The Story

Huy Nguyen is one of the thousands of Vietnamese “boat people” who came to America in the 1980s. His family is now settled in Florida. Three generations all live near one another. Though no one in the family was raised Christian, the Christmas season has real meaning for them. Also: A boy meets a real Santa Claus.

Dana and Patricia James have a story for the ages. It is a story that involved bravery, luck, and one man's idea to "pay forward" a forty-year-old kindness.

It all began with a proposal. Dana and Patricia decided to wed. Though they were poor at the time, Dana worked for an airline, so he got first class tickets anywhere he wanted. The two decided to take a honeymoon with a number of different stops across Asia. On one leg of the trip, they met a man on the plane named George Ishiyama. That man would do something Dana and Patricia remember to this day with awe.

Vesta Foshee died peacefully in the early hours of July 1, 2006. Her son, Donald, who cared for her in her final years, thought he had one less care when he called the funeral home that morning. Vesta had prepaid her funeral expenses in 1979. Don found, instead, that his burdens were just beginning. Clayton Smart, the new owner of Forest Hill Funeral Home, had decided that very day to invalidate over 13,000 prepaid funeral plans.

Adrienne Johnson wrote in after hearing our story about Reuben Appelman and his encounter with a childhood enemy on Facebook. Adrienne says her story is similar, except that she probably has more in common with the enemy.