Saigon & Taun

What a surprise we had arriving in Saigon, to the area I had spent most of my time in during my four previous stays in Vietnam. So much has grown, been built, and the people in the area appear much more prosperous. The sidewalks were even, not the previous hazard that they presented 8 years ago. It is actually looking like a combination of Times Square and 5th Avenue. Signs of poverty still exists, such as a man I watched with flip flops on his hands dragging himself across the street, unable to walk and no wheelchair available to him. Even the "chachkeeze" in the shops are a bit higher end.

My first "mission" was to find my friend Taun, who was an 8 year old boy I met and fell in love with on my first visit to Vietnam. He worked the streets by the tourist hotels selling post cards to support himself, his two younger siblings and his Mom. I would take him to dinner and lecture him to learn English and work in the tourist industry. I had kept in touch with him for a few years by sending his picture and money with families going to Vietnam to adopt. I would ask them to just show his picture to anybody near the hotels and ask them to find him...believe it or not, it never failed. I would send a picture of myself and him so he knew who was sending him the money.

Sadly, adoptions from Vietnam stopped for a few years so my sources ran dry and we lost touch. I arrived with an 8 year old photo of Taun. I showed it to a woman on the street who did not understand, however a man near by came over and asked what I was looking for. I showed him the picture and explained it was 8 years old and Taun would be 18 now. He studied the picture and said "I know him". I gave him a few bucks and 20 minutes later a woman came running off a scooter crying and hugging me at the hotel. It was Taun's mother! I was given his phone number and called him. Hearing his voice, realizing that he is now a man and not the young boy I knew was a shock, not to mention that he had a cell phone. He promised to arrive the next day at 6:00pm.

The next night at 6:00pm sharp "my" Taun walked through the doors of the hotel. I can't put into words how happy I was to see him. he looks fantastic and best of all, his English is amazing and he works at a tourist resort in Phu Quoc island....He is doing very well, has overcome the poverty he was raised with and still helps support his family. He traveled 9 hours to come to see us! I have worried for years about what ever happened to him and can finally sleep well now knowing his is fine.

When I asked him where he would like to have dinner, he replied "let's go to Lemon grass, the first restaurant you ever took me too". That was the first restaurant we went to however nine years ago as we walked in, the management pushed him out and told us he was not welcome to eat there. We explained he was our guest and just took him right in. Today, the staff held the door open to us and him alike! The other boy in this picture is a very special friend of Long's (Noah) and us as well named Phat!

Please note the women off to the left of the picture. We have named her "Gladys kravit's" after the nosey neighbor from the show Bewitched. She stared at us throughout the entire meal as it was obvious that we all knew each other well and she just could not stand knowing how we all fit together. As we left, she finally asked if we were all an adoptive family and I told her "yes, I suppose that you can say that". What a great night this was.