Dodging Traffic

One memorable day my section leader and I were driving our shrapnel-riddled 3/4 ton truck back to our base camp near Cu Chi for resupply. About half way there we left the dirt road and pulled onto the asphalt main highway. It was 2-lane of sorts and varied widely in condition. There were relatively smooth parts plus plenty of potholes and bumps. Well, we soon found ourselves following a small Honda motorbike. Papa-san was driving and mama-san was riding side-saddle on the small, chrome luggage rack. Suddenly, the motorbike bucked up and down as it crossed a large bump in the highway, pitching mama-san onto the pavement. Our section leader was driving and fortunately, paying attention. He swerved almost instantly and narrowly avoided running over mama-san. Meanwhile, papa-san continued on as if nothing had happened, completely oblivious that his lady was missing. We managed to catch up and pull along side, frantically waving and pointing at the empty luggage rack. Papa-san finally figured out what happened and turned around. Mama-san was still on the roadway, but at least was sitting up. I’m sure she received some major road-rash. I’m also sure Papa-san’s rations got cut off.