Who is that?

So, in many places, especially in Asia, people have a hard time pronouncing "Jerry."   (Jelly,  Jury,  Jully, Jewry....)

Fortunately re-runs of the "Tom and Jerry" cartoon are pretty much universal and over the years I have figured out that when I am introducing myself at the beginning of a lecture or speech, I tell everyone that my name is pronounced Jerry as in "Tom and Jerry" the cartoon, and everyone gets it.

I was out in the sticks training a group of rural doctors in East Timor a few weeks ago. It was an official thing, so the district health director had to come in to properly open the course and come back to close the course when we finished some days later. 

We were wrapping it all up. I had given my obligatory closing speech, thanking everyone and then it was the director's turn.  He spoke in Tetun, using English for proper names or the occasional technical term. I was wondering why half of the participants were trying really, really hard not to laugh and wondering who this "Dr. Tomjerry" was that he kept thanking.

Out with the old and in with the new, Chiang Mai style

Sending off these big candle floats is a traditio al northern thai way to send off the past year and welcome in the new year

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The Flu?

So we have all taken turns getting sick the past couple of months. Last month the school called and asked us to come and get Mali. She looked like road kill, and volunteered to go to the doctor without arguing. She was admitted right away as a possible H1N1 case and later confirmed this with the lab. I went to the states with a cold and it got worse, lost my voice (made a lot of people happy with that) and came back more tired than when I left. Doug went in last week with acute breathing problems and Mom's stomach is not a happy camper. The cold season is arriving so the sniffles will be going around soon also, but today is the first day in a long time that everybody is running at 100% steam.

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Cast of Characters

Moe is dog #2 and came from the local shelter. I was at a street fair with the kids one weekend and we passed by a lady with a dog on a leash. The dog stopped to smell the kids and the kids played with him for a while. He was friendly and clean. The lady said, "bye the way, I am from the shelter and this dog is looking for a nice home." The next day Moe moved in to our house. Phom Phuey (dog #1 - see earlier posts) was not pleased but she got over it. Moe is a mutt and he is maybe 1.5 yrs. old.

Mom got Beethoven (dog #3) as a young pup from a friend. She wanted more burgler proofing while I am traveling.  Beethoven is one of 2 or 3 standard types of "Thai" dogs. He has something that is almost like a lion's main. The hair on his back stands up and his lips curl all the way back to show all his teeth and gums when he growls. He doesn't like strangers which suits us fine. He fights Phuey and Moe for thier food, but so far, they can still kick his ass. He is only about 5 months now.

Believe it or not, we are thinking about getting dog #4 soon.

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Yikes!

OK, so it has been over a year since we have posted anything. No time, no time. Now I have a Phone That Can Do Everything, so this will all change once I can figure out how to Do Everything.

Happy Trails to Grandad Todd Vincent (1921-2008)

One of my earliest memories was from around 1965 when my Grandad Todd took me to the little movie theater on main street in Lakin Kansas and we saw "The good, the bad and the ugly." It was a western starring Clint Eastwood. Todd was an amateur historian of the old west and he went into great detail as he explained to me what parts of the movie were accurate portrayals of western life and what parts were Hollywood embellishment.

I was about 5 years old and I remember it was a very violent movie and my first exposure to images of people killing each other. On the way home, I remember him saying, "well, this movie wasn't really meant for kids your age, so I figure it would be a good idea if we don't mention this to your mother."

Even when I was a kid, Todd (we always called him Todd) never treated me like a kid. If I was big enough to ask about something, I was big enough to hear the answer, and he never sugar-coated anything. He, like all of my relatives and like most Kansas farmers, pushed us to be ready for life. Start working as soon as you are big enough to be useful, start driving as soon as your big enough to reach the pedals, and learn how to shoot at 12.



What is all of this flat land? Kansas. It's where we come from and we went back this month to send off our Great-Grandfather, Todd Vincent.




Douglas Pai and Dad were able to go to Kansas just before he died so we could say adios. (Doug with Great-Grandma Flo above). Todd passed away this week, just after we got back to Thailand.

The trip took about a week from start to finish. Aside from saying goodbye to Todd on behalf of his sister and mother, who could not come, Doug played a lot of Wahoo with his Grandma, drove Grandpa's pickup around, rode the tractor and helped plant the milo crop, photographed a rattlesnake that we saw while we were out checking the field. We had canceled flights and got re-routed both coming and going and our bags got lost for 2 days. On top of all of this, Doug, who is in his second week of Kindergarten, had homework in two languages to keep up with while we were traveling.

A pretty eventful trip for a little guy of 5. Maybe this will be one of his first memories.

OK, some photos from last year - mom with pai and mom with mali. Have some newer photos but they are all still on the camera. more coming soon.

Ok, ok, ok,
So it's been three months since we have written anything.

No time.


So soon we will have photos of the trip home to the States - San Jose, Lakin and Topeka - lots of relatives, a bit of snow, etc.

Mali and Douglas Pai also each had road trips with Dad (Mae Sot and to Mae Hong Son) in the past few months.

Mom's world famous coffee factory and noodle shop is getting greener and greener.

The rainy season is finally over and the cool season is here. Cool enough we bought a small room heater this year.

More soon - promise

In Transit

In Korea waiting for a flight. No time recently to update the blog but it doesn't mean we haven't been busy back at the ranch. Updates soon on the cats, the snake, Mali's road trip with Dad to Mae Sot and Doug's road trip with Dad to Mae Hong Son....

New Editions

OK, so the two new kittens have arrived. The kids are happy. The new kittens are litter mates. One has a perfect tail (difficult to find in Thailand) while the other one has a stubby, crooked tail as do most other cats in this country.

Mali named stubby tail "Tiger" because she misses the old Tiger. Douglas Pai named the other kitten "Hero" as he is still on the path to becoming a superhero himself. I probably would have chosen different names, but what can I say, when I was 7 or 8 I named our new kitten "Hercules." Herc was with us for about 20 years!



Phum Phuey, our Dog, Senior Pet and the Ponderosa's Director of Homeland Security has not yet commented publicly, but in private she is expressing "grave concerns" over this new arrangement's impact on household peace and stability.

In past interviews, Phuey has frequently mentioned the need to close the border of the Ponderosa to any new immigrants citing concerns over allowing potential terrorist animals into the compound, spread of fleas, ticks and other parasites, and the general the lack of resources to maintain additional pets at the Ponderosa. She is noted to be particularly concerned about any potential re-allocation of pet food rations, stating that such re-allocations would be greatly inconvenient to Mom and Dad, but denies being concerned about her own rations.

Phuey is well known to be particularly scornful of cats, stating that "they smell funny, they make no attempt to learn our language and they can't be trusted - they just don't belong here."

Mom is quoted as saying she is looking forward to the kittens beginning their mousing duties in the coffee bean storage room outside the house. She has already issued preemptive warnings about scratching up furniture, bringing in fleas or peeing anywhere other than designated areas. She hopes the new kittens will keep the kids gainfully occupied for a while.

Dad has already put both kittens on probation for disconnecting the modem line to his computer, absconding with a sock, holding relay races up to the top of the screen door using their nails for traction and for dipping into his yogurt cup when he wasn't looking and then trying to deny it, although the evidence was all over their faces.

So far, the two new kittens have not shown any concern about their tenuous status at the Ponderosa.

When asked how they felt they were fitting in, Tiger - who now appears to be the spokescat for the two, said "yeah - whatever."

Snakes #2

Yiikes!

So Mom opened the door to the roasting room and saw this guy (photo left) sitting there. A little snake is ordinarily not a problem and doesn't raise any eyebrows around here but the pattern and coloration on this one was consistent with that of a hatchling king cobra (photo below, taken from the web).

I figured it was better to know where he was that to let him roam around, so I caught it and now he is safely ensconced in an empty one gallon jug with a few holes poked in the lid.

If he turns out to be a harmless snake, maybe we will keep him - he is very pretty. If he is a cobra, then we will have a lot of work to do.

King cobras hatch between 20-50 eggs at a time, so he would not be alone. The baby's are lethal from day one and the moms protect the nest. A full grown cobras get up to 18 feet long.
That is not a misprint - Eighteen Feet.

Snakes don't scare me, but I believe if I opened the door to the tool room and found myself face to face with an 18 foot cobra, I would pee my pants.

Have a lot of photos and Uncle Doug is consulting with experts but no confirmation as of yet.

Life on the Ponderosa, always something new.

Win A Prize!!!!!

So - after 10 years of faithful companionship, I have traded Betty in for a newer, younger gal.

Betty is (was) my Honda motorcycle. In fact, we now have just acquired two slightly used motorcycles. The Pink One and The Green One.

Before you get too excited, the motorcycles are not prizes - the contest is to name the motorcycles. We need names and are soliciting ideas. Winning suggestion(s) will get a prize which has yet to be determined, but I assure you will be of high value, worthy of your time spent.

Before you start offering suggestions, I need to explain that we have a strict nomenclature for naming vehicles which must be followed. All trucks are MALE and must be named after country western singers. Hank is still chugging away back in Kansas and we have Willie here in Thailand.

All motorcycles are FEMALE and must be named after cartoon characters. Betty was actually christened the same time my work motorcycle, Wilma was. Betty and Wilma (the Flintstones - gettit?).

So - having a pair of names that come from the same cartoon might be handy, but is not absolutely necessary.

The Pink One is more or less a large moped - running board that Pai stands on, automatic starter and automatic transmission so all you do is go. Riding it is like sitting in a chair that is moving down the street. The Pink One will probably live at the house and will mostly putz around the neighborhood to get eggs or whatever. The Pink One came from the dealer where we traded Betty in at.

The Green One requires a kick to start, you actually have to change gears and it feels like you are riding a motorcycle. The Green One will probably live at Mom's World Famous Noodle Shop and Coffee Factory and will be out delivering coffee to restaurants, coffee shops and to the airport, bus and train stations on most afternoons. We bought The Green One from our friend, Anusorn and came not only with helmets, but also raincoats tucked under the seat.

Let us know your ideas for names. The four Chiang Mai Vincents will vote at some point in the near future. In event of a tie, I hold the proxy for the dog's vote - so if you are interested in bribing the judges, I am the guy you want to talk to.

Use the "comments" button to place your suggested names, lobby for your choice and trash your competitor's choice.

It's a jungle out there

While the umbrella monsters are lurking in the bushes at Mom's world famous noodle shop & coffee factory, unsuspecting diners (seated behind the plants) are enjoying their Khao Soy - not aware that this may be their last meal...

MORE RAIN

OK, so it has been a long time. We have been busy. Really busy. It rains every day. Mom is roasting all the time and I have work piled up to my ears. The kids are getting bigger and learning all sorts of ways to circumvent parental authority in favor of childhood anarchy.

Doug stapled his fingers together a couple of days ago, just to see what would happen.

I don't think he will do it again any time soon.

Tiger, our cat, did not really have nine lives after all. He got hit by a car, coughed up blood and tried to catch his breath for about an hour and failed. Kids haven't figured out he is really gone yet, but we will probably have a sit down with them the next day or two.

He was a good cat and we will miss him. He let the kids drag him around by the tail, a leg or an ear, whatever was handy to grab onto. He seemed to enjoy it. You could tied him up in knots and hand him upside down and he would just purr and look at you with sleepy eyes.

We won't be without a cat for long as Tiger actually had a job, a real purpose. He was a mouser for the coffee storage area. He was very good at it. A very important job in the rainy season. The lot our house on is elevated and we have empty lots all around us that are pretty much swamp this time of year. That means the denizens of these lots are all looking for a dry place to hang out from June to November and our house and yard are it. We get many surprise visitors. Remind me later to tell you about the 7 foot rat snake that came last year and was mistaken for a cobra. Poor snake.

Anyway - looks like we will be picking up one or two kittens this weekend. Same mother as Tiger.

R.I.P. Tiger

Our friend Marie is visiting from Germany. She has brought a photo and love notes from her nephew Max (age 6?) to give to Mali. Mali is playing it cool and not committing herself at this point. I figure she should wait another few years until she starts thinking about boys - until maybe she is 25 or so.

Lots of fun with bureaucracy this week of both the Thai and the US variety. Took the kids in to get passports. They will each have two passports - one for each country. The US Consulate visit for the US passports did not take all that long, but you had to get forms in advance and have a lot of supporting documents, proof of this and that and translations. The Thai version was chaos, long lines everywhere - but all things considered it went pretty smooth. They did not ask for that much documentation and they didn't seem interested in checking it closely.

After practicing four or five times, Mali actually signed her Thai passport. Doug couldn't be bothered, so he was fingerprinted.

Both stops done on the same day. The same LONG day.


CAREER UPDATES:

This week Mali wants to be a nurse - primarily because her little friend at school wants to be a nurse. Douglas Pai wants to be a superhero. He is not providing additional clarification on that, but he is doing a lot of research via cartoons.