Huyen's Grandfather

(PICTURE: Huyen and her Grandfather)

I've met Huyen's Grandfather a few times and every time leave with a growing fondness for him. The man is one of the nicest, most genuine people I have ever met. Every time he sees me he wants to make sure I'm comfortable and has personally taken it upon himself to teach me Vietnamese (using the same resources he uses to teach Huyen's 2 year old nephew).

Huyen recently told me a story about her Grandfather which I think is worth repeating. About two months ago Huyen's Grandmother had surgery at a hospital in Hanoi. Huyen's Grandfather stayed with his wife for the whole seven days she was in the hospital. He literally slept on the cold hospital floor to keep her company. Well, one night while he was sleepig someone picked his pocket and stole his wallet (Yeah, what kind of scum of the earth robs people at the hospital?). Besides his money being stolen, Huyen's Grandfather lost his ID cards and other important information/documents he kept in his wallet. Well, about two weeks after the incident a package arrived in the mail for Huyen's Grandfather. In the package was his wallet with a note from the person who sent it saying they had found it near their house. This wouldn't be so strange except for the fact that their house was 300 kilometers away! Huyen's grandfather was so thankful that these strangers sent him his wallet that he bought them presents and drove 300 kilometers on his motorbike to personally deliver them. Yes, this 70+ year old man drove 300 kilometers there and 300 kilometers back to say thank you. That's the type of man he is.