Daycare mom in hospital; motorbike moron swerves around Joanna; coffee shop accuses me of not paying

The mom of two little girls in our daycare group has been admitted to a hospital in Ho Chi Minh City with an abscess in her liver. We don't have any information on the source or cause of the abscess, but doctors are considering surgery to remove the part of the liver that's been affected, according to the mom.  The mom, who is very bright, is also one of my English students. Obviously, we're quite upset by the news. The mom complained of stomach pain on Friday, and the pain became so severe that she went to the hospital. Tests revealed the abscess. This woman is only 31 years old and her mom passed away recently. I'm a proponent of second and third opinions from other doctors, especially when surgery is being strongly considered. I hope the situation can be handled with medicine rather than any kind of invasive procedure.

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Our daycare kids circle me like buzzards when I try to eat something that they might also like. For example, my frozen chocolate milk in the morning is now a sensation with the kids. So is my frozen yogurt. I guess it's just as well since mooching kids keep me from getting as big as a house with all the food that I eat. But when it's the last yogurt, or last cookie or cupcake, well ... kids rule in our house so guess who gets the goods.

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We walked to the park with our nine daycare kids last week, and Phuong bought this bungee cord type of thing with plastic rings that the children hold; it's designed to help keep the children together and walking in a straight line, more or less. Joanna let go of her ring and wandered into the street. Of course. some typical Bien Hoa lowlife roared up on his scooter at that moment and refused to slow down with Joanna in the street, instead dangerously swerving around her. I yelled at the classy individual to slow down, and he glared at me like he wanted to fight. This happens quite a bit here. Joanna must have sensed my anger and willingness to engage the quality human on the motorbike because she launched into a string of profanities that would have turned a sailor's ears red. I really have to be more careful of my language around her. Besides, I shouldn't get so upset at the scumbags on bikes here. But when they threaten my daughter ....
Most locals ignore the clowns although I've seen a few take exception. They're my heroes.

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At the coffee shop I've been going to for the past six months or so, Nguyen Xuan Truong Coffee, I was accused of trying to leave without paying. In fact, I was outside headed home with headphones on when a waiter came running after me and grabbed my arm, hopefully because I didn't hear him call to me. He communicated that I didn't pay.  Actually, I paid a different waiter as soon as he delivered my coffee (pay as you go and you never owe) and gave him an 8,000 dong tip -- I used to give 10,000 until they raised their prices. Anyway, I went back inside with my accuser, found the other waiter who unenthusiastically and unapologetically agreed that I had paid. I was pissed and told the clown that chased me outside that I don't need to steal a 42,000-dong, watered-down, lukewarm, mediocre-at-best cappuccino and that I had enough money to buy this dump of a coffee shop. That's probably not true, but like I said, I was pissed. Besides, I've been told that foreigners can't own property in Vietnam. Coffee shops are off my list of places to go since most don't understand me when I try to order a cup of coffee, or they think I'm a thief, or the other customers try to cut in line and then stare at me like I'm some kind of White Monkey.