Have you seen me?

Lee Bruin, world respected cotton-knit tycoon, is feared dead after heavy rains wrecked havoc on areas of Vietnam. "The tragedy here," said Bruin's brother, Joe, "is that Lee's life-long dream of beachfront property in Hanoi was shattered only two weeks after he moved in."

It is unclear whether Bruin, 35, was at home during the time. Heavy rains had been falling on the area for over a week, causing the Perfume River in Hue to crest, destroying over 115 bridges and sweeping thousands of homes out to sea. The flood was the worst on record for the 20th century according to United Nations' relief workers. Many areas were standing under 9 feet of water.

Left: Saigon Bridge

Bruin became famous in 1996 while working as a spot welder for Saigon Steel. In a rush to complete Saigon's newest bridge, production was stepped up and mandatory 18-hour shifts were instituted for all employees. As the bridge neared completion Bruin's hand became stuck in the viscous tar that workers were using to temporarily hold the steel plates in place.

Left: Bruin during the ordeal

"It had too be one of the most embarassing moments of my life," commented Bruin immediately after the incident. "Once we realized that my attempts to unstick my hand were unsuccessful, my welding partner ran home and fetched his young sister. I guess she had just bought a bottle of nail polish remover and he seemed to think that this would do the trick. Unfortunately, it didn't." A news crew from the local television station picked up on this story. What started out as an exposee of abusive and potentially dangerous working conditions turned into a human interest story while Bruin's hand was stuck in the tar. After the fire department freed him from what could only have been certain death, the reporters went to Bruin's home for a follow-up to their story. Left: Bruin's home under construction

It was there, reporters discovered Bruin's real passion -- short sleeve t-shirts.

"I've never owned a washing machine," Bruin explained, "and what started as an excuse to do laundry only once a month turned into a vision quest."
Thousands upon thousands of t-shirts were found housed in their own specially made bungalow. Left:Bruin's t-shirt bungalow

Above: a small sampling of shirts

Bruin admitted that his passion may be considered strange but convinced the reporters that cotton knit was a modern fabric. "Cotton is appropriate for every occasion and the beauty of knit cotton is that you can be comfortable at all times -- when you're working hard or playing hard -- cotton is the fabric of our lives."

Left: Joe Bruin demonstrating the comfort of cotton

International news wires picked up on this story and his fame spread throughout the world. A week after his accident, Bruin was contacted by Mr. Cotton himself, John Cotton. "He basically offered me a job as his Vice President. I knew nothing about business before John came into my life. He taught me everything I know." Bruin's rise to fame within the garment industry was meteoric. At Cotton's death, six months later, Bruin was unanimously elected CEO & COO of King Cotton Inc. His retirement at the age of 34 was met with shock and grief among fashion designers the world over. "I know I'm letting a lot of people down with my decision, but I really want to get back to what's real. That's why I'm building an ocean front home in Hanoi with 35 rooms, a T3 LAN connection, and a private heliport."

Above: Bruin's home before the storm. Below: Site of Bruin's home after the storm

Left: site of Bruin's former residence

Bruin's Shangri-la was destroyed during the storm and it is feared that Bruin himself may be lost as well.

A search & rescue party was sent out shortly after the waters subsided to locate the missing magnate. The country's most famous search dog, Muffy, was leading the team, trying to pick up Bruin's scent but the natural cleansing properties of water made the task impossible. Neighbors were interviewed to ascertain Bruin's whereabouts immediately following the flood.

"I've never had any problems with him. He was quiet and kept to himself, so I'm not sure whether or not he was at home," said one elderly neighbor.

"He came by the other day to order chickens for a party he was planning to give," said a local butcher. "I've got my people working overtime processing the chickens. If he's not going to pay for them, somebody will have to!"

An all-out effort to look for Bruin has been growing daily. Local residents have been using

bicycles motorcycles cars and

boats to search for him. Bruin's brother, Joe, has rented an plane to search from the air. "I've got the airport on immediate stanby. Planes will be allowed to take off as soon as a sighting is reported."

Vietnam's heavy forests make searching nearly impossible

Above: heavy brush

Livestock have been deployed to graze the surrounding areas in an effort to mow down some of the dense underbrush.

"It's real tragedy," said a close friend of Bruin who wished to remain anonymous. "He loved children and children loved him.

You can see them now searching for their missing hero. Distraught children have been seen putting sticks up their noses. Please, can't somebody save the children?"

Many items in Bruin's house have been located as far as 5 miles from his home. These include bath towels toothpaste

his pet monkey, JayPeg

his Mickey Mouse backpack and the baseball hat he never left the house without.

Strangely enough, no t-shirts have been recovered.

1 February 2000

Kent Brockman

a report for Unique Libraries

This site was created by Nina Schneider on 1February 2000 for UCLA Department of Information Studies IS287-1 for Howard Besser