Yellow water means we tap out; coffee shop conflict

My wife poured water from our tap into a pan to cook green beans this week, and the water was yellow. I immediately poured some water from the tap into a clear glass to check, and it was as yellow as ... well, the sun. Occurrences like this are the reason we never drink water from the tap here. An hour later, the water was clear again, but my faith was shaken. I used to put tap water into my kettle and boil the water for coffee, but I've lost my nerve. You could say I've gone yellow. You pretty much have to use the water here for showers and brushing your teeth. I won't rinse out my mouth with tap water when I brush my teeth; I use Listerine, so my breath is pretty good. A lot of people here have breath like a goat because they eat the spicy soups for breakfast and don't seem to brush their teeth the rest of the day. And maybe because they drink the tap water. I really don't know.

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Joanna and I go swimming in our third-floor kid pool every day. We were taking long walks (she still likes the stroller) but dirty air and heat caused me to get a skin rash on my face and chest -- about the 12th rash I've had since I've been here. The walks are shorter now and pool time is longer. Joanna is a challenge in the pool, and elsewhere, because she's not a fan of clothing. Comfort takes priority and the heat is unsettling for her. She gripes, but she knows the bathing suit is mandatory or no swimming. I'm trying to teach her to use her imagination to find shapes and animals and objects "in the clouds" while we swim on our open-air balcony. Not sure she's got it yet, but she can spot a plane that's remarkably small and far away. It takes me two or three squints to see the same plane. I pray she keeps her incredible eyesight and doesn't become visually challenged like her dad. We'll also play with plastic ducks and an inflatable giraffe in the pool, blow bubbles, spell S-P-L-A-S-H and count to 100, finishing with a big jump and S-P-L-A-S-H.

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Joanna attracts a lot of attention because she looks different than other kids here, and strangers try to hug or cuddle her, or even give her a kiss. Most mean well, but Joanna doesn't like it, and neither do I. So we don't allow it. But some folks just sort of grab her -- it happened twice at a coffee shop this past Saturday. Also, a boy threw hard, plastic balls at her in the play area. As I carried her out of the shop, I said to Joanna something to the effect that "there are real losers here and you have to be careful." A young woman sitting at a nearby table was apparently listening and starts screaming at me, saying "NO NO NO!" And I mean screaming at me to the point where nearly everyone at this outdoor coffee shop was looking at me. I gave her a pass at first -- and even apologized -- because she probably thought I was insulting all Vietnamese. I wasn't -- I was insulting the guy who grabbed my daughter's arm and hips while she tried to pull away and pulled her close while holding a lit cigarette, and the guy who squatted down in front of her seeking a kiss, and the boy who threw the balls at her. But then I got a little irritated because I wasn't shouting my warning, I was talking to my daughter and not to some woman at a table, so I said to the woman, who was sitting Indian style in a short skirt, "Since you understand English so well, maybe you can understand I'm unhappy because two guys just tried to grab my daughter and she was upset. I don't like people grabbing my 3-year-old."  She scowled at me, put her head down and looked away. Whatever. The people here are like people everywhere. Most are wonderful, there are some "tough guys," as Donald Trump would say,  and there are creeps and losers (put the tough guys in this group). Same thing in the U.S., same in Peru. Same everywhere. Poverty can feed anger, but some of the most caring people I've ever met don't have any money and some of the most arrogant have money.  So my lame conclusion is that people are people. Unfortunately, there's just too many of them. NO NO NO!

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I won't say cured or all better, but my back has improved so much from my fitness regimen of chi and yoga, and most importantly, from acupuncture, that I sometimes I forget I have sciatica. That said, I think a possible source and aggravation of the problem is that I climb and descend our three flights of stairs about 10 times a day. Three flights up and down 10 times comes to 840 steps. Yep, it's 42 up and 42 down of unforgiving faux marble stairs. It helps explain my fatigue as well as the formerly serious back pain. It's not an issue for Joanna, however, who climbs like Sir Edmund Hillary. Ah, the sweet bird of youth.

Daycare done; very local lunches; needles do the trick

Our daycare business officially shut down on Wednesday, Oct. 9, instead of Thursday as planned. I guess the parents and kids couldn't wait to get away from us and our house. My wife worked incredibly hard on this project for more than eight months. She cleaned, cooked, redesigned our house, created pool time and helped with every activity the kids did. She gave every kid a bath and shampoo daily, and assisted with potty training when necessary. And believe me, it was necessary. The kids left us gifts -- I got a sore throat and mild cough from one of the girls. and a boy left our daughter Joanna a case of diarrhea. Joanna is a hearty soul and shook it off in a day. So far, nothing for Phuong other than grief for her choice of food, milk and water. There were complaints about the fact we served chicken twice a week, and used brands of milk and bottled water that allegedly contained chemicals. Despite some parents' focus on "organic" food, their kids seemed to have their fair share of illnesses. Perhaps these were "organic" illnesses, which are probably better for the kids than the generic brand. Who knows? Who cares? I'm sure we did a lot of things wrong regarding child care. I don't have the benefit of being an outside observer with the kids we watched or with our daughter Joanna. I'll let the experts criticize us. Regardless, Phuong and I thought every child who came to our house was wonderful, bright and a joy to be around. Behavior and English improved steadily while the kids were here. The hitting and toy throwing stopped. We got to watch them grow up and taught them how to clean up, and we loved it. Thanks to the kids and parents for letting us be a part of the children's lives. As for Joanna, she never quite jived with the group. For example, she loves sharp cheddar cheese while the other kids would spit out the small samples I gave them. She speaks English, not Vietnamese, and looks and acts differently than the other kids. Joanna is obsessed with books, letters and numbers. The other kids, not so much. The other kids didn't really play with Joanna. No big deal because Joanna does her own thing anyway, and seems extremely comfortable with herself. We love her just the way she is.

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I've noted before that Phuong's sister-in-law has a breakfast business, making Pho, Bun bo Hue, Bun Rieu, Hu tiu -- my wife gave me the spellings so don't correct me, correct her. The "soups" are all well-made but Bun bo Hue -- with or without blood pudding -- is my favorite. Pho is the national dish, sort of, and I've learned to like it. Hu tiu is dependably good and I'm beginning to appreciate Bun Rieu, which has some kind of crab base. A big bowl of any of the soups costs about $1 U.S., so it's a bargain to say the least. I don't eat soup for breakfast, but Phuong and I share a bowl for lunch nearly every day. It's economical, convenient and tasty. Dessert for me is almost always yogurt.. The point of all of this is to say that I'm learning to adjust to the food here. It's taken more than six years. But I really, really miss things that I enjoyed constantly in the U.S. like pretzels, good lunch meat, apple pie, good cheese and good beer. For now, Phuong's sister-in-law is doing her best to keep me fat and happy.

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I have a nomination for Time's Person of the Year, and it ain't Donald Trump. I'll nominate the lady who gives me acupuncture. No pain, no reason to complain. For the past three weeks, this low-keyed woman has stuck needles in my butt, back and down both legs -- and turned on the juice -- to produce remarkable results in the once-wobbly White Monkey.  I've combined the acupuncture with some yoga stretches and nightly tai chi to gain the mobility and athleticism of a man in his, well, mid-60s. Don't be jealous. All these techniques are available to anyone who is persistent and has a desire to be pain-free. That would be me at the moment. Back pain helped ruin my brother's life -- and my heart truly goes out to anyone dealing with chronic pain. Persevere ... and good luck to you. I've gone from being in pain to being relatively pain free -- and a pain in everyone else's ass again. I love it.