A Brief Life Summary of Midtown Resident, David Kha David Kha demonstrates the French bikini

A friend of mine calls me the Forrest Gump of Midtown. It is true that have had some unusual experiences: I met Hubert Humphrey and John Kennedy before he was President; I was in Birmingham during the height of the civil rights movement; I visited the Haight-Ashbury district in San Francisco during the height of the anti-war movement. So maybe  I am Forrest Gump: "Life is a box of chocolates." Read on and you decide.

Growing Up in Vietnam
I was born in Hanoi in 1940. My father was a businessman and was forced to move around the country to avoid the Communist insurgency. My father once said to me, "I have lost everything, but I gained my freedom." He sent me to high school in Hue, a city in central Vietnam, to avoid the increasing conflict in the North.

Hue (pronounced like "way") was a beautiful city and a wonderful place for a young boy to grow up. There was a strong French influence in the city, which included many sidewalk cafe's where I would meet with my friends. One memory that is etched in my mind is the sight of the high school girls walking by the cafes each day after school, their beautiful white flowing silk dresses fluttering around them in the breeze.

Coming to the United States for College
I lived with a Catholic priest while in high school. When a visiting Belgium priest came to dinner, he mentioned that he had a scholarship available in the United States. He asked if I wanted to go. I said, "Sure!" Just like that, my life was changed forever. In 1960, I received a scholarship to Saint John's University near Minneapolis, Minnesota. I went there to study political science.

Marriage and Children
I married Sharon Heinrichs in 1967. I met her in Minnesota. She was studying at Bethel College, and I was set up on a blind double-date with my friend Thu Phan. We went to a state fair. Sharon wasn’t aware that this was a date…what a surprise for her! On the way back, it was getting cold. I offered her my sweater and then it hit her: this was a date. It must have been ok, because we ended up getting married and having a son four years later. David Jr. was born in 1971. He still lives in Tucson, has graduated from the UofA and has a successful career at America Online.

Moving to Tucson
In 1970, I moved with my family to Tucson. We were fleeing the cold weather in Minnesota and I had a friend who lived here and told me it was warm. Since moving here, many things have happened that are important to me:

 

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