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Uncle Seng

Uncle Seng was the former manager of the company.  When Mr. Owner sent my father to replace him, he was very unhappy.  He never cooperate with my father at all.  He even kept some information to trouble my father.

So far as I remember him, he was an unhappy old man and always upset.  No one wanted to talk with or to go by him.  He lived on the second floor of the store.  It was all wooden, dark and quiet.  When going up stairs, the first thing you saw would be a large ancestor worship table.  When I visited the place later, it was quite a haunted place.

But as a young child, it was a kind of fun for me.  I was the only one who never be afraid of Uncle Seng.  I went up there very often, helped him clean the place or polish the worship accessories. 

There was many rooms up there.  Most of them were close and very dusty.  Uncle stayed in only one room so it was the only room that was cleaned.

Most of the room were empty or had something that were not interesting to me.  Only one room, one very special room that was full of books.  Books were every where on the floor.  Some of the piles were as high as myself, some were about my knees.  That was my treasure room.

I read the science fictions, poems’ book, children’s books, novels etc. It was hot and dark and dusty but there were many interesting books.  I sweat all over, my wet face and body mixed with dust, I became muddy.

In the afternoon, Uncle Seng would call me out of the room for he would be going to his tea gang somewhere in town.  He always brought me along.  Of course, he could not took the dusty hands of a muddy girl with him.  I would have to take a bath and put on new dress to go with him.

The tea shop was like normal old shop where old people sit and talk.  It was the same concept as the Star Buck, but must cheaper and more friendly.. :-D The tea was too hot for me, but I always join them.  Uncle Seng always order fried dough for me to take with sweeten condensed milk.  I enjoy it.

One day he even took me to the only restaurant of the town and order fried rice for me.  It was the first time I notice that taking cucumber with fried rice, will eliminate the funny taste of the cucumber..

Uncle Seng was good to me much more after he got sick.  He lived alone up there and got very sick and no one knew.  My father noticed that he did not come for the meal so he went up to see him and sent him to the hospital, took care of him until he was recover. 
My father still took good care of him. But uncle Seng still had not smile to anyone.  My father said it was difficult to change when a person was too proud. 

However, I got all the benefit.  Uncle Seng treated me much nicer than before.. He had only me to take care of anyway..

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Secret Treasure

I could not tell exactly how many dogs we had.  The white dog was half the height of me.  My brother said that the dog was could be rode the same as a horse told me to try.  The dog was kind enough to let me try, but never allowed me to ride on him.  There was a black dog.  The name of either the white or the black was Mee which meant bear.

In rural of Thailand most of dogs have simple names like Mee-bear, Daeng-red, Daam-black, Khao-white, etc.  But in town now a day dogs’ name are fancy.  I heard dogs were called Cherry, Pinky, etc.

Our dogs had fancy names.  The playful big boy name Bok Bok.  The sweet mother dog name Pop Paai.  When we talked about them later, my brother was laughing at me.  He said it was Bobby and Popeye.  I was the only one who called them that name.

Once Popeye gave me 4 cute puppies.  They were round and puffy and very playful.  Every evening after school I would run to the back of the storage to play with them. 

One day I found one of the puppies was hit by a car.  Little Toffee was very pitiful.  I did not know how to help but caressing him until he died. 

Every evening one of the worker would carry the left of the buffalo skin cleaning, into a boat and paddle it to the middle of Mae Khong river and threw it there.  That evening they took Toffee along to let go him in the river.  I went with them to see little Toffee for the last time.

On one fine afternoon I saw Popeye ran slowly out of the house.  Curious to know to where she would be going, I followed her.  She looked at me in surprised but she seemed to be happy.  From time to time she waited for me. 

I was thinking, probably Popeye had found some treasure and she would like me to share with her.

She led me to the village governor’s house.  The house had high legs and underneath was a cool and ventilated, and people liked to sit or sleep, or work in the day time. 

At the stairs to the house there was 2 nice plants full of flowers. Fringed Hibiscus, (Hibiscus schizopetalus) They were lovely. Then Popeye led me to the side of the house was a long fence and there were a lot of herbs call Piperaceae.  The herb covered a small hole that could get through the fence to the other side.

Popeye got through the hole and waited for me.  But I could not even put my head through that hole.  Popeye was waiting and barking until she was sure that I would not follow her any more, she turned and went further.

I looked at the herb and thought to myself.. The herb must be the treasure.  Would it turn to be golden leaves?

I still wonder and curious to know where Popeye went to every time I saw this treasure herb, which never turned to be golden leaves. 

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Dog Milk

While Popeye had puppies, her nipples were soft pink and always wet.  I could see her milk drop sometime.  Again my brother said to me, as I like milk, I should suck the milk from Popeye.  I was hesitated. 

When everyone cheered me up, I bent down touch the nipple with my tongue.  It was the same smell as what I got from the puppy’s mouth.
 
Everyone was laughing, I then understood that they played trick on me..

How silly I was.

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Thida, The Hen

When my father’s teacher friend passed away I went to Nakohn Panom with my elder sister.  I was very happy to see the headmaster and I ran to greet her.  She could not remember me.  It sure was.  I left the place when I was about 8 -9 and I was about 18 when I met her again.  I told her my name.  She looked very pleased and surprised..
“Is this Thida, the hen?”
I laughed.. “Yes, Thida, the hen.”

We met another old friends of my parents.. he gave me the same question and I gave him the same answer.. “Yes, Thida, the hen.”
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How old was I when my mother brought me to the province’ primary school and kindergarten?  I was impressed in the white wood shelter covered with green leaves and beautiful purple flowers of a vine, the Blue Sky Vine.  Underneath were swings, sliders and many things for climbing, or hanging on.

Mae, as I called my mother, left me out there with swings and sliders.  She talked with the headmaster of the school.  I was having fun in that beautiful place.

Then Mae called me to come inside to meet the headmaster.  She gave me a plate of ripe mango and asked me whether I like the place and whether I would still like it if I came to this place every day
“YES” Mae told me that I answered very laud and confidently.  I only remembered that I said yes and asked her whether I could go out to the swings.  She asked how did I like the swings.  I told her I like it the best when it swing high to the beautiful purple flowers.  She laughed. 

I did not realize that I had already applied to be the students.  But I did like the school.  I like to memorize the letters, tried to pronounce the letter R.  Sang and dance.  I still remember a few songs and one dancing..

Mae worked in her dress making room until very late at night.  I sometime did my homework there beside her. 

My problem was the number writing.  The number 3 and 5 always reversed.  Number 3 turned to look to the right and number 5 turned to look to the left, no matter how hard everyone tried.. hi hi

When I was in the first year of primary school, the teacher taught how to read.  It was fun and easy.  I read through al the book and got bored with the slow progress of others.  We were studying in the library.  Beside me were picture tale books. 

I picked one.  It was the story about the friendship between the monkeys and a crocodile that one day the crocodile needs to have the monkey’s heart.  The monkey then told the crocodile that he left his heart on the tree, therefore monkeys could fall down from the tree with no hurt.. I am sure you know the story.
When the teacher noticed that I did not study she asked me what I was doing.  I told her the name of the story.  Since them she let me read whatever I wanted.

Every new year, the school would organize new year merit and students show.  Every student took part. 

For one new year, the school planed a show.  It was like a music play.  Some students were pigs, rabbits, foxes.. trees.. etc.  The hen was in the middle.  I don’t remember why the hen had to visit each animal asking for what.. But at the end, the hen would skip and dance around the stage throwing the flowers in her basket.

All the students were called to the large lawn to do the skip and dance one by one.  It was very easy, I wondered why they could not do it well.  So I was selected to be the hen.

I never realized until that day, that the people in town remembered Thida as the hen.

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Swim Training

The water in Mae Khong River in summer, some part was so low that we could walk across it to Lao side.  In the storm season the water could be so high that some house were flooded.  In normal days of he year, they grew vegetables along the bank of the river, lettuce plants, green beans, big red tomatoes, cucumbers, and so on.

The line where the bank met the river was not muddy.  There were small round and colorful stone.  People like to bath in the evening.  I think it was for fun  The river was very much low from roadside where houses were.  It was sure for the children who never like to bath, but were happy to play in the river.

I was not able to swim, and how I wished I could.  The children could swim and play joyfully while I had to stay close to the bank.  I watched them, all of them who swam, both children and adults, to see how they could swim.

Sometime, on the river near to the bank, there was some foam or some dirt floating.  A man walked slowly into the river.  He moved his hands slowly over the water to wave away the dirt and slowly glided into the water like a slow fish.

I noticed that and the next day I tried to do exactly the same way, and glided under the water..

So that was not the way to swim.

I saw the ladies hit the water to let the air got under their wet cloth, inflated it like a balloon.  Then they could float on the water.  I also noticed that.  The next day I tried to find the cloth like that.  It was like a long skirt that local ladies wore.  I did not have one.  I had just find what that was similar.

To my surprised, when the cloth got wet, it really could be inflated like balloon.  I was happy.  This time I must be able to swim.  When my balloon was big enough, I held it the way they did and I floated under the water again..

Not the same cloth must not be the reason, for my cloth could be inflated.. Then, what really made them be able to swim but I was not..

The time I like the best was when my father let me hold on him to try to swim.  When he let go me, I sank beautifully.

Then I saw the children ran into the river and swam easily.. I noticed them until I was sure I remembered all before trying.. One evening, I went down to the river the first person to try this method. 

I ran into the river and, something penetrated into my foot.  It was a piece of broken glass and it cut through the vein.  Non stopping blood kept running from my foot.  I lifted it and pressed the wound with my finger and tried to find the way to climb up the bank to my house. 

My elder sister came from the road and about to come down.  I shouted to her, telling her that my foot was cut by the glass.  She looked at me and ran away.  I thought she ran away..  hi hi.  She actually ran back home to call the oldest workers to help me. 

He carried me up the bank, to the house.  My father cleaned the wound and wrapped my foot with bandage.  No one seemed to be frightened, including me, as if it was very normal.  It probably was normal about me, I guessed.

No, I was never able to swim in any rivers, neither Mae Khong or Chao Praya after my family moved back to Bangkok.  Until my mother applied a swimming course at the national stadium swimming pool for me.

Diving Champion
 

My swimming coach was former swimming sportsman.  He was good.  Our class had about 10 students from about 10 to 15 years old.  After awhile we were able to play in the water.  We threw a lime into the water and tried to catch it.  It was fun. 

After the course was over, we still met and played together.  It was Olympic swimming pool, 50 x 100 metres, surrounded by grandstand.  About 10 metres away was a diving pool with many layers of spring boards, from 1 metre from the water to 5 metres.

One day, all the brave little chicks decided to try the spring board.  We jumped from the 1 and 2 metres, having fun. 

It was a difficult decision to get to the 5 metres one and I finally got up there.. Wow!! It was so high from the deep blue water.  I stood there, hesitated, moved a little bit over, looked down to the water and stepped back again..

And.. I did dived down into the water, deep until I touched the 5 metres deep end of the pool.  My arms twisted when got through the water.  My ears hurt. 

But I managed to get back to be living in the air again..

No more fun, I went back to my simple swimming pool, sat resting there. 

A group of people came to me.  They were diving coach.  One of them said,
“You can be diving champion if you are interested.  Come Join us.”

I was very very surprised.  I told them I knew nothing about diving.  She said,
“We know.  It was very rare to find a girl that brave enough to jump from the 5 metres spring board when she knew nothing about the diving”

I told her I needed time to think about it.

The bravest are either knowing very thing or knowing nothing.  I was in the second group.  After I learned something from that 5 metres spring board, I was no more brave.. and the world had not got another diving champion. 

This is the swimming and the diving pool

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More Than The Winner

I was very innocent when I got into the university.  My brother was the only one in our family that studied in the university and he was too busy [with girls] to talk his young sisters.  I never known about university system, what they did to the freshy, how should I spend my free time etc..

However, I have the second year student who had to same university ID number to be my elmer. I happened to be the shyest student in the Communication Art Faculty and she happened to be the most active and free.

She bought me a bowl of noodle on the first day we met.  It was a windy day.  When she put the chili to he bowl, the wind blew it to mine.. We laughed.

There are regular sports that each faculty will send their freshy to compete.  When my elmer knew that I could swim, she convince me to apply.. She did everything to make sure that my name was there and manage her swimmer friend to be my coach.

On the sport day, some friends came to cheer.  Actually I did not even realize it.  I jumped into the water and went fluently.. I got third prize.  Everyone said it was a pity.  I was faster from the beginning.  The first and the second had sprinted up on the last stroke.  I did not see anyone..  no glasses. 

But the truth was that I did not have the feeling of competing, just to do my best.  That was not right.  Since I was in the competition I should have done it as a competition, not regular swimming.

When we got up from the pool, three of us had to go on the stand for the medals in a simply way.  My elmer ran to me.  Her face bloomed like the sunflower.  She got both of my arms and put it over head and called for the cheer from the students in my faculty.. the loudest. She was so lively, happy as if I was the winner, or she was the winner herself.

I heard that she was the air hostess of the Thai Airway after graduated.  The passengers must have had a good time with her.

Loooooooooooooong time after that, after I had been a ham, talking to many thousand of people and had gain my confident, being easy in the social, I went to the Communication Art Alumni party.

In the middle of the party, everyone made a sound.  I turned back and.. Guess what I have seen..  My elmer!  She dressed in black night dress, no bra, very deep cut show all her empty beautiful back and she was dancing on the table.

I looked at her and laughed.  No matter how I had improved, I was still the shyest student of the faculty.. !!

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