A sad day and good cup of coffee

Kathy and her lovely kids……. oh… and us too

This blog was going to be about highland tours by those that
call themselves Easy Riders, but a late night email put that story on the back
burner.

Today I want to talk about two of the wonderful people who
have enhanced my life since I have been here. Some come as customers to the
hotel and become friends, others are readers of my blog of travel advice that
find time in their busy holidays to pop by for a visit.

Kathy Mullen was a gentle sole who loved Vietnamand the people. She was a
follower of this blog and a poster on the Trip
Advisor
forums. Her and her family honored us by staying in our hotel for a
couple of weeks and like so many that stay here, she became much more than a
customer…… she became a friend. From what I know of Kathy, she was a very
generous person who donated time and money to charitable causes in Cambodia and Vietnam. Besides having her own,
she adopted 4 children from Vietnam
and Cambodia
and raised them as her own. She also gave aid to the poor families that gave
the children up by building one family a small house and providing some
financial assistance to others. We enjoyed her kids beating us at cards in the
evening. Through the frustrations and hardship of handling 4 teenagers, she
always maintained a patience and positive outlook that I found displayed great strength
of character. We parted ways a couple of weeks ago with hugs and talk of seeing
each other again next year when sadly………. We received this email:

Comment: Owee,

> This is Aaron Musall, Kathys son. I wanted to let you know that my mother
> passed away on August 12 due to injuries suffered in a motorcycle
accident.
> I wanted to thank you for everything while we were in Nha Trang. My mother
> loved reading your blogs on the trip advisory and very much enjoyed
staying with you.

> Aaron

Today, Mai, I, Tram, Phuong, and Thao have endured the day with
lowered heads and saddened hearts.

 

On the lighter side, today, a repeat customer and new friend

Wayne………. my HERO!

showed up for his reservation. Some of you might know him as Fred1066 from the Trip
Advisor
forums.With him he brought a couple of coffee presses to replace
the one stolen and some beer cozies………. My Hero!!

Thanks to those of you who offered to bring for me, but as
you can see…. I am OK now, as I am getting my morning coffee again 😉

Thank you to all that offered to bring me a press, but we are OK now

 

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13 thoughts on “A sad day and good cup of coffee

  1. Hi Owen, Mai and gang……so sorry to read the post. I hope the children are well cared for and so good that she could be an encouragement to you and your home…we miss Nha Trang and Tide Hotel….tell many of how wonderful it is!

  2. Finally got back to reading your blog, sorry to hear about your friend it’s a shame when it happens to anyone let alone a person who will do so much to help others.
    As far as your coffee goes Mai in my opinion makes the best, miss it so much I tried to copy it but it just won’t taste the same as her’s. Thanks again for your hospitality & hope it won’t be too long before we get back.

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