Virtual-Doug

This and That

As of 6:30 tomorrow morning, I’m outta here.  I’m off for a quick two-week trip to Việt Nam.  Though Trang will come back with me, I will also have the chance to see my many other Vietnamese friends.  I’m sure I’ll find the time for a post or two while I’m there.  Once we’re back home, Trang has one week to get ready for the first day of classes.  As I write this, I am IMing with her – she’s excited, as well she should be.

Remember my rant The Government is Doing Everything it Can for You?   Of course you know by now that one of the topics of my rant is fixed – Trang is coming.  Today, I found out that another has been fixed. My mother’s Medicaid has been approved.  That means the wonderful people at Good Samaritan  can get back at least some of the $27,000 they are owed.  (That’s right - $27,000 – my last number was wrong.)  Of course, I know Medicaid doesn’t pay anywhere close to the real costs, but at least Good Sam will get some.

The Mystery Guest Blogger and I watched the special on TV last night about Dr. Randy Pausch, the computer science professor at Carnegie-Mellon whose “Last Lecture” video on YouTube and his book have inspired millions.  One of the (many) things he said affirmed a belief I have had most of my adult life.  He told us to take risks.  I couldn’t agree more.  To me, the saddest person is the one who tries to lead a “safe” life.  There is no such thing.  Risk adds spice to living – gives it meaning.  I’m not just talking about jumping out of airplanes (though I’ve done that) or riding motorcycles (done that too), but rather doing things you feel passionate about.  In other words - - give a damn.

I’m packed and ready to go – one bag (under 50 pounds) plus my carry-on camera gear.  See you on the other side of the Pacific.

Hello Dolly – Goodbye Dolly

She was not welcome, but she came anyway.  Hurricane Dolly passed through deep south Texas during the past few days, and she did not act like a lady.  We knew she was coming – the Weather Channel has been on in my house for a week.  To their credit, local agencies had things very well organized.  In the days just before she hit, the City of Mission passed out six filled sandbags to anybody who came by the fire station.

I live far enough inland to have escaped the full force of her winds, but she dumped a lot of rain here.  The folks on South Padre Island, and in the cities of Brownsville and Harlingen caught hell.  While Dolly came ashore as a minimal Category 2 hurricane, the damage was done by the fact that she moved so slowly progress seemed imperceptible.   Depending in the exact location, we had approximately 10 to 12 inches of rain over a 24  hour period.   That’s a lot of water.

Dolly didn’t even leave like a lady.  The morning after the eye passed, clouds and rain sprinkles were still over head.  Most residents were without electricity and many traffic lights were down.  I’m sure the evening newscasts will show the people near Brownsville suffered from flooding much worse than we did, yet many locals also had flooded streets.  South Texas is as flat as a table top, so even with a good drainage system, there will always be a lot of flood-prone area.  We are all thankful the levies holding back the Rio Grande are solid.  (Note:  Dolly continues to dump a lot of water upstream – there might yet be flooding from the river.)

I’m not going to say we dodged a bullet – rather I think we just got a flesh wound.  In some areas, trees fell on houses.  In this case, the owner had some minor damage to the fence and the eaves of the house.  It could have been worse.

Good riddance, Dolly – and tell your friends to stay away too!

A Huge Change in Our Lives

She’s coming after all! 

In my rant about government, I mentioned Trang – one of my students when the Mystery Guest Blogger and I lived and taught in Huê, Việt Nam.  Trang scheduled another interview at the American consulate, had some new information to show the interviewer – and now she will be coming here to earn her Master’s degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages.  (TESOL)

The MGB and I had talked about bringing her to the US for graduate school even while we still lived in Việt Nam, although she was not the only one who crossed our mind.  So many of the bright young students we taught deserve a better education than the Vietnamese system can currently give them.  We would love to see Trang joined by Tuan, Ai Nhan, Vi, and others.  They too need to come here to learn  – then take that learning back to their home and help develop Việt Nam.  This year alone, we know of two other Huê people who will be studying in the US – Hanh and Vo Mai.

(Click on Trang’s photo to see a larger version.)

And  -we are so excited!  The MGB is already building one of her famous lists of all that must be done.  Trang will live with us for awhile until she gets settled in, but we want her to live on campus – be around other grad students – be able to walk to the library when she needs to – go out for beer and pizza with friends.  She doesn’t need to hang around us two old-timers.

I’ll be going to Việt Nam to bring her back.  That will give me a chance to see my friend Mr. Cu to see how he’s doing, but I’ll also have the chance to see the other former students we’d like to see come here for study.  In the meantime, Trang will train her replacement at IBM, then go home to pack and make her goodbyes.

I’ll keep you posted.

(Note:  In my government rant, I  mentioned my friend Oanh, the professor who was denied a visa through a mistake in interpreting the law.  I’d like to say that she will be coming, but she will not.  I am deeply sad for my friend – she is a brilliant scholar and would have been a great asset to the University of Texas-Pan American.

I have always kept a policy of semi-privacy on this blog.  Of course, every reader knows the MGB is my wife – and I have posted pictures of her as well – but I also don’t post her full name or any contact information.  I will do the same with Trang.  Trang is a fairly common name in Việt Nam, and I have posted her picture, but I will not post her full name nor email address nor anything else that might cause a loss of privacy.  Expect Trang to be the subject of many posts in the future)

Remember – Your Government is Doing Everything It Can for You

Except for those of you I see in person, few know that the Mystery Guest Blogger and I have been involved in bringing two Vietnamese to the United States.  Neither have I posted to this blog about my mother’s application for Medicaid.

First – the tale of Oanh.  (Say Juan as you would in Spanish)  She holds a doctorate from New Zealand, completed a Fulbright fellowship at Yale last year, and holds an important position at the University of Huê where we used to teach.  Both of Oanh’s children are studying in the US.  When I found there was a teaching position open at the university I retired from, I told her.  A lot of people put a lot of time and effort into getting Oanh here for the fall term.  After letters of acceptance – after letters of resignation in Việt Nam – after plans made to fly here – after all that, she is told she cannot come because two years have not passed since she was Yale.

This was not a tenure track job – this was not permanent.  Oanh is fiercely proud of being Vietnamese and has no desire to stay here.  She’s not taking anybody’s job – none of the usual redneck tirades about foreigners taking our jobs – none of that applies here.

But – remember  - the American government is doing everything it can for you.

Now, Mom.  I have spent the last two years spending down what little money my mother had left.  When she first went into a nursing home, her bills were paid from what was left of her money.  The money ran out in January, and in early February, I filed for Medicaid for her.  It is now mid-July.  You guessed it – no Medicaid.  Each month, when Mom’s Social Security check comes in, I give it to her nursing home.  That covers about ¼ of the cost – and the pharmacy is getting nothing.

Five months – nothing.  In the mean time, the Good Samaritan nursing home goes deeper in debt – about $12,000 at present.   

But – remember – your government is doing everything it can for you.

Finally, the story of Trang.  She was one of my students when we taught in Việt Nam.  She used to hang around our apartment and she’d sometimes show the two or us around her beloved Huê.  She graduated at the same time we came home, then went to work in Saigon.  Its now two years later, and we have worked hard to get her admitted into a graduate program here in the US.  She’s a smart kid who wants to teach English at the University of Huê.  She was accepted to graduate school here, and everything done except get her student visa.

The interview at the US consulate took 1 ½ minutes.  That’s all.  Then it was determined that she didn’t have enough ties to be sure she would return to Việt Nam when her studies were over.  At a time when foreign students are a prime source of income for cash-strapped American universities, she is told she’s not welcome in America.  My business friends tell me of a similar problem getting Chinese businessmen visas to come to the US at a time when our economy could use some good investment money.  It seems that our “leaders” can find enough money to build a fence along the border, but not enough money to adequately staff our consulates overseas so that interviews can take longer than 1 ½ minutes.

Oooops - I forgot.  Each interview costs $131.00.  Sounds like a good money-making business to generate some income, eh?  Kinda like a speed trap.

 

But – remember – your government is doing everything it can for you.  Just ask the people of New Orleans or the people of Iraq.

The Mom Report: Happy Birthday

The Grande Old Dame turned 92 today.  When asked if she had expected to ever reach that age, she laughed – and said she didn’t think she would ever be 92.

She was walking through the lobby when I came in for my visit, birthday balloons in hand.  The excited look on her face was great – and she positively beamed when one of the nurses gave her a hug.

But the excitement didn’t masked her befuddled mind.  Once we sat down, she went into her usual pattern of mumbling.  Some words came forth, but they made no sense when string together.  But her heart is still there – she kept looking at the balloons tied to her walker – and smiled.

She knew it was special day.