Think

Hi,

Stormy night, hot sunny day. That's how it's been here in Chiang Rai. There was a major parade, a lot of driving, a fond farewell, a warm swim, and an evening out. It's been a full day.

I got a ton of email on this 'Easy' song. If you still have doubts, read this verse and be sure to check the clues.
"Now you've got some diamonds, and you will have some others, but you'd better watch your step girl or start livin' with your mother. So don't you play with me 'cause you're __ __ __." Hint: This is the last verse. The actual title uses a different form of the first word. It's only Rock & Roll. Think of the singer as a combustable material.

Last night the thunder and lightning began at about 8pm. A little later the first wave of ran came. It rained off and on all night. Usually, after a big rain, the pool gets cooler from all the 'new' water. Today it was so hot that the temp in the pool went up 4 degrees. Hmm.

This morning I took Boot to the bus station to get her ticket to Rayong. She likes to go on the evening bus so she can arrive in Rayong in the morning. The traffic was heavier than usual due to the holiday.

It's hard to believe it, but BamBam is a 2-year-old. Today we took her to the vet for her annual shots. She loves to hang her head out of the window. It took a while but she's finally realizing that she's a dog and that's what she's supposed to do. (Ha)

After the vet run, I took the car to get it washed. That's when the day became exciting, interesting, and frustrating. I turned down the major street that leads to the car wash. As soon as I did, it dawned on my that I had driven past a small barricade. I was headed straight for the parade route. Today was the day for the big parade. I saw a policeman waving other cars through so I kept going. After I dropped the car off I walked back to the corner and took pictures of the floats with my phone. Some of the workmanship was incredible. Figures of Buddha, dragons, and giant candles were made to look like they were made of wax. Some of them may have been. There were also beautiful floral arrangements. All of the schools and temples were represented, along with several traditional dance troupes, and drum groups. I stood in the sun for as long as I could, snapped a bunch of pictures and went back to the car wash.

In my mind, I plotted a course home, thinking I could avoid the parade. My plan was to go east, then north, and then west, It made perfect sense except that the parade was coming down the final street in my plan, from the opposite direction. I was forced to turn south. I followed the traffic, slowly drove through the market district, and thought I was going to make it. I was forced to turn down the same street the parade had confronted me on, which turned out to be the end. I took the new bridge over the river and came home through the village of Ban Mai. Next year I'll just stay home.

On our way to the bus station we had a chance to see a sign we'd never noticed. It read "Tomato Parking", and had a picture of a tomato. I've never seen a tomato parked there before. Actually, it's a Japanese restaurant called "Tomato," and the funny thing is, you can't see the sign for the restaurant from where we were in traffic. A little farther down the highway we saw a car with a decal in the back window. It said "I'm a black car". The car was white. A car with wishful thinking. (Ha) After a brief goodbye at the station, we headed back to the house for a swim. The water was warmer than yesterday. If this pattern keeps up we can keep swimming for a lot longer.

Our favorite Night Bazaar restaurant was closed for the evening so we went to Aye's for dinner. Lisa discovered a dish on the menu that she really liked, and I ordered enough of my 'rice with chicken' that we can create lunch tomorrow.

Have a Happy Tuesday.

Peace,
Danny

"Never think that you're not good enough yourself.
A man (person) should never think that.
People will take you very much at your own reckoning."
~Anthony Trollope

Gettin' Funky, Thai Style
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