Problem

Hi,

That overnight rain I predicted never came, but appeared today in the form of occasional showers.  The temperature has been a bit cooler, but still requires the air/con.  Everything outside is growing very fast.

‘Easy Monday’ was “I Wish” by Stevie Wonder.  It’s time for another dose of ‘Zany Day’ music.  The year was 1958:

“I’m a-gonna raise a fuss, I’m a-gonna raise a holler.  About a-workin’ all summer just to try to earn a dollar.  Ev’ry time I call my baby to try to get a date, my boss says, ‘No dice son, you gotta work late.’  Sometimes I wonder what I’m a-gonna do, but there ain’t no cure for the __ __.”  Hint:  This is probably one of the easiest ‘Zany’ tunes yet.  It’s a seasonal thing.

It was a quiet day around The Big Brown House.  Gong cut down some coconuts, I ran some errands, and Neechanan has learned to make an interesting face.  Lisa managed to get a little smile this evening, but it was mostly a thing where she sticks her bottom lip out and looks real grumpy.  Who knows what tomorrow will be?

My first stop this morning was at the Egg Lady, but she wasn’t open.  Later I thought about all the people who have little businesses like hers, who operate them by themselves.  When they get sick and cannot work, there is no income for that day.  Sometimes she has help, but they are not ‘employees’.  I guess this happens all around the world.  Somehow they make it work.  Then my thought shifted to the number of ‘university’ graduates that are working in coffee shops or as counter clerks.  I wonder it they have a plan or is this going to be their lives?  What did they major in and are there even jobs in Chiang Rai?  Some days I wonder a lot.

One thing I am realizing is that here in Thailand, aspirations are not necessarily the same as in the West.  Survival is not nearly as expensive and there doesn’t seem to be a ‘conditioned competition’ between peers.  Maybe this is a calmer way to approach life.  Live each day, do no harm, and smile a lot.  Hmm.

Today’s photo was taken at The Wanderer.  These mushrooms are growing by the side of the entrance path.  Tomorrow I’ll show you another variation.

This afternoon I got the news of the passing of a friend here in Thailand.  He was one of the first expats who visited from Chiang Mai.  Over the years we became good friends and he will definitely be missed.  This led to Lisa and I having a conversation about how to keep all of this in perspective.  There have been three people in my life who have ‘moved on’ in the past month and it can get a little heavy on the heart.  We have to be patient with time, and take time to be patient.  The healing will come.  

Feels like a Wacky Wednesday.

                    Peace,

                              Danny

“Sometimes the best way to solve a problem

is to first let go of the idea that there is a problem.”

~Unknown