Enthusiastic buying of flowers

I put down the phone and looked at my watch.  I had accepted an invitation for dinner that very evening. Ricky the charismatic, enthusiastic & internationally renowned painter of boats had invited me and a few of the crew to dinner. His team had been painting our boat a week or two ago and he was taking them out to thank them for their hard work. I like Ricky a lot and have worked with him a few times over the years but Sunday evening, I wasn’t really in the mood. In my mind an evening out with 10 or so Vietnamese guys, spells Karaoke. This is not one of my skills and being out on a semi-professional standing, meant that nowhere near enough alcoholic stimulant was going to be in me for this kind of a caper. Thinking on my feet I made my way to the crew mess, seeking out Noel a Philippines lad with excellent Karaoke talents and Wayne who is our token yank, when in the states you never know when you might need someone to explain the finer points of that culture to you. Fortunately they were keen to join me and so I was not alone when Ricky turned up in his rental car to pick us up.

In typical style we did not know what to expect, this simple evening out was actually a charity diner that was organized by the Vietnamese community to raise money for blind kids in Vietnam, 300 plus Vietnamese people from within the San Diego community plus one Pilipino, an American and an excited bloke from the UK. Our host had booked several tables for his workers, their families and his own  friends, family and business  associates.

The belly dancer was hypnotic, the Vietnamese Elvis was hilarious, the music was random and I didn’t understand a word of what was going on. The colours were vibrant, the food incredible, the kindness and generosity of this community was staggering and I didn’t have to sing Karaoke.

The buying of flowers had started slowly by the young guys at our table, who were stashing them and waiting for the opportunity to give them to their favourite performer. Obviously buying raffle tickets and flowers helped the cause and soon we were buying flowers to give to all of the entertainers. Ricky our host caught on and started stealing the flowers from our table and giving them back to the vendors to re sell again. The enthusiastic buying and giving of flowers continued until the entertainment finished and our wallets were empty.

I left feeling inspired by these lovely people and with no money left in my wallet but as I sit and reflect on this event, I am thankful for the continued opportunity to expand my friends across cultures and for the random meeting of amazing people and the interesting situations that I meet them in.