The door closed almost silently behind me. I walked a few steps to the table and pulled out the chair on my side. I continued to stare into Nguyen’s no longer twinkling eyes and the newfound smile I’d seen at the hotel was gone. I sat down and waited.
“How can I help you?” I finally said, knowing from history that Nguyen had the patience of an alabaster sphinx, and about the same unchanging expression when he chose to display it. I wasn’t sure he was in the room needing help, so I presumed while proceeding to start some sensible dialect with the rather new creature before me.
“Nguyen’s very life might be at stake.” Not for the first time you two have had each others back !!
Great captivating chapter from your first overseas mission !!
Semper Fi
Thanks Sgt.Bob. Yes, there was a definite shared life affinity thing going on there.
Thanks for noting that. Most men don’t get combat friends in life simply because so few survive real combat,
as opposed to television and the movies, like Band of Brothers or The Pacific.
Much appreciate the compliment too.
Semper fi,
Jim
Jim,
Again, your abilities to operate ‘on the fly’ – I imagine some folks can ‘learn/be trained’ on the basics, while some folks seem to be born with it – You were born with it.
2 things stuck out to me in this chapter. First – Regardless of the impact on themselves, a leader takes care of his personnel first, then themselves. You’ve demonstrated that from day 1 of “30 Days”. I know/help some homeless folks that have puppies – It’s obvious to me that the puppies’ welfare comes first, than theirs. Not entirely the same as you, but nevertheless, the same.
In this case, the way you’re helping Nguyen & his family ‘on the fly’, regardless of the effect on you, your new job, Mary, the kids – Demonstrating your concept of being a ‘leader’. I believe too many of today’s ‘leaders’ never got or read the memo. So many questions reference Nguyen – Looking forward to future chapters on that alone.
And second, your ability to put ‘Nguyen’ aside for now, immediately re-focus/re-load & get back to your mission. Another true asset to your future life.
Some items from the “Comments”:
Your reply to Tim that with power comes with unknown strings & prices & not being free. I think most folks don’t even consider/factor those in to their decisions until after the fact & for those that are stupid don’t care nor think those factors apply to them –They are the most dangerous.
About not wanting to be alone or be a babbling old man – You won’t be & if you think any of this is ‘babbling’, well – Babble on.
About there being “a supreme being up there or down there” – I believe there is a supreme being up there – watching, letting us choose our paths, letting us learn the hard way at times, helping us at other times. As for the being down here/there, Satan, he’s already lost & can only hurt people & drag them down. Oh – The “ride” ain’t over. Just sayin’.
And agree, “Life’s accidental humor” is the best. At times, I’ve laughed at myself so hard that I’ve almost peed my pan… Wait – That didn’t come out right. I mean … Never mind.
Sincere regards my friend,
Doug
Danko, the clear-headed hard-charging reader and supporter any author would love to have. And one that eruditely comments as well.
Amazing. It’s good to be your friend and read your work about my work. It’s also nice to be so well thought of because I don’t always
have those thoughts about myself…and I know you udnerstand that down to your very foundations too.
Thanks for the usual educational and fantastically supportive comment.
Semper fi, my friend…
Jim
Jim,
“supportive”? Sometimes it’s easy, a no brainer and deserved. Sorry – Just is.
“educational”? ehhhh. Had to look up “eruditely”. First off, it’s a ‘5 bagger’ (Number of syllables.) – Good job. Then saw the synonyms – sapient, wise, knowledgeable, educated. “sapient”? – Was that with a long ‘A’, like ‘say’ or a short ‘a’, like ‘tree sap’. Another ‘look up’ – “relating to wisdom” – Like in “educated”?
Oh hell yes, I is educamated – And I got papers to prove it! Blew right past Kindergarten to the First grade and them “papers” and certificates started flying like a snow storm outside of Pittsburgh! (Ok, ok, ok – We didn’t have “Kindergarten” back then. But if we did – Whew!) Anyways, it started with the “Painter Writing System” certificate of Good Writin’. Maybe it was called
“The Palmer Method of penmanship”, I forgit. I do know that it was called “Cursive” writing. (Well, I mean I know now.) And them “papers” just kept a’coming.
Kinda sad that it isn’t taught much anymore. In 10 or 15 years, someone will find a copy of the Constitution written in cursive and they’ll wonder what ancient civilization wrote this.
Then in 4 or 500 years, someone will find some rolled up scroll and call it “The Eggplantetta Stone”: It will have “Cursive’ on the bottom, easily read “Printing” in the middle And “Chicken Scratch” on the top. It will be studied for generations.
Recently read that many schools have adopted “keyboarding” as an alternative to “cursive” handwriting instruction. I remember it was called “Typing 101” back in the day. One of the best courses I ever took. And no – Nowhere near 125 wpm, even in my prime.
Question: For something to be called an “alternative” for ‘something else’, for example, “keyboarding” for “cursive”, doesn’t the “something else” have to be what is currently the ‘primarily’ used method for doing something? “Cursive” is certainly not the “primarily” used form of writing?
Regardless, thank you Jim & regards.
Hooah, my friend.
Doug
Oh – I’m sure you know that “Hooah” implies three steps of a four-step process: receive the message, process the message, acknowledge receipt of the message, and then act on the message.
And here I thought we came up with “Hooah” because the Marines already had “Oorah”. Though in fact, the Army was using “Hooah” back in 1841 – Juuust a bit earlier than the Marines “Oorah”. Ain’t Google grand? Ditto for ‘spell check’.
My dear friend Doug, the Marine grunting battle cry of UUUUUUuuuuraaaaahhhh came from God knows were,
just the the army version. I don’t believe anybody over time recorded the origin. That’s just me.
It’s weird and it’s also very much a derivative, probably, of heavy drinking!
Thanks for the pithy comments up and down the board. I read them assiduously and they make me smile
at having a friend so, well, different, as you most definitely are.
Thanks for what you write on here, for me and for all the other readers that read your work (there will be about 300).
Semper fi, my friend,
Jim
I was bummed that I never got to ride in a tuk-tuk in Mumbai. They had always fascinated me, gearhead that I am.
So glad that you are reconnecting with Nguyen, albeit under initially trying circumstances with many questons hanging, all the while trying to accomplish your first mission with a paucity of information.
I’m with the bated breath crowd,waiting on the explanations.
Thank you again for the entertainment.
Thanks Tim, much appreciate the compliment of your wanting more. The tub tub thing was something and still goes on
although not as pervasive as it once was. Cheap, quick, economical and sort of, but not always, fun.
Semper fi,
Jim
James, LT, JR. What can I say. When I read the line containing NGUYEN’s name, my heart jumped in my throat, and I caught my breath. Having wondered what happened to those around You while in The Valley of no return. I seem to recall some comments from The Gunny’s Son about some of this. All I can say is that You have been BLESSE !!! God Bless Stay Safe Stay Between The Ditches.
Thanks George, most sincerely. Yes, a few of the Marines who survived, and Nguyen, resurface was life begins to
play out, as you are reading. The Gunny survived and you will read more about this in later volumes, although I have
never heard from his son. Thanks for the caring and supportive comment as well as the compliment of the comment’s writing.
Semper fi,
Jim
The final sentence is a classic.
Those words bring back so many fond memories. ~~smile
It has been my good fortune to have you along for many of the exploits and adventures through the years.
A man of honor and integrity crossing a land and world where there isn’t a suffient supply of either.
Thanks Chuck, my friend,
and Semper fi,
Jim
This is amazing chapter keep em
Coming LT
Thanks Robert, I am on it right now. Last place to the next chapter in minutes before edit and publish.
You help give me motivational help here.
Semper fi
Jim
DELIGHTED, to say the least, to begin learning a lot more about Nguyen and his circumstance. I would love to be a fly on your shoulder and be a witness to all that transpired this day. Strange encounters in a strange land. You have GOT TO throw us a bone and tell us how Nguyen KNEW you were going to be at that hotel on that day.
Cannot believe you are about to sell life insurance to a couple of South Koreans. Which will probably end up getting you in hot water with someone… Was there NO life insurance option within S. Korea for those two guys who like to shadow you and look at your papers? I bet people today in S. Korea are still telling stories about that odd American fellow they met back then. I feel sure you left a wake there.
Layers of people within the embassy and within the Korean government, and within the hotel itself check on each other–and you. Not to mention the strong possibility of NorK agents who would be working and lurking about in S. Korea who might have an interest in you. Can you trust the “secure” phone in the booth at the hotel?
Assuming everything you do and say is being monitored, recorded, or whatever. My advice for you is, if you don’t know who to trust, then trust nobody (except, hopefully, Nguyen). But if all works as planned (no sure thing) Nguyen will be flying back to U.S. soon. You might want to keep him there with you for a while as your dependable sidekick to watch your back.
What a ride you take us on…
Seems you are gradually, little by little, getting the chapters out earlier. Was Thursday, then Wed., now Tuesday evening. Not complaining. I like it and don’t know how you juggle everything during the week in your real life.
Blessing to you and yours.
THE WALTER DUKE. Only you and possibly Colonel Jim Homan, who was over there with me, predicted that the ‘doorman’ might be
Nguyen. I was amazed, as the chapter was mostly written that revealed that but not published. You are remarkable.
The next chapter should satisfy you a bit about that special man and what he was doing there. Sometimes I feel like “The Wandering Jew’ with all
the strangeness of that mythical creature attached to me. I can’t explain it. I will write more about some things after this coming chapter when I can explain better
so as not to ruin the chapter for everyone else.
Thanks Walter, my friend,
Semper fi,
Jim
Wow, talk about thinking on your feet!
Too true, Bill, and it was like that trying to figure out how the world worked beyond U.S. borders.
Thanks for the comment.
Semper fi,
Jim
Crazy life you lead!
Well, Joseph, compared to so many people I guess you have a good point using excellent observation.
Semper fi,
Jim
Awesome read.
My only question is how did Nguyen get to you or at least find out where you were.
Can’t wait till the next chapter.
This question will have an answer in the next chapter so stand by.
Thanks for the comment and the compliment of wanting to read more.
Semper fi,
Jim
That is a very good chapter it seems like everything happens to fall in place incredible running into Nguyen someone had to lead him to you
Great writing LT.
Thanks for the motivating compliment as I work on Chapter XXIV now.
Semper fi, as things ‘fall into place’ as you put it.
Semper fi,
Jim
Awesome read.
My only question is how did Nguyen get to you or at least find out where you were.
Can’t wait till the next chapter.
Good morning James!
Thanks for another excellent chapter 😀 Meeting and saving Nguyen and his family’s life after what he did for you … what a payback!
To have that kind of power … what a great feeling that must have been for you!
Dealing with all those people you didn’t know or what the outcome would be … in a foreign country! Bravo Sir 👏
Well, Tim, to have that kind of power came with all sorts of strings and prices,
as time went by. Yes, you can get to a point in life were you can influence the
course of lives around you but it’s not for free. Thanks for the great compliment and
the most interesting of comments.
Semper fi,
Jim
Loved the ending! Build the tension and “what’s next?” and end with the menacing secret agents wanting to buy insurance. I didn’t see that one coming and doubt many of your readers anticipated it. Good job.
Thanks Rhay. I don’t write what happened in order to set up the audience and the stuff you are reading sounds so
surprising because it was and, at least when I reread it, gives me a feeling of authenticity simply because
unless you’ve lived some of that stuff it would be very hard to invent.
At least, in my opinion. Thanks for the compliment too.
Semper fi,
Jim
WOW! This just simply can not be a life story. This has just got to be fiction, if not science fiction! JR., you gotta come clean now … and qjick! You have to be stringing us all along. Butttttt, either way I will not say I am sorry to have read this far. Please continue to regale us with more! Maybe my tired ole mind can stand it. It is twisted into pretzels now. Help me to straighten it out.
You are reading ninety-five percent, or so, reality and that’s coming clean.
Some of it is simply hilarious because it was. I know that all through my life
credibility has been an issue and I haven’t, in many cases until now told such great swaths
of the story. I don’t want to be alone. I don’t want to be one of those garrolous old men
ignored while they babble either. But I am glad to be laying it all down before I cross over
onto the other side.
Semper fi,
Jim
Thank You! I am straightened out now. Please continue with the regaling.
Gotcha Chris, and thanks for saying that here.
Semper fi,
Jim
What a hell of a journey you’ve been on…
Indeed, it has been. To follow the path of my adventures is to come to believe that there must
be a supreme being up there or down here having something to do with it.
That I’m here at all is astounding. What an amazing ride it’s been.
Thanks for the neat comment and your support.
Semper fi,
Jim
I could not believe Nguyen has come back into your life again James. I have been waiting for a week to learn more but now have more questions than ever. Your coolness under questioning is amazing. I have just read this chapter twice and now can only wait and wonder for another week how you are going to extricate yourself from the present pickle while somehow learning how to navigate the two new cultures you were thrust into. I admire your gravitas and am so thankful for your service to our country and proud of your honoring your debt to Nguyen.
Nguyen return was a shock, not that there weren’t a few more to come from him and others.
I am starting the next chapter tonight. Usually it takes me only a few days to complete one
as writing a rendition of reality mostly from memory (I have 67 volumes of journals but those did not
start until 1985) than making stuff up as I go…and some of it can’t be made up as even the most
intense of research would be more than lucky to turn up some of those oh so true and valid details (like the the
wind, exhaust, sidewalk driving tuk tubs or the near family-like loyalty of a driver.
Semper fi, and thanks a lot.
Jim
With all the heavy intrigue , I had to smile at the last line 🙂
Yes, funny that the last line came right there. It wasn’t really planned that way. I wrote it and then checked my page
count and realized I should stop. I reread the words and then had to laugh myself. Life’s accidental humor is sometimes
the best. Thanks for the great comment.
Semper fi,
Jim
Thank you Jim.
You are most welcome Ted!!!
Semper fi,
Jim
A lot here; Tuk Tuks, Marine Leadership and BS! The first Tuk Tuks I saw were in Olongopola, then India and finally Mainland China when they graduated from animal driven transport to motor; they must be a sign of domestic progress!
The real rush for me was the realization of your description of our responsibilities to our men. Were driven to lead down, not lead up!! I killed myself going to bat for those who I worked with under me and pretty much ignored those above me who thought I worked for them!
Lastly, it is amazing what one can get someone to believe if one has the balls to ask!
Oh, I think your CIA code # has a 0 first not a O like 0102949
Colonel Homan, my experienced and friend from the valley, or at least above that hell hole. You are right about the number. The first integer is
the number zero. Sharp eyes, as ever. Generally, you get someone to believe what you want them to believe because they already want to believe it,
which means you better be pretty damned good at knowing what they believe and how much you are capable of modeling yourself to fit into that scenario.
Thanks for you own original and well described thoughts and your experience in leading Marines, as you did others when you left the Corps to become
a Mercenary. Working for the Agency was like being a mercenary but with a much larger, more powerful and less organized outfit behind me.
Thanks, my great friend,
Jim
Welcome to the wonderful world of spook hood! Baptism under fire is how I read it. You are now reaching the bottom of the rabbit hole, but wait there is no bottom, you just go deeper and deeper…. Awesome chapter sir, Semper fi!!
The introduction was, as you are reading, without much of an introduction. Only later would I find out
why I was sent in the way I was, but that’s another part of another chapter up ahead. Thanks for the compliment
and support of your usual pertinent and accurate comments.
Semper fi,
Jim
Good Morning James…another great chapter. Here are some editorial comments.
I wasn’t sure he was in the room needing help so I presumed while proceeding to start some sensible dialect with the rather new creature before me.
Need a comma after help
“No, I was just there to greet you but there was no place to talk and the state security people were all around for some reason.”
Need a comma after talk
A member of what I presumed to be the embassy staff was standing there next to Nguyen but it wasn’t likely they would have much to say to one another, not that it mattered.
Consider a comma after Nguyen
“Yes,” I lied, realizing I wasn’t more than 48 hours into my first mission, and I was already lying to the Agency
Need a period after Agency
“Never, that I’ve heard of but you might be the first.”
Consider a comma after of
I took out my Marine Corps I.D. card and showed it to him. When he moved to take it from me I pulled it back and stared at him.
Need a period after me
“I don’t really believe that,” he said back, but his tone had softened,
No comma after that
Herbert’s voice had returned to normal and I knew things were going to be alright, and then there was a knock on the supposedly private door.
Need a comma after normal
There was no peephole so I opened it.
Need a comma after peephole
Thanks Mike, for picking up fabulously where Dan left off.
I sure hope Dan keeps reading and commenting although I have not heard from him in awhile.
You can get burnt out doing this sort of thing…or so they tell me. I’m more like the Energizer
bunny doing the writing.
Semper fi,
Jim
That is a very good chapter it seems like everything happens to fall in place incredible running into Nguyen someone had to lead him to you.
Great writing LT.
Thanks Pat, and yes, it seems that there is a whole lot more in our life that just happens without our control but
requires participation. Thanks for the observation and the comment.
Semper fi,
Jim
brilliant
up early
The demons came about 3 o’clock this morning and I just got I read your story such great writing and so entertaining and I could never live in that world I have a terrible time living in this world where people lie and can’t be trusted in a business situation you eat the bear some days the bear eats you keep writing James
Sorry you have been going through a rough patch my friend. Thanks for the encouragement here
and I hope if you need that or anything else from me you’ll get on the phone.
Semper fi, my friend,
Jim
Oh my goodness, Jim – great chapter, and that last line about knocked my socks off!
I recall Nguyen quite well from “Thirty Days” – the man is a Godsend. I hope he will be as great a help for you in days to come, Korea or the States.
But selling life insurance to the Korean Security troops has got to be a fantastic leap, for sure – the icing on the cake, so to speak.
Next chapter reveals some mysteries and I’m glad you’re back in the saddle with access and notification again.
You are an important player in the life of this effort and I cannot thank you enough…or worry about you more!
Semper fi, my friend,
Jim
James, you are the master of surprises! The tiger in the jungle, the crocodile at the upside down tank, Mickey Thompson souped up your GTO, Nuygen grinning at you in Korea, damn!
Keep writing, keep spinning that web!
Life was a kaleidoscope back in those days, it turned and there was a new wild
image that appeared around every corner. I knew Mickey was playing with some tough
players when I was at the racetrack winter nationals in Half Moon Bay way back there.
Three black Cadillacs showed up and Mikey went over to talk to someone in the lead car
who never got out of it. They talked through a darkened window a few inches down.
Mikey’s body language was kind of revealing. Things weren’t going well there and then
the three cars were gone. Never found out anything and never suspected much until Mickey and his
wife were shot to death in their own driveway.
Semper fi,
Jim
Jim,
DELIGHTED, to say the least, to begin learning a lot more about Nguyen and his circumstance. I would love to be a fly on your shoulder and be a witness to all that transpired this day. Strange encounters in a strange land. You have GOT TO throw us a bone and tell us how Nguyen KNEW you were going to be at that hotel on that day.
Cannot believe you are about to sell life insurance to a couple of South Koreans. Which will probably end up getting you in hot water with someone… Was there NO life insurance option within S. Korea for those two guys who like to shadow you and look at your papers? I bet people today in S. Korea are still telling stories about that odd American fellow they met back then. I feel sure you left a wake there.
Layers of people within the embassy and within the Korean government, and within the hotel itself check on each other–and you. Not to mention the strong possibility of NorK agents who would be working and lurking about in S. Korea who might have an interest in you. Can you trust the “secure” phone in the booth at the hotel?
Assuming everything you do and say is being monitored, recorded, or whatever. My advice for you is, if you don’t know who to trust, then trust nobody (except, hopefully, Nguyen). But if all works as planned (no sure thing) Nguyen will be flying back to U.S. soon. You might want to keep him there with you for a while as your dependable sidekick to watch your back.
What a ride you take us on…
Seems you are gradually, little by little, getting the chapters out earlier. Was Thursday, then Wed., now Tuesday evening. Not complaining. I like it and don’t know how you juggle everything during the week in your real life.
Blessing to you and yours.
THE WALTER DUKE. Hey Walt, this comment appeared earlier and I answered it but the last part I didn’t.
I begin writing the story on Wednesday of the week, but don’t do much of this tory except to sequel the last chapter into the beginning of the new one. I usually get back to the project on Sunday morning and finished the first draft by Sunday afternoon. Let it lay overnight and then go back through it on Monday morning to see what I might want to change. Total time to write and finish a chapter is about six hours. I think pretty quick, recall pretty accurately without having to consult outside sources and type like a bandit (about 125 words a minute!). There, that should give you an idea.
Thanks, my friend, for the always interesting and penetrating comments.
Semper fi,
Jim
LT how in hell does all these people know where you are all the time? A bit of humor here and there in this chapter. You obviously scared the hell out of the Koreans when you is the term die.
Thanks for the great question, to be answered later, of course,
The Koreans didn’t ‘scare’ nearly so easy deep inside their own
developing country but I get your drift.
Semper fi,
Jim
Just opened up a big can of worms.
Thanks for the short but accurate comment Harry!
Semper fi,
Jim