visit with ba: surprised

I was caught off guard.

I went expecting to collect a debt. I found someone I actually respected.

His massive tool collection. His practicality. The garden, all the chickens. His ability to learn anything, solve any problem.

I recognized him.

It was me; I was looking in the mirror.

We spent a week together. The first day he was supposed to work on a job, but he called the client and told him he’d spend the day with me.

He cooked me some of my favorite Vietnamese dishes. The smells, the flavors. They took me back to a happy time.

Food is my love language. Any wrong can be forgiven with food, something I consider an act of service, quality time together.

Ba and I worked on the front passenger door of the van, which had been stuck for three years, so every time I was giving someone a lift, they had to climb over from the driver’s side.

It was embarassing, though I do count my blessings to have a paid off adventure vehicle with thousands of miles of memories. Priceless.

I had been complaining for three years to Josh, so I just wanted to stop.

Luckily I had enlisted the help of the right person. Ba was educated until the 3rd grade, which was when he dropped out of school to become an ocean fisherman to support his family.

Steering a fishing boat was the very skill that got him selected to captain a small boat of Vietnamese Boat People, and eventually a passage to the United States.

Turns out he already paid it forward before I was born.