In skiing it’s considered the fast lane, the lonely lane; the best lane. You skip all those threes and fours and join those who’ve lost their partner(s) and you meet someone new with every trip up. If you’re lucky, they’ll be better than you, they’ll share stories and hints and information about trails, you’ll tag along for the next one or two Black Diamond runs. They’ll force you to push yourself, something you wouldn’t have done, at least not to this degree, without them. You learn, you grow, and then it’s down to the bottom and the next great ride on the Singles’ Only Lane.
I finally had him cornered.
“Pair up for this boat ride to the floating houses,” Tiger Liam, our guide through the Me Kong Delta said. And their I was, thinking, ‘There’s 13 of us, back in the Singles’ Lane.’
We were on the second day of a 3-day boat jaunt through provinces along the Cai Be River and Me Kong Rivers. This one was a 3-hour row boating tour in Chau Doc to see the caged fish breeding farms and towel weaving factories before returning to the bus for a short trip to the Cham village, a Muslim mosque, a crocodile farm and of course another Pagoda; the Tay An. Not to mention almost as big and definitely as impressive as the pagoda, a site where many had witnessed spiritual apparitions and miracles.
“I was an interpreter working with the Americans in the 22nd Infantry Division between 1967 to 1973,” Tiger said once we got under way. Had he read my mind? Right off the bat he’d been very informative about the country stating statistics about the lengths and widths of the rivers, the fact that even though “We are the second largest exporter of rice only to Thailand, so why is it that so many go hungry right here in Vietnam?” Of course he never said that in English, which was spotty at times, but Michele let us in on that one, among many others. “I can answer any questions you like, but please don’t ask me any politics questions.”
“I was with the military for eight years,” he continued, as Ngot, our 15-year-old, rower, strained from his standing position and an older woman rowed passed us.
“I worked translating for half an hour to an hour everyday depending on the action.” Tam, 66, said. “Later, I worked on the Medical Helicopters with C2, C3 and C4 generals. I remember Colonel Hollis, from Austin Texas, and Colonel Russell and Colonel Abrams.
“They all left in 1973, but the war wasn’t over. I went to the Vietnamese Army’s 25th Division for two more years. After that I was sent to a Re-education Camp. I stayed there for one year three months.”
We weren’t even halfway to our first stop yet, as he explained a reunion of sorts with his favorite colonel.
“In 1994 a colonel from Michigan returned and with his help he found Colonel Hollis in Texas.”
“Did he come to visit?”
“No, but we wrote and he sent $400. With that money I put my children through university. I have two girls and four boys. My eldest, Phung, was born in 1970 and I remember the day Colonel Hollis held her. She’s a doctor now.”
Unfortunately the pay scale here isn’t nearly so dramatic for his children and their professions.
“My eldest son, born in 1975 is a high school teacher, like his mother was,” Tiger said. “He makes $100 a month and Phung makes about $120 a month. My other son is 28 now, he was born in 1979, he’s a Mechanical Engineer, another is a Textile Engineer. My youngest son, Cuong, is living in Japan for a year. He just left in April and he’s in computers and he also studied Foreign Languages at university. The youngest (girl) is also working in the hospital.”
“What about their mother?”
“We have been married for 40 years this year,” he smiled. “She taught for many year, but she’s retired now.”
Do Epic Shit 