My #1 Priority

Sitting in my business/financial/insurance office in 2002, with my father still by my side, I would have never imagined my #1 Priority as it is today. As it sits now, 21 years after his passing, I still miss my father as much as the first day he left this world and the tears of sadness roll down my cheek as I think of the man that tried his damnedest to clear the trail of life for his son (me). I also know he will never meet the truest of true loves that means more than anything in this world to me. It always shakes me to the core when I even think about it. Dad, this is Sophorn……..and, so the conversation and relationship should have started.

I am a treasure hunter at heart. I am in search of ancient treasures both buried and lost through time. The stories that will be told, will in essence, hopefully, get some of you motivated to journey with me on an epic path, filled with excitement, danger and just plain adventure! But , first, allow me to formally introduce the best woman in the world for me, Ms. Sophorn.

Sophorn has had a difficult life to say the least. Her family was affected, in part, by the great atrocity of the Khmer Rouge. The Khmer Rouge was, the Cambodian Holocaust, with upwards of 2+ million people killed in 1975–79. Cambodian people killed their own people, along with anybody else that was present and had a brain (intelligence). The Pol Pot (leader) regime believed in an agrarian society. It was deemed to be the most pure form of life. Anyone that resisted or thought otherwise were killed or tortured in the killing fields. The Khmer Rouge is well-documented, but there are stories you will not hear, that never made it to the public forum. These untold stories from the villages will show you how mankind can be so wicked and unjust. I have knowledge of these stories and will discuss when time allows. Now, back to Ms. Sophorn.

Sophorn was a teacher working for a period of 10 years for a local NGO, helping out the poorest of poor, get an education and succeed in life. Sophorn’s audience consisted of children who had no living parents, children who lived in actual trash heaps, children who had to take a canoe to school because of flooding and lack of roads/infrastructure and so on. Her life was filled with joy when she could impart her world onto them and allow them to open their minds to the outside world, rather than just beyond their immediate daily needs. Sophorn then spent time as a clothes seller and other various jobs to survive. When we met, it just felt right, it was as if, we were somehow connected and I was a completely changed man. And, I thank her for that. Sophorn has guided me in the right direction, even if I like to sidestep a bit too much. She keeps me on the straight and narrow and allows for only the most minor miscues. She is my rock and I love her.

When life deals you the hand you have been drawn, take a moment, pause, and think to yourself, how should I play? If you choose right, the riches will come, not just with monies for survival, but with moments that you will cherish for a lifetime. We live on this planet for such a short time, it is imperative we make something of our lives and find meaning to it. However you find your meaning and what you do with it, is your own decision and no one can criticize you for that. Your life is just that, your life, never be dictated to and told how to be if you do not deep down desire it. Stand up or sit down and be counted for in your own way and in your own time. You will be happy you did, I know I am.

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Original story (created by me) published on Medium.com. Any changes and/or updates that have been added on Vocal.media are for content consumption purposes.

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