On the Road Again

Oh but folks lately I have been spotted

with a Big Mac in my breath

stumblin into a Colonel Sanders

with a face as white as death

-- Junk Food Junkie

I'm back in Los Angeles on my way to meetings in NY. Stopped in LA to attend a memorial service for Dave Smith, a very close family friend who died just short of 75 years of age two weeks ago. His children, Margi, Janet Anne, and Ted were as close as brothers and sisters to me. His wife, Georgette, who passed in 1991, was incredibly smart and may well have had the best sense of humor of anybody I've ever known (with the possible exception of Cade). The good memories of Easter Sunday breakfasts, camping at Doheny every summer, and going to Big Bear every Christmas were warm and overwhelming.

On a side note, this trip has allowed me to be reacquainted with So Cal fast food -- which is the tastiest fast food in the world (probably the most deadly as well). Being away from it only makes me crave it more -- Famous Star, Double Double, Jack-in-the-Box Tacos, and the rest -- it is all so good and so bad. I know I should be loving Thai food, but I'm not. I am, however, resolved to eat one new Thai item each time I go back home. I am so picky, but I've got to adjust in order to take full advantage of my new surroundings.

Food For Thought

I have been a stranger in a strange land

- Moses

The sounds, sights smells, tastes are overwhelming. Even the air feels filled with spice. I thought I knew a lot about Thais, but I'm learning how ignorant I am and how tolerant they are. My wife lives to eat, but eating is not about food, it is the socialization and connection with the culture that feeds them. She will travel for an hour in each direction in order to spend ฿80 (about $2.50) for some noodles with curry and fish balls and two hours of chit chat.

Chit chat can consist of ANYTHING -- politics, love, family, dreams, money, weather -- anything that touches their lives is fair game. I've discovered that there are few if any boundaries between Thais of even the most slight of relationships. "Honey, I meet her while eating noodles outside JW Marriott. She's from my city, Kalasin." and she proceeded to tell this girl our life story.

I've always thought my life was an open book, but this is beyond what I'm used to because, for me it creates an intimacy that I'm not necessarily comfortable with. For my wife, it is less an act of intimacy and more a cultural connection. The subjects of the conversation are less important than the actual act. After five and a half years of marraige, there's still a lot to learn about Thailand, my wife, and myself.

Once in a lifetime

And you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack
And you may find yourself in another part of the world
And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile
And you may find yourself in a beautiful house...with a beautiful wife
And you may ask yourself, "Well ... how did I get here?"

--Talking Heads

Well, this has been an incredible first week. Started with 15 hour flight from NY to Hong Kong. After a two hour layover, a three hour flight to Bangkok, another four hour layover (albeit with a shower and a change of clothes) and another hour flight to Khon Kaen and a two hour drive to Kalasin. Sounds like hell? Pretty close. Then a two day frolic of eating, drinking, and singing Karoake. And I was pretty much limited to an observer for all three.

In Thailand, New Years is a time for family to get together and when everyone in the village is some sort of relative it means I was introduced to a LOT of cousins. That's what happens when the family moves to the village 500 years ago. But I did get to spend some more time with Moht's Uncle. He is her father's younger brother and a guard at the city jail. He once had the worst day (without involving death) that I have other heard of, but that is for another blog entry.

At her Uncle's farm, I took a tour of his house, two fish ponds, and rise fields. The farm is about 50 feet wide and three hundred yards long. Welcome to Thailand. We played a Thai form of Bocce Ball and I did pretty good for my first time. The weekend concluded with a 14 hour drive (usually about 5 hours...guess there were a LOT of cousins heading back to the big city after a weekend at the village) to Bangkok.

I think I'm going to like it here.