A Tale of a Guru -- My Guru

Unlike most Old Baguettes, I have a computer guru. During the Viet Nam War, children from San Francisco to New York were routinely playing electronic games, fiddling with the latest gadgets, and developing their computer skills. It's easy to understand why they're the computer wizards of today. Over in Viet Nam, my guru and his sister didn't play, fiddle, or develop computer skills. While their father was off fighting, the children and their mother remained in their remote village. Their focus was on survival. Survival was tough, but they developed survival skills. When the infrastructure was destroyed, the village no longer had basic amenities like electricity. In fact, years later, neither child could remember seeing anything generated by electricity or run by electricity.

Serious stuff began happening all at once. My guru's father was captured and killed in a prisoner of war camp. His sister developed a virulent case of tuberculosis and needed immediate medical attention, and he himself would soon be of draft age. Lest her daughter die and her son be killed, his mother bought passage for them on a creaky boat headed for the Philippines and safety. The boat made it to the Philippines, but the captain couldn't be bothered to dock her. He let his passengers off in the ocean, and my guru swam to shore with his sister on his back. The two spent three years in a refugee camp in the Philippines, another three years without electricity, and then they flew to the United States.

The two ended up as the foster children of a friend of mine, a nurse with experience in refugee camps and a knowledge of tuberculosis. My guru's sister was sent to the mountains of Colorado, and my guru was sent to the local high school. On the plane from the Phillipines, at my friend's house, and at the local high school, my guru saw electricity at work for the first time. After just one month in school, his teacher called my friend. It seems the young man was a genius who required advanced courses in electricity and electronics. Off he went to become the guru of many. That he is one of the wizards of today ia amazing!

He and his sister brought their mother here to be with them. His sister lived far longer than anyone could have expected. She had a rich life. My guru is married and has a lovely daughter.

For the record: My guru's last name is Nguyen, a common name in Viet Nam like Smith or Johnson here. It is pronounced "Win." Isn't that fitting?