Success

Hi,

I'm back from a warm weekend.  We witnessed a 'hang out', I went on a lakeside excursion, we attended a birthday party, and Chinese New Year was festive in some quarters.

In case you missed it, the 'Old School Friday' song was "Sunny" by Bobby Hebb.  The 'Easy Monday' song will also be easy (555).  "I was born in a cross-fire hurricane.  And I howled at my ma in the driving rain.  But it's all right now, in fact, it's a gas.  But it's all right now, I'm __ __ __, it's a gas, gas, gas."  Clue: The title is a nick-name for the singer, from a band that is now very old.

Friday evening we went to what we now know is the 'Indian Bar' (not the 'India Bar').  Quite often the last consonant of an English word will not be pronounced and that was the case in identifying the bar.  So, it's a small place with lots of posters and carvings of Native American head-dresses, old photos of tribal dances and an array of motorcycle club stuff.  There was a young man singing in English and playing the guitar, but the volume level was such that everyone was sitting in the parking lot.  There were small tables and chairs near the door and it was clear that this was the common practice.  Two young women were holding baby rabbits, petting them, and the four of us made up the rest of the clientele.  The 'bar' is owned by a young woman from Holland.  The 'Indian Bar' in Chiang Rai, Thailand owned by a woman from Holland.  Hmm.  As the evening progressed it was clear that this would not be a repeat adventure.  Everyone was speaking Dutch, drinking beer and smoking.  Not the most comfortable situation so we called it a night after about 45 minutes.  

Saturday afternoon our artist friend Em came over.  He showed us a couple of his songs that he'd written and then he invited me to go with him to a big lake south of town.  On the way to the lake we went to his house and I got to see a bunch of his art.  The house is behind his family's home and he built it himself.  

When we got to the lake I discovered that we were at a wake-board training camp.  At first it just looked like a little cabana style bar with surf boards and photos on the walls.  There were about 10 young men on their way out and they all greeted Em with big smiles.  As we sat in a shelter by the water and a motorboat pulled one of the guys onto the lake, a man came to meet Em.  He explained that most of the group were from France and Switzerland and were here to train for the coming season of competition.  We sat for a long time, and as the sun set I realized Em was waiting for them to finish their training session.  A few of the guys came and started playing around with the guitars, 'jamming' as they called it.  We finally left around 7pm.  During the course of the afternoon I met an American who has a surfboard export business in Thailand and sells mostly to Europe and South Africa.  The wakeboard guys were testing one of his products.  A Australian expat told me his life story, and I met some kids who live by the lake and it's their playground.  

This year Chinese New Year did not seem as loud in terms of fireworks.  There were lots of signs of celebration around town and today we even saw a big crew of Lion Dancers making the round of businesses.  The tradition is to set off firecrackers at the doorway of a business to chase away the evil spirits and ensure prosperity.  The character in red, fans the smoke to chase the spirits.  They did this ritual up and down Clock Tower street.

                     Lions bring in the New Year

Today we had lunch with our friend Rachel, the American director of The Sold Project.  She's been in Thailand working with the local staff and traveling.  It was good to get updates on the program and see photos from the elephant experience the children had at Anantara.  

This evening we went to a birthday party for Gary, Jago's 'dad'.  They served turkey as the main dish so we were delighted.  There were lots of people we know so it was very comfortable.  We hadn't seen Jago in a long time and he was excited to see us.  Although we're three years apart, Gary and I have a little bond since our birthdays are a day apart.  He's on the 11th and I'm on the 12th.  Oh yeah, it's almost my birthday.  

On your Monday (my Tuesday) I will be celebrating 7 decades in human form.  (555)  

Have a Great Week.

                      Peace,

                                 Danny

"My greatest success is not
what I have been able to achieve,
but that which I have been able to overcome."

~Unknown

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Friday Funnies

Hi,

This seems to be a day for new adventures.  An afternoon photo-shoot and 'clubbing' in the evening.  Amazing.

Well, the mail poured in and it was all correct.  The 'Zany Day' tune was "Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds" by The Beatles.  The only thing left to complete the week is 'Old School Friday'.  I think you know this one from the 60s:

"__, yesterday my life was filled with rain.  __, you smiled at me and really eased my pain.  Now the dark days are gone, and the bright days are here, my __ one shines so sincere.  __, one so true, I love you."  Hint: It's a name.

When Chalit told us he wanted to photograph us, he gave us wardrobe instructions as well.  We were to wear black turtlenecks and he wanted me to also wear a 'P-coat'.  With the climate being what it is in Thailand, a turtleneck is the last thing one wants to wear.  We managed to improvise and get the look he wanted.  A Navy P coat is a heavy item that is also not found here.  We compromised with a black corduroy jacket with the collar turned up.  When we got to the studio, he took Lisa to 'the room' and they spent about 20 minutes taking pictures.  I hung out in the lobby with Chalit's brother Nu, talking about music and guitars.  Then it was my turn.  The actual studio is a large room with a very high (2 story) ceiling.  It was very dark since he wanted to control all the light with his various devices.  He sat me on a stool and put me in position and began adjusting the lights.  It's the first time I've had my picture taken when I was told not to smile.  He shot a series and then changed the lighting for another effect.  When we were done I went to the dressing room to change and mentioned another costume variation for another time.  He wanted to try it right then so we went back for more photos.  In the end we got to see his work since he used his digital camera.  We were very pleased with the results.  Chalit will pick the photos he wants to keep since he has an image in his mind.  In the future he wants to do another shoot with black and white film.  

Knowing that we'd be going out in the evening, we were lucky enough to get in a little nap.  Lisa worked on a new piece and I ran the dogs.  After dinner she worked with Tatt on his English.  

We have a date to meet Boot and her boyfriend Rudy at the India Bar at 9pm.  They have been asking us for weeks, but we've been getting over 'the cold' and kept putting it off.  This will be the first time we've actually gone to someplace that was a 'bar'.  We're told that it's actually a hang-out, whatever that means, and that there is good live music.  They say it's not just a drinking place.  What?  I'll fill you in on Monday.  

One more photo from the Flower Show before I go.  This is one of the orchid gardens that ran the length of the old prison wall.

Have a Wonderful WeekEnd.   Now it's time for a 'Funny'

                    Peace,

                               Danny

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Appreciation

Hi,

Weather:  Same as yesterday.  The day included bug spray, a big dog, traffic, buildings and an interview.

The 'Zany Day' song only had two responses.  Maybe these lyrics will jar your memory and bring your mind back:

"Cellophane flowers of yellow and green, towering over your head.  Look for the girl with the sun in her eyes, and she's gone.  __ __ __ __ __ __, __ __ __ __ __ __, __ __ __ __ __ __, Ahh..."  Clue: Four Lads from Liverpool had everyone wondering who the woman in the title could be and if they had taken a certain hallucinogen.

Today was the day the 'Spray Man' came and he was right on time.  It's mosquito season and, as we moved things for the spraying, we had proof that it's in full force.  Clouds of the nasty little creatures flew out every time we shifted anything on the shady side of the house.  

In town, I had to park in front of a driveway so Lisa could get some bread.  This meant that I didn't get to visit with our friend Jonathan, the English Golden Retriever who 'runs the place' in the mornings.  The owner told Lisa about how the hail had shredded an awning on the back of their shop.  The hail stories keep on coming.

At the pet supply store the women who owns the place gives Lisa a present every time we go there.  The last two visits it's been a big tin can like one might store cookies.  They are promo gifts from dog food companies with cute doggie pictures on them.  We give them away, but it's a sweet gesture.

This afternoon I drove out to New Life Foundation to talk to the residents.  I got to see the progress on several building projects along the way and spotted some new ones.  I'm hoping that some of the active farmers will hold out and continue to grow rice.  It would be a shame if it all filled in with concrete.  I don't really see this happening soon since rice is one of the biggest crops grown and exported by Thailand.

Lisa had a Skype interview with an art writer, who is also an accomplished artist in his own right.  It's for American Express Magazine for Thailand.  He really 'looked' at her work before the conversation and asked some interesting questions.  It should come out in April.  That was exciting.

Tomorrow we're having photographic portraits done by our friend Chalit at his Bliss Studio.  He has a concept for each of us so this will be a new adventure for sure.  All we know is that we're to wear black.  Hmm, that shouldn't be too hard to do.  The rest is in the hands of the artist.

I will leave you with more images from the Flower Show.  The first is the pre-schoolers and the second is one of the gardens.

Have a Thrilling Thursday.

                Peace,

                           Danny

"Appreciation is a wonderful thing;
it makes what is excellent in others,
belong to us as well."
~Voltaire

Gettin' Funky, Thai Style 

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Listen

Hi,

They call it winter here, but by afternoon I was wearing shorts and a tank-top.  Today's big adventure was a flower exhibit in the center of town.

The 'Easy Monday' tune was "I Can See Clearly Now".  It was originally recorded by Johnny Nash and went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.  Many years later Jimmy Cliff had a hit with the song in the Cool Runnings film.  Now you know.

It's time for another episode of 'Zany Day'.  "Picture yourself on a boat on a river, with tangerine trees and marmalade skies.  Somebody calls you, you answer quite slowly, a girl with kaleidoscope eyes...."  Clue: Things are not what they appear to be.  Some objects...  This song had a million interpretations, and a title with 6 words.  Easy.

On our way to Makro this morning we checked out the progress on the Art Bridge building as we drove by.  More interior walls are up, but it still has a long way to go.  Inside the store it seemed like some of the staff were having a bad day.  First there was a grouchy meat guy, then a checker who tried to get away without consolidating our purchase into one cart.  Not the usual service, but that's life.  

Yesterday we did everything on our list, which meant we didn't have any more stops to make.  Then I suggested that we go see the flower show.  The park, where the exhibit is set up, was once the grounds of a prison, right in the center of town.  I suppose that could be a good crime deterrent in some ways.   Today, all that is left is a piece of the wall on one side.  The rest was an open space that has been a gathering spot for families, skate-boarders and cyclists.  Schools use it to stage parades and on Saturdays it's part of Walking Street.  Now, the whole block is a giant garden. There are huge beds of various colorful flowers, a wall of orchids, and a stage for presentations.  There was a big group of pre-schoolers visiting when we arrived.  They were very cute in their matching outfits, a little taller than the flowers.  We don't know what goes on there in the evenings, but it looks like there must be shows since rows of benches face the stage.  The whole thing will probably last until the weather gets really hot.  Misters keep the plants cool for now, but they won't be much help soon.

The hail storm was more extensive than the stories we heard.  In some parts of the province houses were damaged by golf ball sized hail-stones and families had to take refuge in local temples.  Agriculture took a big hit during the storm, which destroyed a watermelon crop, and crushed flowers and vegetables.  Our little corner of the world didn't get hit with as much devastation, but it has many people concerned about the changing climate.

Time for a Wacky Wednesday.

                     Peace,

                                Danny

"Listen to the Mustn'ts, child,
Listen to the Don'ts
Listen to the Shouldn'ts
The Impossibles, the Won'ts
Listen to the Never Haves,
Then listen close to me --
Anything can happen, child,
Anything can be."
~Shel Silverstein

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Live

Hi,

We had another one of those 'post-card' days here in Chiang Rai.  Actually, the afternoon was very hot.  People are still talking about the hail storm that was most unusual.  Today we went all over town doing things.

A few of you jumped right on the 'Easy Monday' song.  Maybe the last line of the first verse will give it away:

"... gone are the dark clouds that had me blind.  It's gonna be a bright, bright sun-shiny day."  Hint:  Too easy.

This morning we hit the streets with a list of places to go and things to get.  Our first stop was the large stationary store called 'Munich'.  When we pulled up it was closed, empty, gone.  There was a map on the front of the building so I tried to read it.  (555)  The landmarks could have been anywhere.  A school near a hospital, near a temple left me unsure as to where to go.  We continued with the list and went to the veggie/fruit market.  

On our next stop we paid a visit to our friends at 'The Tractor Store'.   Jen and two of her sons were there.  We hadn't seen them in for a long time and we had a gift for Poon-Poon, Nu's daughter.  Jen showed us some photos from the flower show and told us about the continuing show at the park.  She's going on a trip to China in a week.  

During the thunder storms BamBam always wants to be next to me or hidden away somewhere.  We stopped at one of the pet stores to find a little enclosed bed that she could use as her 'den'.  We found one, now it's up to BamBam as to whether it's suitable.  A quick call to our friend Chalit revealed the new location of Munich and we found it without any problems.  It was a good day.

As we motored around the town we saw many new buildings that are finally finished.  There are lots of shophouses and apartments.  Some of the apartment buildings look like shophouses since the first floor has a sliding metal door.  This is used as a garage instead of a business.  With parking at a premium, it makes perfect sense.

Oh, we did see the Super Bowl, on Monday morning.  I recorded it and by the time we started watching, we had enough on the disc that we could fast-forward through the black-out.  It was a good game and it was fun.  We didn't get to see any of the commercials.  We kept seeing the same ones from this region, from airlines and travel promos.  One new one really caught our attention.  An Indonesian airline handles your visa check-in while you're still in the air.  No waiting in long lines in the airport.  I wish we could have that on our flights.

The photo of the day is from the big parade a few weeks ago.  I thought you'd like to see these cool hats worn by a group of Hill Tribe men and women.

                                      Cool Hats

Have a Happy Tuesday.

                    Peace,

                               Danny

"Live out of your imagination, not your history."
~Stephen Covey

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Forgiveness

Hi,

The flurry of storms has finally left us.  Today we had a bright, clear day.  Over the weekend it was thunder, lightning and rain.  BamBam slept over and Tatt returned from his testing adventure.

The 'Old School Friday' song that many of you knew was "Where Did Our Love Go?" by The Supremes.  'Easy Monday' is a 'retread' so everyone can sing along.  "__ __ __ __ __ __, the rain is gone.  I can see all obstacles in my way..."  Hint:  Weather forecast.  Hey, it's 'Easy Monday'.  (555)

Saturday morning we went looking for balls for the dogs to play with.  BamBam had a favorite red ball that disappeared somewhere in the yard.  It's hard to find hard, bouncy-type balls at the pet supply stores.  Most of them are hollow, with annoying squeaky things in them.  We found one ball, a little heavier than we'd like, but BamBam likes it so for now, each dog has a ball to chase.  

The sewer pumping truck came, but the problem remains.  We have put out calls to friends who might know who to call next.  This is something I know nothing about.  When we use the kitchen sink, water seeps up from the concrete hole in the yard.  The dogs love the whole thing.  Dogs love anything that smells like food, even if it's garbage.  (555)  I've had to cover the area to keep them from eating the tiny little decorative rocks that surround the opening and smell like, well, nasty.  

Normally, the month of February only has an average of 1.3 rain days.  Don't ask me how they figure that.  So far we have surpassed that big time.  Saturday afternoon we had another big storm.  It cleared in time for Walking Street, but I'm sure it was damp out there.  Sunday evening we had a lot of lightning.  While we were eating dinner BamBam suddenly got agitated, jumped up and ran to hide in the kitchen.  She had seen a flash of lightning, knew what came next, and ran for cover.  Later, as storm got closer, we started getting lots of thunder and rain.  That's why BamBam spent the night with us.   We heard that parts of town experienced a hail storm.

When we went down to feed the dogs this morning, Tatt was coming down the hall.  We knew he was coming home today and then going to school, but we didn't expect to see him.  He got in at 5am after riding the bus for over 12 hours.  He told us he slept on the bus and was ready for school.  The dogs were very happy to see their buddy. 

This morning the yard crew came.  About 9 people showed up and finished the job in record time.  A few things were not done, but it looks so much better without all the debris from the wind and rain.  After they left I took Daku out and he did his 'ritual inspection', checking out everywhere the workers had been, their lunch area, and places that had been cut back.  

While we're still in the yard, I'd like to share a cluster of orchids that bloomed over the weekend.  

Have a Great Week.

                Peace,

                           Danny

"Forgiveness does not change the past,
but it does enlarge the future."
~Paul Boese

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Friday Funnies

Hi,

A winter day in Chiang Rai consists of cold mornings, hot days, and cool evenings.  Today was no exception.  We stayed in for most of the day.  This evening we went to a 'yard party' of sorts.

Well, the 'Zany Day' song got a few responses.  It was "Mama Told Me Not to Come" by Three Dog Night.  That means it's time for 'Old School Friday'.  In 1964 this song was #10 on the year-end HOT 100.  "Baby, baby, baby don't leave me.  Ooh, please don't leave me all by myself.  I've got this yearning, burning, yearning feeling inside me, and it hurts so bad... Ooh, baby, baby __ __ __ __ __?  Ooh, don't you want me?  Don't you want me no more?"  Hint: Three gowns, three wigs, and an age-old question.

We have been 'baby sitting' BamBam for a few days while Boot was sick at Rudy's.  This morning she came home while we had the dogs out for their morning play.  They were so happy to see her they charged across the lawn and Daku almost knocked her down.  They didn't realize that she's still sick.  So, things are not quite back to normal at the Big Brown house, but we're dealing with all the things that Boot normally does.  

Our only trip outside was to deliver a sign that Lisa made to put above the T-shirts on sale at the restaurant.  On our way home we stopped at the vegetable market.  While Lisa was buying fruit I noticed the TV going at the stall next door.  On the screen was a close-up of the traditional way of making Thai tattoos.  Basically, it looked like a stick with a needle on the end, being tapped onto a man's back.  I understand that it's very painful.  Then they showed finished designs on men's backs.  The work was incredible in its symmetry.  The woman running the stall asked me if I liked them.  We agreed that they were beautiful, but we couldn't stand the pain and we both laughed.  

This evening we went to the Mantrini Boutique Hotel for the last in a series of Friday night gatherings they've been having on the front lawn.  They set it up like a village market, with an area for singers, booths for vendors, and a table for children to do arts and crafts.  On the way, we followed a truck with a light bar in the rear window.  It had multicolored LEDs that seemed to blink and dance in ever-changing patterns.  We couldn't stop watching, which is not the best thing when one is driving.  He finally turned off and we were released from the spell.  (555)  Meanwhile, back at the hotel, there was some interesting entertainment.  A group of "housewives" from a local village formed a dance group and were invited to perform.  It was a very simple format of a traditional folk dance.  Today's photo was taken as they were getting started.  Later, they danced in a circle and invited the audience to join them.

It looks like we won't be going to Central Plaza this weekend.  They're having the stars of a popular TV show coming to sign autographs and take photos with fans.  From what we've been told, the place will be a zoo.  It's OK, the sewer guy and the yard crew are due so we'll be plenty busy.  

Have a Wonderful WeekEnd.     It's time for the 'Funnies'.

                   Peace,

                              Danny

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