For Every...

Hi,

It was a busy weekend here in Chiang Rai. We went to a party, we had visitors, and we did a lot of walking. There were children to feed and little balls to hit. The adventure continues.

The song you got stuck on was "Cloud Nine" by The Temptations. Oh yeah, that one. I'm thinking this one might throw you. "Streets full of people, all alone. Roads full of houses, never home. Church full of singing, out of tune __ __ __ __ __." Hint: I'll bet you thought only astronauts went there.

Saturday morning we got a call from Jaa. Her family owns the big chain where we bought all our appliances and tile. They were having a party at the main showroom and we were invited. We arrived around 11a.m. and the place was jumping. There was a big truck in front of the store with a walk-in showroom full of neat kitchen products. Inside the store there was a long buffet table and a section with a sound-system playing music. The music was for various groups of dance troupes that were mostly tiny kids putting on quite a show. They must have been from several dance schools in town. Costumes and makeup and simple choreography were the order of the day. The crowd was entertained and the mood was festive. We watched a bit and picked up a few things we needed and quietly left. It was a major promotional event but we were not in the market for more house stuff.

In the afternoon Tay brought her sister Doe (my spelling) over to see the house. Lisa had met her before but it was the first time I'd met her. We had a very nice visit and she wants to come back. After they left we got a call from Pui inviting us to join his family on Sunday morning to help feed some children at Chiang Rai Special School. We accepted of course.

Saturday night we went to Walking Street. The purpose of our trip was to see if we might run into any of Boot's friends who had a booth there and might be willing to help us sell our bags. As we strolled the first block we were thinking we didn't know anybody there. Then we started seeing all these people we all knew. We also saw some pretty amazing sights as well. There was a man with a giant cart that he had constructed and it was fitted with gongs and drums. He stood on a platform on the back and pushed various levers that activated the gongs and drums. Kind of like a one-man-band. It was fascinating. We spent some time watching him do his thing before moving on. Next we noticed a guy standing perfectly still, covered in paint. We call him Green Man since the paint was green. He was letting people paint him. They not only painted on him and his clothes, but they tried to make him laugh but he remained still. I don't think he could have pulled that off on Venice Beach. It was another reminder of the gentle nature of the Thai community. After watching Green Man and some young people spinning tops in a competition, we passed by the group that sings what they see. The woman of the group sang something about me but Boot couldn't tell us what she said because she was singing in Lanna Thai. It's a different dialect and not everyone speaks it. Oh well. After we left the Walking Street we went down to Big C to get some treats for the kids at the school.

Sunday morning we headed south down the highway about 17 kilometers to the junction at Wat Rong Khun. We took one wrong turn, saw lots of farm land and finally found the school. There were about 200 kids between 5 and 15 years old. Their lunch had been prepared and our job was to pass out the plates, then give them oranges and later the treats. Most of them live at the school and it's one giant community. Some are physically challenged, some are autistic while others have Down's Syndrome. Regardless of why they were there, we were met with grateful, smiling faces. At one point, before they ate, they were led in song by one of the older boys. Jen told us it was the 'Thank you song'. It was a heartwarming experience that will not be forgotten.

I'll have to tell you about my Monday on Tuesday since this is getting a little long. Have a Great Week.

Peace,

Danny

"For every beauty there is an eye somewhere to see it. For every truth there is an ear somewhere to hear it. For every love there is a heart somewhere to receive it." ~Ivan Panin


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