Xuan Chi Diep: The Hanoi Horseman

 

A Sunday, Nov. 2 visit to Magnolia Cemetery produced a nice variety of bird photographs, including the effervescent Roseate Spoonbill. See my "Bustling with Birds" post here. 

And a striking Little Blue Heron. 

But what was most striking to me was this sign leaning against a tall magnolia tree. “In Memory of Xuan Chi Diep” it reads. There’s no date, no context, just what you see. 

If I ever noticed the sign before, I do not remember. That’s one of the things I like about Magnolia Cemetery and its 150 acres: seeing something new, though I’ve been here a few hundred times over the years. 

The memorial sign, dislodged from the base that once held it straight, and the Magnolia tree that now supports it are located next to a unique white zinc monument that I wrote about and photographed in my 2014 book, “In the Arms of Angels: Magnolia Cemetery- Charleston’s Treasure of History, Mystery and Artistry.” More on that book here. 

Xuan Chi Diep? So what’s the story here? There must be one. I decided to use the holiday season break from my teaching job to find out. 

And find out I did! 

Boeing, Boeing, Gone...Almost

Last Saturday when driving near the big Boeing 787 Dreamliner plant (campus if you prefer) I spotted this Vietnam Airlines passenger plane in front of the huge paint building. Looks like it was just painted and is a step closer to being delivered.

The plane looks spiffy until I noticed the yellow star surrounded by red on the tail fin. That’s the flag of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Vietnam is still Communist and I can’t help but think of the long, bloody, and divisive Vietnam War I grew up with in the 1960s and ‘70s. My U.S. Army officer father went to Vietnam during the war and fortunately came home safely to us. 

Yesterday a different Dreamliner was outside the Boeing paint building. This one is going to Singapore Airlines. A local newspaper article said how due to the coronavirus pandemic Boeing has not been able to deliver completed 787s as quickly as in the past. The article said how the plant is having to find new places to store the big jets. Maybe that’s why I’ve been seeing some at this location in recent weeks. I’ll post more pictures of different airlines if I continue seeing them here. 

Last week I spotted the paint building open, one of the big bay doors anyway. I have always been curious about what it looks like inside the huge structure. This view didn’t reveal too much. 

This is a Dutch KLM 787 Boeing Dreamliner.