Theresa in Provence

In L'Isle sur la Sorgue, France with hostess Catherine, July 2010.

A Work of Art

While in DC, I was blessed to sample my first ever soft-shell crab, a seasonal delicacy famous in this area. It is often prepared as shown in the photo, and one eats it in a sandwich. This could very well be the most beautiful image I laid my eyes on while at the nation's capital, but you can be the judge of that. If you are interested in other impressions from my trip, you are welcome to visit http://picasaweb.google.com/tesstran/WashingtonDC#.

East (Coast) Meets West

Last Sunday, I was in Washington, DC and had the lovely opportunity to meet with the children of Tran Thi Nga and their spouses. Chi Ha took me to see "Little Saigon" a.k.a. Eden Center in Falls Church, Virginia, and afterwards we had a delicious dinner at Minh's Restaurant. It was delightful to spend the time connecting with family, and I truly hope that this is just a small preview of a larger family reunion to take place some time in the near future.

Thirty-five years later

Every year in one strip mall in a part of Little Saigon in San Jose, these flags are resurrected around April 30. It's an impressive sight, the splash of sunlight yellow and royal red waving proudly above the buildings. It's another "anniversary" to remember, but certainly one that calls for a different sort of commemoration, and definitely no cake.

I was only six years old on that day in 1975. Unlike other major events that I would live through such as the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake in Santa Cruz and the World Trade Center attacks on 911, I don't know exactly where I was when I learned of this news. To be honest, I probably didn't even know what it all meant anyway at that time.

I think about my impression compared to those of relatives older than me. Has that moment in time been seared into your memory? An earlier version of 911 perhaps? And I wonder about our other blood relatives who still live in Viet Nam, like Khoa and his father, Uncle Thanh and family. How is this day regarded?

A lovely photo

Dear relatives,

Some of you have seen this photo already, but I wanted to share it on the blog. This is a photo of Tran Van Huong's family with my father, Tran Van Due.

I love the way it shows connection between families, and I'm glad that we not only continue to maintain that connection, but hopefully we'll take it one step further by communicating with each other on this blog.

I believe you can click the picture for a larger view. I'd love to hear what you think of this photo, and even better, perhaps share a picture from your own collection.

In kinship,
Theresa