August 3, 2002
UEW (Unknown Exkiwi Writer)
When we arrived in the leafy suburb of Lugarno it was nearly 6 o ' clock in the evening. It was getting dark after a small hailstorm in the afternoon, and the road was wet. Still Winter-time in the Southern Hemispherẹ We practically ran into the Hao mansion as we were worried that no food would be left for us. As we stepped in we saw prof. Tuan busily taking photos of an exkiwisladies ensemble. My wife asked for a take-too as she joined in the crowd. Confident that prof Tuan could easily look after all the ladies by himself, I kept walking downstairs to the huge basement garage overlooking Georges River where all the guests were already there, chatting and laughing. I waved to some old friends and acquaintances, while my eyes quickly traveled around the room to locate where the FOOD was. I felt comforted and assured knowing apart from the drinks, the food had not been touched, and especially the spit roast was not yet ready.
After positioning myself as close as possible to the food table, I started to focus on the faces I know. Strangely I felt I did not know all of them. Even some exkiwis very close to me in my chonghood in Auckland I could not recognize readily. After greeting Duyet & Robyn, whom I promised to greet at the gate, bac Dzinh, bac Nguyen Do Khanh and others, I stepped towards a senior-looking gentleman standing near the back door. To my surprise it was Doc Ly Ke Hien chatting with a relatively young exkiwi by the name of Nguyen Thanh Hoang. I could not recognize Hien as we have not seen each other for nearly ten years, and he too sported grey hair like me. I found out that Hoang was in the last batch of Colombo Plan students, studying Civil Engineering at my old alma mater Auckland Varsity. I asked Hoang how Senior Le Quy discovered him, and was told that he too works at the same Company that anh Quy has been working as a pre-stressed exkiwi - oops, concrete - consultant. Then we chatted about who among our former professors are still alive. I told Hien and Hoang that I learned from a newsletter recently that another of Nguyen Van Xá 's classmates professor Bruce Melville is now full professor and Head of Department. It is noted here that Doc Hien's group of 1969 constitutes the biggest exkiwi-group in the Southern Hemisphere. In Sydney, the group has Doc Truong Nham, Doc Hien, Doc Truong Tuan Giac, Hoang Van Hung (now a Singaporean citizen), Tran Quan Dat, Le Huu Dung – now Don Lehuu, Vo Van Kiet, and a few more. I looked back at the food table and saw some people approaching it. I then had to excuse myself from Hien and Hoang and paced quickly to the food table full of Hue đặc sản like bánh nậm, bánh bột lọc & northern bánh cuốn Thanh Trì. Then I pretended to serve some of my fellow exkiwis while making sure I had a full plate. The ladies started to walk downstairs to join us. Husbands and wives were then re-united after the photographic ordeal in the hands of a prof. The party commenced.
It was a big crowd. Apart from exkiwis all over Sydney numbering up to 35 people we also had Dr Nguyen Thuong Sơn coming all the way from Canberra with Chị Lệ, and second eldest son cháu Quốc working in Sydney, and many ex-Dingos, a term coined by senior Duyet to denote ex-Colombo Plan students studying in Australia, such as anh chi Lê Đắc Thuận-Liên, Senior Lê Văn Duyệt and Robyn, anh chị Nam-Bich-Lan (actually we could count Nam-Bich Lan as honorary exkiwis – the reasons to be outlined later), and many other friends. Anh Vũ Tạ Nghĩa and family could not attend at the last minute due to parental duties. One of our MIA 's for many many years Doc Nguyễn Đỗ Khánh was overjoyed to see some old friends. Doc Khánh asked me to locate his old flatmate Senior Pham Nhật – now in Houston, especially Anh Nhat's email ađress. I promised that I 'd try but unfortunately I only got Senior Khánh 's phone number. Luckily with a little effort, the odd couple were united only 48 hours later.
For the piece de resistance we had Spit Roast with 3 different kinds of meat: Lamb, Pork and Beef (the host was careful not to exclude Muslims or Hindus, though I was not sure whether the meat was genuinely HALAL to suit the Muslims). We had a lot of wine of different vintages, beer (but without embarassment/ embracement beer or mongolian beer), and soft drinks. Though later on, late in the night we had to water down chè đậu xanh with some tap water on the rocks. For desserts we had Pavlova and cheese cake – supplied by the caterer. Pavlova was quite fitting for the occasion, as it is still hotly contested as to who was its inventor, a Kiwi or an Aussie. Just like Spratlys & Paracel islands in the South China Sea!
Coincidentally the final match of the Rugby game between NZ and Australia commenced as we finished our dinner. So a number of attendees walked upstairs to the lounge to watch the game on TV. We noticed some sense of nationalism resurfacing. Naturally “we” were supporting the All Blacks from Canterbury but deep down we were not sure who we would cheer at the end of the gamẹ Bac Thuan LeDac was elated when the Aussies won the game at the very last second – whilst we were mildly disconsolate. Prof Tuan & Le Mai had to leave the party to attend a wedding function just after the rugby game ended, carrying with them the guitar they brought for the occasion. A lot of us felt helplessly disappointed. But as it turned out we had more ca nhac sĩ cây nhà lá vườn than ever imagined before.
Next Sir Howard & Lady Tinh rearranged the big lounge for music & entertainment. A big organ with brand name General Music owned by Nhac Sĩ Nguyễn Sỹ Phương was brought to the fore near the big-screen TV. Then music, singing & shouting commenced. (The writer now would like to note for the record: The idea of an Ex-kiwi reunion dinner originally came from Sir Howard, at that time merely Nguyễn Văn Hào, and Doc Nguyen Thuong Sơn at about the same time, around 1990. Now the reunion dinner came to chez Hao-Tinh, with full attendance of the Sơns. A coincidence, but seemingly a recognition of two prominent exkiwis with imaginative ideas and goodwill – even though at times unavoidably clouded by the Chổng doctrine).
Musician Phuong started some scores by Trinh Cong Son. Most of us were taken by surprise at the very high level of professionalism of this gifted but humble musician. However, suddenly I felt something that needed to be done quickly: We were in urgent need of a real MC, even though we all are MC's (MitChổng!!). How could I manage to have a professional MC in such a short timẻe ? Luckily and thanks to watching Paris By Night, I figured out some striking similarities, both in background and in “good look” between Monsieur Nguyen Ngoc Ngan and our Doc Nguyen Thuong Sơn. Both were students from Chu Van An High School, about the same year, having the same surname of Nguyen! The name Ngoc Ngan may mean “pearly advice” or “pearly river” whereas Thuong Sơn could mean “on top of the mountain of wisdom”. So I rushed quickly to Sơn and asked him to be our MC or in other words do a Nguyen Ngoc Ngan for the evening, even without a Nguyen Cao Ky Duyen. To my disappointment Sơn refused. Time was so pressing that I could not risk it in persuading Doc Sơn – I quickly ran back to Sir Howard to ask him to approach bac Dzĩnh who apart from height looks very much like ca si Tuan Ngoc. Thank goodness, bac Dzinh gladly accepted our request. I was very much relieved when bac Dzinh grabbed the micro and went to the centre-stage.
Bac Dzinh proved very quickly that he was the right man for the job. He said welcome and a few niceties to all – and without any further ado, invited the virtuoso of the evening: Ca Nhac Sĩ Lê Quý aka our Representative Visitor to Younger Sister(s?) in Vietnam. Anh Le Quy was so moved that unknowingly he took off his duffy overcoat (reminiscent of the chong days in the cold and windy Wellington), and then put it back on – a few times before stepping onto the centre stage amid loud applause!
Le Quy first expressed his appreciation of Sir Howard's central conception that at old age – oops, middle-and-yet-youthful age – old friendship is of utmost importance and something that should be cherished. Furthermore, we all normally would have achieved what we wanted in life when we were younger, or at least in a virtual sense – like Tôi về thăm Em. Le Quy then went on to say that the evening was the third happiest event of his lifetime. The first one was when he met chị Evelyn, and the second, he had the chance to visit Em (be it just a virtual visit) and to write the song Toi ve thăm Em to mark the occasion. He was happy to meet old friends and to make new friends – and especially meet the spouses of his old friends.
Le Quy then said he wrote the song Tôi về thăm Em & then Ước Mơ just because in his youthful days (aka pre-Chonghood) he never had a chance to hold a girl's hand. This made a lot of people sobbing and crying. The reporter saw boxes of tissues being passed around the room, without realizing that his own hankie was already wet. Lots of Aussie friends pretended to be stunned to learn that Chong was so dramatic! To enliven the sombre atmosphere a little, senior ex-dingo Thuan openly allowed senior Quy to touch his wife's hands and suggested other people there to do the same. Some ladies however said, correctly, that even that could not solve anything as what 's done was done, there is no time machine available for senior Quy and other MCs to go back in time to sing the Beatles song “I wanna hold your hands”. So lets get on with the singing!!
Le Quy then proceeded to sing Tôi về thăm Em – already released worlđwide as his first CD album with beautiful cover - to an admiring audience in deep silence. It seemed that he let his spirit follow the rhythm of the music (thả hồn theo nhac). Then a loud applause with BIS ! BIS!
Le Quy then said a few words to introduce his next oeuvre: Ước Mơ. First, the poem was based on the story of a young student who had to go to some overseas country to study engineering. Then one day while looking at the long white clouds he dreamed of a trip home to visit his dream-girl / just to sing “I wanna hold your hands: OH Please Say to Me I Want To Hold Your hands”. But the music score, Le Quy said he drew the inspiration from a Suite en Ré Mineur composed by Robert de Visee' who, as a "Teorbiste et guitariste de la Cour de Louis XIV”, dedicated it to the King in 1686. Just like Segovia's music was inspired from Schubert.
If Toi ve tham Em was to him Tình Khúc tháng 6, then Ước Mơ was Tình Khúc tháng 7. Everyone in the lounge was so delighted guessing that naturally Le Quy would pour out Tình Khúc tháng 8, come the end of August, then Tình Khúc tháng 8 Ta (rằm Trung Thu), Tình khúc tháng 9 till tháng 12. Then allowing him tháng giêng là tháng ăn chơi no music – only tennis and travelling, we all should expect to have Tinh Khuc thang 2, tình khuc thang 3, tình khúc tháng 4, and tình khúc thang 5 to complete the circle!
Le Quy disclosed also that Ước Mơ would be very difficult to sing – to the obvious disappointment of many karaoke singers like bac Cao Manh Tien. This could be Le Quýs marketing nous drawing the audience to their utmost attention when he sang. To a novice in music like myself the song Ước mơ is in fact very gút mắc but it sounds a bit better than Tôi về thăm Em and more close to the level of maestros such as Trinh Cong Son & Pham Duy!!! I dont know but thats how I felt. Better check with nhac si Phuong and chi Dung – pianist (aka Mrs Le Thang Tien), PQ Tuan, Mai Anh Tuan, when the new CD is released.
Le Quy left the stage amid shouts of encores. But everyone would say to her/himself come next year, we could have 12 tình khúc at least – but unfortunately all are Virtual!!
Next came a duet performed professionally by anh Phuong with his organ/keyboard and his better half chị Thủy (a former student of Thầy Lê Qúy's, like Mrs Tran Quan Dat nee Vân). The couple sang a song by Tran Thien Thanh, something like: Nguoi dien khong biet khoc va nguoi say khong biet cuoi. Just like Nhat Truong & Hoang Oanh in the old times. Seriously though.
Oh yes, we have so many talents – but why they were rarely or never known before even in our close circle was a mystery to me: Bich Lan (Mrs Nam) gave a twist performance (kind of Lets twist again like we did last summer) before they had to take the children home, Chị Vân (Mrs Tran Quan Dat) showed she too has a very good voice. Senior Dang Vu Huyen with his powerful voice sang two songs by the Bee Gees, one being “I started a joke”. Then came chi Dung (Mrs Cao Manh Tien), then bac Truong Tuan Dzinh the MC of the evening. Bac Dzinh surprised everyone, including himself and his boss at home. He performed in full confidence two songs by Trinh Cong Son. His voice and style was exactly like that of Tuan Ngoc. A star was born – though very very late. Mrs Phuong (Chị Thủy) returned to the stage to give a southern-style Old Lovers Remembrance aka Vọng Cổ Re Luong Son Ba – Chuc Anh Dai. It was near hysteria that followed her xuống câu!!
(I wish to say something about our friend Nam & his wife Bich Lan as our new honorary exkiwis. Nam was thầy Lê Quýs most loyal student and protector, as he protected thầy Quý during a fracas in the old days, circa 1980, against some extremist baddies in Melbourne. He is also a tennis pro on bac Cao Manh Tien and Sir Hao 's tennis court. At the party I asked Nam about that scuffle and he showed me some scars on his head. – I took the opportunity to comfort him by saying that most of us MCs have scars, but of different type. Bich Lan – I just discovered today by seeing a photo of Nam-Bich Lan, at a local library, in the book The Sacred Willow by Dương Vân Mai Elliott who is Bich Lan's aunty, and 65-exkiwi Dương Vân Tuyết's first cousin. It's a real surprise when I recognized Nam-Bich Lan from the photo as someone I just met recently.)
Then came Host Hào 's turn. Hào sang a few Trinh Cong Son songs - then sprightly animated the audience by A lê hò lờ presumably picked up during his business trips to Vietnam in the past few years. Most interesting was his performance of Vọng Cổ Kiểu Huế renamed as Vặn Cổ. He too would easily enter the Hall of Fame with this new-style Vọng Cổ at least in our exkiwi family.
Time was moving on. Mrs Le Thang Tien nee Dung gave a piano solo for ten minutes. Senior Quy was absolutely impressed as he was not aware that chi Dung graduated from the Conservatorium of Music both in HCM city and in Sydney.
Chè dậu xanh was then served. Then coffee. It's on the Haose. Thanks chi Tịnh.
The last item was Karaoke: this was where the couple Cao Manh Tien & Chi Dung were so over-powering. Cao manh Tien sang the song “Paris có gì lạ không em” like Elvis Phuong. He would have another job without any problem should he decide to quit tennis one day.
The reunion officially ended at midnight on August 3, 2002 though some guests like hai bac Dzinh-Huong, anh chi Le Ba Hong-Nga (one of the chief organisers), bac Phung Do stayed on with Sir Hao and Lady Tinh and Senior Le Quy until 1:45am the next day.
Till the next Exkiwi gathering with possibly another 10 Tình Khúc s of the coming 10 months, best wishes. Long live Chổng.
UEW (Unknown Exkiwi Writer)
