Dreams

Hi,

Monday morning in Chiang Rai was cloudy and rainy. It stormed last night and again today. We had a break late morning and had a chance to get out for awhile. Over the weekend we lunched at Central Plaza, went to Big C, and enjoyed the Grand Prix.

The 'Old School Friday' song was "Fever" and the original artist was Little Willie John. And now for a little history lesson. Up until the late 50s music performed on records by African/American artists was called 'race music' and was not allowed on most radio stations. When an artist had a strong record, the major labels were quick to cover the tune with a white artist in order to get 'play' on major radio. Such was the case with "Fever". Peggy Lee became a prominent artist with this song and most people think she was the first to record it. There are many instances of this practice (Shake Rattle and Roll being another). Now you know. OK, it's time for 'Easy Monday'. This is fun:
"Meet me in the playground at a quarter to four, wait 'til everybody's long gone. There must be so many things that we can explore, maybe I can walk you home... She said 'Hey, wait a minute, hold on..." Hint: This is a funky little ditty by an above average band, and the singer is head over heals for someone. The title is three words.

Saturday morning we were to have a visit from the yard crew, but they canceled. We also had a cancellation from the awning guy, so our day was wide open until lunch. We met our friend Sutheera at Fuji restaurant at Central Plaza. As always, we had a wonderful time chatting about lots of interesting things. She gave us some insights on the upcoming election and explained the candidates' posters we see all over town. They are all in Thai, since only Thai people can vote. What's really interesting is that the posters all have a big picture of the candidate and a number, which is the ballot number for that candidate. That way, even if the voter can't read, they can remember the number for the person they want. Sutheera teaches at Chiang Rai Rachapat University and classes begin next week. She's been busy preparing for the new semester plus working on her doctoral thesis project.

On the main floor of Central Plaza there is a space that is used for vendor 'expos'. This week they had exercise equipment on display. There were treadmills, elliptical bikes, weight training aids, and massage chairs. Right next to all that were big tables with clothing for the sports minded. The one thing that really caught our eye were the reclining massage chairs. Not just leaning back, but a chance to be flat on your back with all sorts of massage patterns going on. Hmm.

Sunday at Big C was business as usual except for one funny thing. I went to a store that sells tech stuff and asked about some ethernet cable. The man smiled and said 'No have'. When I asked where I could find it, he told me "downstairs." When we went downstairs and asked at a phone counter, the woman smiled and said, "Upstairs." We had to laugh. Later we found out that there was a store that possibly had the cable but they were closed. Oh well.

Sunday evening Lisa made a delicious spaghetti dinner and we went upstairs and watched the Grand Prix from Monaco. It's the only true street race on the schedule and has lots of twists and turns through the narrow streets. The Petronas/Mercedes team calculated that the steering wheel is only in a straight ahead position for 10 seconds of the 75 second lap around the course. Zoom.

When we brought Daku 'home' from Boot's house in the evening he was limping. We don't know what happened, but it seems to be getting better. We didn't let him play today, which made him a little sad, but he should be OK soon.

Have a Great Week.

Peace,
Danny

"The only place where your dream becomes impossible
is in your own thinking."
~Robert H. Schuller

Gettin' Funky, Thai Style
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