Memories alone no longer satisfy Ron and Daniel Ng.
Reality beckons the brothers who will soon revisit their native Burma - now called Myanmar - for the first time since they left the violent turmoil of their birthplace.
"We came to the United States about 1967," Ron said. "My dad came because of the political situation in Burma ... My mom stayed behind to take care of the family holdings. My oldest brother stayed with my mom."
The family of seven reunited in San Francisco about four years later.
"Mom passed on about 15 years ago," Ron said. "And dad is still alive. Eighty-eight. In San Francisco."
But the elder Ng has never returned to his homeland.
Now Ron, 55, and Daniel, 52, not only want to go; they need to go.
The upcoming trip will include about 35 people, mostly Ng family members.
"Four brothers and their families are going," Ron said about himself and his relatives.
As we sat talking about their journey one recent night after work, fashionable eyeglass frames shined from display racks on the walls of Ron's Santa Maria optometrist office.
Daniel operates his dental office downstairs in the spacious East Chapel Street building where tropical fish and the latest Fortune magazine calls attention to the beauty and opulence of upscale America.
"There is no country that is better than this country," Daniel said with unquestionable sincerity.
After coming to America, both brothers excelled, became citizens and went to work with a passion.
"I enjoy working," Daniel said. "I mean, I love working. I don't think I'll ever retire. But if I do, I'd like to continue working."
And Burma needs some serious work.
A military government dictates policy for a population of about 52 million people. The country is so poor that opium poppy production and child soldiers are common.
To protest human rights violations, the European Union last week tightened sanctions against the repressive government that refuses to release pro-democracy leader and Nobel Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest.
The gentle brothers Ng sense the struggle.
During their three-week visit, Ron and Daniel said they will do what they can to relieve the pressure of oppression and despair that isolates a beautiful nation that needs so much.
"We're going to take a look and travel around and maybe one day I can go back to be a missionary," Daniel said. "I would like to become a missionary and go back ... We were raised as Seventh Day Adventists."
That faith still guides both men.
A major career change would be nothing new for Daniel. Before becoming a dentist, he worked as a pharmacist. But missionary work is another level entirely and constitutes a higher calling.
Even returning briefly is challenging.
"Going back to Burma is really difficult because I don't miss Burma too much and my language, Burmese, is very limited," Daniel said. "I'm Americanized. And I consider myself American ... I think like an American. America is the most beautiful country. There is no country that is better than this country. It's my home. This is the country I live and love."
But he's willing to leave home in order to help a stranger.
Both brothers believe in self-sacrifice.
"Money's not everything," Daniel said. "We enjoy helping the people who don't have money."
Ron plans to pack as many suitcases as he's allowed to carry with shirts, pants, pens and whatever else he decides might be in demand. He worries about schools and teachers and intends to take 200 pair of reading glasses for whoever can use them.
The personable eye doctor has done the same in Mexico, where Daniel also has spent considerable time volunteering dental care to poor people living in rugged rural areas.
But this trip is unique.
While in Burma, Ron and Daniel hope to meet people who knew them in the past, see the house they left and walk the same streets they walked as children.
Mostly, they want to help.
New friends await as affection sends these good men on their way.