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"The View from Vu"
...AIDS Rider 2000

Vu's full name is Vu Nguyen. He is this year's volunteer to Grace House from the Jesuit Volunteer Service and in this capacity he "wears many hats". He is a caregiver to the residents, works with the volunteers to Grace House, conducts initial interviews and tours of the houses, schedules the cooks and whatever else needs doing.

      He says he goes where the wind takes him. "I'm no planner," he says, "I just let the wind blow and things work out." The Wind, of which he speaks so confidently, took him from Vietnam, to New Orleans, to Orange County, California, to seminary and college, to Minnesota, to Grace House, and eventually will take him joyfully to Chicago, as part of the OZ AIDS bicycle ride.

      He'll be riding with the AIDS Team because his dedication to service runs deep within him. It's not enough that his Wind brought him to Grace House for a year of volunteering with the Jesuit Volunteer Service. He wants to do more. He wants to "put his money where his mouth is," or in his case, his body where his dedication is. He's willing, he's even eager, to "go the extra 500 miles."

      He's already put in a lot of miles toward his quest. Soon after he decided to attempt the ride, with the encouragement of buddies who told him "what a blast it was last year," Vu realized he had some serious business to attend to. The entry fee was $2300.00. He said he "nearly freaked" when he heard that.

      Vu set about, with the assistance of his girlfriend and his family in California, to arrange two days of Open Houses, so he could tell relatives and friends about the AIDS ride and his need for donations. He's a believer -- and the evidence suggests he made believers out of his listeners too. He challenged his uncles to ping pong matches, he auctioned off tee-shirts, he sent hundreds of letters out to people he knew in Denver and California, and he told them, for an extra $50.00 he'd give them tee-shirts: He has raised $4,000.00.

      He says he got a lot of support. Riders from previous years who were his biggest inspiration, provided him with a bicycle, riding shorts, helmet, and the gear for the long trip. He reveres these people. He's grateful to them all -- all the people who helped him to realize this dream.

      Vu has seen dreams come true in the past. When he was eleven years old, his family, sponsored by the family of his father, began their efforts to leave Vietnam. Twice they were scheduled to leave. Twice the people who had agreed to make arrangements disappeared with their money. Vu says this was complicated because the Vietnamese currency was so unstable, the payments had to be made in gold. The third attempt found the family on an airplane headed for the United States. Vu says that wasn't too bad. "It was a lot better than riding the helicopter." Vu smiles. He makes light of the rigors of flight and of the complexities of adjusting to a new country. He says, "Lucky for me, I was a smart kid. I was good at math, but English took a few months." He made his adjustments to the American culture. His family taught him the value of hard work and tenacity. His father worked two jobs, his mother had an outside job and maintained their home.

      Vu's ready. He's been riding to work every day and has been doing weight training for almost a year. He's earned his money. He's going to help his mother and dad celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary in Denver where he will meet his girlfriend. She's coming back with him to be part of the Aids Ride. She's an Emergency Medical Technician and will provide medical support to the riders.

      Vu's face becomes serious as he talks of the stories he's heard from the residents of Grace House and others in the community. He talks of the stigma that still exists, of the poverty and the pain of having families turn their backs on the AIDS sufferers. He says he's learned how complicated the disease is and he is frustrated by the complications. But, he says it's a "piece of cake" taking care of eight residents. He says his job isn't hard at all. He wants to do more.

      So he's going to bicycle 500 miles. He says what will sustain him is that he will have fun, all the way, every day. He's not worried. He's got a God who supplies the wind.

Ronnie Angelus says: "There are three things that make my life work: Talking to my daughter who opens vistas to me and makes me laugh; being in the circle of the Divas, my writing group, who shout "go girl" and give me standing ovations with their smiles and tears; sitting next to Mary and Claude Paradis during Sunday Mass at St. Joan of Arc, which is as close to pure goodness as I will know in this lifetime."

Ronnie B. Angelus
July 2000