Moments

Hi,
Well, this is a very big week here in The Kingdom. Wednesday is the King's 80th birthday and there's celebration all week. Everyone's being encouraged to wear either yellow or pink shirts and there are many events planned. The King is the longest reigning living monarch in the world. This is his 60th year as King. Everyone adores him and it's really amazing to watch. Everywhere you go, there are pictures of him. Every house has at least one picture of him. The respect is phenomenal.
The weekend song was "Will It Go 'Round In Circles?" by the late Billy Preston. Here's one from 1970 that you know:
"He got hair down to his knees, got to be a joker he just do what he please, __ __..." Clue: They changed the music of the world and it still lives.
So, Joyce (of Bangkok Blue fame) arrived today from Rancho Cucamonga. She's our third house guest. Her husband Blue was the first. She's here to buy the property we will build on. In Thailand, foreigners can't own land. All the papers are in order and tomorrow morning, we go to the property office and then the bank. I hope you're getting the idea that we're very excited.
Saturday our friend Dee came to lunch and brought some drawings he had made, on his own, based on conversation. It was a big surprise to us. His ideas were very dramatic and we love them. We compared notes and he's going to re-do what he drew and we'll talk some more. He knows an engineer and many builders. Our 'team' is coming together. By the time we come to visit in the States, the land should be filled in and we can start construction sometime after the first of the year. Oh, there's quite a process bringing the land up to street level. First we have to dig for water, and then wet down each layer of dirt before bringing in more. Hopefully, we'll have pictures of the process to show you.
This evening I went into town to meet some friends. Afterwards, as I walked down to where the Tuk-Tuk's hang, I listened to my iPod. It was surreal, listening to Ice Cube's 'Today Was A Good Day' strolling down the main drag, realizing that none of the things he was talking about applied here. This is a new life, on so many levels.
Oh, I mentioned last week about trying to get online banking set up and the grand production that took place. Well, we were at the bank today, using the outside ATM, when the woman who helped us came out and said she had more papers for us to sign. I made a small mistake and wrote over it. Wrong. She had redone the form except for my mistake. Once it was done, we had more papers to sign, and more and more. We still don't know why. I told Lisa that maybe it was so we could get money out of the computer. (Ha)
Today we sent a gift box to NZ and shopped at the government market. Lisa got a pink King shirt and I got a yellow jacket. We watched a guy 'grooming' coconuts and embraced the ambience. We're getting excited about visiting the U.S., and coming back.
Have a Monstrous Monday!

Peace,
Danny

"Life's precious moments don't have value, unless they are shared."
~Unknown

Gettin' Funky, Thai Style

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