i ask you this, to help her decide.