.

Trương, in plaid shirt, works for us, but he and his wife also owns a restaurant and grocery store. Business is sluggish. His father in law owns a gas station. The old man served five years in the army, with four of those fighting in Cambodia. One of the first Vietnamese in Ea Kly, he came in 1983. Each morning, he runs for 30 minutes, walks for 30 minutes, then does five types of army calisthenics, all in the dark but within sight of his gas station, just in case there's a customer. The gas distributor rewards him with an overseas trip a year, so he's been to seven Asian countries. In Shenzhen, he saw only young people on the streets, and everyone eating while walking, they were so busy. In Taipei, when one in his group said "China" in English, the restaurant owner jumped in, "No, not China. Taiwan!" Though the man had no idea what they were talking about.

Yesterday, Trương had to slaughter a pig because it had refused to eat for a few days, so we're eating it here. At the head of the table was a deaf mute who rode by, saw us and just joined in. With inarticulate sounds and gestures, he indicated that he had seen me a few times in public, typing or falling asleep. Pointing to his ring finger, he asked if I was married, then showing me both hands, with his palms down and fingers spread, he sadly conveyed that he was not.



.