Bangkok: "Halloween"

Posted October 30, 2006 by admin

An edited version of his letter was published in To Thailand With Love, ThingsAsian Press, 2013

"The Hot Dog Man"

Bangkok, Thailand
Monday, October 30, 2006

My Dear Fellow Gourmands and Ghouls,

“English Solutions,” my occasional school employer, sponsored their annual Halloween party on Sunday afternoon.

The owners of the school, Brian and Jason, own a large house near the school. They redecorated many of the rooms into “haunted houses” and party rooms.

About one hundred and fifty young children from six different Bangkok orphanages were invited.

Alice and Jan Wedding

Posted October 9, 2006 by Jan

October 9, 2006

My Dear Family and Devoted Friends,

Do you remember where you were on Sunday afternoon, October 9, 1966?

Perhaps you were preparing for Game 4 of The World Series? Or maybe looking for a betting line on The Giants? Or maybe you were struggling with the Times Sunday Crossword Puzzle?

Or maybe you were in the Baroque Room of The Plaza Hotel, celebrating at the marriage of Alice Rosemarie Dawn, 26, of New York, of blessed memory, and Jan Robert Polatschek, 26, of New Rochelle.

Alice's father, David A. Dawn, and his new wife Helga, made us a splendid wedding forty years ago today.

I still enjoy the memories of that Sunday afternoon.

Wedding Anniversary 2006: The Baroque Room

Posted January 1, 2006 by admin

My Dear Family and Devoted Friends,

Do you remember where you were on Sunday afternoon, October 9, 1966?

Perhaps you were preparing for Game 4 of The World Series? Or maybe looking for a line on The Giants? Or maybe you were struggling with the Times Sunday Crossword Puzzle?

Or maybe you were in the Baroque Room of The Plaza Hotel, celebrating at the marriage of Alice Rosemarie Dawn, 26, of New York, of blessed memory, and Jan Robert Polatschek, 26, of New Rochelle.

Alice's father, David A. Dawn, and his new wife Helga, made us a splendid wedding forty years ago today.

I still enjoy the memories of that Sunday afternoon.

Thailand: "Heading South"

Posted March 29, 2005 by admin
Indonesia: Java

Bangkok, Thailand

March 29, 2005

Dear Family and Friends,

I leave Bangkok this afternoon for a two month journey. My flights are on Garuda Airlines of Indonesia and my itinerary is as follows:

29 March . . . . . Bangkok to Singapore. Change planes and arrive in the evening in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia for a two night stopover.

31 March . . . Denpasar to Perth.

25 April . . . . . Perth to Denpasar.

20 May . . . . . Denpasar to Singapore.

29 May . . . . . Singapore to Bangkok.

Mandalay: An Evening Teaching English

Posted January 25, 2005 by admin

This essay was published in To Myanmar With Love. ThingsAsian Press. 2009.  pg 232.

I love Mandalay. I hate my hotel room.  I wander and explore.  I discover the Unity Hotel.   At the reception desk, Thida is so lovely and gracious.  With a kind smile she says, “We will be happy to welcome you.”  I checked in the next day

After breakfast, before my climb of Mandalay Hill, I invite Thida for coffee. She smiles.  She declines

 Before my tour of  Innwa, Amarapura, and Sagaing,  I ask again.  She smiles.

Finally, after I return from my river ride to Mingun where for good luck I pat the tail of the huge stone elephant, I try once more and Thida smiles.  “You have asked me three times.  Now I will say “yes.”  Yes!  

Public social relationships in Myanmar are conservative and discrete.  A “date” in Myanmar means that the girl shows up with a chaperone or two.  Thida introduces me to her cousin and her friend.  During our dinner date I comment on their excellent English.  They tell me they attend an evening class at the local Monastery School.  I admit that many years ago, as a high school teacher in New York City, my specialty was teaching English to immigrant boys.  (“Juanita is tall.  Conchita is taller than Juanita.  Carmelita is the tallest.”) Thida invites me to teach a class.

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