New School at Wat Klong

     For most of the twelve years I taught at the school at Wat Klong, Ayutthaya, Thailand,  a new school was under construction. In one of my first years there a bulldozer appeared and pushed up a high berm along the canal (klong is the Thai word for canal, thus: temple by the canal.)  For some time the berm stood alone. Then slowly a new school began to take shape atop the berm. Construction proceeded in fits and starts as there was money at the wat (wat=temple). The building was finally occupied in 2020, the first year I didn't return.

    None of the teachers, nor I, were keen for the new building. They had no say in the matter. The school buildings are provided by the wat so the decision is made by the head monk. The teachers and I all liked the funky, old wood school building. It had charm and character unlike the new concrete structure. It would be interesting to visit the new school. One advantage for me would be more headroom in the dining room, as I often bumped my head in the old one. Another advantage of the new one is that is farther from the highway. Thai highways are rife with loudspeaker trucks blasting at a zillion decibels. When they passed the windows of the old school, very near the highway, teaching stopped until they'd passed.

   The principle of the school told me that all the teachers have had one COVID vaccine.

Takk for alt,

Al

Pictured below the old and the new buildings.

Now there are seven!

     At the Negstad picnic last night we were commenting on how unusual it is that, though our mother's parents were born in the mid-1850s, they still have eight surviving grandchildren, of whom I am the youngest. Now there are seven surviving, Mildred (Millie) Bergh Dick died suddenly last night. She lived with her husband, James Dick at Englevale, ND. Millie was born in November 1935, younger sister to Helen.

    Millie was the mother of five children, many grandchildren and greatgrandchildren. She and her husband were avid dancers and the last I knew she was still running regularly. Short and slight she was the "Energizer Bunny."

    On September 4, many of the Bergh family will gather in Sinai to inter the ashes of two Bergh sisters, Thea and Marjorie, who died a few years ago. Millie was anticipating coming. It's good the family can be together to share the grief.  "For, All flesh is as grass, And all the glory thereof as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower falleth:"  I Peter 1:24

Takk for alt,

Al

In the park.

      Twelve Negstads gathered in a Brookings park with les than a day's notice. It was the perfect venue, picnic, on a perfect evening for three generations to gather. A good time was had by all and Al, too. 😀 That's my story and I'm sticking with it.

Takk for alt,

Al

.25" rain last night.

Laughter in The Little House!

      Kaia has company! Lars is here with his family. 😀  The energy level goes up 10,000 per cent. Happy chaos.  Kaia thinks the extra attention is just fine. 

    That's all for now.

Takk for alt,

Al

Masks

        Responding to last night's picture of the school assembly a reader noted few masks. This picture was taken pre-COVID, so the three students with masks were ailing in some way that caused their responsible adult to send them to school with a mask. When Ed and I were in Japan in 1961 we observed many Japanese wearing masks. Asians for decades have been in the practice of donning masks if they have any respitory symptoms of illness.

      When COVID came on the scene in early 2020 virtually all Thai persons donned masks. Masks combined with social distancing and the closing of venues with crowds of people kept the first wave of the pandemic to a minimum. Thailand was caught unprepared when the highly contagious Delta Variant began to spread. Lulled into complacency vaccines were not emphasized and the ones available from China were not very effective. Now COVID  is rampant in Thailand with new records of infections and deaths recorded daily. Thai officials are now scrambling to find reliable vaccines.

   It's terribly unfortunate that masking has become a political issue in America. The primary reason to mask is not self=protection but the protection of others. There are myriad ways personal freedoms are curtailed for the sake of others, e.g., traffic laws, not yelling "Fire" in a theater, etc. 

   Responding to a post I made on Facebook the school principal reports that the teachers all have one vaccine. She didn't say which brand so I hope it's not the Chinese version.

Takk for alt

Al

.25" of rain today.

Pre-COVID mask.

Thai Schools.

       The rules in Thai schools are very different than they are in America. Teachers often leave classrooms unattended by adults for significant periods of time. Students are given workbook assignments and then are left without adult supervision. While the students move around and cluster at various desks the room does not descend into chaos or bedlam. One morning when I arrived to teach fourth grade I was told that the teachers would be going to the temple, schools are on Buddhist temple grounds. As I taught the class I looked out the door and all the teachers were walking to the temple leaving me the only adult in the building. One year a teacher had arranged some athletic competitions with other schools. To transport the students to the other schools they traveled in the open box of a pick-up truck. Students are almost never asked to individually answer a question. Naturally they all look to the brightest student and answer as he/she does. It took some doing on my part to keep the class quiet to hear one's response. Thai students are very respectful but they are not regimented.  The school in which I taught had a mixture of Buddhist and Muslim students. The  Muslim girls were not required to wear headscarves so it was difficult to distinguish between Buddhist and Muslim. I never witnessed any tension between students related to religion.

       Every morning before going to their rooms the entire school assembles. As they are assembled they sing the national anthem and raise the flag. Then they recite a Buddhist recitation followed by a Muslim one. I asked the principal if they would add Hindu or Christian recitations if there were Hindu or Christian students. She said "Yes." Then I asked "What if there was an atheist?"  That lead to a long discussion because she could not comprehend the idea of an atheist. There was nothing in her frame of reference to help her understand atheism, 

      COVID is now rampant in Thailand so I worry about teachers and students.

Takk for alt,

Al

                      Students assembled before classes.

Kaia can tell time.

     Kaia, the wonder dog, has a good internal clock. She gets two feeding a day. The first is shortly after arising in the morning. The second feeding is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. There's a reason for saying "scheduled". Anytime after 4:00 p.m., she lays her head in my lap to say "You can feed me anytime now."  How do dogs tell time? Perhaps the same way that I do. Not needing an alarm clock I wake up the time I've predetermined. How do I do that?  Just the function of an internal clock but I don't understand it.

     She's ready to hunt anything that moves. Loving to flush blackbirds, robins and doves she races them as they fly. Now robins and blackbirds have moved on. Last night she was chasing something around the living room. Going to investigate I discovered she was pursuing a large cricket. We both await pheasant season which opens October 16. It will be the opportunity for many walks in the field. 

Takk for alt,

Al

                                                               Kaia's pose while I eat.

Pondering...

       Joanne get's the credit. In 1961-62 I was in Asia, courtesy of the Marines. It wasn't until Lisa moved to Cambodia in 1994 and Lars and I went to visit her that I got hooked on SE Asia. Travelling back to, and around, SE Asia several times Joanne finally said "If you're going to go there regularly, do something worthwhile." Taking that challenge to heart I began teaching in Thailand.

      For thirteen years I taught in Thailand, twelve in the same school. For eleven of those years I lived with the same Thai family. That teaching was interrupted by COVID. In 2020 I came home two weeks early, the end of February, becasue of it, and haven't been back. Initially Thailand had very little COVID but now they are experiencing a huge wave of infections and deaths.

    It is most unlikely that I will go next year. That raises the distinct possibility that I may never get back. There are multiple layers of grief in this reality.  There is the grief of separation from many persons with whom I'd formed relationships over the years. I miss the school; teachers and students, the family with whom I stayed.. The Christian Guesthouse in Bangkok where I often stayed had become a home away from home. Confronting the reality that I might never return makes me sad.

    The thought that I may not return also reminds me of how fortunate I am to have been able to travel and teach there for so long. The learnings and insights, the experiences of kindnesses are blessings I savor. Every years as I sat in the Mpls airport waiting to board my plane I though "Wow I can't believe that I'm going again!"  Yes, I'm blessed and grateful.

Takk for alt,

Al 

                                         Fifth grade students.

Three inches!!

        Yes, I know, I'm obsessed about rain. But to find three inches of water in my field rain gauge today is the most in over a year! This would be the combined rainfall from Friday and last night. Lightening and thunder last night brought .6" at The Little House. Again my weather app had more, 1.2, which I think is measured at Volga ten miles NE.  Rainfall seems to drop dramatically going a few meals east to west. Perhaps if I lived on the NW coast of the U.S., I'd not focus so much on rain. 😀 "Oh, it's raining again."  Time to get started on another good book.

       4. Emily Dickinson, ‘Summer Shower‘.

A Drop fell on the Apple Tree –
Another – on the Roof –
A Half a Dozen kissed the Eaves –
And made the Gables laugh –

A few went out to help the Brook,
That went to help the Sea –
Myself Conjectured were they Pearls –
What Necklaces could be …

    Now if rain would fall on wildfires........

Takk for alt,

Al

The Little House again.

     It was a quick trip to Mpls but visits with friends and family made it significant. Attended my congregation in person, Grace University Lutheran, for the first time since early March 2020. The service was on the north lawn on a beautiful morning.

   South Dakota is coming up in the world. The governor of South Dakota is featured in today's Doonesbury comic strip. See below.

Takk for alt,

Al

Vagaries of rain!

      Reading my weather app gave optimism when it registered 1.2" for Sinai. Likely the reality is that that reading was for Volga, 10 miles NE of Sinai. The rain gauge at The Little House registered .7" and five miles west there was nothing.  .7" certainly helps but multiple inches are necessary to make a dent in the drought. Minneapolis received .2" last night.

    The picture posted below, which was taken a couple of  days ago, invites a caption contest. Send your suggestions to...

Takk for alt,

Al

Minneapolis

        Kaia and I are in the condo. When I checked the weather app it reported heavy rain in Sinai. 😀 That is such good news. I've yet to hear the amount though the app said 1.2" which I think is measured in Volga, ten miles away. It's been months since we've had over an inch in one rainfall. It will be of great benefit but much of the corn and soybeans are beyond help. A number of corn fields have been cut for silage which is earlier than usual. Much sweet corn has been harvested but there are many left to do. Pastures will benefit from the rain.

   The new 37 story building a few blocks away is now topped with a flag and an evergreen tree. The top of the building is visible from the living room. Hennepin Ave. downtown is being resurfaced and now the 3rd street crossing is open. Coming here sporadically as I do provides evidence of progress on various projects/  

Takk for alt,

Al

Anonymous no more!

      Perhaps the title of today's blog is a little hyperbolic.  Regular readers may remember some discussion of  Bertha Mostue's grave near the Bergh plot in the Bergh Cemetery. She was my grandmother's aunt who came to help her niece take care of the children. Eight grandchildren of the grandmother survive today and none of us have any memory of our parents talking about Aunt Bertha. Thus there was this anonymous woman buried just outside of the Bergh plot. 

      Maybe I read to much into this anonymity but it makes me wonder if she was another unmarried woman too easily ignored?  Operating on my assumption that she'd been too long ignored I placed a granite foundation under her footstone as was done with the other Berghs. The foundation ordered for her stone was extra large to allow the placement of an identifying plaque. The plaque reads "Aunt of Minnie Bergh." (See picture below.) Now no one need wonder about the identity of this woman who died in 1918.  Rest in peace, Aunt Bertha. 

Takk for alt,

Al

                                       Opal folds as did Joanne.

Leave it to the Marines!

       When I enlisted in the Marines I was even more clueless than I am now. Knowing little about what my enlistment would entail away I went. Bed making was no surprise, there was enough folklore about regulations about making beds in the services that was as was expected. Using the old fashioned bayonets to measure the folds was an interesting wrinkle: ten inch blade for the distance from the head of the bed to the fold and the four inch handle to measure the width of the fold. Folding clothes was not a skill that I expected the drill instructors to teach. But neatly folded clothes were an expectation and on inspection day they had to be neatly displayed on the bed.

      For several years prior to Joanne's death I had been doing our laundry. It gradually became my duty to wash and dry but Joanne never relinquished the folding. No matter how proficient the Marines made me about folding it didn't meet Joanne's specs. With Joanne gone folding became my task. Now I fold regularly but without need for perfection. Having even learned to fold king size, fitted sheets I'm quite satisfied with my proficiency

       All this reflection about folding came to mind when I read Pickles today.  My approach to fitted sheets was once "scrunching" until a friend gave me a tip that's made them manageable. They still are not done as well as Joanne did them but they lie neatly on the shelf which is all that's needed.

Takk for alt,

Al

Not so young, then...

     Parker Palmer in On The Brink, writes: "Most older folks I know fret about unloading material goods they've collected over the years, stuff that was once useful to them but now prevents them from moving freely about their homes....But the junk I really need to jettison in my old age is psychological junk--..."

     Thinking of myself and others I'd postulate that one item of "psychological junk" many of us could helpfully dismiss is fear. There's and old story about worries that is apropos here. An elderly woman was speaking to her pastor. She said "Pastor I've had a lot of troubles in my life and most of them never happened." It seems that politicians lately have turned to fear mongering for political gain. Turing such fear lose in an already anxious population works against rational discourse and healthy debate. Persons on the mental fringe are pushed over the edge to violent and destructive behavior.

     Decisions made out of fear have seldom been good ones in my experience.  There are many things I could leave behind. The best thing I could abandon is fear. Fear is truly a gift that keeps on giving!

Takk for alt,

Al

Happy barn swallows!

     With the big consignment auction behind us it was time to get back to mowing the phragmites. A fix of my mower is not imminent so I borrowed my brother's tractor and mower and completed the project. Mowing disturbed clouds of insects which took to flight. The insects were soon discovered by a large  flock of barn swallows. The swallows swooped and dived feasting on the flying insects. It was an aerial ballet that was fun to watch.

     Controlling the phragmites will be an exercise in partial success. I have no illusions that they will be eradicated. Limiting their spread is the best that can be hoped for and that will be the measure of success. Without some effort they will eventually take over. They have little wildlife value and displace the native cattails that are critical winter habitat for deer and pheasants. With the current drought the ground is is dry enough to allow tractor operation for first time in many years. "Strike while the iron is hot"...or in this case while the ground is dry. 

Takk for alt,

Al

Mowing completed!

                                                                A stand of phragmites.

Recommended Reading!

   "March is the month of the year for which there is least use. The islanders see the sun rise and are deceived by the light, which only makes winter more apparent. And April is equally insidious and even more treacherous."  P. 188, White Shadow

      A few weeks ago Hillary and I were trading book titles. She recommended White Shadow, and I, The Unseen. The irony is that both are by Norwegian, Roy Jacobsen, and Shadow is a sequel to Unseen. 😀 Berger gave me Unseen when I was in Norway a couple of years ago. I've read Unseen twice and imagine rereading Shadow.

    Both books follow the life of, Ingrid, who is a young girl in the first book, set during WW I, and a young woman in the second, during WW II. She is part of a family that occupy a single family island, Baroy, off the coast of Norway near the Artic Circle. The book jacket says "White Shadow retains many of The Unseen's pleasures, not least Jacobson's clean, spare prose...a noble tribute to the human struggle for decency."  Daniel Marc Janes, Times Literary Supplement.

     These books can be read in any sequence but it's logical to read Unseen first. A third volume has been published in Norway and I am keen for its translation.  He has written over fifteen novels.  Yes, I highly recommend it.

Takk for alt,

Al

Sale Day.

       Sinai Volunteer Firemen's consignment sale began at 10:00 a.m., two rings part of the day,  I left at 4:00 p.m., and it wasn't finished. The person who consigns gets 90% of the sale and the fire department gets the 10% that would normally go to the auctioneers. That's a good gift from the auctioneers and a good money maker for the fire department. It is a much work for the firemen!

     Several items on the sale came from my garage: e.g. tractor and loader, dynamometer, claw foot bathtub, and several small items. "De-clutter "I'm told is a good thing. There were at least 250 bidding tickets issued. What did I buy? One item, a 14" tire on rim, for $12.50....big spender! 😁

      It is also a social event. Perhaps 10% of the crowd was known to me. It gives a chance to visit with acquaintances while the sale progresses.  Why am I so tired?

Takk for alt,

Al

 

Cup of coffee to anyone who identifies this sale item.

                                               At the sale.

The dyno...

                                         Tractor Lookie Lues!

Doing Business in South Dakota.

       Last night my computer totally froze. This morning I took it to the computer store in Brookings  where I bought it a couple of years ago. It was 8:00 when I dropped it off and at 11:00 they called to say it was fixed. It doesn't have a hard drive but the piece that replaced it was faulty. Two months past its warranty they didn't charge me for labor because it was so close to warranty! Nice...and they fixed it in three hours saving all my data.

      Tomorrow is Sinai Firemen's Annual Consignment Sale. The tractor I have listed for sale had a flat tire, front fortunately. Ag First Co-op, Volga patched the tube for $16.00. The joy of taking the wheel off and putting it on again was mine! 😅

Takk for alt

Al

                For sale to the highest bidder.

Found at The Lark

       It was described as a "toy museum and toy store".  That it was and much more with its indoor carousal, outdoor mini-golf and great bookstore. In Lark Toys, Kellogg, MN., I found and bought Parker Palmer's latest book ON the BRINK of EVERYTHING: Grace, Gravity & Getting Old.  The Forward: With Gratitude begins with this paragraph.

    "WE GROW OLD AND DIE IN THE SAME WAY WE'VE LIVED OUR LIVES. That's why this book is not about growing old gracefully. My life has been graced, but it certainly hasn't been graceful--I've done my share of falling down, getting up, and falling down again. The falling down is due to missteps and gravity. The getting up is due to grace mediated by people to whom I owe great debts of gratitude."   P. ix

      "The getting up is due to grace mediated by people to whom I owe great debts of gratitude." Certainly anyone who has lived as long as have I has much for which to be grateful and many for whom to be grateful.   For example being directed to The Lark, when there was a bit of time to fill in southern Minnesota, is something for which to be grateful. Have you ever noticed how refreshing it is to be in the presence of grateful people. That alone is reason enough to practice gratitude. 

      You are among those for whom I'm grateful.

Takk for alt,

Al

The Little House

       Perhaps both of you, my readers, noticed that there was no post yesterday. Returning to The Little House mid-evening I just didn't get around to it. There are always a number of things to do upon return: switch vehicles, put food away, etc., and blogging didn't appear on the radar screen.

      The U.S. Postal Service returned my repaired, or new?, hearing aid. Friday before I left Sinai the local post master dumped all the mail bags looking for the package that held my hearing aid to no avail. It is two weeks today since I was at the audiologists. Now I have it, it works and is synced  with my phone. 😀 

      Corn and soybean crops locally are beginning to show the lack of moisture. There is no rain in the forecast and the stress on crops will exacerbate. There has been rain around us but not here. 😟

Takk for alt

Al

       Today was the time to make our annual trip, missed last year, to Harborview Cafe, Pepin WI. Our plans for lunch at the historic St. James Hotel in Red Wing, MN. was stymied because the restaurant was closed today, Lunch at the Liberty Restaurant was a good substitute. Sue suggested that the Lark Toy Museum and Store at Kellogg, near Wabasha, was worth seeing. Is it ever!

     The museum has about every toy ever seen. It also has a large, in-door, carousal of wooden, carved animals. (See pictures below.) The railing around the carousal has printed explanations of the carved figures. There is an outdoor mini-golf course.

   Little did I expect a superb bookstore with finely displayed books for persons of all ages, The cushioned couch offered a great place to sit and read. The only thing lacking was children in our party. Parents with children would find this a great place and it should be on the itinerary of anyone near Wabasha.

   Harborview Cafe continues it's tradition of fine food. The menu changes so frequently that it is posted on a chalkboard. We overheard a couple at the next table ask for an item they'd had a year ago but is no longer offered. Pepin, WI., is across Lake Pepin from Wabasha, MN. 

Takk for alt,

Al

Friends

       A routine medical appointment brought me to Minnesota. What's special about being here is seeing my family and several friends. Five of us went to dinner Friday night, two of whom I worked with, one for nineteen years. Stories and laughter, a good time was had by all, and Al, too. Coffee on Saturday afternoon was with Peter and Sandy, friends from this condo building. Saturday night dinner was with three other friends; Les & Carolyn with whom I'll travel to Harborview Café, Pepin,WI., tomorrow, and Sue. Today I connected with Paul in town from Olympia, WA. We did lunch at Café Latte` and then went up the street, Grand Ave.,  to the Grand Ole Creamery for ice cream. Today is "paws on Grand Ave." so we were treated to a dog parade as we sat outside and talked. Sue got an offer on her condo today so we'll celebrate at Runyon's tonight.

    Yes, life is good and I'm grateful.

Takk for alt,

Al

Thunder In Minneapolis

      There has been very little thunder at The Little House this summer. Still, I recognized the sound early this morning and one rain gauge in South Minneapolis showed .9". Unfortunately none in South Dakota.

    The urban chickens enjoy free range time in the yard. These chickens are very used to people so they are very tame. Doris, the one I traded to Sella, rules the roost. Chickens wandering in the yard have entertainment value and I often have them in the yard of  The Little House. A woman who lives across the alley has a large flock that includes at least one rooster. The rooster's crowing is far enough distant not to be annoying. The sound of the rooster reminds me both of growing up on the farm and life in Thailand. There were chickens roaming around the house in Thailand as well as sows with piglets.

Takk for alt,

Al

Blame it on Minneapolis!

      Perhaps both of you readers are wondering why this post is late today.  Kaia and I are in Minneapolis. Coming today afforded an opportunity for dinner with friends. It was well worth coming early. More tomorrow...

Takk for alt,

Al

Gravel Pile

       One of the residents on Sinai's Main Street had a truck load of gravel dumped between the street and his yard. He began moving the gravel with a wheel barrow. It looked like about ten wheel barrow loads had been moved.  There was a barely a dent in the gravel pile. Time to get help! Today the grain elevator manager finished the leveling job with the elevator's skid-steer loader. 😀

       My broken, tractor mounted, sickle mower was too wide, nine foot sickle bar, for the garage door on my shop. I disconnected it in front of the shop door and drug it inside sideways with a tractor that was in the shop. I was struggling to move it from the alley of the shop into a repair bay when who should drive by? The elevator manager with the skid-steer. He drove into the shop and quickly pushed the mower into a repair bay. Now I just have to see if I can repair it or if it's scrap metal.

      Such an exciting life!

Takk for alt,

Al

Tracking

       "That's this week."  "It is, I didn't know that." That little exchange brought me up short. The dates were firmly in my mind but the proximity to those dates...that was another issue. Realizing the day of the week isn't much of a problem. The issue for me tracking the day of the month. With so little scheduled ahead of time what day of the month often means very little.  Such a contrast to how my working life was lived. Kaia's no help either. 

Takk for alt,

Al

Phragmites

           Would you recognize a phragmite if you saw one? They are an invasive plant that displaces native plants in wetland. They have almost no value for wildlife. It has been spreading in my cattail marsh but most years the ground is too wet to mow them. Mowing is a step in controlling them. They grow 8-10' feet tall and have bushy heads. About half were mowed when the mower broke. Mowing wasn't easy so the broken mower wasn't much of a surprise.  Next up mower repair. 

Takk for alt,

Al

Folding Laundry.

        When I first started doing laundry escapes me. Maybe it was 20 years ago or more. Some of the switch had to do with the steps to the laundry equipment on the lower level. Joanne was perfectly content with the way I washed and dried clothes. Folding was another matter. There was no point in me folding clothes because she would just do them over. The Marines did a decent job of teaching me how to fold for inspections yet it wasn't up to her standards. An acquaintance didn't fold his clothes, he just spread them on an empty bed from which he took what he needed. 

     Yes, I fold me clothes and I've even learned to fold king-size fitted sheets. Of course it still is not up to Joanne's standards but good enough so they fit nicely on the shelf of the linen closet. There's no king-size bed in The Little House so that skill is not used very often.

    All this came to mind with the Pickles comic strip today. Earl...well read it for yourself. 😂

 

Takk for alt,

Al

August 1!

       My how the time flies when you're have fun. Or, as the frog said "My how fun the time is when you're having flies." August is here and we've been having August weather for weeks, though today is like June. The smoke has dissipated for now.  The little pond across the street from The Little House is threatening to go dry. Lake Joanne is down 2'?? Highway #81, that runs across it is far above the waterline.  Such is life on the prairie. 

Takk for alt,

Al