Living in Thailand

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Hi,
It's your Tuesday and I'm bursting with news. Monday's gone but still fresh in my mind and big things happened today. One never knows what to expect living in Thailand.
I got a few nibbles on the song. Denny (my brother) knew the title. Who else will step up and admit to knowing an old song?
"Eyes full of sorrow, never wet. Hand full of money, all in debt. Sun coming out in the middle of June, __ __ __ __ __."
Clue: It was 1965 and this melancholy song peaked at number 17. It's like kids say, 'Why can't I go? Everyone's going there.' Follow the rhyme scheme and you may get it.
Monday afternoon we went over to Emmy's Kennel to see the puppies. Part of our mission was to try and choose a dog and get it's scent on a sock so BamBam could start to get used to the idea. With weeks to wait, we just wanted to be sure we got the puppy we wanted. When we got there Emmy was not around so we had to put off the visit.
We had a visit from Tay and her husband Pong. Tay had found some baking soda for us and Pong came to give me my first golf lesson. This was news to me, but that's the way things happen here. Anyway we spent about 45 minutes on the 'back green' with him showing me how to hold the club, position my arms and wrist, and so much more. We hit balls from one side of the yard to the other and then back again. By the end I was doing pretty well. So much to remember. Eye on the ball, back-swing, down swing, follow through, keep my left arm straight, body stays still, oh my. He impressed upon me the importance of practice. Some terms get crossed up going from English to Thai. When he wanted me to try my swing he'd say
'rehearse'. I just smiled inside once I realized what he meant. The inability to pronounce the 'el' sound came up a few times. I have to tell him to call me 'Danny' and not 'Danyun', which was his way of saying 'Daniel'. Hmm, I'd sometimes thought about changing my name but not to that. (Ha) When they left, he left me 10 golf balls. This is not over.
Today we called Emmy's to see if we could come by and see the dogs. We arrived at 11:15 as planned and we were greeted by a large, very friendly Golden Retriever. Emmy took us to the cage where the puppies were and pulled out a little male with a red string around his neck. This was our dog. We just wanted to visit but she insisted that we could take him today. It seemed early to us but we finally said we'd take him since she was going to charge us to keep him longer. Now this was not the original agreement at all. We were to pick him up four weeks from now. Hmm, like I said, you never know what to expect. Anyway, we left with Daku, which is an Aborigine word meaning sand. We made a dash to Dr. Arnon's to get what we'd need and some advice. He was a little upset with Emmy for releasing the puppy so soon. He got on the phone and had a long talk with her. Then he told us we could either pay her the extra money, or keep him and follow his special instructions. We decided to take Daku home with us. We had our first afternoon with our new dog and it didn't go too bad. We had to keep BamBam downstairs which didn't set well with her. She was very curious about this new smell in the house. Daku is so cute. He's just getting the hang of walking and he did venture out in the room a bit. He slept a lot and we played a bit. Then I realized that we are scheduled to go to Bangkok for the weekend. We couldn't leave Boot to deal with BamBam and Daku so we took him back to Emmy's until Monday. He must be very confused in his little puppy brain. So are we. At least it gives us time to collect more newspaper. (Ha)
The end of the golf story is that when we returned to the house with Daku, there was a police truck sitting at the front gate. After getting over the initial shock, I realized it must be Pong. Sure enough, it was and he was bringing me a golf club so I could practice. What a guy. He does love his golf.
Have a Happy Tuesday.

Peace,
Danny

"It is one of the most beautiful compensations
of this life that no man can sincerely
try to help another without helping himself."
~Ralph Waldo Emerson


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