My friend Long, the Vietnamese student, called last night from his isolated prison at the San Destin Golf and Beach Resort housing facility. He was desperate to get out of there for a few hours! He was living with a pot-pourri of foreign guest workers and good-ole-boys. One of the boys had mentioned something about "strip clubs". He wanted to know what they were. I decided this was an opportunity for me to discuss American culture with him. As he lived half way to Panama City, I decided we would just continue on to that place. I'd show him the housing along the beach and the new shopping and entertainment center just west of the City. He was dumb-founded when I told him about strip clubs. The socialist government of Viet Nam would never allow that! I had taken him to the movie "Hangover 2", and he thought it was stupid and disgusting...especially the portrayal of the Asian character! I told him if he didn't like the movie, then he would really not like a strip-club. When I was in Viet Nam, I was taken by the purity of many of the people's hearts. I was concerned about that. When we arrived at the beach area and condo-sprawl,we noticed a lot of "For Sale" signs. He asked how much some of the places might cost. I guessed at the figure of $750,000. He was absolutely amazed. In Hue City, his home, there were some beautiful beaches no more than a 20 minute 115 cc motorbike drive away. There were small fishing businesses and a few run down beach concessions but nothing like the sprawl we saw here. The Vietnamese don't like the sun. Tanned skin is the sign of someone who does outside labor. Both men and women go to, what seemed to me, great lengths to avoid the sun. Long even took one of my large golf umbrellas to shade himself, when he and I visited a local beach in Fort Walton Beach. People looked; I gamely walked along beside him. He asked why the houses were made of wood and not concrete when there were hurricanes coming every 5 years. I explained the short-term-gain mentality of the real estate crowd. I used the term there was a "feeding frenzy" in the real estate market a few years back. He asked about the term. I explained in terms of sharks feeding. He laughed and thought it was very appropriate. Long's family has a building supply business in Hue, and he majored in Hotel Management and the Leisure Industry. I suggested he think about building a hotel at the beach back in Hue. I explained the money making theory in our capitalist culture; you go to work for somebody and they pay you the least amount they can get away with, people can work for you, property can "work" for you, money can "work" for you, machines can "work" for you, etc. I reiterated the idea of him building a hotel. There are plenty of Europeans, Australians, and Americans visiting Hue. There are no beach hotels in Hue. People are looking for a low-cost overseas area where they can retire in comfort. He thought those were good ideas. I wanted to show him a restaurant on the water as an example of what he could do in any hotel he might build. We went to the "Shrimp Boat" restaurant. To make a long story short, we sat outside and met a couple from Georgia. Coincidently, he was "over-leveraged" (I explained that term) in property. He had been drinking quite a lot. Simple greetings turned into a one sided political conversation initiated by the man. He railed about President Obama and used the term "nigger". I explained the term and its background after they left. I tried to explain the culture of the South versus the cultures of other areas of the US stressing the positive aspects of all. Long had never had raw oysters. After he had washed them down with two beers, he brought up the topic of strip clubs. I asked a local guy, and he directed me to a place called "The Toy Box." One man's trash is another man's treasure. I should probably compare Long's introduction to Strip Club culture to me being abducted by aliens in a space ship. Long was enthralled to say the least! He was actually shaking with delight! The girls were fascinated by him and were eager to teach him new terms related to their world. I will not relate them in this blog. I gave us about 45 minutes and then decided we needed to leave. The girls eagerly invited him to return. Long smiled expectantly at their "friendly" invitation. I just hope I did not create a monster.
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