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.
Thang Nguyen 555 