Howling Horrors a Distant Rumor by the Sea
Howling Horrors a Distant Rumor by the Sea Linh Dinh [Vung Tau, 10/25/22] Life is so laid back and pleasant in Vung Tau, Vietnam’s 10th largest city. Unlike in Saigon or Hanoi, there are no traffic jams here, and most sidewalks are uncluttered enough for ambling. Though rarely hired, pedicabs still roll. When I was a kid in Saigon half a century ago, parents would scold their lazy kids, “If you don’t study, you’ll become a pedicab driver.” With so few left, that warning no longer bites, so lottery ticket sellers are the new threat. If you don’t shoehorn that trigonometry into your cranium already jammed with biophysics, advanced chemistry and babbling English, you’ll end up pushing losing chances on strangers all day long, with many not even bothering to look up as you pester. Trying to sell lottery tickets to a young woman having lunch on the sidewalk, an old woman notices a full bowl of soup, so she asks, “Why don’t you eat that?” “It’s too salty.” “My father used to waste food when