-^-for posterity-^-

we were quietly eating our supper when we met a friend of a friend. he invited us over to his table and we helped them celebrate their birthday party.

the table was full of young, smiling faces. some of them were students at the university, others had already graduated from the continuing school. a couple of them were from the big city.

the big city girls were definitely not from long xuyen. they had a superior air about them and dressed in all the hippest fashions. they wore modern, name-brand hats and only the most exotic shoes. they also drove the fanciest, shiniest motorbikes and had strangely tinted sunglasses that stretched across their entire face. we didn’t find out where they were from until much later but it was obvious initially.

the birthday party went well and everyone was glad to have two tall white people there celebrating with them. they flooded us with questions and we politely answered. they were having a grand time and so were we.

we went to karaoke.

the big city girls took the mic and sang with the fervor of a big-tent-revival preacher. they screamed about love and loss and how wonderful and terrible everything was at the same time. they danced and told people what to do. they sang backstreet boys and britney spears. they sang modern vietnamese pop songs that are annoyingly omnipotent at every coffee shop. the words poured from their mouths and their faces contorted oddly depending on the degree of their emotion.

i sang ‘okie from muskogee’ and no one except jack understood. “we don’t let our hair grow long and shaggy, like the hippies down in san francisco do. i’m proud to be an okie from muskogee. a place where even squares can have a ball. we still wave ‘ol glory down at the courthouse and white lightning’s still the biggest thrill of all.” i also belted out a falsetto version of ‘dazed and confused’ by led zeppelin. that didn’t go over well but i enjoyed myself.

the big city girls said goodbye and were heading home tomorrow. they scooted off in their shiny, white motorbike and we all politely waved.

it’s nice living in a rural area.