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MacRamblings
Doug MacCallum '67-68 Back in September 2006 I travelled to Colorado Springs to do an initial recon for this May's Pikes Peak Party. Got stuck in the Dallas airport due to thunderstorms and found out there's no smoking anywhere in the airport so one has to go outside and come back through all the security aggravation. Texas ain't what it used to be!! Same can be said for American Airlines which I will never fly again. Took the frequent flyer miles I got (a year later) and got a couple of magazine subscriptions, one of which is for the Smithsonian. The March 2008 issue has a most interesting story by David Lamb called "Revolutionary Road." You might know it better as the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Guess he didn't want to use "Ho'' in the title. Not politically correct, just ask Don Imus who got fired for saying it on the air! Anyway, Viet Nam began construction in 2000 of this multi-lane highway which will run 1,980 miles, from the Chinese border to the tip of the Mekong Delta (ever heard of that?). Should be done in 20 years so you can start planning your trip if you'd like to travel its entire length. Got me thinking as to whether we had anything comparable and I-95 came to mind. Did some checking and found it runs from the Canadian border in Maine to Miami, some 1,907 miles. Should be extended to Key West to keep us in first place. Write your congressman! Interesting tidbit in the article stated that some NVA heading down Ho's Trail got tattoos before they left saying "Born in the North to die in the South." Wonder if Union soldiers did the same? Don't know if they had tattoos back in the 1860's. Or if the ink they used was imported from China and had so much lead in it that the guys croaked the next day. Ho Chi Minh (translates to He Who Enlightens) left Saigon in 1911 and spent 30 years abroad. Worked as a pastry chef in Boston, studied in Paris, went to Moscow and became a Commie agent, got back to Nam via China, Hong Kong and Thailand, and set up operations in mountain caves. At least he didn't see the North victorious, dying in 1969 at the age of 79. Caused by the sight of Jane Fonda or some activity with her? Must say the kid's been kept well hidden. Something the media will never do - ask the Democratic presidential candidates why Jane Fonda has never been tried for treason. Write your Senator about that one! Lamb toured Nam to do this story and says he stopped at a school where a fourth-grade teacher was "using PowerPoint to explain how Vietnam had outsmarted and defeated China in a war a thousand years ago. The students, sons and daughters of farmers, were dressed in spotlessly clean white shirts and blouses, red ties, blue pants and skirts. They greeted me in unison, 'Good morning and welcome, sir.' A generation ago they would have been studying Russian as a second language. Today it is English." Makes sense since the US is Vietnam's largest export market. I believe it - got a jacket earlier this year from LLBean and label said it had been made in Nam. Quality appears to be excellent by the way. The North was quite brutal toward those in the South who'd fought against it, at least for some 15 years after the 1975 victory. Re-education camps, property confiscation, famine, etc. made life miserable for millions, during a period many call the "Dark Years." Yet according to one interviewee people in Saigon no longer care if their neighbor fought for the North or South, it's just history. Can't say the same for our South!! Should be interesting to say the least as to what Nhan has to say when he visits. Hope we can get it recorded and written up for all who are interested. I'd also like to hear about the aftermath of Typhoon Durian which destroyed his restaurant. From a brief search, I see that there was price gouging and government incompetence. Had the former here after Hurricane Hugo when ice was $20 a bag and dinky little generators went for a couple grand. Thank Katrina for the latter! Don't know what happened to FEMA as I thought we did a good job when I worked for them after Floyd in 1999. Party time soon!! See you in Colorado. March 2008 |