A Very Brave Man
Last night while having dinner at the night market, a gentlemen sat next to us. People always ask "where are you from?" and when we asked him, he said Orange County, CA. --- Anaheim to be more specific.
He was born & lived in Vietnam until his early 20s, left at the end of the American War in a boat and never returned. He said he did not have a family here, he was alone, so it was OK to leave. However, he had a relationship once and about 18 years ago he received a phone call from a 16 year-old girl who was his daughter. She found him in USA and just called him on the phone. What a shock! It has taken a while to get used to having a connection in Vietnam, he told us. It was too hard to come back at that time.
He just met his daughter this week. She and her husband both completed university in Saigon, work at the university now, own their own motorbikes and have a 3-year-old girl. This lovely man came alone to meet his family here in Vietnam, 30+ years later. He is now a proud grandfather. He plans to return to OC to complete his job then retire in a couple of years when he will have more time to visit his Vietnamese family again.
Life brings us stories than change us. What a brave man to meet.
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