Mr. Ross

Mr. Ross is truly an amazing guy; not only that, he is a very-very good friend of mine.

The encounter with Ross wasn't just a casual introduction or misshap; no, I know our meeting each other was deliberate and much needed.

Let me explain...

Back in October of 2001, I attended a Vietnamese conference in Seattle, sponsored by an organization called VAN - Vietnamese Adoptee Network. It was a chance for me to interact with other adoptees of my own age and from the same country that I came from. Never have been around a great number of adoptees at one time I didn't know what to think or what to expect.

My wife and I got to the venue and we were introduced to a couple of the leaders of the event. Kelly, who was one of the board members learned that I was adopted from FCVN and stated that one of the presenters for the conference used to work for FCVN. I thought this was great because I can finally meet someone who worked for the same organization that I was adopted through.

We had joined up with a couple of other people at a table and started to visit when Kelly had me meet someone. So I stood up and introduced myself and as we were shaking hands Ross said to me, "You know, something about you looks very familiar to me." I was dumbfound, I mean what could I say?

I told Ross that I had my adoption papers with me and he was welcome to look at them. As he was thumbing through my documents he was able to identify some of the information he was reading; such as locations and individuals who had left their signatures. He then came upon my passport and it was there when the revelation was revealed. He saw my passport picture and declared, "That's how I know you...I took that picture!" I quized him a couple of times to make sure but he was certain that he took that picture.

The flood gate of questions began to flow and I was probing for whatever answers I could find. Now keep in mind...I had never "officially" met Ross before, and so after 27 years, he was able to recognize me from a baby picture that he took at the FCVN house in Viet Nam; I was 2 1/2 years old back then.

From that single encounter with Ross, I knew that my life had changed forever. The weekend at the conference had brought a lot of closure for me. To this day I still stay in touch with Ross. I get to see him every now and then when we meet up at adoption events.

Mr. Ross will forever be a crucial part of my life!!!