Monk is a man

I’ve been coming to Thailand for about 4 years. I’m married to a Thai woman from a small village near Tak. However, when I met her she was going to Rajabat University in Lampang. Whenever, we would go out for a ride she would insist on locking the car even though nothing was in the car and the car itself really wasn’t worth stealing. I come from Michigan in the USA and although crime is a problem in America I have never really been in the habit of locking my car every time I stop while shopping or going to work or attending school. After a few months with my wife in Thailand I got in the habit of always locking her car wherever we went. One day we drove up to Tak and went to a Thai temple to ask for a blessing for our marriage from the monk in her village. The temple grounds were surrounded by a tall stone fence and we had to drive through a gate to gain access to the Monks living quarters. When I got out of the car I deliberately did not lock it. My thinking was a Monk being a holy man would certainly not steal anything. As I started to walk away from the car my wife gave me a stern look and reminded me to lock the car. When I started to protest that a monk wouldn’t steal she replied in her infinite wisdom, “Honey, a monk is still a man.”