As you can see, this is present in two parts, though it didn't start out that way. It was given to me in one piece at the Easy Rider bar in Saigon where we met after I was done teaching that night. Since it was Saturday night, it was a given that we'd be out all night drinking. Plus it was my 40th birthday.

Sometime relatively early on in the evening, Eric and I (Lars had peeled off on his own without a word, as was his habit) were leaving a joint on Hai Ba Trung St. We hopped on our motorcycles ("Minsk" brand) and took off. In my case, the motorcycle took off just a bit earlier than I did, and we (my Minsk and me) went crashing into a traffic island. Neither of us was hurt, but my birthday present had attained it's current configuration. I have kept it in that state to remind me to be grateful that I can still walk the walk.