On my mother's side, my grandfather was a well respected business man. He was a self
made man. He left home when he was very young (and it keeps getting younger as he gets
older), say around 12 years old. His genius was taking something and repackaging it. It
made him very wealthy, both in personal and public life. He gave back to the community by
building many temples, schools and even a movie theatre. He had 9 children: 4 daughters
and 5 sons.
You should see the sheer mass of family at his place around Christmas! Even now, he is an
incredibly lucky man. My mother was the 3rd child, and the second daughter. By the time
she was born, things were running pretty smoothly, so she lead a sheltered life. She tells
me she wasn't a great student, and simply prayed to do well so that her parents would be
happy.
It must have worked because she got her bachelors in business administration at a
prestigious French university and even spent a semester at Harvard as an exchange student!
When she came back, she worked at my grandfather's rubber factory.
And then my parents got married.
