toss-up

Theme from Mahogany has a line “so many dreams just slipped through our hands”.

Then “do you know where you’re goin to, do you like the things life is showin you”.

I first heard that while drifting on Wake Island  summer 75.

Back then, I had one thing in mind: departure for the US.

Now, the table has turned. It’s a toss-up for me to come back States, or keep staying here in Vietnam.

I like it here, with all its problems and pain.

Perhaps I could identify with these folks more than with those “snow birds” in Florida. One of whom , in a public library, drew her LV purse closer by reflex (what had they done to her up in New York?) just as I was walking by.

Today, one can catch an Inter-Continental flight and be on the West Coast in less than a day.

They even have Yahoo VN here (along with Yahoo UK, Yahoo Philippines), just to get localized.

Broadband-enabled.

Instant snap shot, then instant transmission = Instagram.

Voila!

Sharing the moment with friends across the pond.

Do you know where you are sending to?

Do you like the things the Ipad is showing you?

I-pod got miniaturized, while a USB could be plugged into a portable speaker on the go.

When osmosis is complete, we will see more VietKieu like myself  stay for the longer term.

Already a new breed of  “snow birds” are forming, starting with repatriating singers and musicians.

(our own Nguyen A Chin, on the other hand, in-shorring to play in front of a homegrown audience of 500 in Virginia last month).

Yes, dreams slipped through our hands.

But if we hold on to at least one, right at dawn,  and make it a reality, then that’s ours for keep.

Do you like the things that life is showing you, do you know?

It’s a toss-up yet a step-up from my one-way nightmare on Wake Island back then.

It’s like I have finally arrived at the real Wake island on my mind. Free to go and free to stay.