A few odds and ends over the past few weeks ...
We went back to the DC area over the Christmas break to visit my wife's sister and brother and their families. We also visited with some former neighbors that we have kept in contact with. One is an elderly lady who lost her husband recently. She is alone, and we didn't want her to be over Christmas. While visiting, I became aware that her hot water heater was out and her garage door opener was broken. She would have to open her garage door manually, but she was not able to do that. She did not have the means to replace either item. So, my wife and I fixed that. We bought a hot water heater and arranged for a guy to do the installation. We also went to Home Depot, bought a new garage door opener, and installed it. Both were done within a few days.
We also visited our favorite halal butcher to get a couple of the freshest, best tasting chickens available for our family Christmas meal. (They also have beef and lamb.) It had been a couple of years since we had been back to the area, but the owner remembered us, and we had a great chat. I asked him when they were going to add pork to the menu!
Kamal laughed and said he remembered me asking that same question every time I visit the shop. Then Lily apologized for me and said my humor has long since devolved to only "dad" jokes.
) Anyway, besides the two chickens we would need for our extended-family meal, we got another 10 to donate to a local soup kitchen.
Back in Florida ... last week after work I stopped by the commercial building my wife and I own to do a quick visit on the tenants and wish them a prosperous 2026. Lan usually does this, as the building is close to her hospital in St. Augustine. My favorite tenant is a young barber, who is also a musician. His band regularly works on cruise ships. Not a bad life he lives; we always have great conversations. Anyway, Dustin wanted me to pass along his thanks to Lan again for her kindness. I didn't know what he was talking about, so he filled me in. It seems the day before, when Lan dropped by, a very elderly man was a first-time walk-in customer. Dustin's schedule was full, but he said if the gentleman could hang out for a bit, Dustin could accommodate the request after hours. The gentleman agreed. Lan has the kindest heart, and when she saw how frail the old man looked. she told Dustin that she would cover the cost of the haircut. Dustin agreed and would add a free shave. The old man was moved to tears by the gesture, and Dustin wanted me to pass on his thanks to Lan. I was not aware of what Lan had done. I have no doubt she does things like this regularly.
Finally, Lily went back to school in Tampa yesterday. Lan drove separately to make sure Lily got settled back in the dorm with no issues. But the main purpose of Lan going was the follow-on trip to Orlando on the way back. There is a boy from Vietnam who just started attending school at UCF. He is from a desperately poor family, but he is very smart. Lan was made aware of a Catholic charity that sponsors kids to go to college. Lan was put into contact with Khang, and he arrived in Orlando a week or so ago. Lan visited with him for several hours, took him out to dinner for pho, and then to a banh mi shop for a few sandwiches for later. She then took him to the grocery store to get a fridge and pantry full of food and all the necessary toiletries. I also gave Lan a few hundred dollars to pass along to Khang for incidental expenses during the semester. And to tell him to not be shy and let us know if he needs anything else. After asking about his family, who are in Saigon, Lan found out that his dad is elderly and near-blind. When we travel to Vietnam next month, we will try to visit Khang's family to let them know how he is adjusting to life so far from home, and that we will make sure he has everything he needs, so he can solely focus on school. And, depending on what is going on with his dad's eyesight, if there is a surgical procedure that can fix this, we will look into making this happen. I hope we can help.
Lan and I are trying to be more and more charitable and have this be a focus of our forthcoming retirement years. We aren't able to do as much as we want yet, but we are trying to stack the charitable endeavors as much as possible. We can all make the world a better place.
