I was walking down a quiet shady street through my neighbourhood in Da Nang, Vietnam today at noon.  It was hot, but the cool breeze of the South China Sea made for a comfortable walk.  Two teenaged Vietnamese boys gestured wildly toward the sky, beconing me over to them.  “Grandfather, come quickly!”, one of them shouted.  Feeling a minor bristling at being called grandfather by these long-haired, urban-hip kids, I stood my ground. One of the boys came across the road and pulled me by the arm out from under the shade of the trees to see this marvellous sight.  He took off his sunglasses, passed them to me so I could get a clear polaroid view.  The boys asked me what it was, but I had never actually seen a sun halo, also known as a 22 degree halo caused by sunlight passing through ice crystals in cirrus clouds.  I was tempted to say something about luck, but the Vietnamese take luck very seriously.  Not a subject to mess with.  I just shrugged, thanked them and moved on.  The halo was still in place when I got to my apartment so I took this photo.  In framing the shot I thought the electrical wiring through the center of the shot evoked something clever about the source of power on earth, but on reflection I think I was just too lazy to move out from under the wires.

This past week the family had dinner at Tokyo BBQ, a loud, chaotic place with an amazing menu.  Much of the food is delivered to the table uncooked to be barbecued or stirred into a hotpot.  I just kind of watched since there were a number of cooks at the table far more capable than I.

Some of the dishes served obviously needed to be recorded.  This is one of the most fascinating characteristics of dining out in Vietnam.  This country’s food history will be well documented.  The food is brilliantly presented and certainly worthy of note.  I often wonder if when this generation ages, people will sit around in living rooms passing digital devices around and musing on the amazing plate of cod back in ’17.  Maybe I’ll be one of them.