Thang Nguyen 555

Haven’t we heard enough or watched enough! And the control room keeps punching “Stay tuned” graphics to fill up the empty air – precious air-time – without regards for our own time (in the times of pandemic, our time all of a sudden becomes more precious commodities – irreplaceable).

Or the field reporters would end the – we call it “stand-up” in ENG trade- with “only time will tell”.

Recent weeks finally prove those reports right: only time will tell (whether Taliban 2.0 is not like the Delta variant)….

Sure. Me too. I am waiting since I heard the press briefing in Kabul i.e. “women will have all the rights…WITHIN the limits of Islamic law”. Once, I watched a black/white documentary in class: the beheading of a princess (out of many princesses) who committed adultery…in Saudi….people dressed in all-white robes. That year, I also watched “Deep Throat” on campus, courtesy of Student Union (under Free Speech Amendment).

I wasn’t majoring in Cross-Cultural Communication back then. I was struggling with Speech 101, Political Sc 101, Econ 101 (micro-economics – learning about “diminishing return”).

Putting it together, just my freshman Winter quarter (back then, Penn State was still on quarterly system), we can roughly understand how the Kabul situation unraveled…there is no need for those “only time will tell” answers.

Geography (poppy) demography (young student girls) theocracy (Taliban & friends) and democracy (300,000 strong army); ALL tried to gain a foothold, to win hearts and minds, one cave at a time.

Sounds like a dust-off Vietnam campaign (Ap Chien Luoc)…and hamlets/cone-hats. With Thieu tipping his body guards a few thousand piasters (pocket change) before stepping on a one-way Tan Son Nhut – Taiwan flight, pulling a Ghani dissappearance (BTW, at least President Ford emptied his cash for TIME’s David Hume Kennedy, Ford’s personal photographer/envoy as he boarded an Army flight to cover Vietnam last days – President Ford trusted pictures more than slanted reports…his photo, with him holding an orphan refugee who made it to SFA says it all).

Meanwhile, out of Kabul, we read about the 10 Afghan all-female robotic team who got out thanks to an Oklahoman female scientist – already a mother of 9- who “had to do something”.

Maybe they can someday “lean-in” and take over facebook or tik tok or Instagram. Time will tell! (don’t you hate to see time, not flowing to infinity in a straight line…TIME has betrayed us, by going right by us who sit as front-row spectators watching history go by, feeling apathetic and side-lined by our inaction).

Last week, I wrote about the haunting eyes of Kabul (a thousand-yards stare). On this more hopeful blog, I touch on those Afghan girls on the Robotic team (international competition team).

Some day, I will put together a mini-Woodstock (my fantasy), with the Hell Angels surrounding the stage as bouncers…(never again, Altamont – West-Coast version of Woodstock, as in Grace Slick who got hurt) whose performers are band after band of multi-coloured singers and drummers…male/female and anything in between, singing about and for a world of Rainbow…(maybe cougars can squeeze male genitals back stage for catharsis – only after having donated VIP-level to the Afghan Refugee funds…just kidding).

That day comes, it’s my job to stand next to the power supplies (back up of back up) to ensure no sabotage.

And the Heaven Angels as back-up to the Hell Angels at the power-supply generator- solar ones.

Join me, dreamers and drummers! George Harrison pulled it off (of course a lot of phone calls and leveraging the Beatles’ success) at his concert for Bangladesh…After 2 Trillion dollars, why can’t we donate musical instruments for those who insist that DESPITE the Taliban’s ban on music, many of us – me included – will not be silent. (They can take away the stereo, but not the music).

There is “no time will tell” on this blog. Over my dead body…after you jumped over my backstage body guards. Vaccines and our stance for Democracy might suffer “diminishing return” (again, from Econ 101) but I know our love for music and mothers will never cease. Let’s fight again, and again. Whenever and however we can. Stay tuned!