In Memoriam of Mom: Van Nop Ney
June 27, 1958 - June 24, 2023
June 27, 1958 - June 24, 2023
Published by Sareth Ney on June 27, 2023 at 7:15 p.m.
Updated on June 27, 2023 at 8:41 p.m. |
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TAKEO PROVINCE, CAMBODIA--June 27 would have been Van Ney’s birthday and she was my mom. She passed away on June 24 at 8:40 p.m. Eastern. She was 64 years old. I set up the dedication line, like I had done for my other articles. I decided to write an 840 word article, in her honor.
Like a lot of Cambodians and along with my father, she escaped the Khmer Rouge when she was younger. They had $0.25 between them, trekked barefoot, avoided landmines, guerilla armies, insects were part of their dietary intake, gave birth to my sister at a Thailand refugee camp and found freedom in the United States.
Like a lot of Cambodians and along with my father, she escaped the Khmer Rouge when she was younger. They had $0.25 between them, trekked barefoot, avoided landmines, guerilla armies, insects were part of their dietary intake, gave birth to my sister at a Thailand refugee camp and found freedom in the United States.
My parents welcomed me into the world on December 27, 1982 in Boulder, Colo. There was a blizzard outside. I could not remember much until the age of nine, other than the family vacations we took. She worked at Longmont Foods. Then, she sewed clothes for Ocean Pacific and ties for another company. I remembered how my parents would alternate day shifts with graveyard shifts. We rarely had babysitters. My sister and I learned English through daytime television. English was our second language. My parents taught us Khmer, Cambodia’s official language, first.
We moved to Pueblo, Colo. They needed to keep me off the streets, even though they enrolled their kids into karate class. We both bailed on karate class. My parents hired me as a dishwasher at their restaurant, after my family relocated and settled. I would wash the silverware, cups and dishes. I stood on a Coca-Cola crate to reach the dishes at the bottom of the sink. My mother helped me wash the pots and pans. We kept each other company, while she chopped the ingredients and wrapped the appetizers.
Mom let me stay home during the week and watch more television. I learned to talk about people’s mothers in the worst way, after watching "The Dirty Dozens” on “In Living Color”. I memorized the books inside and out. My classmates could not wait to hear me snap and made a big scene, every time I was about to battle the others.
In 2008, we drove to Beverly Hills and I nailed my internship with Clive Barker. Clive invited me back but I had to graduate from Colorado State University-Pueblo, first. My parents told me they were visiting me with a relative and I was able to take them on a tour of Clive’s studio. They were amazed by the spectacular sights and they did not fear the horror icons Clive had created, as they were pictured along the main hallway. My parents helped me pay for the first couple of months rent. Then, I had to get a day job to accompany the Los Angeles lifestyle and I had to learn how to really hustle to keep my Hollywood dream alive. I ended up getting a movie credit at the end of “Nightbreed: The Director’s Cut”. It was my way of my continuing our family name, since I knew I was never having children to carry on ours.
We moved to Pueblo, Colo. They needed to keep me off the streets, even though they enrolled their kids into karate class. We both bailed on karate class. My parents hired me as a dishwasher at their restaurant, after my family relocated and settled. I would wash the silverware, cups and dishes. I stood on a Coca-Cola crate to reach the dishes at the bottom of the sink. My mother helped me wash the pots and pans. We kept each other company, while she chopped the ingredients and wrapped the appetizers.
Mom let me stay home during the week and watch more television. I learned to talk about people’s mothers in the worst way, after watching "The Dirty Dozens” on “In Living Color”. I memorized the books inside and out. My classmates could not wait to hear me snap and made a big scene, every time I was about to battle the others.
In 2008, we drove to Beverly Hills and I nailed my internship with Clive Barker. Clive invited me back but I had to graduate from Colorado State University-Pueblo, first. My parents told me they were visiting me with a relative and I was able to take them on a tour of Clive’s studio. They were amazed by the spectacular sights and they did not fear the horror icons Clive had created, as they were pictured along the main hallway. My parents helped me pay for the first couple of months rent. Then, I had to get a day job to accompany the Los Angeles lifestyle and I had to learn how to really hustle to keep my Hollywood dream alive. I ended up getting a movie credit at the end of “Nightbreed: The Director’s Cut”. It was my way of my continuing our family name, since I knew I was never having children to carry on ours.
Stand-up comedy was my next dream, after my horror years. Growing up, my mom had a dirty sense of humor. I was a reflection of her on stage because my jokes were filthy. I earned the nicknames “The Cleanest, Dirtiest Comic In Daytona Beach” and “The Poet Laureate of PornHub”. My parents watched me perform stand-up once, during my early years of stand-up. They did not get it, due to the language barrier. They still supported another of my dreams though and that was all I could ask for. When they saw what Jo Koy said about me, they had a big smile on their faces.
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A couple of months after finding out ma was diagnosed, I told less than a handful of people. I needed to stay close to my mother. As the cancer spread--I walked away from stand-up comedy, on Feb. 15, 2023. It was difficult watching my mother feel weak and powerless, due to cancer. She was the strongest woman I knew. She tried everything she could to stay alive, with different forms of therapy.
As I prepared for my mother’s passing, I would like to thank the following comedians for helping me: C.J. Couch, Kevin Tibbert, Rudy Mulamba, Christina Schriver and Ignat Slepokourov. They helped keep my chin up, when I was feeling down. Their conversations meant the world to me.
On mother’s deathbed, my father told me I was her favorite. When I told her I was thinking about ending my festivals, Sareth-Fest Music & Comedy Festival (Pueblo & Daytona Beach), she was mad. I have decided to keep them going and honoring her by putting her name on the back of the shirts, with the artists. Her name would be everywhere and never forgotten.
There was not a dry eye in sight, as my mom crossed over into her next life.
In the words of the Lead Cenobite, “No tears please. It’s a waste of good suffering.”
I love you, Mom.
As I prepared for my mother’s passing, I would like to thank the following comedians for helping me: C.J. Couch, Kevin Tibbert, Rudy Mulamba, Christina Schriver and Ignat Slepokourov. They helped keep my chin up, when I was feeling down. Their conversations meant the world to me.
On mother’s deathbed, my father told me I was her favorite. When I told her I was thinking about ending my festivals, Sareth-Fest Music & Comedy Festival (Pueblo & Daytona Beach), she was mad. I have decided to keep them going and honoring her by putting her name on the back of the shirts, with the artists. Her name would be everywhere and never forgotten.
There was not a dry eye in sight, as my mom crossed over into her next life.
In the words of the Lead Cenobite, “No tears please. It’s a waste of good suffering.”
I love you, Mom.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sareth Ney is the journalist for A Quarter and Dream Pictures. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mass Communications from Colorado State University-Pueblo. He is a former apprentice to master of horror, Clive Barker. He is a Wu-Tang Clan inspired superhero, Wu-Man Chu. He is an award-winning short filmmaker, stand-up comedian, storyteller, fashion designer, philanthropist, founder of Pueblo's Independent Multimedia Podcast and festival director at both Sareth-Fest Music and Comedy Festivals. He is the creator of Corazon Comedy Festival and “Confessions of the Corazon: A Night of Storytelling”. His comedy masterpiece is nine hours long.