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Hi,

Today we had another cold morning. Not as cold as some places in America, but cold for us. We went to a dance recital, and had unexpected visitors.

By the looks of things, our current song could have been an 'Easy' one. Lots of you got it but I'm still waiting for the rest of you to get it. Here's some of the chorus: "__ __ __ __, no, you just have to wait. She said love don't come easy, it's a game of give and take..." Hint: It was the summer of '66 and three young women with big hair and glamorous gowns were all the rage.

You're probably getting tired of me talking about how cold it is here, but let me put things in perspective. The weather for most of the year is like summertime in most places. It's so warm here that they don't even put heaters in the cars and trucks. That means that when it drops down into the 50s, you'd better wrap up for the ride. (Ha) I got a message from my brother Denny, in Parker, Colorado and he said the outside temperature on their car thermometer read -9 degrees. Now that's cold.

This afternoon we went over to the Dusit Island Resort, which is just over the bridge and around the corner from us. We knew it was going to be kids from a 'Dance School', but had no idea how many were involved. The lobby was buzzing with mostly girls ranging from tiny little three year olds all the way to teens. There was lots of makeup and quite a variety of costumes. We got settled in the auditorium and waited. When it finally started, it was with music. We don't know what it was but it probably had something to do with the King. Everyone jumped to their feet as the music began. After the song, the mistress of ceremonies introduced the 'presenter', which is the way most artistic events begin. It was the Governor of the Province of Chiang Rai. After his opening comments things began. The room was set up for 200 and there must have been at least 150 family members and well-wishers. After about an hour, there was an intermission. We went to the lobby and had coffee and talked with Tye, who had invited us. This is the only dance school in town so this was a big deal. All of the various groups did a second number and when the dancing was over they started handing out certificates. Tye told us we could leave and we did. Two hours was quite enough. After all, we missed our nap time.

Late in the afternoon BamBam started barking in her 'watch dog' tone so I went down to see what was going on. Boot's friend Jindah, her husband and daughter, plus two of the husband's friends were in the back looking at the pool. One of the friends has a house in Koh Samui, in the south and is thinking about building one. They took pictures and spoke in French. One of them spoke a little English and told me that he lives 2 months in France, then 3 months in Thailand and so it goes. I don't know what he does, but now I'm curious. Hmm.

I found out that all the activity last week with the helicopters and soldiers was in preparation for the niece of the King. That explains a lot. It would appear that our little town is growing and getting more recognition. Even though we are in the northern most 'city' in the country, Chiang Mai is referred to as 'the north'. Looks like that may be changing.

Have a Warm Thursday.

Peace,
Danny

"Wherever you go, go with all your heart."
~Confucius
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