Intriguing Old Photo Tells a Story
The year was 1970. The National Guard had just opened fire on a crowd of student anti-war protestors at Ohio’s Kent State University resulting in the death and injury of students. The students were fighting to get soldiers out of Vietnam. Too many people were dying senselessly in what they considered US genocide of the Vietnamese people.
The anti-war protests in the United States were heating up and the US was beginning it’s slow and painful withdrawal from the war in Vietnam. There were 280,000 US soldiers in Vietnam and many of them would be coming home soon.
The National Guardsmen at Kent State Ohio shortly before the tragic shooting.
A young man named Phuc
In South Vietnam, a poor young Vietnamese man named Phuc was looking for work. His father had recently been killed by the Viet Cong (Northern Forces) and his family needed money. Phuc was very sad and bitter towards the Viet Cong for taking his father. It was senseless. He didn’t understand why the Government in the North was attacking the south and trying to steal his home, their land and their families.
He was grateful the US Soldiers were there helping them. He did not necessarily agree with the protestors in the United States. In his mind the Vietnamese were fighting to maintain their way of life – their survival.
Times were very hard in Vietnam. People were starving. There was no food. He was lucky enough if he could eat a simple meal of a bowl of rice each day. The war had cost him everything. It was a sad time in Vietnam. It was a sad time for Phuc.
The past and future collide
While Phuoc looked for work, another man named Lam Thai Hiep was looking for a driver for his car. He was a very busy man and needed someone to help him get around Vietnam in his Toyota. Lam worked for the Vietnamese Government (The VietCong) and managed and distributed medicine for the soldiers. Lam was a thin and serious man. He was becoming very successful in the government job and on his way up.
The Thin and Distinguished Mr Lam
As luck would have it, Phuc heard of the job and met with Mr Lam to apply. He was nervous. He needed a job. He would do anything to make money.
Well, the interview went well and Mr Lam was instantly impressed by him. Perhaps, he was also a bit taken aback by Phuc’s sad story of losing his father to the same military that he worked for. Mr Lam hired Phuc on the spot.
This is the moment when the past and future collided. Phuc’s father had been killed by the VietCong and now he was being hired to become a driver for a man that worked for the VietCong government.
How ironic life can be. This was Vietnam at the time. It was a civil war. Politics were so important on the one hand, but on the other hand they were meaningless when it came to daily survival.
A Good Driver. A Good Man. A Father and Son.
Phuc worked hard. He liked Mr Lam. Mr Lam was good to him and he began to love and respect him deeply. He was his driver, but slowly he began to think of Mr Lam as his father. Mr Lam saw this and began to consider and treat Phuc as his son. It was a mutual relationship of respect.
Over the years the US withdrew from Vietnam. The VietCong won the war and things became very difficult and painful for most people while the country recovered. Phuc was lucky to have this job with someone that treated him so well. He was dependent on the goodwill of Mr Lam and was vigilant in making sure he did his very best everyday.
I am not Hungry Sir
But Phuc was never so completely comfortable around Mr Lam to feel as one would towards a natural father. He still had a fear and respect for him that would not go away. Even though he felt a bond with him, Mr Lam was still his boss and he treated him like it.
One day after a long day of driving, Mr Lam invited the young Phuc into his house to have dinner. Even though Phuc had not eaten all day he apologized to him, saying “I’m full sir”. But he was lying.
Phuc did not feel he could eat at the same table as Mr Lam. He respected him too much to eat with him. Phuc was starving actually. He was so hungry that he ran into the kitchen and drank several glasses of water to try to fill his stomach so he would not feel so hungry. He drank the water but still felt the stabbing pangs of hunger shoot through his stomach. The water would have to do. He had more work to do.
The Intriguing Photo
It was December 2012. The Vietnam war had ended now over 40 years ago. Here I was deep in the heart of Vietnam with my girlfriend Tu and we were visiting a friend of their family. A very good friend she told me. Someone that her father wanted me to meet. She said her family held a special place in their heart for this woman that they treated like their grandmother.
They introduced me to her. Her name was Co Nam. She was a distinguished looking and kind lady. She showed me a photo of herself that hung on the wall. I saw the photo and told her, “Dep Lam”. That means “pretty”. She smiled at me and told me the photo was taken of her over 50 years ago.
A pretty lady named Co
Then she took me to another wall. There was a single, small framed picture on that wall. The photo was interesting. There she was with her husband. They were standing by a Toyota. It was somewhere off the road. It was somewhere in Vietnam. The picture was scratchy and worn.
The man was thin and serious looking. His name was Lam. And there was another man in the photo. He was in the distance. A shadowy figure in the back who looked like he was watching over the couple.
Lam, his wife and a shadowy figure in the background. This is an intriguingly awesome photograph.
Well, I learned that the shadowy figure in the back was Phuc. Phuc was their driver and there he stood loyally in the back with the man he considered his father. Phuc ended up working for Mr Lam for over 16 years. The picture this elderly lady was showing me was of herself, her husband and of their driver Phuc.
During that time Mr Lam taught him much about life and helped Phuc every step of the way during those tough years. Without the job and guidance, Phuc’s life would have most likely taken a very different road. A road of poverty and perhaps despair. Phuc was devastated in 1986 when Mr Lam died. The man he considered his second father was gone forever.
Kindness is Like a Stone Thrown to a Pond
When a stone is thrown into a pond it creates ripples of water that extend outwards to infinity. This is what happened when Mr Lam and Phuc met. The kindness Mr Lam showed to Phuc created ripples of good fortune that were playing out even 40 years later.
Phuc went on to meet and marry a girl from a successful family. Phuc went on to create one of the most successful and largest construction supply companies in Vietnam with that girl whose name was Kim Mai. Phuc started a family and had a daughter named Cam Tu. Cam Tu became successful and went to the US to get her Masters Degree in a city called San Diego California.
It was there that Cam Tu and I met while she was getting her Masters. And then now here I was with her over 12,000 miles away from home standing in a house in Vietnam looking at a picture of her dad and the couple that hired him to be their driver. Mr Lam’s kindness was paying itself forward in the grandest and most interesting of ways. We were all there experiencing a good life thanks to the kindness he displayed to a young man that had just lost his own father.
The Intriguing Photo Tells the Story
I guess I keep going back to that photograph and looking at it. I wonder who took that photo and I think to myself what an excellent photo it is. But perhaps even more remarkable is the way that photo has been treated. It is a small 4 by 6 photo but it sits in a frame – a solitary photo on the wall – placed in way that makes it seem like a shrine. The photo obviously has significant importance to Mrs Lam even today.
Her and her husband undoubtedly hired dozens of workers and helpers in their years but only one – Phuc was on their walls. Perhaps, the story of helping Phuc and his success was their own tribute to Mr Lam and his character. This was a story that everyone loves to tell.
A good photograph can tell a more than a thousand words. And this photo does. This photo tells a story. Even the composition is intriguing. Mr and Mrs Lam stand in the foreground beside their car.
The photographer didn’t just focus on them however. He pulled Phuc into the frame. Even though Phuc was off the right and could easily have been removed from the picture.
Either the photographer saw the importance of the relationship or perhaps he was instructed to include Phuc in the picture. In either case it is intriguing. In any case it was on purpose.
And why is Phuc off to the back of the photo and not next to Mr and Mrs Lam? Usually people stand next to each other when they are taking photos. The picture was made infinitely more interesting because of where Phuc stood.
My hunch is that Mr and Mrs Lam asked Phuc to come stand beside them and to take the picture. But just like the time when Phuc said he was not hungry and ran to the kitchen to drink water to fill his stomach he was doing the same thing here.
Phuc respected Mr Lam so much that he stood off to the back like his driver. There he could watch the man he considered a father from afar. The man who had given him so much respect deserved that much. The intriguing old photo tells the story better than any words can.
Hard Times
Poor Fellow. He was once a successful business man from the United States. Then, on what was supposed to be a short relaxing vacation, he ended up on the streets. Never to return to the US, this man spends his day selling Lottery Tickets and begging for spare change to buy his favorite drink – A Coke.
Street Photos from Vietnam
Xin Chao Vietnam. I just got back and it was awesome. We’re busy collecting all the photos from the various and many wedding ceremonies that we had but that will take some time. I wanted to post a few pictures of street photography that I took around the town of Vinh Long Vietnam and surrounding places.
Vietnam is such an awesome place for Street Photography. It’s not something I do very much in the US here but in Vietnam it is so easy because everyone there wants you to take their picture. In the US people are just not that into it. I love the Vietnamese.
On the way to work at 7am along the Mekong Delta.
The lady is walking to the market. She may work there or be going to pick up something like rice or fresh vegetables.
Near the Temple, this lady rides her bike to get morning coffee.
The man crosses over the bridge at sunrise, cigarette dangling from his mouth.
The lady is selling extraordinary organic vegetables and fruits. She grows them on her farm.
The lady in gray. She smiled at me. She had no idea why anyone would take a picture of her riding her bike.
When it gets unbearably hot and humid. The rain comes quickly to relieve you. It is a blessing.
The baby is being offered 3 grapes but she is unsure.
He is on a barge. He is not working but resting and waiting for the next long drive down the river.
He is selling little fish. He strings them up like this every morning.
The buildings in Vietnam make great rustic backdrops for photography.
She brings lunch to people. They pay her a bit of money, not much. She gets by.
A pail. A towel. This young boy heads to the River for a morning wash by himself.
She was brushing her hair. She thanked me, and blessed me for taking her picture.
He is building something. It is interesting to watch the sparks fly.
The boy is waiting on the boat. His mom was making breakfast.
She’s wearing a Red Pancho on a casual bike ride in the rain.
The little boy is selling peanuts.
They are carrying ice down the street. Good job boys.
She is on her way back home in her rice hat and work clothes.
He is selling interesting sweet fruit on the street. That is all he sells.
There is quite a bit of joy in Vietnam
The President of All Kids
Oliver is leading the kids of this country to a revolution. The revolution demands more Ice Cream and they want it now. The Ice Cream levels have been woefully low and its frankly shameful that kids in this country are forced to deal with such sparsely available Ice Cream.
What do we want? Ice Cream! When do we want it? Now!
New Season of Walking Dead
We are all excited about the new season of Walking Dead right? Well guess who is starring in the next season? That’s right. You guessed it.
Oh no, someone got bitten. Now my turn to run.
Old Rare Photographs Remind Us to be Thankful
In Vietnam as early as 20 years ago, photographers and cameras were rare. People would pay large sums of their hard earned money just to get a picture of themselves.
Today we often take for granted that everyone has their camera phone with them, or someone inevitably has a nice DLSR to take lots of pictures at a drop of a hat.
Tu grew up South of Saigon in a modest village and her parents worked hard but didn’t have much money at the time. They hired a photographer to come and take this picture in front of their small house. I am sure that they barely had the money to pay for it at the time. But they took the picture to capture the moment in the small way that they could.
Today the photograph is worn and faded. You can barely see her. But its an important photograph because it is only one of the only ones that they have. Photographs can be priceless, especially when they are so rare.
The Improbable Journey of Frankie and James
The deed recorded in 1913 and photographed by one T Fader, The San Diego Deputy Recorder at the time, spelled out all of the rules for Lot 94 of what was known as the Point Loma Villas at the time. For a paltry sum of $10, Amelia Bridges had just purchased title to what must have been the most sought after location in San Diego.
The Ball Bearing Changes the World
The Lot located on the top of Point Loma with sweeping panoramic views of what must have been a much emptier San Diego was the ideal place for Amelia Timkin Bridges grand plans. Amelia was the daughter of Henry Timkins who had left her lots and lots of money – certainly much more than the $10 that she had just spent on Lot 94.
Henry Timkins was an inventor that had good timing. He invented the “Tapered Roller Bearing” in 1898 right at the time when it was needed for the production of cars, trucks and tractors. By 1923, 90% of the country’s production came from Timkin. His bearings were used in everything (trains, conveyors, elevators and aircraft engines).
Henry Timkin was a rich man indeed and he had a mustache that any hipster Brooklyn artisan pickle maker would be proud of.
The Document that Frankie and James Blatantly ignored.
Amelia Bridges sat reviewing the deed before signing it to make sure everything was in order. There were the usual restrictions; no more than 5 personal residences could be built on the property, no stores or factories could be built on the land, no house less than $10,000 could be built on the land, no intoxicating liquors should be sold on the property and of course no Turkeys, Ducks or Geese could be farmed on the land.
Then there were the restrictions that unfortunately were a big part of San Diego History at the time and not well publicized or known even today. In the deed, Amelia must have glanced at item #6 and not have even given it a second thought even though today it would be unthinkable. “6. That said property shall never be sold to any but members of the Caucasion Race“. huh? Double Take. Really?
If you can’t read that very clearly, here it is in Black and White
Now the Amelia Bridges of today would probably never have signed a deed with this type of restriction, in fact she went on to become one of San Diego’s greatest philanthropist donating much of her wealth to create the buildings and museums that you might visit in Balboa Park.
Rich White Pure European People and San Diego’s Dirty Secret
I always wondered why I never see any For Sale signs on houses in La Jolla. In fact the only way to find an open house in La Jolla on a Sunday is to look for balloons in front of the house. That is the tip that you can go inside and take a look. Well, the fact is that La Jolla, just like Point Loma used to be a place where only rich white people wanted other rich white people to live.
Going back to the early 1900’s, La Jolla had such a deep anti-semitic feeling that a “La Jolla Covenant” was created. This gentlemen’s agreement restricted Jewish people from buying homes, creating businesses and joining country clubs. The Real Estate Associations were the worst and they forbid putting up of For Sale signs since they didn’t want Jewish people to know which houses were for sale. When properties were sold they often contained standard language that the property could only be sold to people of “pure European Ancestry”.
For a town that has lead the battle to let Seals feel welcome on their beaches, La Jolla certainly didn’t always make everyone feel welcome. To this day, La Jolla does not allow For Sale signs claiming that it is an “eyesore” and hurts the neighborhood. I live in La Jolla and my neighbor Mitt Romney seems to know a thing or two about signs that are an eye-sore in La Jolla. After all his campaign had them plastered all over the neighborhood while he was running for President.
A few of the million eyesore Elect Romney signs that littered La Jolla last year.
The Improbable Probability Realized.
In February 2013, 100 years after Amelia Bridges reviewed and signed that deed for $10 a small article was published with the title, “Point Loma’s Historic Building X hits the Market”. Between the time that Amelia had signed the paperwork and 100 years later that parcel of land became one of the more historic places in San Diego.
She built a mansion on the property for $130,000. Rife (a famous inventor) lived there and went on to create astounding microscopes used in Science. The building was taken over by the US Military during the war and used as a Submarine Command Post.
This and countless other historic things happened from that home, in fact, many other famous San Diego buildings in Balboa Park were conceived and paid for people living in that home.
Well Michael and Bridget ended up getting that historic home several months later and in doing so blatantly ignored the rules set forth by the Union Title Trust Company which forbid any non-caucasion from buying the home. When Michael discovered the original deed and its language it was actually quite laughable in its absurdity but also made them think just how poorly non-whites were treated in San Diego just a short time ago.
It’s ironic that there were restrictions on selling the land to say hispanics which today makeup almost 35% of the entire population of San Diego, not to mention Pacific Islander and other races that makeup a large portion of the community. How times have changed.
Into the Mansion
It was just a year ago that Michael and Bridget adopted Frankie and James. Oliver now has two brothers and life is looking up for them in their new estate. It’s fun to look at the boys in the posh setting and soak in the beautiful irony of what it is.
The elegant music room as it was. High Falutant Hoity Toity’s would drink their Champagne discussing “Tennis”
Today, Frankie and James explore cupcakes in the same room.
Fancy Billard Tables undoubtedly were used to spread mountains of cash out before each bill was carefully ironed by an army of servants.
Today, Frankie and James pose for Fancy pictures in the same rooms.
Large rooms with fancy furnishings and over abundance of rocking chairs. Everyone had to have a rocking chair.
Frankie doesn’t need a rocking chair. This chair will do just fine.
Just the beginnings of that improbable journey
Historic Building X in San Diego really is a crown jewel of the city. The history, charm and beauty of the place has to be seen to be believed. The Bridges were generous and incredible philanthropist to the city. The home that the built still contains all the love and generosity that they put into it.
As for Frankie and James, I am sure that this is only the beginning of their improbable journey. Where it leads, time will tell.
