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....