Good-bye handsome; another accident; odd place

My son Alec left Vietnam on Thursday last week, breaking the hearts of countless girls and women in Bien Hoa and beyond. I really enjoyed seeing him ... up to a point. What bothered me was how everyone said that Alec was handsome, good-looking, and even, ugh, beautiful. And handsome. And even worse was the fact that no one credited Alec's dad with passing on the good looks. Alec and I got massages together at "New Style."  Our cots were side by side during the massages, and my massage girl kept staring at Alec while rubbing my right forearm, which gives me no problem whatsoever. That really ticked me off. My girl was drooling over Alec, while his massage girl was touching his tattoos like they were the Ark of the Covenant. The girls mumbled something about "old" and then focused even more on Alec. I told the girls he was 25, and joked that I was 26. One girl fired back that I was 62, not 26. I hate a smart-ass. Other than a few stomach issues for both of us, Alec's visit was awesome. I really miss him and our long walks and talks and coffee together, and I look forward to seeing him and my other wonderful children this Thanksgiving.
I had two fantastic classes Saturday night, but afterwards when I was going home at 9:15 p.m., a motorbike rear-ended my motorbike and cracked my back light cover.  Two young dudes were on the offending bike. They were both wearing long black pants and long-sleeved white shirts, which is the uniform here. I was turning left from the left-hand side of the right lane with my lights and turn signal on. What an idiot I am. I'm not sure what the hell the guys behind me were doing, but I heard their mouths running and tires skidding just before impact, so either they didn't see me or they chose to hit me. No big deal. They didn't flee like the other two ass clowns that hit me, and they even apologized. I asked if they were OK, they said yes, and we went our separate ways. I had no ill effects from the accident, although my ankle still bothers me from the previous wreck.
Sunday, I saw a good deed that brightened my day. A bike with a dad, mom and son on board  was cruising along when a gust of pre-rain wind  blew off the boy's cap. An elderly lady riding behind the family stopped her bike in the middle of the road, picked up the boy's cap, waved to the family to return, and gave the boy his cap. We all smiled at each other as I rode by.
The rainy season is getting under way here, but the heat continues to be unsettling. Even my patient, beautiful, Vietnamese wife is complaining about the heat, which peaks at 99 F daily with a "feels like" index of 109. And it's super humid. Adding to the air quality is the daily trash burning in Bien Hoa. There's nothing like the smell of melting plastic and styrofoam on a 99-degree day.
Vietnam continues to be a real yin and yang for me. I see the good samaritan elderly lady stop for the hat, and on the same trip I see some guy on a bike throw his plastic coke bottle in the street while riding next to me. What a turd. But there are turds everywhere, which explains the trash in the street, the plastic bags in the water and all over the beach at Vung Tau. Some people here are so kind and generous and thoughtful, while others seem to live to cut in line and litter. Of course, this isn't just Vietnam, which has been through so much over the past decades. Besides, schizophrenia is everywhere. But right now the White Monkey is here, so this is what I write about.
One of my favorite coffee shops, Vangs, closed. It was replaced by the Texas Coffee and Tea Shop, or something like that. The new place looks like a Starbucks and I'm not sure why there's a Texas reference, but what the hell do I know? I'm more familiar with Texas steak.
Phuong is in her eighth month of pregnancy and officially lost her belly button on Friday. Well, she didn't actually lose it, but her "innie" became an "outie". No matter. I'll always love her.