Do you realize how incredibly hard is such a task is this? America, post 9-11, is unbelievably stringent on many things. It is the typical way of the United States. We are always a bit behind in our endevours, but what we lack in response, we make up for with fervor and spirit! Anyways,...
Read more
It’s been far too long (for me) since my last blog. You see, American football season has started, and I am a rabid fan of the game. The time of the week that is usually set aside for blogging (Sunday) is now reserved for watching football. I get up at seven a.m. and drink...
Read more
I am fascinated by historical photos. I can stare at an old black & white photo from turn-of-the-century anywhere for minutes on end. I look at the people or places depicted and try to put myself there. I look at the faces, the clothing..what was the weather like? Are those people miserably hot in...
Read more
I’m sure that everybody has some type of ‘life list’ of one sort or another. It is usually a list of certain things that a person wishes to accomplish before a certain point in their life. A young entrepeneur wants to make his first million by age 30; or a sports fanatic wishes to...
Read more
A caveat to any amateur (or pro) ornithologist reading this blog. This is neither an entry about my search for a new species of aviary mystique in the jungles of Northeast Thailand, nor is it an essay about Warner Brothers’ influence on Thai culture. No, the tweety birds to which I am referring were...
Read more
I was sitting on my back deck the other evening, reviewing my “Thai For Beginners” text (constant review of even the basics is essential if one is not immersed in the language). The sun had gone down about an hour ago, but it was still very warm out. The book was at my 10...
Read more
Ever since I first picked up that book on the Thai language, back in 1990, I had always dreamt of going to Thailand. It consumed my thoughts. One time, the navy ship that I was stationed upon had a stop-over in Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico. I spread out a tatami mat on one of...
Read more
Here in my hometown of Seattle, Washington, we have an event every July called “The Bite of Seattle”. This festival is held at Seattle Center. Seattle Center is a large chunk of property right amidst the tall buildings of the largest city in the State of Washington, USA. It has carnival rides, games of...
Read more
12 days after Pon’s visa was approved, we touched down in Seattle, WA. A first time on US soil, foreign soil for that matter, for my soon-to-be wife. We collected our baggage and headed out onto the sidewalk to be picked up. Since 9/11, of course you cannot be met at your flight by...
Read more
“Bangkok, oriental city….and the city don’t know what the city is getting” (Murray Head–One Night In Bangkok; 1984) I think that this might have been the first time that I had heard of the city of Bangkok. It was 1984 and I was just a young kid living in the suburbs of Seattle. It...
Read more
My First Thai Book “How do you say…love?” “Ruk” “Ruk?” “Yes..good.” “Ruk….hmmmm.” That was a snippet of conversation (as best as I can remember) that introduced me to the Thai language. Mid-June of 1990 at a state park on the Chesapeake Bay. Kim and I walking closely down a forested path; almost touching shoulders,...
Read more
Drinking a Chang beer with a chang! Nov. ’04 Well, it is an honor to finally write a blog on this webpage. I have been reading everyone’s postings for about one month now, and I have to say that coming to this site to read blogs has been something that I have looked forward...
Read more
