Johnny Phoummany, New York

This picture was taken in 1982 by my mom on one of those rectangular 2x5 cameras. My dad was about 30 yrs old and they had just been in the States for 2 years, in Elmira, NY. This was in Horseheads, NY in the front yard of our sponsors. My dad was practicing playing kataw with his younger brother and his other Lao friend. He's always been very athletic and enjoyed sports. He played volleyball and of course kataw back in Luang Prabang. He was practicing his jumping when he tried to jump over the net, which is a little over 5 feet high. Pops had crazyyy hops. His jumping ability was legendary in our neighborhood. He jokes that my mom was attracted to him because of his legs.

When I was a kid, I'd wait for him to come home from a run and when he got back, I'd pick out leaves high in the tree in front of our house for him to jump up and grab. And as an adult, I love that he instilled the importance and fun of being involved in sports and physical fitness fitness. Whenever I look at this picture, it reminds me of that super hero feeling I had of him as a kid. He was my super hero, still is.