Joy

Hi,

The weather in Chiang Rai wonderful.  It’s been warm, but not stifling.  The nights and mornings are cool and refreshing.  

The ‘Old School Friday’ song was “Lean On Me” by Bill Withers.  This week’s ‘Easy Monday’ tune is one I’ve used in the past.  You said it was easy then and it’s still easy now.  “Well, you can tell by the way I use my walk, I’m a woman’s man: not time to talk.  Music loud and women warm, I’ve been kicked around since I was born.  And now it’s all right.  It’s OK.  And you may look the other way.  We can try to understand, The New York Times’ effect on man.  Whether you’re a brother or whether you’re a mother, you’re __ __, __ __…”  Hint:  Siblings from ‘down under’ singing about surviving.

Saturday morning we took JaiDee to The Wanderer in an effort to get him tired before going to a party in the early afternoon.  He was his usual charming self, and showed no signs of tiring.  After the coffee and ‘he’s so cute’, I went shopping for some food items for the party and we were off to the country.  Our friend Caty along with her twins and a family of 7 live in a big house near the river.  We’ve been there many times, but the countryside always looks different, usually due to new crops, fuller trees, or changes in the various villages we drive through to get there.  There are also some things that don’t change, like the sacred tree just before the house.  The big, beautiful tree sits right in the middle of the road, so the road spilts and goes around the tree.  What a concept.  Entering the house, the first thing one notices is all the shoes.  Shoes of those who live there and those who are visiting.

The population of the party was mostly kids.  It was the biggest gathering of kids that JaiDee has ever encountered.  He did pretty well, considering.  A few times he’d get settled down and then one of the kids would come over, or bring a friend to see the puppy and he would be ‘on’ again.  We had a good time visiting, but we couldn’t stay for the duration.  As soon as we started home, puppy put his head down and crashed.  

Sunday morning we went to Chivit for coffee and ice.  Then I went to my morning meeting.  We had expected to take JaiDee with us to The Wanderer for lunch, but we got a break from a willing sitter.  Now I know what parents of little ones feel like when this happens.  Relaxing lunch by ourselves, smiles all around.

The river bank was a village by Sunday evening, in preparation for Monday’s Loy Krathong Festival.  Tents, temporary food stalls and vendors of treats had filled in the land that was bare a few days ago.  There was a dull roar coming from the area when we took JaiDee for his evening walk.  When we got home the music started and that familiar, dull thump of the sound-system became the background of our lives.  It’s not as loud as when we’re living upstairs, but we hear it.  Open the bedroom door into the hallway and you realize there’s a band in the house (555).  A new twist this year is the addition of sheet-metal temporary ‘Dance Music’ venue near the entrance where we go for our walks.  That accounts for the clashing sounds we’ve been hearing.  Rock on.  This year the government has asked that the paper lanterns that typically fill the skies not be used.  Chiang Rai has a lot more airplane flights than it used to and it becomes a problem for pilots.  

Here’s a photo of JaiDee and me chillin’ by the side of the pool.  This is his favorite thing to do.  Once seated, he slowly backs into you for more contact.  If you stop petting, he reminds you of your duties.

I’ll fill you in on our Monday tomorrow.  

Have a Great Week.

                       Peace,

                                 Danny

“The noblest pleasure is the

joy of understanding.”

~Leonardo da Vinci