Ko Kret, 4 hours to get home, STOU, and memories of a dock

Today I need to get the CD of photographs organized for Mali Phomlum (Oowon) funeral. We will also go to the funeral again tonight. The cremation ceremony will be on Sunday.

When experiencing grief and death I become moody and a little depressed, it is just part of the human condition. I know I feel more edgy and anxious then normal. Time and new experiences will regenerate my optimism, I just need to be aware of my weakness right now.

A member of the village won the lottery last week, about $10,000. He is an alcoholic that leaves in a shabby house near the big tree. His wife is sick with alcoholism and was in the hospital a couple weeks ago. Jit said he is buying beer for everybody and that he will buy a diamond watch. He came to the funeral and was sort of shunned, he was loud and a little pushy. Sometimes peoples limited horizon is depressing. I know some of my daughters relatives spend their whole life drinking, waiting to drink, or recovering from drink. They have been doing it for years with no change. year to year. To me their life seems like a gray winter day.

There is a man named Sthey in our community, he has two grown daughters that are successful professionals. They come and visit often. Sthey lives in a small house, in a large compound of houses, with many relatives. He rides across on the boat to work and rides a shabby Kawasaki motorcycle around Bangkok. He also helps take care of the small kids in the neighborhood. When we went with the family to Ranong last year he came along to help carry Jit's mom. You can hear him laughing and taking from a distance. His smile and laugh are contagious. He has false teeth that he wears to work, but when he is home he does not wear them. He is self-conscious and covers his mouth when he smiles or laughs. It is difficult because he smiles and laughs often. Sthey is a person with a strong presence. I would trust him in a crisis. He is a good man, he is also an alcoholic, but his life and approach to life is very positive. I admire and respect him.

We went to STOU yesterday. I will be working with the e-learning section of the Department of Technology. The people I met can use English. I am looking forward to working with them. More later.

After going to STOU we went to Ko Kret. Last year Margaret and I visited Ko Kret with Sutep. I had a wonderful visit with the Abbot. Every time I saw Sutep, before he died, he wanted to make sure I visited the Abbot again. Today we visited and it was good. Jit's family are Mon, a distinct cultural group in Thailand. The people of Ko Kret are also Mon. Jit and the Abbot talked for a long time. We want to take Jit's dad to visit. The Mon people have congregated around Bangkrachow, Minburi, and Ko Kret. I believe that hey had their own distinct language, but I have never heard it. I was glad to visit, the Monks spirit and personality are joyful and spontaneous. He has been instrumental in the re-invigoration of the Ko Kret area. I said that I noticed that they Ko Kret people did not smile much when you passed them on the path. I thought it was from tourism, but Jit said that was the Mon way! I think of Sutep often, we were becoming friends when he died. Last March I drove him to Nenana so that he could see some of Alaska nature.

Coming home we took the bus from Ko Kret to Phra Pradaeng. It took three and a half hours to get to Phra Pradaeng and another half hour to get home. Sometimes Bangkok is just exhausting, not interesting or energetic, just exhausting. I was craving a Pizza.

Yesterday when we went across to the funeral we took the small boat. They dropped us by another dock because there were policeman on the normal dock. We had to walk across a large long tailed boat to get to a the dock, it was OK though, not too dangerous. I think they were checking if there were commercial licenses for tax purposes, I am not sure of all the details. When I was first visiting Jit's place in 2001 the boat dropped us at a different dock that has been knocked down. It was a wood ladder that went up thin concrete pier. When I got on top all a saw was a thin wooden board across some very polluted water with a wrecked boat below. The water was thick with oil sludge. I am afraid of heights. I had to take a deep breath and just walk across the plank. I made it, but later, after reflection, I was afraid. I talked with Jit about not putting us into dangerous positions again. She thought I was talking about the boat, not the dock or the thin wooden board. When we returned in 2004 the dock was no longer their.