Summary

In “Randy Travis” (41), a Lao immigrant reflects on her childhood. When her family arrived in their new country, they were given a welcome package by the refugee organization. It contained a radio, and the narrator's mother loved listening to it. She became particularly interested in country music. She also attended church with the neighbors even though she was Buddhist. The family later got a record player and then a TV and VCR, which the mother used to record country music award shows and videos. She gradually became obsessed with one singer in particular—Randy Travis. Since she could not write in English, the narrator's mother asked the narrator, then seven years old, to write a fan letter to Randy Travis. The narrator, uncomfortable about her mother's burgeoning interest, wrote, “I do not like you” (47) in the letter. This was the...