The Influential Harry Fee

When I was little I had a neighbor named Harry Fee. He was always getting me in trouble. I remember particularly well the time he suggested I fill a paint can full of kerosene and throw in a match. The way I remember I just threw the match in without lighting it, but I also remember a huge fireball. I remember quite vividly even today. But I know that there was one time I got him in trouble. We lived four miles from school, and one day I remember looking at the steps to the bus and the green grass near the parking lot and suggesting to Harry that we should walk home.

And we made it.

Well, we made it half a mile when Mrs. Case, the first grade teacher picked us up and drove us home.

These two things happened when I was six.

But I have never lost the love of walking and running. So on my first day in Bangkok I ran and walked for 3 hours. Well, almost all of it was walking. The running was in a beautiful spot named Lamphini Park. It is a beautifully manicured place, and along the way I heard a group of people chanting and dancing to drums and singing "Hare Krishna." I passed another spot where people were practicing martial arts and two other pavilions where students were reading as a teacher read aloud to them. Nearby there were high rises that seemed not much different from North Michigan Avenue. There are cars everywhere, and as I write this I can smell the exhaust. Traffic is fast here, and although there are motorcycles and scooters right now it seems much like the traffic I would expect in Chicago.

On the way to the park I passed through some great market areas. Jay has spoiled me so I really want just to eat vegetarian food, but the street food is great to smell and look at. And the pineapples and mangos are delicious. I think the word is a roi. Remember to roll the 'R.'

Occasionally I look up above these markets and see housing that looks tiny. I have no clue how the real people live here. Bangkok does have an overwhelming look of a city that lives on tourism. India had its Hindu temples and Islamic mosques, but I seem to see so many Buddhist temples here.

Last night I had dinner at nice restaurant that is located halfway in the open, and there was a torrential downpour. I ended up talking with the owner practicing what little Thai I know. Sa Wat Dee Krup and A Roi. That's where I learned the pronunciation.

Have to go soon. By the way, I had to stay over for twelve hours at Calcutta, and I discovered that there was a dorm at the airport. For about $17 dollars I got a room which included a roommate, M.D., Arfan Ali, who was a Senior Vice President of the Bank Asia LTD in Dhaka. He told me of the problems of lack of infrastructure in the area where he works. He comes from a small village an hour from Dhaka where he helps out children who go to the mosque there. He invited me to come teach there. If I keep breathing in fumes here in Bangkok, I may take a train to Dhaka to get a little change of pace teaching. Ha ha. Just joking. But it would be great to see what Bangladesh is. It is, I am told, the most densely populated country in the world with about 147 million people. The water problems seem like something I should investigate.