Do

Hi,

The weather was cloudy, and a bit cooler today in Chiang Rai. We had rain overnight, and it looked like it could have rained all day. Even cooler weather is still warmer than what we'll be traveling to next week.

A few of you got the song quickly. I think the chorus of the song will bring it back to the front of your mind.
"__ __ makes me feel fine, blowing through the jasmine of my mind." Clue: This seasonal song by a duo was recorded in '72. It got a funky redo by a famous R&B family. Two words describing something pleasant. Hmm.

There are a few things that I didn't tell you about our 'elephant day'. All of the elephants were females. The males are separated after about a year. They are not as docile as the females. My 'partner' was named Boosee. Em told us that her name is really Boonsee but her mahoot wrote it down as Boosee so that's what they call her. When an elephant flaps their ears, it means they are happy, and content. Boosee flapped her ears a lot while we were working.

We realized that part of the initial fear that came over all of us was the fact that there was nothing in front of us as we sat right behind their heads. Like you could just fly right over the front, and fall to the ground. When we walked back from the river, we each had a mahoot riding behind us. That was a slight comfort, knowing there was someone there. During the actual training we were on our own. There was a rope around the middle of the elephant, but it was of no use while 'driving'. It only came into play for the dismount over the head, and getting back on.

It's been four days since our experience and we're just beginning to get over the soreness. The front of the hips, and the sartorius muscle, which runs from the front of the hip to the inside of the thigh above the knee got most of the workout. It's what you use to hold on, and believe me, I was holding on. (Ha)

Tomorrow we're having the swimming party that was supposed to happen Wednesday. I think we'll have better weather. In the evening we're taking 'The Family', Jen, Arun, and their sons, to dinner. In the midst of all the activities we still have to start packing our bags for the trip to America.

Someone asked me if I was ready for driving in Los Angeles. My response was the same as last time. It will be more organized, and more polite than what I deal with here. There won't be people turning in front of me, bikes passing on both sides, and I won't have to dodge Samlors going 3 mph. It should be a pretty nice break. We'll see.

Have a Mellow Thursday.

Peace,
Danny

"Don't let what you cannot do
interfere with what you can do."
~John Wooden

Gettin' Funky, Thai Style
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