When we left South Vietnam, we ended up in Malaysia. I did not realize that there was a global controversy about it where Malaysia was turning people away when they reached the border. Recently in the last couple of years my parents told me some stories about this time. Melanie was curious and my mother shared some of the experiences. Arriving in Malaysia at the camps you were not necessarily provided food. With 7 mouths to feed my father managed to get us food and provide for the family. Luckily enough we were then sponsored by the church to come to Sudbury. It was the kindness of several families that helped us survive the first few years. My father was not permitted to work when we first arrived. We survived solely on the kindness of other people. Without the community coming together I think we would have struggled. My father took lessons to learn English the first year and I was sent to school where I could not speak English. The first year of school I do not remember much except playing with the large building blocks. As a child I was tiny and one of the smallest in the class. I do not remember much about any of the kids in my class. The interesting thing is that the principal at the time would play a role in my whole life. He had a son and a daughter that I ended up meeting later in life. I worked with both of them at the hospital and the daughter ended up marrying someone that I coached track and field with at the local high school. He was the deacon at the school and we ended up coaching together. His wife was the daughter of my first principal. They are a fantastic family and I appreciate that they were a part of my life. The deacon has been involved in every religious ceremony that we have had.
The stories about Malaysia are tough for me to hear now that I have a family. At the time we did not have much food, and any food that we had went to the kids. When we were rescued by the American Oil Tanker my mother was giving all of her food to the kids. One of the sailors told my mother that she had to eat so she could make milk for my sister who was a small baby at the time. My mother was giving all of the food to my cousins and myself. They gave everything to the kids. Being a parent now I totally understand that and try to provide as much as I can to my kids. I would have a difficult time watching my kids struggle or go hungry. It is not something that I wish on others. Things like this makes the cancer treatment and all of that seem rather trivial. Cancer is a life changing experience, but when I think back on all of the things that my parents had to go through and the life threatening experiences, the cancer is just a blip on the road. I have had challenges since I was a child, and there is no point in worrying about things you can not control, or whether you have been dealt a fair hand or not. I appreciate what my parents had to got through and have eternal gratitude that they had the strength to get us through that. We ended up in a control that has healthcare that allowed me to get over the cancer and treat it. If I was in the US, this would be exponentially most costly. A lot of things had to occur for me to end up here and I appreciate where I am in life now, even if I have had instances that are challenging.
Q