Virtual-Doug

Getting Ready to Go to Viet Nam - A Busy Time

I knew there would be a lot to do, but phew! - there really has been a lot happening.

Putting together a mailing out a newsletter to folks is more work than I thought. C and I wrote the newsletter, she developed a mailing list, then we printed out over 275 mailing labels, licked 275 stamps, folded 275 copies, and finally got them all in the mail last weekend. We’d like to send out another newsletter before we go.

We also have some presentations to make. The first will be this Thursday evening, and we’ll both do the PowerPoint “dog & pony show.” More are scheduled for next month and November.

But, there are other things as well. Wanting to have everything as tip-top as possible, I had my doc do a good physical exam. The decision was made to repair a small hernia before we go. So – this Friday I’ll let them carve on me. We’re still trying to get the blood pressure down to a more acceptable level.

Looming on the to-do list are insurance papers, retirement income planning, closing bank accounts, getting someone to watch the house, power of attorney to some lucky fool, more newsletters, changing email accounts, selling one of the cars, more speaking engagements, visa applications, yada yada yada.

And, in the middle of all this, I’m still at work – and that includes a week long business trip to the Philippines.

Getting to Viet Nam will finally give us a chance to relax!

Viet Nam: It’s a Country, not a War

As I was flying back from a business trip to St. Louis, I was reading my newest copy of “Lonely Planet – Viet Nam.” Buckling my seatbelt, I laid the book on the empty seat next to me. The corner of my eye saw the middle-aged gentleman look at the cover. In a few moments came the expected inquiry – “You been to Viet Nam before?”

He was a Navy vet who served late in the war in Da Nang – a place I have become quite familiar with in the past three years. After introductions, I told him I was indeed both a vet and a recent returnee to Viet Nam. I told him he would be quite surprised to see Da Nang today.

But the conversation about current day Viet Nam lasted only a few minutes. He was soon regaling me with war stories. There was no stopping him. He was not interested in Viet Nam, despite expressing his desire to return “someday.”

I had trouble listening to him. Not only were his stories boring, but it was all about what used to be – and once more I realized C and I have moved past the stage of thinking about Viet Nam in terms of war. To us it’s a beautiful place with wonderful people. If life means a journey, then most vets are not in the same place we are.

Viet Nam is a country – not a war.

Gotta be Careful of Pride

I had some time to reflect today while flying here to St. Louis on a business trip. Listening to the sermon during service this morning, I was struck by how easy it is to have pride sneak up and gitcha.

Of course, I’m talking about going to Viet Nam – how easy it would be to smugly tell people “I don’t care about money and possessions. After all, I sold my nice house and bought a mobile home. I did that so I could be admired by all as making a great sacrifice in order to go to Viet Nam.”

I can be as sanctimonious as the next guy!

Or, I could point to my retiring at the age of 61 – in other words, I won’t have as much money tucked away as I might if I’d worked another four years.

How’s this one - - I’m a vet who is making friends with my former enemy. Makes me look like a genuine hero, right?

Of course, “Pride Precedes Before the Fall.” And, I don’t want to fall.

The End is Near – and the Beginning is Just Around the Corner

I’ve quit jobs before – and I’ve even been “encouraged” to leave jobs before. But today, I took a job action I’ve never taken before.

I retired from my job.

Well, I haven’t left yet, but I told my boss (the Provost of my university) that I was retiring. He was a bit taken aback, then I told him I would finish out the semester. He knows me well enough to know I have no intention of sitting on the front porch, so I told him about teaching English in Viet Nam. He thought that was pretty kewl – though he wasn’t surprised that we were going to Viet Nam.

And the beginning? Tonight was the first meeting of our Advisory Group. These are our closest and best friends, and we have asked them to support us, lift us up, and give us some advise on keeping the home fires burning while we’re in Viet Nam. We served them a big bowl of pho (Vietnamese noodle soup) and spring rolls, then got down to business. One of the fun parts of the night was to show them pictures and C and me way back in 1969 - - - when we were in Viet Nam the first time. We talked about what we would be teaching our students, and about our calling. We even got some advice on the newsletter we’ve written.

Tomorrow I have my first appointment at the Personnel Office – and start the paperwork to retire.

Now - - if I can just keep my head in my work for three months while my heart is already in Viet Nam.

Great News!

The work has begun in earnest to go to Viet Nam - - and there is so much to do. C and I have asked a small group of people to act as our Advisory Team (for want of a better term) who can help us with both the preparation and with taking care of the home front while we're gone. I could think of no better way to do that than to have them over for a light supper - - - and serve them pho and spring rolls. I love pho myself, though I usually refer to it as "Vietnamese noodle soup" to the uninitiated.

The best news I've had lately is that I will be able to blog from Viet Nam. There was some concern for awhile - and of course, I will still have to get decent Internet access after we get there. But, I am truly happy that I will be able to share the learning experience with our friends back here at home - including the online friends I have developed through blogging.

I went over to the Personnel Office today to start the process of retirement. Oooops! It seems the person who does that just retired! So, I will be somebody's test case. I had also planning on telling my boss today, but found he was out of town.

Tommorow is the memorial service for C's dad. We talked and decided there is little sense in my going up there. If her brother is doing better, I hope to see my bride at home soon!

And that would be the best news!

So Much to Tell – So Little Time to Blog

When last I wrote to you, Gentle Reader, I was still in the mountains of New Mexico. Now I am back in deep south Texas after the two drive with my mother in the passenger seat. C had returned to her childhood home to be with her mother while the family awaited her father’s death. Last night, at 8:30, Jack Mason passed on after over a month in ICU.

Meanwhile, C’s brother – the one who just underwent a liver transplant and has been doing poorly – has finally been moved out of ICU and is on the mend.

My bride is exhausted. I married a tough woman (please remember, GR, that she is a war vet), and she has clung to her husbandly and heavenly support. But the emotions have been stretched, and she is in need of some Tender Loving Care – and I am more than willing to give her that TLC.

In the meantime, I balance hosting my mother, going to work, and beginning the planning process for going to Viet Nam in January. So much to do – and so much enthusiasm for doing it.

And Monday! Ah yes, Monday. I look forward to work Monday because for the very first time in my life, I will retire. I’ve quit before – changed jobs before – looked for jobs before - - but never retired before.

Should be fun.

Yeah - Life is Pretty Good

My last posting was about all the challenges in our lives. Today, at C’s request, I walked around this beautiful mountain area of Northern New Mexico and took pictures – pictures she would be able to look at in Viet Nam – pictures she could not take because she had to leave so quickly to be with her family at her father’s death.

Bright sunny day. Sixty degrees. No humidity. Zephyr breeze. Wildflowers all around. At sunset, two elk in a nearby meadow, unconcerned with gaping humans. Laughing with family. Caring for and respecting an aging mother. Eating. Did I say laughing? Praying. Pheasant gumbo made with game shot by my brother. Phone calls with a wife I miss dearly. Support from family for going to Viet Nam. Emails of spiritual guidance from my friend and priest. High mountains at sunset.

God – I have no idea why you shower me with so many blessings.

When Life Gets Rough – as It is Right Now

On Tuesday, August 31, we left Texas. My elderly mother joined us from Florida the previous day, and we three started the 2 day drive to northern New Mexico. We stopped in Albuquerque to pick up my Ohio sister at the airport, and arrived in Angel Fire after stopping to eat at La Choza, our favorite restaurant in Santa Fe. Today we were joined by my Alabama sister and her husband.

Then it started happening. A call to C from her brother told us their dad had taken a turn for the worse. In fact, their mother signed a “Do Not Resuscitate” agreement. Many phone calls, and some tears, but the decision was made to let him go. I will take C to the airport in Albuquerque to fly home. When I leave her, I will have no idea when I’ll see her again. It will be tough for her. She will have to try hard to remember that her support structure is with her – both heavenly and mine.

In the meantime, we have all been glued to The Weather Channel. My mother lives in a mobile home retirement park on the Florida east coast – right on Hurricane Frances’ target line. On the one hand, all of her kids are here, and having her here means we know she is okay. But, there is the strong possibility she will not have a home to go home to. That’s pretty tough to an 87 year old widow who would lose all her precious mementoes, pictures, and sentimental possessions.