Hi,
It was another hot day in Chiang Rai. We hung around the house for most of the day. Party prep has begun and we visited the police station for a final time.
The 'Zany Day' song was "Subterranean Homesick Blues" by Bob Dylan (Robert Zimmerman). Now you know. It's time for an easy 'Old School Friday' and I think this fills the bill: "Don't take your love away from me. Don't you leave my heart in misery. If you go then I'll be blue, 'cause __ __ __ __ __ __." Hint: This guy laughed in the rain, but in this song he's begging her to stay. I think he has a hard time with separation.
Images of yesterday's traffic incident keep replaying in my head. Even though I know that it's over and the injuries were not serious, there is a video loop that is taking it's time fading to black. It's just going to take time, diversion, and staying in the present as much as possible. Whew. We had an afternoon appointment with the woman who drove the motorbike and the investigating officer, so that left the morning to drift in and out about what might happen. Our police friend called the station and then called me to say there was 'no problem'. That lightened the load.
A great deal of the party will be on the rear patio and we needed to clean the terrazzo so it looked nice. Boot and Kwang said they would do it. After lunch Kwang came with her daughter and the three of them applied special cleaner and scrubbed with long-handle brushes.
After dressing 'politely' for the appointment at the police station, we got in the hurt little car and drove over for the meeting. It was a little bizarre to walk in and sit next to the woman who ran into me the day before. She was in pain, but brave. We sat for a long time while our insurance rep made phone calls and spoke with the police. Finally, they told us that she admitted fault, that our insurance would fix the car, and that we would agree not to ask her for money. At one point the insurance guy said something about my having a good heart. They fined her 400 Baht ($14.50) and told her that our company would come to her for money to fix the car. She has no money. I don't know what happens after this, and it's none of my business. We'll take the car to the shop on Monday. There was an odd sense of paranoia as I drove home from the station. I'm sure it will pass, but it was weird.
For the weekend we will drive our pick-up truck that has been with our friend Jaffee. There are many errands to run for the party so I'll be 'stick-shifting' my way around town. That should be interesting in itself.
This evening we heard a bunch of voices coming from across the street. I looked out and saw two truck-loads of young men unloading drums and costumes. It was time for the annual house-blessing celebration for Chinese New Year that our neighbor hosts. There were drums pounding, lions dancing, and firecrackers popping. BamBam ran for cover and we closed the windows and just tuned it out.
Across the river there is a big concert happening. Chiang Rai sure knows how to party. Here's a photo from the Flower Market on Valentine's morning. There was so much traffic they brought in police to direct cars. Roses in Thailand are the highest priced in the world this year. Hmm.
Flowers and Candy Bouquets
Have a Wonderful WeekEnd. Now it's time for the 'Funnies'.
Peace,
Danny
The Burglar
A burglar broke into a house one night. He shined his flashlight around, looking for valuables when a voice in the dark said, 'Jesus knows you're here.'
He nearly jumped out of his skin, clicked his flashlight off, and froze. When he heard nothing more, he shook his head and continued.
Just as he pulled the stereo out so he could disconnect the wires, clear as a bell he heard 'Jesus is watching you.'
Startled, he shined his light around frantically, looking for the source of the voice. Finally, in the corner of the room, his flashlight beam came to rest on a parrot.
'Did you say that?' he hissed at the parrot.
'Yes', the parrot confessed, then squawked, 'I'm just trying to warn you that he's watching you.'
The burglar relaxed. 'Warn me, huh? Who in the world are you?'
'Moses,' replied the bird.
'Moses?' the burglar laughed. 'What kind of people would name a bird Moses?'
The kind of people who would name a Rottweiler Jesus.'
Gettin' Funky, Thai Style
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