i met this man once on a train in Vietnam.
We were going south through the night to Hue.
the car was full and lively.
not to be egocentric but it felt directed at me.
close to a dozen cars filled with traveling souls and i was the only american.
this man across the aisle was very fair and kind.
i learned about his family, three kids and wife, and his job; working for the military.
he seemed to be doing quite well for himself in a country still discovering some things about the world.
I played some sub-genres of music off my i-pod to see how he would react to the odd and unique.
He was a poker player for sure.
His emotions and reactions were held in.
we talked all night but it wasn't conversational.
he asked me every question imaginable each phrased with the classic w's:
who,
what,
when,
where,
and why.
sometimes lead with do, or how.
i answered them all until the sun rose over the land where the single star flies.
He was headed to Saigon and we never spoke again.