Death of a friend

He once said he had five years to do what he had set out to do i. e. get the school up and running in full swing.

Now he is gone. Heart attack.

The last time we had lunch together at a German burger joint was exactly three months ago.

He expressed concerns about enrollment, the quality of students and teachers and the efficacy of his strategy (try-run the first group, and turn them into T.A’s).

I remembered thinking to myself ” here is a man who knows his time , his limitations and expectations”. I respected him for that.

I should have sent that email  (to encourage and see how enrollment was going.)

I have not. And now it’s irrelevant.

This blog should be about celebration of a life.

But actually it’s about missed opportunities.

We all know this too well.

I am sure his first group of students are grieving.

I wonder if he had delivered his “Last Lecture”.

But in a way, I am sure he did: his last suit cases from America back to Vietnam (2 check-ins) were full of  text books.

He wanted to make sure the school got best practices, even when his recruits come from the country side, his birth place where he obviously felt quite attached to.

I could relate to that. If you knew you only had a few months left to learn and laugh, would you go out and buy a VHS futuristic movie, a manuscript that talks about the
Earth is square, and a Manual on how to run a mainframe?

He left not just updated texts. He left a legacy of continuous learning. And the name of the school is embedded in that philosophy: 3-Generation English School.

I am making a mental note to pack a few latest texts to donate to the school library on my next trip. I am sure he would be pleased.