Happy Holidays'Seasons

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Latino Concert, Wow!

If you live in the Orange County & Los Angeles area, you will have a chance to assist to many shows and concerts. From June till September, the Hollywood Bowl has a wide range of variety shows in the open air. The Disney Land area and the Universal Studio area, the Knot Berry Farm area, the Anaheim convention and Entertainment Center regularly offer American, International as well as Vietnamese shows not counting the free public concerts in the different parks of the region. In addition to all the shows, the San Diego and Escondido Casinos have regular concerts from country legend Willie Nelson to rapper extraordinaire LL Cool J. We had a chance to attend a latino concert and we must say that the ambiance was terrific and hot! The concert was performed by Marco Antonio Solis and was done entirely in Spanish, we do not have a lot of Spanish to understand everything but we know most of the songs and their meanings.

Marco Antonio Solís is a Mexican romantic musician, composer, and record producer. Throughout his career, he has sold over 80 million records and written over 300 songs, arguably making him one of the most successful singer-songwriters in Latin America. (Wikipedia)
The show took place in the open air. There were at least 3000 attendees :young and old. The reaction of the public was just unbelievable. Most of the music were salsa, cha cha cha, bolero, waltz. While the singer performed his songs with the go go dancers, the public sang along and some young people just danced around on the platform. We have a feeling of living again the period of the 6o's with the Beatles when young girls shouted out loud and sang and danced. The show lasted 2 hours and we were enthralled by the great ambiance of the latin rhythm. After the show, the salsa music continued in the garden and old and young generation moved to the rhythm of the salsa dance. This is my favorite song from Solis: "Si no te Hubieras ido - if you had not gone." - Click on the arrow to play! You can find on you tube a playlist of the 100 most popular songs.

When I die!

Two opposite ideas but yet the two poems evoke lots of emotions : one, the nostalgia of the mother land and the other, the nostalgia of the glorious military life. I just want to translate both of them in English for the younger generations who were born outside of the mother land to remind them that no matter what nationality they have adopted, they are still Vietnamese and that their great grand parents, their grand parents and their parents had fought for many years and even centuries to keep the mother land from foreign invasion.

Khi Tôi Chết, Hãy Đem Tôi Ra Biển

Du Tử Lê

khi tôi chết hãy đem tôi ra biển

đời lưu vong không cả một ngôi mồ
vùi đất lạ thịt xương e khó rã
hồn không đi, sao trở lại quê nhà

khi tôi chết hãy đem tôi ra biển
nước ngược dòng sẽ đẩy xác trôi đi
bên kia biển là quê hương tôi đó
rặng tre xưa muôn tuổi vẫn xanh rì

khi tôi chết hãy đem tôi ra biển
và nhớ đừng vội vuốt mắt cho tôi
cho tôi hướng vọng quê tôi lần cuối
biết đâu chừng xác tôi chẳng đến nơi

khi tôi chết hãy đem tôi ra biển
đừng ngập ngừng vì ái ngại cho tôi
những năm trước bao người ngon miệng cá
thì sá gì thêm một xác cong queo

khi tôi chết hãy đem tôi ra biển
cho tôi về gặp lại các con tôi
cho tôi về nhìn thấy lệ chúng rơi
từ những mắt đã buồn hơn bóng tối

khi tôi chết hãy đem tôi ra biển
và trên đường hãy nhớ hát quốc ca
ôi lâu quá không còn ai hát nữa
(bài hát giờ cũng như một hồn ma)

khi tôi chết nỗi buồn kia cũng hết
đời lưu vong tận huyệt với linh hồn.

Translation

When I die, bring me to the sea!

When I die, bring me to the sea

My exile life does not need a tomb
Buried in foreign land, my body might not decay

My soul cannot fly away, how can I get back to my native land?

When I die bring me to the sea
The upstream will wash my body away
The other side of the sea is my native land
Where the bamboo hedge though ageless remains as green as ever.

When I die, bring me to the sea
And remember not to close my eyes.
Let me look at my native land for the last time
May be my body will never reach its shore.

When I die, bring me to the sea
Don’t ever hesitate! don’t worry about me!
Years ago, lots of folks were good prey for fishes
Why should I care for my dead body?

When I die, bring me to the sea
Let me go back to see my children!
Let me see them shed their tears
From their shadowy eyes darker than the night.

When I die, bring me to the sea
On the way, remember to sing the national anthem,
Alas! Nobody had ever sung it for a long time.
Even the song turned into the shadow of a ghost.

When I die, all sadness will disappear.

My exile life will be buried with my soul.

Translated by llequang

The Second poem

Khi Tôi Chết, Đừng Đưa Tôi Ra Biển 

Nguyễn Văn Phán

Khi tôi chết, đừng đưa tôi ra biển

Đưa tôi về Lao Bảo, Khe Sanh
Để đêm nghe vang dội khúc quân hành

Ôi ! Lính chiến một thời kiêu hãnh quá

Khi tôi chết, đừng đưa tôi ra biển
Đưa tôi về Ben-Hét, Đắc-Tô

Nơi bạn bè tôi, xây mộng sông hồ

Nguyện trấn giữ dãy Trường Sơn yêu quý.

Khi tôi chết, đừng đưa tôi ra biển
Đưa tôi về Bình Giả, Chiến Khu Đ

Cho hồn tôi siêu thoát với lời thề

Thân chiến sĩ, nguyện xin đền nợ nước.

Khi tôi chết, đừng đưa tôi ra biển
Đưa tôi về Cái Nước, Đầm Dơi
Đêm U Minh, nghe tiếng thét vang trời

Mừng chiến thắng để dâng về tổ quốc.

Khi tôi chết, đừng đưa tôi ra biển
Trả tôi về với dân tộc Việt Nam

Gói thân tôi ba sọc đỏ màu vàng

Xin liệm kín với hồn thiêng sông núi. 

Translation

When I die, do not take me to the sea!

When I die, do not take me to the sea

Bring me back to Lao Bao, Khe Sanh

So that night after night, I could hear the marching song

Alas! Soldiers at war! What a glorious life

When I die, do not take me to the sea

Bring me back to Ben Het, Dac To

To the place where with my friends, I had great dreams
Trying to defend the beloved Truong Son mountain range.

When I die, do not take me to the sea

Bring me back to Binh Gia, Chien Khu D
Let my soul transcend with my vows
As a soldier, to die for the country.

When I die, do not take me to the sea

Bring me back to Cai Nuoc, Dam Doi

At night in the U Minh forest, when  the air was filled with a great explosion of joy
To celebrate victory brought to the country

When I die, do not take me to the sea

Return me over  to the Vietnamese people
Wrapped me with the yellow red bi-colored Vietnamese flag

Buried me together with the soul of my mountain and river native land.

Translated by llequang

My karaoke playlist on youtube

You are invited to  my Karaoke playlist on youtube .

- Please click on the link

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL82623FD6442E667B

A walk in the night.

The story began with a man and a woman walking along the street. They both looked over  60 years old but still healthy. They seemed to be husband and wife. The woman started to talk:

-   -      We walk about one hour every day, but I do not see a single inch of fats disappear from my body. 

-     -     The walking is to keep us fit and our heart healthy but if we keep on eating then walking won’t help much, replied the man. 

-       -   I know but unless we eat at home every day and follow a strict diet, it is difficult not to gain weight. The restaurant always serves us double the amount of food we can eat and it is a waste if we do not finish or take out home. 

-          - Let’s walk up to the second red lights and then turn around the block, ok? Said the man. 

-          - Ok, agreed the woman.

There were a few minutes of silence between the two of them as they walked. Their pace was not very fast.  The street lights started to spread its dim brightness around them. The only noise came from cars speeding by with their headlights on. The woman started to talk again:

-          - Do you think our son will be back this week-end?

-          - I don’t really know. He always announced to us at the last minute; replied the man.

-         -  Kids nowadays are always like that. It is really a blessing that he still thinks of us and comes back to see us more often; said the woman trying defend her son.

-       -  You know. I am worry about him, started the husband in a sad voice. Life is getting more and more difficult.  The economical situation of the country is not very bright and jobs are rare. I wonder how he manages to live. We can help him but our resources are limited ever since we stop working.

-        - We will have to help him until he finds a job.  Our parents made a lot of sacrifice to give us an education so that our life won’t be too bad.  It is our turn to do the same thing for our son. He is going to school for the moment and it is hard to find a part-time job.  Come to think of it. Our son is brilliant and smart. Do you think that his funky artist look has something to do with it?

-        -  It certainly does count, replied the man. On a job interview, good presentation is a number one element. The first impression is very important but knowledge and self-confidence play an important role as well.

-       -   I pray to God that he could find a job that suits his dream and that he has a happy life.

Silence fell again between them as they walked along the street. The stores started to close their doors and turned off the lights. The streets are getting darker.  The only lights that shed some brightness are the street lights and the head lights of the cars.  As they walked by a close-out furniture store, the woman got closer to her husband as she saw the homeless preparing for their night sleep along the front porch of the store.

-       -   There are more and more unfortunate people in the streets; started the woman. I feel sorry for those homeless but at the same time I am scared because some of them might use drugs and lose their reasons, said the woman.

-       -   Most of them are harmless; their only sin is being poor.  But sometimes, when one is too desperate, one can commit unexpected crimes.  It is up to us not to tempt the devil.

Let’s cross the street and walk along the other side, there are more lights coming from the 24-hour stores and the night clubs.

As they crossed the street, music came full blast from the night clubs and added up to the noise of the cars speeding by.   

-          This corner is too noisy, commented the woman. To-day’s music is no longer sweet romantic melodies about love that we used to listen. It only encourages young people to move and shake.

They tried to walk faster to get away from the noise. The weather was fresh and the moon was at its full state.  One could enjoy a nice quiet evening if it isn’t for the noise.  As they walked on, the noise began to fade away behind them.

-         - You know how long we haven’t been to our native country? -almost 20 years. Such a long time! We have lived too long outside of our country and now we do not know which one is our country any longer.  We live happy now but there are always something missing. It is the memories of our childhood living with our parents and surrounded with close relatives, started the woman.

-       -  It’s true. I still remember like yesterday all the mischievous things that I did when I was young. 

-      -    I understand that you were quite a bad boy when you were young, weren’t you? Questioned the wife.

-         - Yes, I was quite mischievous but I was a very good student; replied the man. Since I lived away from the family in the city for my schooling, my father had a hard time knowing where I was. Every time he needed to see me he had to question my close friends or went through all the boarding schools to find me. I had a friend who was the son of a movie theater owner, so I went to the movies all the times without paying. That guy liked to show me a whole bunch of free tickets he got from his parents; I grabbed some and used that for the movies. I wondered how I could be a good student when I spent a lot of time at the movie.

-         - I was a good student too but I studied for my parents. I wanted my father to be proud of me and to show me off to his friends.  We are only two sisters in the family and my father had always been longing to have a boy. So I wanted to show that I could be good or even better than a boy. For each class that I took, I always obtained the prize for the best student at the end of the year. What are your best memories of our country?

-         -  I have a lot of best memories, replied the man, I could even write a book about them.  One of my favorites is about crossing the river. I used to hang around a lot with my friends. So one day, we decided to play along the river.  There was that guy who followed us everywhere we went, but he was not like us, tough boys. He did not know a lot of things and one of the bad things for him was that he did not know how to swim. We were playing when suddenly someone detected some fruit trees at the other side of the river. This is the countryside so there is no rule about picking up fruits from the tree. We all decided to cross the river to get the fruits. Everyone could swim except that one boy and he insisted on following us. So we decided to help him. We attached him with palm leaves to help him float, and then two among us would swim across pulling him behind.  He crossed the river all right but he almost died because of all the water that he drank. It was a bad experience and it scared us to death.

-        -  Wow, you guys could have killed him; said the wife.

-      -    It is true but we were young and we did not even think about that, replied the husband.

-      -  My best memory was the time I spent when I was about 8 years old. There were many civil wars in the city so my parents sent us to the countryside to our grand-parents who lived along the Mekong River. The houses were built on stilt in order to avoid being flooded during the high water season.  That was the best countryside I have ever known.  I remember we used to play hide and seek around the mango trees full of mangoes that hung down to the ground.  By looking through the wooden floor of the house during the flood season, we could see shrimps and fishes swimming under us.  I used to follow my uncle in a small boat to go visit the rice fields during the flood season or ride on the back of the buffalo. Life was so easy and pleasant in that part of the country but I am sure things have changed and we could no longer experience that same emotion again to-day; commented the woman in a regretful voice.

-         -  I also remember my school day. We had a math teacher that we liked to tease a lot. One day, one of the boys put a shoe on his desk. He took the shoe and waited until the end of the class. He was very sure that he could catch the culprit without any problem. The whole class gave out the words and as soon as the bell rung, everyone walked out with only one shoe on the foot and one bare foot.  The teacher was so mad so he decided to put the whole class to come back on Sunday as a punishment. We also had to write a hundred times the line “I must respect my teacher and do not play in the classroom”. continued the man.

-          - " For my school years, my most memorable souvenir was my Greek mythology club.  We studied Roman & Greek mythology at that time so we decided to create a club with each one of us taking a goddess as our mentor. We met every Wednesday and invented stories about God & Goddesses.  Aphrodite (Venus) was my goddess. She was the Goddess of Love and Beauty.  I did not have a choice at first because my friends were faster than me and took all the other goddess names but I am glad I had her because she was not very much loved due to her tumultuous life and morality but it gave me a good chance to defend her and to do further research on mythology about her and the other gods and goddesses" went on the woman.

-     - When it comes to school years, I think I can write another book about that; said the husband.

-     -     So many good memories! We’ll have to save money to go back to visit our country some day. 

Hey, where are we now? We were so busy talking that we went too far. I do not seem to recognize this place, do you? asked the wife.

-        -  Me neither.  But we haven’t been turning a lot, I am sure we can find our way back. May-be before midnight! The husband started to joke.

-     -     Don’t get me panic! I am already scared that we might get lost. We never walked this far before and there was no one around for us to ask our way; said the woman in a shaky voice.

-        -  Let me use my good sense of orientation to get us out of this situation.  Too bad the sun is not around for me to orient my directions. We were talking about walking around the block so did we or did we not turn? I don’t remember.  Let’s first find a crossroad. This could help.- said the husband.

-     -     I remember that we turned twice. I did not understand why we turned though. Let’s walk up to the red lights in the distance, we might recognize something but I am really tired- complained the wife.

After that, both of them tried to walk up to the red lights. Their steps were slow because they were both tired.

-          - I wish I could find a shopping cart, the man started to speak.

-          - What do you mean a shopping cart? Are you crazy, at this time of the night? Don’t you think, we would be better off finding our way home, replied the woman.

-         - A shopping cart for me to lean on so that I do not have to walk a lot -- laughed the man as though he didn’t care much whether they got lost or not.

The woman looked furious but she did not reply because she knew her husband too well – any occasion could be a reason for a good laugh. As they arrived at the red lights, they saw in the distance about 4 or 5 police cars blocking the street. Many cars had to turn back as they arrived to the blocking point.  There seemed to be a crowd of people around that area.

-        -   Let’s walk over there to ask our way home, we might find a police man or someone who could help, said the woman.

They dragged their feet up to the blocking area.  As they approached the blocking area, they saw four police cars blocking the street. There were banners blocking the sidewalks as well. It must be a big operation. There were no helicopters on sight though.  They tried to find a police man but there was no police man in sight but on the spot, there was a crowd of eight to ten persons talking to one another, so the husband started to ask one of the persons of the group:

-     - What’s going on? Why are there so many police cars blocking the street?  asked the man.

-     -     I have just joined the crowd and wasn’t sure but I heard that the policemen are trying to catch criminals. answered one of the passers-by.

-      -  I do not think that they were criminals but illegal immigrants, replied another man.

-       -  No, there was a murder in one of the houses. A husband caught his wife with another man and shot both of them down with his gun.

Nobody seemed to know exactly what the problem was.

-    - Criminals or immigrants, I do not care, said a lady loaded with shopping bags. I have been trying to get to my house since 6PM. We are now 9PM and I still could not get through. My house is in the blocking area. I walked around the block trying to get from the other side but it was useless.

-       - You have a choice of trying to find a policeman or to find a bus stop bench and stay there to wait for the event to be over started to say the husband laughing.

The lady did not appreciate the joke, gave him a dirty look and tried to get closer to the blocking area.

-      - Could you be a little more serious for a while? The lady was unfortunate enough to get stuck and you added up to her misfortune. Let’s walk back to the red lights; said the wife.

The husband did not want to leave. He wanted to stay there to see the end of the story but his wife insisted so much that he followed her with great regrets. As they arrived to the red lights again, they realized that they did not ask for the way. Fortunately, they saw on the side street, half the distance before the second red lights a store still opened.

-   -  Let’s walk to the store. We might be able to ask for directions, said the husband.

So they walked up to the store. It turned out to be a café.  The café was not big but all the four walls were equipped with televisions. Each one was showing a different channel.  The Olympics game was playing in full. There were eight or ten young people sitting around drinking coffee and talking. The couple was so glad that they could finally rest. They found a table and sat down.

-        - How could they watch so many channels at the same time? This is incredible! Whispered the wife. By the way, did you bring any money with you? I didn’t.

-       - I just bring enough for coffee. Don’t order anything else ok? Said the husband.

-         -  But I am starving with all the walking we did, replied the wife.

-    - Then you’ll have to just hold on until we get home.

So they just ordered coffee and at the same time asked the waiter their way home.  It turned out that they made more turns than they thought but they were not too far from home. However, the blocking area was a short-cut to their house and they could not take it. They took note of all the turns they had to take to get back and started their way home. They stopped twice at two different bus stop benches to rest their feet.

-      - I just saw a catering truck across the street. They seem to sell tacos. How much money do you have left? Asked the woman.

-        - Two or three dollars. Let’s cross the street and see.

So they crossed the street and walked towards the catering truck. There were young people waiting to buy food and drinks.  They talked loudly and seemed to be very happy.  The husband looked at the price list and said.

-       - We can only buy one taco and one drink. So let’s buy that and share it. OK? They might think that we are cheap but we have no choice. This will give us some force to walk back home.

So they bought the taco and the drink. The young people looked at them and giggled as they crossed the street, walked to the nearest bus stop bench and shared their taco.  They looked very much like two homeless.

-     -  This is the best half-taco I have ever eaten, said the wife. This could serve us as a lesson. Next time, we’ll have to bring a little more money in case we need to take the bus or a taxi home.

-      -  I don’t mind sleeping on this bench. At least. We’ll have fresh air. Look at the full moon. It’s bright and shining. Is it pretty? We can clearly see the man on the moon leaning on his miraculous tree.

-  -   You know that it is only a legend. There is no man on the moon; replied the woman.

-    -  Legends are the heritage of a country. They help people remember their roots no matter where they go or live. We must start to tell our son all the legends of our country so that could help him remember his origin.

-      -    It is true.  If you asked any of our countrymen their origin, they would say that they came from the same ancestors and that we are all brothers and sisters. This explains the reason why so much money was sent back to our country to help parents and relatives who live there.  Let’s walk back home, it’s getting late. We could spend hours talking about our country and get lost again; urged the wife.

-      -  It’s too bad. I am starting to get sleepy and think that this bench is a good place to lie down and rest, said the husband.

-          - If you want to get picked up by a policeman and go sleep at the police station, it is your right but I need someone to take me home because I am scared to be alone in the dark.

-         -  I thought that you have a very strong mind and you are scared of nothing;   the husband started to joke. I often hear you say that you aren’t afraid of anybody or anything.

-          - Could you quit joking! Let’s go home. I am tired. Next time, we will not walk outside of the residence, that way, we won’t get lost and don’t forget to bring more money with you!

They started to walk home. There was a small distance yet to go. They walked hand in hand.  The husband started to talk:

-          - After all, it wasn’t too bad.  The night is fresh. The moon is in its full phase. We even witnessed a police raid.  All this is going to be a souvenir to remember.  I am glad we got outside of our residence this time otherwise it will always the same routine,  taking the same path , seeing the same houses around us  and even listening to the same dog barking.

- The wife just smiled and said to herself: “I am glad I have a husband who is always in a good mood no matter what happens.  May-be this is what keeps us together for so long and keeps us happy in any circumstances.”

As they crossed the gate of the residence, both of them felt exhausted but happy to be home.  The husband said:

-          - We are going to have a good sleep to-night with all the walking back and forth.

-          - Thanks God, we are home! Home Sweet Home!  Replied the wife. Let’s go to bed. I am no longer hungry.