The most remarkable thing happened to me a couple days ago on Thursday. With the 4th of July and this weekend's trip to Pattaya, I haven't had any time to post it here... but the the thoughts I ask for would still be just as valid...
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The most remarkable thing happened at the hospital today. I was there to get a health screening done for my job, but I figured while I was there, I would get some more medicine for my psoriasis, as my supply from home had just run out. The medicine came to Bt1600, about $53. I wasn't prepared to pay that; I had enough for the doctors visit though, so I was going to pay that and come back on Monday (I'm leaving early tomorrow for a weekend away) to pay the rest. Psoriasis is just kind of annoying; it's not life threatening.
So, I'm sitting there waiting for my turn at the cashier, right next the pharmacy counter, and it's taking some time. The pharmacist calls me back to the counter and tells me, "There is someone here who wants to pay for your medicine for you. She said she would pay it so you don't have to come back on Monday."
WHAT? WHO?
"The lady over there in the blue shirt"... Huh? The lady in the blue shirt comes over and explains she heard what I had said, and she wanted to pay for my medicine as an act of goodwill. See, her father was in the hospital right and she believed that if she did good deeds, it would help him get better. I wanted to say no, that there were people who needed that money far more than I did....In fact, I didn't even NEED the money. I just forgot to bring enough with me! She'd already paid for it though and the medicine was in my hand. What was I going to say? She was doing it for her father, not for me. I told her I would pray for her father, whose suffering from heart disease. She smiled and walked away. I'll probably never see her again.
Please pray for the father of the woman who helped me today. Even if you don't believe, at least think of him for a second.
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I hope you will agree it was worth making.
Some notes:
At 1:50, I make a joke about all the cocks. I know that there has to be some religious reason why the rooster statues were there. They’re obviously new. Offerings of some kind. As a rule, on this blog, during my time here in Thailand, I want to be very respectful of the Buddha and his teachings. I honestly think that the Buddha explained our existence as humans in this world and how we should live our lives more clearly, more accurately and more practically than any of the other great prophets in world history. That said, I don’t think he ever said anything about rooster statues.
If any of my friends here in Thailand are watching this and can Identify the vegetable at 4:37, please let me know so I can avoid them in the future. In my mind, bitter as a taste is nature’s way of telling us ‘don’t eat this!’.
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The most remarkable thing happened at the hospital today. I was there to get a health screening done for my job, but I figured while I was there, I would get some more medicine for my psoriasis, as my supply from home had just run out. The medicine came to Bt1600, about $53. I wasn't prepared to pay that; I had enough for the doctors visit though, so I was going to pay that and come back on Monday (I'm leaving early tomorrow for a weekend away) to pay the rest. Psoriasis is just kind of annoying; it's not life threatening.
So, I'm sitting there waiting for my turn at the cashier, right next the pharmacy counter, and it's taking some time. The pharmacist calls me back to the counter and tells me, "There is someone here who wants to pay for your medicine for you. She said she would pay it so you don't have to come back on Monday."
WHAT? WHO?
"The lady over there in the blue shirt"... Huh? The lady in the blue shirt comes over and explains she heard what I had said, and she wanted to pay for my medicine as an act of goodwill. See, her father was in the hospital right and she believed that if she did good deeds, it would help him get better. I wanted to say no, that there were people who needed that money far more than I did....In fact, I didn't even NEED the money. I just forgot to bring enough with me! She'd already paid for it though and the medicine was in my hand. What was I going to say? She was doing it for her father, not for me. I told her I would pray for her father, whose suffering from heart disease. She smiled and walked away. I'll probably never see her again.
Please pray for the father of the woman who helped me today. Even if you don't believe, at least think of him for a second.
___________________
Ack! After a couple
of weeks of not recording much on the old video camera, I find myself like a whole
week behind in my editing. It does take
some time to turn the raw footage into the ‘Joko in Thailand’ Videos. Although I am dying to talk about my
adventures (or lack thereof) in Pattaya this weekend, I still got stuff in the can from last weekend I haven’t
edited yet.
I hope you will agree it was worth making.
Some notes:
At 1:05, I provide some entirely incorrect narration. I later learned that like today’s Grand
Palace here in Bangkok, the Ayutthaya Grand Palace had one of the nation’s most
important temples right next to it. That’s
where I was.
At 1:50, I make a joke about all the cocks. I know that there has to be some religious reason why the rooster statues were there. They’re obviously new. Offerings of some kind. As a rule, on this blog, during my time here in Thailand, I want to be very respectful of the Buddha and his teachings. I honestly think that the Buddha explained our existence as humans in this world and how we should live our lives more clearly, more accurately and more practically than any of the other great prophets in world history. That said, I don’t think he ever said anything about rooster statues.
If any of my friends here in Thailand are watching this and can Identify the vegetable at 4:37, please let me know so I can avoid them in the future. In my mind, bitter as a taste is nature’s way of telling us ‘don’t eat this!’.
I may be enjoying your time in Thailand more than you. Keep the communiques coming. . . LG
ReplyDeleteThe Roosters are a reference to the former Kings love of cock fighting so when paying respect to the King why not present his spirit with a cock...
ReplyDeleteHi Joko,
ReplyDeletelooks like a lot of fun and I also enjoy each and every one of your posts. My wife says that vegetable is called 'mac kua' in thai, and 'plate brush eggplant' in English. she says it's healthy!