Virtual-Doug

Music and the War in Vietnam

The War - the Vietnam War, of course.  When the United States first sent in combat troops in 1965, most folks were all for it.  After all, the Commies would just fall over and surrender once they experienced America’s awesome firepower.

“It’s silly talking about how many years we will have to spend in the jungles of Vietnam when we could pave the whole country and put parking stripes on it and still be home for Christmas.” —Ronald Reagan, October 10, 1965, interview with the Fresno Bee during his California gubernatorial campaign.

The War - in Iraq, of course.  The war began with “shock and awe”, a phrase used by the American government to indicate that our overwhelming firepower would end the war quickly.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yr-LaMhvro

That didn’t seem to work out in either case, did it?  Same same but different.

We tend to think of anti-war protest songs when we think of the war in Vietnam, but that wasn’t always the case.  The Ballad of the Green Beret by Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler came out in 1966 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5WJJVSE_BE and went all the way to Number One on the charts.  Then there was the redoubtable John Wayne in the movie The Green Berets.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPB-Rt2U7jg (By the way - did you know John Wayne never served in the military?)

If you think anti-war songs were the exclusive domain of hippies and rockers, how about this version of “Where have all the Flowers Gone?” by the iconic bluegrass performers Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_8R07McMx8

Of course, back in the 60s and early 70s, there was the military draft.  That meant that able-bodied young men (sorry, ladies) had to serve in the military.  During World War II, 12 percent of the population served in the military. During the war in Vietnam, nine percent of the population served.  That meant that almost everybody either had a family member who was serving in the military or had close friends serving. Today, the percentage serving in uniform is a mere one half of one percent.  In 1975, 70 percent of members of Congress had some military service; today, just 20 percent do.

Despite photos that touched the heart, such as this slideshow of the homecoming of a Marine killed-in-action,  http://todd-heisler.squarespace.com/final-salute/  , the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have seen few protests - certainly not the mass gatherings that took place during the war in Vietnam.  Most of the major protests against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were overseas, but there was one huge rally outside the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York.  By 2007, the size and frequency of the protests began to peter out. Why? Perhaps the lack of the draft mean young men today feel they aren’t in danger.

About those huge protests back in the day.  One of the biggest was at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August, 1968.   “The whole world’s watching” was correct - the huge protest was shown around the world. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoskd4lyaJM  Powerful music this by Chicago Transit Authority.

Same same - and each political party saw protests at its national convention.

Just one week before the Democratic National Convention in 1968, the Soviet Union invaded Czechoslovakia, not unlike the Russian takeover of the Crimea in 2014. The US was deeply focused on Vietnam and paid little attention to the outright invasion of Czechoslovakia.   Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger and the Trinity recorded their song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-_S00jFhn0 Some of the  music is very discordant and angry.  

Here is the Crimean annexation explanation  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-qO42qjShg

I guess you could say things are pretty much the same - an aggressive Russia.

Speaking of soldiers, the Baby Boom allowed a significant number of young men to avoid military service - there were more than enough young men to feed the Army’s maw.  That allowed a significant number to avoid service. Out of that fact came songs like “Fortunate Son” by Creedence Clearwater Revival https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7qkQewyubs If your daddy had big bucks or influence, you didn’t have to go.

By the way, I can guarantee you that every grunt who served in Vietnam knows the sound of a slick.  Even today, watch him look skyward when he hears that sound. In the likely event that you don’t know what a “slick” is, it was a troop carrying helicopter.  Of course, you may not know what a grunt is either.

You old time vets like me - ever heard a young TV reporter doing a story on the military and say something like “The second platoon of the 3rd Division . . .”  or “Lieutenant Smith, commander of the 27th Fighter Squadron, says . . .” or “The Marine Corps’ best soldiers are assigned . . .”

See what I mean?  Not many people know anything about the military today.

Not all songs about war are protests - some are just about life and leave the judgement to the listener.  During the war in Vietnam, one such song was Glen Campbell’s “Galveston” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5MIQcjI2Ds. The soldier just plain misses his lady.  

Another was “Don’t Take Your Love to Town.”  Kenny Rogers sings

“It wasn't me that started that old crazy Asian war,

But I was proud to go and do my patriotic chore.  

And yes, it's true, that I'm not the man I used to be.

Oh, Ruby, I still need some company.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJMoPDUP_24

Songs of war are being written about today’s conflicts too.  Canadian Corb Lund sings “Sadr City”, about the Palm Sunday, 2004, fight that marked the turning of the war in Iraq from toppling Saddam Hussein to fighting an insurgency.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnQVNwUpMCk

On a personal note, the unit involved in the Black Sunday fight was none other than the unit I served with in Vietnam in 1969 - the 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment of the 1st Cavalry Division. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQ6s6J0BMvE  I had been privileged to be the guest of honor at a Dining-In prior to the unity’s deployment.  After the battle, Cindy and I were invited to Ft. Hood to join families of the men in that fight.  I met some of the wounded who had been evacuated back to US, and they gave me a briefing on what happened.

There is a verse in Lund’s song that says

“And as long as there's no lack of young man willing

To ride to the sound of the guns

I'll be waking up dreaming of the Mahdi Army,

And of both sides losing their sons.”

Compare that to a verse from Buffy Sainte- Marie’s song “Universal Soldier”, recorded in 1964. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYEsFQ_gt7c

“He's the universal soldier and he really is to blame

His orders come from far away no more

They come from here and there and you and me

And brothers can't you see

This is not the way we put an end to war”

Idealism?  Of course, yet a ring of truth in what the two very different songs from two eras have to say.

Same same - there will be wars and rumors of wars.

Then and Now: Same Same, but Different

I love music - I often play music that matches my mood.  I have playlists of songs that suit me at any particular time.  Most people like music, and music is often a lens into a society - we reflect how we feel and react to life through music.  Videos are cool too, especially of stuff that happened a long time ago.

Music can reveal how we felt in the past and how we feel today.  You hear it often: “This country is more divided now than it’s been since the late 60s and early 70s.”  And, I suppose it is very divided these days.  

There are some similarities between the two eras:  the 1960s saw the rise of modern day feminism, a war figured huge back then, many people had a poor opinion of the government and politicians, the counterculture of drugs began in the 60s, the civil rights movement was a major part of life, and the earlier era had a controversial president.

Today there is the #MeToo movement, political feelings run very high, we have an opioid crisis, and there is the Black Lives Matter movement.  Comparisons are often made between President Trump and Richard Nixon.

A lot of good music came out that bygone era, born of our deep divisions.

There are some differences too:  there is no military draft today, and though we still have troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, the numbers - and the casualties - are much lower than at the height of the war in Vietnam.   Dropping acid and smoking pot were cool back then - most decidedly, there is nothing “cool” about today’s opioid crisis. Nor was there a 24 hour news cycle back then - or even social media.  All we had was good ol’ Walter Cronkite on the CBS Evening News, along with newspapers.

Being an old man, I remember the turbulent times of the late 60s and early 70s.  Hells bells, I lived it, just as I am living the present days. Just for the fun of it, I’m going to be posting some thoughts - and links to music and videos from yesteryear - that reflect how things were “back in the day.”  

I don’t think things are as bad today as we often think they are.  The earlier time was pretty scary. More often, things seem about the same today as they were then.

Here’s an example: today’s “Make America Great Again” was “America: Love It or Leave It” back then.  The song was recorded in 1965 by country music legend Ernest Tubb.  Listen here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsCTrQIX_OM  The lyrics express what many people think today.  In 1969, country music singer Merle Haggard reacted to the anti-war sentiment and the budding drug culture with “Okie from Muskogee”, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5K5l89mpV8

See what I mean?  Things are same same, but different.

 

Drugs - In the 60s, we loved to watch (and laugh at) an old retreaded movie titled “Reefer Madness.”  Here’s the trailer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYHDzrdXHEA   There’s been a bit of a change since we watched “Reefer Madness” in the 60s.   Thirty three states have now legalized marijuana for medical and recreational use. More are contemplating it. http://www.governing.com/gov-data/safety-justice/state-marijuana-laws-map-medical-recreational.html

 

Very different.  No same same here.

I'm Baaack

Wow!! It's been almost five years since I've posted to this silly blog?

I'm thinking of resurrecting this thing. Facebook is fine for short little blurbs, but nobody wants to read anything any longer than fifty words. Since I don't really care if anybody reads this or not, I may as well use the site.

 

Riding with the Daughter

Had a chance to spend a Saturday with Trang last weekend.  I rolled up to the house where she rents a room - and this is what she wore as the bounded out of the house.

 

After buying her a new helmet and jacket the next, we were off to the rolling hills north of Houston where we took a break in the area around the courthouse of Anderson.

 

 

 

New Life

(Note:  TypePad, the hosting service for this blog, was hit with a big denial of service attack and was offline for awhile.  This is posted a bit late because of that attack.)

I write this blog mainly for myself, though I know there are a few folks who never turned off their RSS feeds.  

This is a story of a new baby who arrived in this world as clueless about its history as all babies are.  Her name is Nhiên (say nyee en) and I’ve known her mother for nine years.

Nine years - really that long?  She was a first year university student then - more high school kid than college student.  But she stood out from the other students.  Besides wanting to learn for the pure sake of learning, she did the extra things to keep learning.  She was a regular visitor to our apartment in Huế.  She invited me to visit her parents.  She read books in English.

 

(Click on the photos to see larger versions.)

And that mind was too good to be left to the vagaries of the Vietnamese educational system.  We always saw her for coffee or a meal or conversation during our many return trips and kept up with her life.

And so it was that Ái Nhân became the second daughter we never knew we needed.  We’d brought Trang here to US for graduate school in 2008.  In 2011 we brought Ái Nhân here for her Master’s.  Both of these young woman burrowed deep into our hearts.  That was totally unexpected.  We thought we’d just bring some bright minds to the US to further their education.  We certainly didn’t anticipate adding to our family.

After her first year, Ái Nhân returned home to get married to a truly fine man.  I’d met Kiên before and knew they were a great match.  Of course we went to Huế for the wedding - and it was our privilege to be considered part of the family.   All brides are pretty, of course, but when Ái Nhân stepped into the room in her wedding ào dài (say ow yie), my heart skipped a beat.

Little time for a honeymoon, the newlyweds flew back to the US for her to continue her graduate work and Kiên to start his.  Last May was the time to celebrate her graduation and make plans to work as a lecturer at the university.

Then last fall came the news - the two were expecting their first child.

And this was special for me.  I wasn’t around when my son Keith was born - he was six months old before I saw him.  Ironically, I was in a place called Vietnam when he was born.

I missed the birth of my first grandchild too.  We were living in Albuquerque at the time Dani arrived in Orlando.  Strangely, we were living in Albuquerque when Brie was born - but I was on a trip to Orlando, of all places.  Both Zach and Elie were born in Orlando while we were a long ways off.

I wasn’t even around for the birth of my first great grandchild.

But finally, at age 70, I could be “Grandpa”, relegated to the waiting room, but knowing a new life was arriving just a few yards away.

My sainted wife knew just how to make the introductions.  She was in the delivery room and as Nhiên gave her first cries, Cindy sent it to me via her cell phone.

I’ll let photos tell the rest of the story.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am a very blessed man.

Sea Air, Twisties and Fracking - in Three Days

I seldom need an excuse to ride, but I don’t always have the time. When I had the chance to see my daughter Trang in Houston and take an extra day to go to the Hill Country of Texas, I took it. My ride would take me up through the coastal bend, a leg of superslab from Houston to San Antonio, a ride through the Hill Country, and last, a day through the Eagle Ford Shale area.

(Be sure to click on the map and the other photos.  You will see a bigger version.)

Riding from my home in McAllen to Corpus Christi is not the fun part of any ride, but its unavoidable. I usually ride that section of flat scrub land fairly fast. Once in Corpus Christi, its over the harbor bridge, and the fun riding begins. There are a lot of wind farms on the Texas coast, and this one is near the town of Portland.

I’m not really a morning kind of guy, but the anticipation of a good ride means I’m usually up before the alarm goes off. I’d set my gear out in the living room the night before so as not to wake up my bride, but just as I was drinking the last of my coffee, she shuffled into the room to give me a sleepy kiss good bye. I was on the road by seven, so by the time I’d ridden through the wind farm, and continued up the coast a bit, I was thinking of lunch.

In the town of Seadrift is a ramshackle joint called Bubba’s Cajun Seafood. Most of the clientele are sports fishermen, but there is a smattering of locals there too. The place ain’t fancy, but it has waitresses who ask “Whatcha want, Honey?” And the seafood is great.

Seadrift isn’t much more than a wide spot in the road, but it has a moment in history. After the Vietnam War, many Vietnamese escaped the newly Communist country . Known as the Boat People, many had been fishermen and shrimpers back home and they took up residence along the Texas coast. In 1979, friction between the Vietnamese and long time shrimpers led to the torching of some homes and boats and the death of a local crabber.

Sated from my excellent lunch, I continued up the coast to Palacios, pronounced “Pull ah shus”. This is another shrimping town that also tries to bring in some sport fishers.

I’d planned on going to Galveston, but I saw I was running out of time if I was to meet Trang for dinner at a decent time, so I made a quick run past the nuclear generating plant at Bay City, then headed into Houston. I called her when I got in my room and that gave me a chance to get out of my riding clothes before she picked me up.

What did we have for dinner? Seafood, of course.

I still think she ate an extra one of the dozen oysters we ordered, but I was gallant and told her that the remaining large oyster on the tray was hers.

The next morning again saw me on the road early. I rode Interstate 10 from Houston to San Antonio. Not much to tell, except that I kept riding in and out of little rain showers – not enough to get me wet – just enough to annoy me.

But then it was US 90 into the Hill Country, that long ridge of wonderfulness in Central Texas. I was soon in Leakey (say Lay-kee), the little town that is the anchor of the Three Twisted Sisters. The Sisters is a ride of 90 or so miles that goes through some of the very rugged areas of the hill country. The route gets its name from the three ranch roads that are ridden in a loop. Nobody has dolled the place up for riders – this is the real deal, with lots of cattle guards to cross and some good sharp turns and deep whoop-de-doos. I can’t say its terribly difficult, but if you’re careless, you could get hurt (or worse) on the Sisters.

The weather had cleared nicely and the trip through the Sisters was a blast. Every now and then a group of riders would pass by in the other direction, but there was little other traffic except for the occasional pick up truck belonging to a local rancher.

Time for lunch at the Bent Rim Grill. While most of the crowd is made of up of cruiser and bagger riders, just about every kind of bike was there.

It was nice to linger awhile and talk to a pack of BMW riders from San Antonio, then back on the road for the short ride to Uvalde and a good night’s sleep.

I knew the third day’s ride would be shorter than the others, so I didn’t get up quite so early. Sleepy Uvalde was even sleepier on a Sunday morning, so I gassed up and headed south into the area of the Eagle Ford shale formation.

Like the Bakken formation in North Dakota, Eagle Ford is producing huge amounts of oil and gas using a process called hydraulic fracturing – fracking for short. The drilling activity has transformed the countryside. What was once land so worthless that buzzards had to pack a lunch to fly over it, the area is booming with wells.

To haul all the oil, as well as bring in water for fracking and to remove the waste water to disposal wells, takes a lot of heavy trucks. The roads in the area were never designed for such heavy use and they are taking a beating.

The last miles were easy, if dirty. There had been enough showers come through the area to leave the road wet. I don’t think my bike has ever been so dirty.

My bride had short ribs and potato salad ready for me. The ride was good – and it was good to be home too.

And I have no idea when I’ll wash that filthy Honda NT700 motorcycle parked in the back of the house.

Christmas 2013

Snow - they’d never seen snow, nor had they met my brother Russell and his bride Patty.  The fall semester being over, it was a good time to put Ái Nhân and Kiên in the back seat of the car and head north to Colorado.

The first 625 miles were pretty boring, but in Lubbock, the weather seemed out to get us.  Refueling in heavy rain with a wind that seemed determined to blow the cold wet on me, we checked the radar and saw we could make Amarillo that night, albeit with rain the whole way.  We checked into our motel, then went to eat in Cindy’s favorite dining spot - Waffle House.

Morning light showed only dark clouds, but as we were packing up the car, the first snowflakes fluttered down - much to Kiên’s delight.  But by the time we got to Dalhart (almost into New Mexico), the snow was heavy and the roads very slippery.  Lots of accidents.

A stop at Mickey D’s for a burger and wi-fi - and a chance to walk around in the snow - a chance taken, but soon followed by getting back inside for some warmth.

(Be sure to click on this and the other photos to see a larger size image.)


Radar showed the snow ended at Clayton, New Mexico - a fact confirmed by a traveler who’d just come through that road.  Once past Clayton, it was clear until Colorado Springs.  Going through the city, the snow started again - the long climb up Monument Hill in ever-increasing snow had me a bit worried, but we soon arrive safe and sound in LIttleton.

Even with a nice blaze in the fireplace, Ái Nhân and Kiên felt a bit chilly.  The Sriracha-flavored jerky helped a bit, though.

Way back in the late 50s, my parents moved to south Florida.  They loved living there, but I remember them both saying they missed the four seasons.  Because I had teenage dementia, I didn’t understand.  Today, I live in deep south Texas, and I too miss the four seasons.  Most of the time we spent in Colorado were bright shiny days, perfect for a nice walk alongside the frozen creek.  The daily walks gave me a chance to reflect on how very blessed my life has been.


Christmas morning broke late - (there weren’t any kids in the house) - but we couldn’t start opening gifts until we had a mimosa under our belts.


And, of course, we had to have something to eat with those mimosa, eh?  Some fresh-baked cranberry bread is perfect on a nippy Christmas morning.


Lots of ooohs and aaaahs as wrapping paper was torn away, but Ba Cindy got kinda of misty-eyed at this gift from Ái Nhân and Kiên.


There was a punster named Patty who decided to give a pair of multi-colored socks to Ái Nhân with the brand name of Hue - which, of course, is Ái Nhân’s home town.  Good one, Patty.


And, Aunt Patty, doing her Michael Jackson impersonation with one glove,  had her  new toy to play with.


It was good to see Kiên loosen up a bit - he got a bit playful with the spoons he received.




Even Rufus got into the act - he was right in the midst of things.

But there were only so many gifts to open - one can eat only so much Christmassy food - one can take only so many naps - before the boredom sets in.  With a little help from Russell, Ái Nhân spent over twelve hours working on this puzzle of an English castle.


But the picture I didn’t take may have been the best one - the picture of all of us around the table, holding hands and thanking God for the gift of His son.  
It was a great Christmas - great indeed.

Winter Wonderland

I remember when my parents moved to Florida back in 1959. I was just starting high school, and I remember them saying they were happy to move to Florida, but they missed the seasons. I thought they were a little loopy. Who needs seasons when it is warm year round?

But now I know what they meant. There is little difference in the seasons on south Texas - it merely goes from warm to hot, but that's about it. Now that I am spending a few Christmas days with my brother and his wife in Colorado, I appreciate the beauty of a nice winter day.

My walk took me down a small trail next to a creek. No wind and the sky so blue it was sharp to the eyes. The snow crunched under my shoes as I puffed on my cigar.

 

 

 

Life is good.

 

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Snow, Cold and Other New Experiences

Weather - always a thought in the winter. The drive from home up through the Hill Country of central Texas was the usual, but then we ran into rain - heavy rain - as we approached Lubbock from the south. Though I liked the price of gas at $2.79, I didn't like the blustery wind blowing cold rain on my back side while I was refueling. We had a chance to fire up the smartphone and see it was just rain all the way to Amarillo, so Cindy made motel reservations while I drove - and Ai Nhan and Kien stayed bored in the back seat.

And Amarillo delivered. Ai Nhan and Kien saw their first snow, even though it wasn't much at first. Packing up the car, a few flurries settled on Kien.

With a bit of apprehension, we went back on the road - the weather web sites showed we wouldn't have far to go before we outran the snow. Actually, I can handle snow - it's ice that kinda feaks me. As we went northward through the panhandle, the snow got heavy and then even heavier. As we appraoched Dalhart, I discovered ice under the snow. Hmmm - time to reasses the situation, so we pulled into a Mickey D's in Dalhart to grab a burger and use the wi-fi. Besides the radar, a fellow traveler told us she had just come through the area we were going to travel. Seems that if we could put up with another thirty minutes of snowy driving, we would find clear weather in Clayton, NM. We were glad to leave the snow behind.

 

Ah, New Mexico, we miss you. As we prattled on about the glories of the Land of Enchantment, it did not disappoint as we pointed out herds of pronghorn, explained a mesa and saw the looming Rocky mountains in the distance.

When Ai Nhan asked me if we would see bad weather again, I said no, but we ran into snow again at Colorado Springs and had it all the way in to Russell and Patty's.

Life is good!

 

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Blogging with an iPad

On my little motorcycle venture, I was more than irritated that my laptop refused to read my camera's memory cards - and I had tried before to post to this blog from an my iPad, only to find it didn't work. Now that I have found an app, I'll try the iPad again when traveling. Its much better on a bike because it is smaller and lighter.

But right now, I'm not on a motorcycle. Ai Nhan and Kien are with us in the car on the way to Colorado for Christmas with Russell and Patty. We're in Amarillo, and we may be stuck here awhile as the snow is coming in and the temps are at freezing. Its the coldest Kien has ever been. He was a bit awestruck when I broke off an icicle and handed it to him.

No photos - yet. That will be the next trick to learn.

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