Nguyen Quoc Tri Street: Small alley of memories

(Baonghean) - I came to that small street on a day of pouring rain. The first "resident" I met on Nguyen Quoc Tri "street" was little Ho Khanh Huyen, about 2 or 3 years old, squirming in her grandmother's arms and pointing out onto the street, asking to go out. Maybe because of the rain, because of the quiet sadness of the street, and because that little girl was so impressed with her clear eyes and the usual restlessness of children, I lit up my imagination: Oh yeah, if I were Khanh Huyen, 20 years from now, what would I remember about this place, how would I tell about this street?

Maybe at that time, some change pushed me far away from this city. Every time I step back to visit my hometown, I am bewildered. I am lost right in the place where I was born and raised. This road has become wide. There is no place for women selling pickles, empty car washes, small grocery stores. No more dust and potholes. No more empty gardens with rows of bananas and piles of mossy dashboards. There are only high-rise buildings and apartments close together.

Apartment complex under construction on Nguyen Quoc Tri street.

Maybe, at that time, the 23-year-old girl that I was, I would have had a fair amount of capital from my family, opened a beauty spa, sold cosmetics, for example, right on this ancestral land. So, for the rest of my life, I would never leave this place, and I would only feel secure when standing on the land where I was born and raised. Surely, at that time, the road would be wide open, next to the window where I used to stand with my grandmother and look out. I would work hard, would find a husband who loved his wife. Every morning when I woke up, my husband and I would open the door and welcome the first rays of sunlight shimmering on the glass. Surely, there would be transparent glass with light pink curtains...

…When I was born, the road was already there. A small asphalt road, with some bumps. It was like a hidden alley, suddenly disappearing amidst the hustle and bustle of buying and selling, the colorful and crowded traffic of Nguyen Van Cu Street - a large and dynamic road of the city.

At that time, I was a 2-year-old girl, sitting in the lap of my aunt who came from the countryside to the city to babysit my nephew while my mother was busy looking after the family store on Le Loi Street. My mother was busy all day, but to me, that was no longer too important. Not only because of my aunt, but our alley number 1 had only 4 "strange" families, meaning 4 families who had just moved here, but the remaining 18 families were relatives, counting me, I was in this land for the 7th generation. So, every now and then, my uncles and aunts would come over to look at my nephew. I also often wandered over to Uncle Cong's house to play. He lived right at the beginning of the alley. And looking over there was a "Children's Playground" - with quite a lot of toys and games in a not-so-big store, but in my eyes, it was a fun and attractive world. However, gradually, the playground did not attract customers, the door was often closed. Surely, I was disappointed many times when I saw those closed doors. Usually, at that time, I asked my grandmother to carry me to the grocery store across the street. Next to it, there was an ice cream counter. The older brothers and sisters, every time they went to study at the Eland English Center at the beginning of the street, right at the intersection with Nguyen Xuan On Street, would invite each other there, sweating profusely to buy delicious ice cream, eating while wiping their mouths with their sleeves...

While I was engrossed in looking around, my aunt happily chatted with Mrs. Khang, who sold pickles nearby. A wooden table, a few plastic boxes, and customers who were all familiar faces. That pickle shop was a stop for women when they came back from the market. They bought some more pickles and chatted. From the story of their drunken husbands last night to their children's studies, to the story of donating trees and money to repair the road... I remember, at the end of 2014, when the English Center was demolished, I was a little sad because I could no longer see the children chattering away on their way to school, but only saw the messy holes. Then the "Upside Down" cafe located on the land of the Petroleum Mineral Company - a "different" feature of the street because of the shop's name, because of the "style" of the shop with the windows that looked upside down, was also gradually being eliminated. I wonder what they are planning to do with that land? Maybe an apartment project?

In the eyes of children, all these changes have no impact. Perhaps, there is a bit of curiosity when the construction site is messy and dirty. But for adults, it is a different story.

My uncle Cong (uncle Ho Viet Cong) was the head of Vinh Quang block at that time. His whole life was attached to this land, full of joy and sadness, but more sadness when witnessing those changes. He was the one who told me: You know, the street we are on is named after a hero during the anti-French resistance, one of the first 5 heroes of our Army. (Meanwhile, my parents didn't seem to know much about hero Nguyen Quoc Tri when I asked him to write an essay describing the street of my house). That day, he borrowed a bicycle and took me all the way to the end of the street.

It turns out that my Nguyen Quoc Tri street is not only on this side of Nguyen Van Cu street, not only in Hung Binh ward, but also has a long stretch across Nguyen Van Cu, connecting to Yen Phuc A block in Hung Phuc ward. The other side is a completely different space, with a contemplative look, and lovely villas, rows of trees, flower trellises with gently drooping leaves. "These are mainly new houses, my dear. They also just bought land and built houses after the city expanded, but before this whole area was still very deserted" - My uncle said, seemingly not to me, but also to himself.

My uncle is a person who loves the road he lives on to the core and more than anyone else, he shows that love through the responsibility of a citizen. In the early 90s of the 20th century, like hundreds of households here, my uncle was a member of the Binh Vinh Agricultural Cooperative. At that time, this road only had residents living on the left side, while the right side was a water spinach field and rice fields. At that time, it was a small, narrow dirt road, just enough for 2 motorbikes to go back and forth. In 1994, when the People's Committee of Hung Binh Ward hired the Agricultural Cooperative to carry out the "revolution" of upgrading the small road to a graded road and widening the lanes, my uncle, along with many members, directly participated in that "campaign", personally mixing each batch of cement, shoveling each shovel of sand, working day and night. He said that strength came from youth, but above all, it was the joy of thinking that what he did today was contributing to his children and grandchildren having a more decent life in the future. Since then, every year, residents of this street contribute labor and money to repair and renovate the road.

Associations and groups in the neighborhood also contributed trees to plant to dream of an ecological road covered with green trees. There are cajuput trees, acacia trees, milk flowers... We will have a cool green road, chirping birds in the heart of the city... But then, I know he was sad when the dream road with nearly 20-year-old trees was cut down one day when the rice field was sold to the General Mineral Corporation for an apartment building project. The road will be more majestic, but the dream of trees is no longer there. My uncle and many other residents have been shocked for years every morning when they wake up and see the absence of green trees... Not to mention the cement, sand and gravel of this messy construction project have clogged all the sewers and gas pits. The heavy trucks carrying materials have also promptly deformed the road more and more. Accepting the price of development, for my uncle and the long-time residents of this street, perhaps it is too expensive. My uncle said, "Maybe I'm too conservative," with an undisguised sigh.

There are so many more, let me talk about my street, about the road where I took my first steps, about the row of new boarding houses that were just starting to spring up in 2005, 2006 for low-income people, about the car wash shop where Mr. Binh - a resident from another place came to this street to do business, put up a big, funny sign: "Dad Binh washes cars..." I remembered the sentences in the essay I wrote describing the street when I was in 2nd grade: "The street where my house lives is Nguyen Quoc Tri street. The street is not very big but during rush hour it is quite crowded with people and vehicles. Every morning, my mother takes me to school by motorbike...".

Nguyen Quoc Tri, such a familiar name, yet one day I was filled with surprise, emotion, and pride when standing in the Military Zone 4 Museum, listening to the tour guide introduce the kepi hat, the garrison shirt, and the National Hero certificate of hero Nguyen Quoc Tri, which were placed solemnly in the Museum's exhibition room.

“The son of Phuong Ky village, Da Son commune, Do Luong, from a soldier, became a wise and brave commander. From his continuous achievements on the battlefields, his bravery and creativity in battles, Nguyen Quoc Tri was given the phrase “Steadfast as copper - Quick as a squirrel” by General Vo Nguyen Giap. In the National Congress of Emulation Soldiers and Exemplary Cadres on May 19, 1952 in the Viet Bac resistance base, Nguyen Quoc Tri was awarded the title of Hero of the Army along with other heroes: Cu Chinh Lan, La Van Cau, Nguyen Thi Chien... This was the first time our army awarded the title of Hero.

After 9 years of protracted resistance, creating the Dien Bien Phu victory that shook the world, on October 10, 1954, the leader of the victorious army entering the capital was Hero Nguyen Quoc Tri. When the military band played the song: "Marching Song", the Capital Regiment stood in line, the honor of raising the flag was given to comrade Nguyen Quoc Tri, commander of the Regiment...

The resistance war against the French had just ended, our nation immediately entered a new war against the Americans to save the country. At this time, the land of Military Zone 4 became a hot line of fire in the confrontation with the invaders. In March 1962, after graduating from the senior officer training course in China, Nguyen Quoc Tri volunteered to work and fight in his homeland. On August 16, 1967, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Quoc Tri, Principal of the Military School of Military Zone 4, fell on his homeland while inspecting troops at the anti-aircraft artillery site in Phuong Ky village, the very place where he was born and raised.

And at this moment, when I was opening the door of my house, I met myself 20 years ago. Of the little girl sitting on her grandmother's lap, wiggling her hands and pointing towards the rainy road. Nguyen Quoc Tri Street, the road of my childhood, of love and nostalgia that never fades...

Vinh City - Chi Ward