2nd Post today.....

I deviated today by allowing my memories to play in my mind when I realized that someone from Bangkok had been reading my posts for the past few days....regularly. And then the floodgates of my memory opened and wonderful experiences from 35 years ago surged outwards and seemed to be as real today as they actually were in 1970.

I spent 4 months in southeast Thailand.....on the edge of the city of Ubon at our USAF Base of the same name: Ubon Air Base. My actual assignment was in Naha, Okinawa, which came about through a mistake made by the Air Force in assigning personnel to Korea, but that's another five month experience of mine. While in Okinawa, I was sent on temporary duty for two months to Ubon.....and liked it sooooo much that I asked to spend two more months there.

There are many, many memorable experiences that I could tell about living in Thailand, albeit on an Air Force Base. I never spent any more time on the base than my "job" absolutely demanded of me. Late each afternoon when I was finished doing my job of locating replacement parts for the aircraft of the unit I was attached to, I would go out the gate and there would be "my" driver with his tuk-tuk.....waiting patiently for me. He would take me all over the city and then would wait for me when I would ask him to stop......be it for dinner, shopping, or just some sight-seeing. Oftentimes as he pedaled us down the street, we would have to take to the side of the street to make way for an elephant coming down the street carrying a couple of Thai citizens.....always an exciting time for this central Missouri young man.

Where did we go?? Well, I became a habitual shopper while in Thailand!!! The incredible jewelry shops with soooo many beautiful items that were sooooo very, very cheap, but of high quality.......the tailor shops where in one I became friends with a tailor from Bombay, India, and where I would stop in to have a new suit, slacks, or shirt made ....in some cases overnight!!! Again......very high quality and very inexpensive: a new sharkskin suit for $30.00, slacks for $3-$5, and shirts much cheaper than that!!! He had bolts and bolts of fabric lining the walls of his shop which made it quite a task to pick out just the right material. As soon as I would enter the little shop, he would offer me tea, beer, or wine to enjoy as I browsed through the shop. Often he would sit on the counter, his white turbin on his head talking with me as I enjoyed the refreshments while shopping. He always kept my measurements in a little notebook so I didn't have to be measured each time I wanted something made.

Well....I have regressed just a bit.....perhaps I will return to these memories more often???? I have been told by a few close friends that I should write a book.....hahaha!! What a thought......but, well.....I do enjoy telling about some of these wonderful experiences I have enjoyed during the travels of my lifetime.

Sooooo, today!!! I got my granddaughter taken to school......she loves Kindergarten, and she is sooooo ready to learn. I got her out of the car, opened the school door, and off she went, jauntily swinging her little pink backpack on her arm....very anxious to get to her classroom so she could read some more. I returned to the Moser Estate and did a few household chores while I spent the day there. Dr. Jeni, Darrel, and Ava went to Rolla to court to complete the closure on the adoption process, which took place without any hitches at all......YEAH!!!!! Ava is now officially: Ava June Moser!!!!!

They returned and picked up Meghan at school.....and I hit the road with only a couple of stops: one for Starbucks cappuccino and the next stop was for a quick sandwich. This evening.......well, I just kicked back and relaxed and enjoyed a movie on the the tellie.

Sooooo, it was a very good day for me....and for the rest of the family as we DEFINITELY have a new granddaughter!!!!!

Life is GREAT........and I hope for all of you, also!