GaryFunk wrote:70 years old wrote:Having been an American Citizen since 1980 has corrupted her Vietnamese'ness some. She also tipped or encouraged me to tip for prettiness as she, as a woman, appreciated the effort and work involved in being pretty
Another point is that, I consider attitude to be a huge part of being pretty.
I would like to suggest that she was less corrupted and more enlightened.
One of my wife's favorite stories is about the time, in the mid 1960's, that she worked as the housekeeper/babysitter for an ARVN MAJ and his family at a Base Camp that a US Special Forces team was assigned to and actually got a very large tip.
Anyway the SF Detachment was getting upset that their goodies, clothes, sleeping gear etc. had become over run by Vietnamese Rats.
The SF decided to win some local friendship and get rid of the Rats at the same time. They offered a 10 piaster bounty on every rat tail brought in. My future wife immediately rushed to the nearest "Rat Merchant," outside the gate, bought a dozen Rats for 10 Piasters, cut off their tails, skinned them, pigged out on her best meal ever, returned to the Base Camp presented her Rat Tails to the SF Soldiers and collected her 120 Piasters.
Unfortunately all the Vietnamese got involved and the SF Soldiers eventually figured out the scam and the gravy train soon ended.
Note; Field Rats, unlike City Rats, are clean, quite safe to eat and considered a delicacy in Rural Viet Nam.
bon appetit