Hi,
Life in Chiang Rai is going to be different for us during the next few weeks. We will be staying inside more than usual, and the dogs will probably go crazy and get fat from lack of exercise. This is due to the bad air that we are trying to avoid. Today we braved the main market and bought some air-filter masks for Boot and Kwang.
Congrats to all of you who remembered The Lovin' Spoonful's "Did You Ever Have To Make Up Your Mind?". See if you know this 'Zany Day' song: "It was the third of June, another sleepy, dusty Delta day. I was out choppin' cotton and my brother was balin' hay. And at dinner time we stopped, and we walked back to the house to eat. And mama hollered out the back door, 'y'all remember to wipe your feet.' And then she said she got some news this mornin' from Choctaw Ridge. Today __ __ MacAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge." Clue: This song has a four word title, it's a very long story song that has mystery, gossip and lots of speculation. I suppose the bridge is a real giveaway.
You can tell when things have gone from bad to worse when various agencies start dropping their denial and issuing warnings about the air quality. This is the case in Thailand. We though it was a Northern problem, but it's bad all over, except the beach areas south of Bangkok. We have learned a lot during this crazy time. Burning corn fields yields more particulates than rice, and it seems that there's a lot of that going on. This time last year we left town. This year there's just too much going on to leave, so we'll do the next best thing: Stay home, turn up the air filter, and wait for rain.
As we drove across the Pink Bridge this morning we saw more evidence of the coming of Songkran. People and dogs playing in the river, more campers, and more thatch houses. Now there is a little dock so people can take longtail boats to the shore for the celebrations. In the market there are displays of colorful Hawaiian shirts and squirt guns. I still find it fascinating that flower shirts from Hawaii are so popular in Thailand, once a year. There are some great shirts that are locally produced, but the bulk have a very island flavor. Hmm, and they even call them 'Songkran shirts'.
There is a tree in the circle part of our driveway that has had some dormant orchids hanging for a long time. Suddenly, this year they bloomed. As if from nowhere, there was a burst of color. Just had to share it with you.
Tiny Yellow Orchids
It's time for Wacky Wednesday.
Peace,
Danny
"Apathy is the glove into which
evil slips it's hand."
~Bodie Thoene
Gettin' Funky, Thai Style
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