He is king when he rides his steed at amazing speeds, balancing over hurdles, defying gravity all the while roosting high atop the silken equine with nostrils flaring…yet you would only notice his scrawniness if you met him on the street.

His prowess is intoxicating for so many women, he captures the tennis ball behind his back commanding it to go from its forward trajectory to balanced on his racket face in a split second. At times he even returns your shots from between his legs expertly reaching the racquet behind his buttocks forcing your thoughts to the skill set of his nether regions ...yet without the white-lined venue where he can show you command over balls he is powerless.

He kills you softly, then loudly, with his song. You are captivated and transformed to another place and time imagining the words are just for you. The hundred other people in the room fade to black …but without the song you are not hypnotizable, and his gyrations spastic, his outfit just wrong.

So too is the power of the mighty vespa driver. He is just a little Vietnamese man you can see over in super modest clothes, but when you have him between your knees navigating the pulsating fibers of the Saigon traffic monster with such amazing skill you grow to respect, rely, relish this man. You lean as one around turns and share instincts to put your arm out to signal or tuck your knees in unison as you pass the bus SO SO close. As you become increasingly drunk with every stop of the evening he intuitively unbuckles and re-buckles your helmet with no expression of judgment or laughter, just a gentle knowing face. He stands watch as you mount and dismount the iron horse ready to make whatever accommodation is needed to avert disaster should the leg-over maneuver go awry.

My husband first hooked me with his spreadsheeting skills then reeled me in with a show of expert sailing. These men immersed in their craft.. what they do to us.

By the end of the evening we had consumed an amazing sampling of food and local drink. I apologize profusely to whatever society for the preservation of bullfrogs may exist- I am just trying to have my experience man. Just before we retire we hit a bar that propels us well on our way to our impending hallucinatory dreamy states. There was a great deal of activity going; Asian women were milling around dressed up and posing what can best be described as a cross between Brazilians Carnival temptresses and girl scouts. They were not the sexual tigers of Rio but rather awkward little girls playing dress up. Their self-conscious maneuvers took place on an elevated catwalk and usually ended with their tall feathery hats getting stuck in a piece of logistics hanging from the ceiling like a pipe or electrical wire. They continued to make the same mistake- awkwardly stomping in their heels then head butting the flotsam afloat at head level. Their instincts, the show…bizarre. The display however heightened the experience of what followed- a super intense hair-tossing Filipino band. All the members had flat affect. The 5 or 6 men had black shoes considerably heightened in the sole, white pants and blood-red satin shirts with chest ruffles that spanned the entire button apron. The 2 women were in some sort of half-sexy tribal dress. They have an unworldly tone. It was subtle, but clearly a dark force had taken the stage. They maintained all absence of expression as they frequently and frenetically tossed their long black silky hair and bellowed their tune. The strange behavior called forth a sense of familiarity to me. I downed my drink dedicating all my powers of fading consciousness to locate the root memory. Were these Volturi- unofficial royalty of the vampire world that had leveraged their inability to sleep into rockstar expertise? Or was this band with its unrelenting angry message from the crypt and pagan head tossing working up to some sort of crescendo...an event? The Titty Twister Bar scene from Dusk to Dawn suddenly felt like a fait accompli.

Even the undead use their craft for seduction....drifting…. drifting off ….

in Saigon….10.7500° N, 106.6667° E.