Humor

Hi,

As the nights in Chiang Rai get cooler it can mean only one thing.  The Cold Season is on the way.  We still haven’t had any appreciable rain recently and it’s looking like our Rainy Season isn’t really coming.

‘Old School Friday’ was “Dancin’ in the Streets” by Martha and The Vandellas.  I think you know this ‘Easy Monday’ song:  “__, ma belle.  These are words that go together well, my __.  __, ma belle, sont des mots qui font tres bien ensemble, tres bien ensemble.”  Hint:  Those four lads from across the pond singing in French? What?  Title is a name.

It’s easy to tell that a holiday is coming soon.  There are fireworks going off and the music is thumping from across the river on a Monday night.  Tomorrow, Tuesday, marks the beginning of the Festival of Loi Krathong.  Wednesday is the actual Full Moon and the official day of the celebration.  There is another holiday celebrated at this time called Yee Ping.  That is the lantern celebration, when the sky is filled with the big paper lanterns powered by the heat from a tiny fire inside.  Loi Krathong means ‘floating basket’, which is a literal description of the floral arrangements that are placed in the river.  There are many meanings given to this holiday, dating back to Indian mythology.  Thailand is a culture that has, over the years, adopted rituals and icons from other lands and made them their own.  The festival began in Thailand 150 years ago.  I don’t know if we’ll get down to the river tomorrow night, but it will be filled with krathongs made from banana leaves woven into a little platform with floral arrangements and a candle and incense in the center.  It’s an amazing sight to see the river ‘glowing’ with hundreds of krathongs flowing on the current.  

Tonight we had a full table for dinner.  Our long-time friend Rachel, president of The Sold Project, is in town.  She came over with a woman who will stay in the country for about a year, working on various ways to track the progress of the children and young adults who are helped by the project.  We had a fun time comparing notes about what it’s like to live here and then go back to the states.  Sold is about to open a center here in town for the kids who are living in the city and going to school.  

Today’s photo was taken at The Wanderer last month.  What you are seeing are papayas, very big papayas.

Have a Great Week.

              Peace,

                        Danny

“Good humor makes all things

tolerable."

~Henry Ward Beecher