America Not the Same As Thailand

My wife has now been in America for two months.  Although the weather and family responsibilities somewhat restrict our ability to go out, Duang is getting a fairly good representation of what life is like here in America.  She has been to the mall.  She has been involved with 911 call and Hospital Emergency Room visits.  She has witnessed Policemen and Paramedics doing their job.  She has been several times to a library.  Duang has even attended an open house for selling a home is well beyond our means.  Sadly she has also seen "Dancing with the Stars", as well as "American Idol" along with several other television programs.  To her credit, she is now a Boston Bruins hockey fan although I think she watches only for the fights.

Back in Thailand whenever I complained about people driving the wrong way on a one way road, motorbikes pulling up on your right hand side as you are stopped waiting and signaling to make a right hand turn only to then cut in front of you whiling making their LEFT turn as you start your right turn, or motorbikes passing you on the right as you turn right from the far right lane of  two lanes headed in the same direction, Duang would gently comfort me by saying "Dahling Thailand not same same America".

Now that Duang has immigrated to the USA, I now have the opportunity to say "Darling, America is not the same as Thailand"

Yes there are many differences between the two countries and culture.  It seems to be just about every day that she experiences a difference.

First of all is the weather.  It is 35 degrees today in Connecticut.  It is roughly 35 degrees also in Udonthani.  The difference is that in Thailand the temperature is measured in Celsius (centigrade) which converts to 95F here.

Last night it snowed.  Duang had first seen snow when we landed at JFK Airport on 31 January of this year but last night was the first time that she saw it falling from the sky.  I believe that Udonthani will have snow on the day before that Hell freezes over.  In four years living in Udonthani, the coldest that I can remember it getting to was 62F.

We have been getting some rain here just about every week.  Back in Udonthani it basicly does not rain from October until May.  I explained to Duang that here in Connecticut it rains every month except for when it is too cold when it is snow rather than rain.

Second of all is "time".  Recently like almost everyone else in America, we had to change all our watches and clocks - advancing them one hour ahead to account for Daylight Savings Time.  This was a shock to Duang since we maintain the same time throughout the year in Thailand.  Naturally Duang wanted to know why we changed time twice a year in America.  I wanted to give her a better answer than "It's the law".  I remembered that it was supposed to be good and help the farmers - giving them more daylight in the evening for working in the fields.  I researched it on the Internet and found just the opposite explanation for why we have Daylight Savings Time.  It was instituted during WWI first by the Germans and then by others to supposedly save fuel required for street lighting.  The belief that it saves fuel is now debatable with the benefit, if it does exist, being around 0.5% according to the USA DOE.  Having researched the reason for DST, I guess the answer, "It's the Law", is the best one after all.

A third big difference between Thailand and America is the way people look and dress.  Here many men wear beards or goatees.  The other day it was quite windy.  As we were stopped at a traffic signal here in Groton, Duang exclaimed "Look!  Look!".  I looked to the right and did not see anything but after awhile a man stepped out into sight from behind a tree.  This man was about 55 or 60 years old and to say that he was a refugee from the 1960s would aptly describe his appearance.  What had amazed and shocked Duang was his goatee.  He had a very long gray and straggly goatee.  How long was the goatee?  It was so long that the wind was blowing it up into his face and over his eyes obscuring his vision.

In Thailand, a few Thai men have mustaches but it is only a few foreigners that have beards.  Of the few beards that I have seen in Thailand none have come close to the "Zee Zee Top" styles that you can see around here.  Thai men do not have much body hair and my hairy arms are often the center of attraction or amusement in Southeast Asia.  Here in Groton, to Duang's amazement, I am one of the less hairy men around.

Yesterday, we went for a drive in the afternoon.  We drove through the old villages of Noank and Mystic - a nostalgic journey for me and opportunity for Duang to see a little bit of "old" America.  It was also a chance to explore some possible photography venues once the leaves come back on the trees.

During our drive we passed a funeral home in Mystic.  I explained to Duang what the building was and what happened inside of the building.  I might as well have been informing her that Martians had landed and lived in that building from the look on her face.  I explained that when people died here, their family called the people that worked in the building to come get the body.  The people would bring the body to the funeral home, clean the body often filling the body with chemicals, and later family as well as friends would go to the funeral home to say good bye.  The funeral home would then take care of burying the body in a cemetery.  This was completely alien to Duang. She asked me "Why?", "Why family not take care of person?"  I replied "America not like Thailand".  In America people pay strangers who are professionals to care for the dead.

In Isaan there are no funeral homes, funeral parlors, or mortuaries.  There are no undertakers.  The deceased are attended to by the family and friends.  Village Monks and neighbors provide assistance to the family.  The remains lay in state at their home for three days after which they are brought to the village Wat, Buddhist temple, to be cremated.  The cremation is a merit making ritual that involves family, friends, and neighbors.  The body is cremated in the Wat crematorium or outside in a funeral pyre.  Strangers, if they attend are welcomed and encouraged to take photographs.  The life milestone of death is treated very differently in America than in Isaan.

Two Bodies Being Cremated In Tahsang Village

I have written four blogs related to the funeral rituals of Isaan.

http://hale-worldphotography.blogspot.com/2009/04/dying-in-isaan-buddhist-funeral.html

http://hale-worldphotography.blogspot.com/2009/12/death-in-isaan-another-lao-loum-funeral.html

http://hale-worldphotography.blogspot.com/2010/02/another-isaan-funeral-same-same-but.html

http://hale-worldphotography.blogspot.com/2011/01/two-funerals-and-excorcism.html

As we passed by many of the fine old buildings of Mystic and Noank that date back to the 1800s, Duang asked about the people that lived in them.  I explained that the houses were occupied by a husband and wife and sometimes their small children.  She had already noticed how there were so much fewer children and young people around Connecticut than back in Isaan.   To paraphrase our theory as to why - "America, too much TV, not much boom boom"  When passing through villages of Isaan that were teeming with children, Duang would always explain to me that "No TV, too much boom boom".  Duang wanted to know why grandmothers, grandfathers, aunts, uncles, and most importantly of all grown sons and daughters did not live in the big houses with their relatives.  In Isaan, the culture is very different.  It is also different in Brasil.  In Brasil, my adult friends were amazed when I informed them that in America the vast majority leave home by the time that they are 18 years old - either to go to college or to get apartments with friends.  In Brasil, most sons and daughters remain at home until they get married with most young men not getting married until their late twenties or even early thirties.  In Isaan the youngest daughter is responsible to care for her family.  Often when the oldest daughter gets married, she and her new husband will move into her parent's home to help care for the parents.  It is expected for children to care for their parents, grandparents, and other family members.

Many people here in the USA have remarked to my parents how fortunate they are to have a son and daughter-in-law to move in and care for them.  In Isaan not doing so is the exception and embarrassment to the family.  The stigma of shame or "losing face" is a great motivator in Isaan. Yes, America is different than Thailand.

How often do we hear or say to long lost family members "Gee the only time that we see eachother is at funerals"?  In Isaan families are large and for everyday.  In Isaan being part of a family is not a choice but an obligation.  In Isaan being part of a family has its responsibilities and rewards.  One comfort of being part of the family is knowing that you will always be taken care of by loved ones even in death.

Duang is quite perceptive and is not shy to express her observations to me.  Often I can only agree with her and add "America not same as Thailand".

It is not necessarily always better or always worse; just different.  My hope is that they will remain the way they are and never be the same.  I wish to live neither in world of uniformity or conformity.  The richness of life as well as culture is in its diversity.

A New Gallery Is Available for Viewing

Hmong Lad Unleashes His Top Towards the Target in Laos

A new photo gallery is now available for viewing at the attached link below.  The gallery is comprised of photos of people playing some games in Southeast Asia.

http://www.hale-worldphotography.com/Competitions/The-Games-Some-People-Play/16232244_iyNBu

I Wonder ...

I started this blog on 28 Feb and with all the tasks that we have had here recently I never got to finish it in a timely manner.

Our days here in America are filled with many tasks, many which keep us from our routines that occupied us back in Thailand.  However we do find some time to keep updated with the outside world through the Internet as well as fit in a little bit of television.

A couple of recent news items have gotten me to reflect, wonder, and share some observations with people.

When I was in Brasil I used to tell people in Portuguese that "Everyman has two lives; his real life and his life in his dreams.  Lucky is the man that has a third life; his life without his wife"  That statement always brought a great deal of laughing, back slaps, and sometimes a free drink.  I believe that I had captured the joie de vivre that prevails in Brasilian society or at least male Brasilian society.

Here in America I am not sure that such a statement would be as widely appreciated.  There is the reality that we wish to believe; a perception created by our training, our education, validated by our friends and family, and necessitated by our culture.  There is also another reality - the reality that is the "truth" which sometimes runs counter to our wishes, our beliefs, our needs and is often only supported by facts and evidence.

According to today's CDC website there are 4,500,000 people bitten by dogs in the USA each year.  In my 61 years I have yet to meet a dog owner who has admitted that their dog bites.  The reality is 4,500,000 people were bitten by a dog.  The perception seems to be that "my" dog is not capable of such an act.

Demonstrators, protesters, revolutionaries, freedom fighters, average people thirsty for freedom, or traitors; depending upon your point of view and perspective are being killed in the streets in many parts of the world.  Many of us Americans are grateful that we live in a country were we can protest and not be attacked or killed.  It is a natural gratefulness that comes for our belief that we live in the land of the free with freedom of speech.  We were taught from the start of our schooling that we are different from all other countries,  We have freedom of speech.  We can protest.  Our Constitution documents our right, the right of the people, to peacefully assemble and petition the Government for a redress of grievances.  The same Constitution grants authority to the Federal Government to call forth the Militia to suppress Insurrections (insurrection is defined in common dictionaries as "armed revolt").

Yes, I know and I do appreciate that we as American citizens do enjoy  a greater freedom to protest against our government but there are limits to that freedom.  In other countries where people are attacking and seizing police stations and seizing military bases, the "protesters" are being shot and killed.  If a similar situation were to arise here in the USA, I am confidant a similar fate would await our protesters who would be branded as insurrectionists, traitors, or whatever term was necessary to invoke the process to suppress the armed revolt or revolution.  Our Government is just as capable and at times has been willing to restrict the people's right to peacefully assemble and petition their government and at times to use violence against the people.

On Facebook I reminded people of the Vietnam Era protests.  In Late April 1971 I watched C5A military planes bearing elements of the 82nd Airborne Division (combat soldiers) fly over my parent's home in Connecticut on their way to strategic locations along the East Coast.  The Vietnam War protesters had vowed to shutdown Washington D.C. for May Day.  The Federal Government initiated a massive military and police response to the threat.  Fortunately no one was killed that time.  However protesters were shot and killed at Kent State the previous year.  During the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s many people while peacefully protesting were attacked by police using dogs, batons, and water hoses.

Although these incidents can be excused as having happened long ago in the past and that "we have learned our lesson", the point remains that under certain circumstances our government as well as any other government is capable of armed violence against its citizens.  I would not want to bet that if a group of "protesters, demonstrators, ..." were to attack the City of Groton Police Dept and to take over the US Navy Submarine Base in Groton that there would not be blood in our streets just as in Libya, or Egypt.  There is peaceful protests and there are violent protests.  There are protests and then there are revolts or insurrections.  There is a thin and fine line that separates one man's peaceful demonstrations from a government's fear of revolt or insurrection.  Calling for the overthrow of the US Government is just as serious of an offence as calling for the ouster of Mubarak, Gadhafi, Chavez, Jung Ill, or any other established leader be it legitimately established or illegitimately established.  When the power elite are threatened with violence they can be counted on to do all within their power to maintain their power as well as their power structure.

The second news article that struck me and also highlighted another reality - a reality that is the "truth" which sometimes runs counter to our wishes, our beliefs, our needs and is often only supported by facts and evidence, was the disclosure that US, Federal and State governments, had conducted medical experiments on people without their consent.  We are familiar with the experiments where medications were withheld from black men who had syphilis in order to document the natural progression of the disease.  The new experiments involved soldiers, mental patients, and prisoners.  Some of the eperiments were conducted quite close to here at the Norwich State Hospital, a mental hospital that was run by the State of Connecticut.  We are also familiar with the reports of unethical medical experiments conducted by the Nazis and the Japanese during WWII.  It is shocking to learn that even after revelation of these war crimes, our governments still conducted medical experiments on uninformed and non-consentual people.  As far as I know and as far as it has been acknowledged the US medical experiments were no where as near as vile or tragic as the revealed war crimes but they crossed the same line at their conception - experimenting on people who were not aware of the experiments or gave their informed consent to participate in the experiments.  The common denominator of the war crimes and experiments here in America was that the victims were all subject to the absolute power and control of the perpetrators.  Once again we could comfort ourselves in believing that this too was long ago and we have learned our lesson. 

I prefer to remain vigilant and accepting that what happened once could happen again - if allowed.

I  prefer to accept the reality that given the circumstances and conditions, a people or a government is capable of anything - be it good or evil.

My ambition and goal in photography is to show extraordinary people doing ordinary things. In so doing, I wish to show how different people appear, to provide a glimpse of other cultures, to celebrate the diversity of mankind, and to demonstrate that despite our appearances we are so much alike.

it is logical that in my writing I would also demonstrate how different people are, provide a glimpse of other cultures, to celebrate the diversity of mankind, and to point out that dispite our differences, we are so much alike.

In some cases this may be the "truth" which runs counter to our wishes, our beliefs, or our needs.


I wonder if there are others who believe the same.

I wonder how many others wonder the same.

A Green Card - But Nothing to do with Ecology

Duang - Happy and Proud To Have Her Green Card

Yesterday was a very exciting day.   Nine months to the day that we started the long, arduous, and relatively expensive process to obtain a "Green Card" for Duang, her card arrived in the mail.  It arrived approximately one month after she arrived in America.

Duang had dressed up for my two aunt's visit later in the morning.  As she sometimes does, she told me what she thinks is going to happen during the day.  She often does the same thing during movies and besides finding it amusing I also believe her abilities to predict up coming events in the film is attributable to her intuition and often the all too familiar plots.  Yesterday morning she told me that she thought that her "ID Card" was going to come in the mail.  Two weeks ago she received a letter indicating that her Green Card was being processed and that she should have it in 30 days.  For some reason she was convinced that the card would arrive in yesterday's mail.  Sure enough there was a letter for her with the card.  I often say that I do not stand a chance if she decides to use her "powers" against me.

Duang Ready to Open Her Special Mail

We took some photographs to record and capture the proud moment in her life.  It has been a long and involved process for her and is for all other legal immigrants to the USA.  She had been rejected three times in her efforts to obtain a Tourist Visa and each rejection of her application was taken as a personal affront to her as I am sure that it is for all other applicants.  We know of some people who have been rejected 4 times in applying for a Tourist Visa.
Now that the Mid-Term Elections are over with, I have not heard, seen, or read much from either politicians, government officials or the media regarding "Comprehensive Immigration Reform".  I am still at a loss as to what constitutes "Comprehensive Immigration Reform" but I doubt that there will be much said on the subject until the next round of national elections revs up.

Duang Trying to Figure Out What the Letter is All About

From our experience in obtaining an Immigration Visa for Duang, I do not believe that it is always necessary for an American citizen to hire an immigration attorney to assist in the preparation of the application and documentation.  I do believe that it is strongly advisable for the person preparing the applications and documents to have access to a computer, access to the Internet, and to be able to scan documents into "PDF" files.  It is also essential that the person preparing the applications and documents for submittal fully understand English and be very well organized.

Duang does not read or write English so I handled the preparation of her documents.  I have years of professional experience in preparing subcontract documents, contract documents, developing contract/subcontract claims, and defending against subcontract claims.  Even with that quasi legal experience of handling documents and preparing submittals I found the current established procedure to be challenging.  I doubt that when someone says that they are for "comprehensive immigration reform" that their intention is to propose or initiate steps to simplify, expedite, or streamline the current process.

Part of my motivation in handling the process on my own was my steadfast conviction that an American, ANY American citizen, should be able to deal directly with their government without the use of an intermediary.  Hiring an attorney to deal with your government seems more of a need in an monarchy, oligarchy, theocracy, or any other form of government other than "a government of the people and for the people".  I admit that I am still idealistic and most likely naive but I want to still believe that our government is that.  Hiring attorneys, lobbyists, or some sort of professional intermediaries to represent me to and before my government takes a great deal away from the ideals set forth in the aforementioned statement.

What It Has Been All About - Duang and Her Green Card

I also believe that "comprehensive immigration reform" does not include any attempt to modify the current process to ensure that the services of attorneys or immigration assistance companies are not necessary or justified in the future.

What I believe "Comprehensive Immigration Reform" really is a touchstone phrase that admits the existence of the 800 pound gorilla, or is it elephant in the room, without recognizing either the willingness or responsibility to do anything about it.

The gorilla or elephant in the room is the existence of thousands of illegal immigrants in this country - people who have disrespected and violated our laws.  Due to politics and political correctness this issue does not get resolved.

The illegal immigrants in general are not Thais or other SE Asians for if they were it would not be such a problem because their supporters do not have political clout.  There in lies the problem, the people who can do something about the problem are reluctant out of fear of the political consequences of addressing the issue.  When I write that they are in fear of the political consequences I mean the consequences of granting amnesty as much as fully and actively enforcing the existing laws.  Fear has paralyzed our federal government preventing them from resolving a major issue that has economic, social, and national security impacts on the nation.  At least in regards to this issue the United States of America is not home of the brave.

As for Duang, we are happy and grateful that we were able to obtain an Immigration Visa legally and in accordance with all the existing regulations.  The time required, the effort required, and the expense required to get my wife to America is well worth it. 

The Mountain Porter - Huangshan Mountain, China



A Huangshan Mountain Porter Showing the Strain of His Labor

Living and working overseas gave me the opportunity to see how many different people earn their living.  As much as we all take pride in how hard we work or used to work, there are those people throughout the world that most likely work much harder than us and for a great deal less money than we do.

Malaysian Rubber Plantation Workers Offload Raw Latex at Field Station

During my time in Malaysia I encountered some very hard working people - rubber plantation workers outside of Kuantan in the State of Pahang Darul Makmur.  These thin and wiry men went about the vast rubber plantation on small motorbikes collecting the latex one-half balls that were formed in the process of tapping the rubber trees.  We found the workers discharging their harvest at a small weigh-in station in the heart of the plantation.  The workers were hot and sweaty from the jungle's hot and humid air along with their physical exertions associated with walking from tree to tree to collect a semi-spherical glob of tree sap, loading their bike up with hundreds of these globs and perilously navigating the trails back to the weigh station to offload their cargo and recommence the process.  It appeared that their pay was related to how much material they brought to the station for the men were very hectic as well as frantic in the labor.  The smell of the raw latex only seemed to accentuate the sense of urgency about the workers.  I often think of these men as some of the hardest working people that I have ever encountered - so far.

Malaysian Rubber plantation Weigh-In Station

Another group of hard working men are the mountain porters of Huangshan Mountain (Yellow Mountain).  I became familiar with them in 2004 during a photography tour of China or more correctly a potion of China.  Three weeks in China only serves to remind you of how much you have missed and why you need to return to witness and photograph in the vast and very interesting land.

As I wrote in yesterday's blog, Huangshan Mountain receives over 15 million visitors a year.  It is a national park so there are certain environmental as well as land use restriction placed upon the area.  Access to the upper reaches of the peaks is by cable cars or hiking up trails.  As tourists on a three week tour we took the cable cars up and down the mountains.

We originally stayed in the Cloud Valley, elevation 890 meters (2,920 feet) at the base of the mountains.  We spent one night on the mountain at the Bei Hai Guest House, elevation 1,630 meters (5,347 feet).  To get to the Bei Hai Guest House we took an 8 minute approximately 2,500 foot ascent by way of cable car.  Needless to say, the view and scenery were spectacular.  Since we were only spending one night on the mountain we took only a small overnight bag with us.  The remainder of our luggage remained in storage in the Cloud Valley.

At the terminus of the cable car, we were greeted by porters who offered to carry luggage up to the hotel(s).  I don't know if I was cheap, proud, or a masochist but I ended up carrying my backpack of camera gear on my back and lugging our overnight carry-on sized bag the twenty minutes UP to the hotel.  The porters typically carried 6 to 8 bags distributed 3 to 4 bags on the ends of a bamboo pole carried across their shoulders.  I estimate that they were carrying roughly 120 to 160 pounds of luggage each.  In addition they were constantly passing me up the paved trail and stairs to the hotel area.  That was my introduction to the hard working mountain porters of Huangshan.


 Porters Hauling Supplies to Observation Station On Huangshan Mountain

I later found out and observed that all materials required to support tourism and the government observatory on the mountain are transported up and down the mountain on the backs of the porters.  Foods, drinks, linens, cleaning supplies, alcohol, paper goods and all other items required to maintain and satisfy tourists and resident workers on the mountain are bundled up and hauled up the mountain on a trail that rises almost a mile from the valley to the mountain peaks.  Waste, garbage, and dirty linens are hauled down the mountain along the trails to the valley for disposition.

Food On Its Way to the Observatory

The porters to the government observation station on the mountain are apparently paid by the weight of the material that they haul up the mountain.  At the back of the large stone observation building, the porters deliver their goods and congregate as their cargo is carefully weighed and recorded in a ledger book.

Fresh Food Arriving at the Observatory

The Porter's Cargo Is Carefully Weighed and Recorded

As I walked along the trail with my 25 pound backpack of camera gear from the hotel over to the observatory and eventually a place that I called Sunset Point, I was often passed by porters bearing approximately 150 to 200 pound loads on their shoulders.  The combination of my exertions at the elevation, the steepness of the trail in places, the many steps along the way as well as watching the porters as they hustled along made me thirsty as well as tired.  I had brought along drinking water with me but it was as I was exhausted less than one-half the way to my destination.  I was apparently not the first tourist to be in that situation.  Along the trail there are some benches where you can "enjoy the scenery" and definitely catch your breadth and also as in my case wait to photograph the porters as they came upon you unaware of your presence.  As for your thirst; you have to eventually make your way to the observatory to find vendors selling water, juices, and soft drinks.  As for the porters ... they never rested and carried a small bottle of water on top of the concave bamboo pole upon which their cargo was suspended.

I made so inquiries regarding the porters and was told that they make two round trips a day.  Two round trips a day?  On a good day I think that I might make it up from the valley to the hotel but without an load.  These guys carry approximately 800 pounds of stuff up almost 1-1/2 miles and down 1-1/2 miles in elevation during a day - everyday.  I do not know what their total mileage for a day is but I find just the accumulation of elevation change to be impressive - definitely a great deal more work than I have ever done in any day with or without the cargo on their shoulders.


A Porter Approaches the Bei Hai Guest House with His Cargo



A Porter Prepares His Load for the Trek Down from Bei Hai Gust House

Most of the porters wore a distinctive yellow vest similar to the vests worn by motorbike taxi drivers in Thailand.  I suspect that like in Thailand the vest indicates that they belong to a labor organization, are licenced, or sanctioned by the government to perform their work.




Kitchen Supplies Arriving at the Bei Hai Guest House



Back Door Delivery of Beer, Soft Drinks, and Cooking Oil

Another surprising aspect of the porter operations on the yellow Mountain was the age of some of the porters.  Many of them were past middle age and were what I consider to be elderly.  I did not see any young men hauling goods on the mountain.

An Old Man of the Mountain

An Elderly Porter Delivers His Goods

A Busy Day On the Mountain

Observing people such as the mountain porters of Huangshan makes one appreciate their own choice and definitely the opportunities available to us to earn an easier living .  In witnessing their labor, I could not help but to respect them more and admire their abilities.

Never Too Busy or Too Tired to Not Smile

 The next time that I feel that I have it rough at my job or status in life, I will take a moment and reflect upon the trials and tribulations of the Huangshan mountain porters and then reconsider my situation.

Locked In Love, Throw Away the Key - Huangshan



Lover's Locks On Lotus Peak of Huangshan Mountain Range

Things are developing into a new normal here in Groton so I hope to be finding more time for writing.

When I was back in Isaan just before returning to America, I embarked upon a new project.  I intended to make a video, still film, and musical presentation related to our grandson's first two years.  In starting the project I became annoyed with many blank icons appearing in Adobe Premiere Elements 7.0, my video software.  I knew that the blank icons were photos from my Adobe Photoshop Elements software.  I decided to eliminate the nuisance by deleting all of the blank icons appearing in Premiere Elements.  I assumed that the video software was setting up a separate database of media in Premiere and that with 36,000 files the program was overwelhmed and my patience was over taxed.  My plan was to eliminate the Premiere database and only import media into the video program as I need specific files.  Upon completing the elimination of all those pesky blank icons in Adobe Premiere, I was shocked to discover that my entire catalog in Adobe Photoshop Elements had been deleted as well - 36,000 photographs annotated for people, places, and things.  Each photograph had an average of 6 keywords assigned to them.  I immediately started the daunting task of recreating my photo database.  I finally finished the task late last week.  If there is a saving grace in having eliminated the original database, it would be that I had an opportunity to experience so many fond memories once again and to develop ideas for future blogs of which this is my first.

There are many myths and tales associated with lovers in cultures around the world.  Unfortunately it seems to me that the myths, stories, legends, and tales are typically about unrequited love or tragic love.  There does not seem to be all that many stories about people falling in love, staying together, and enjoying their lives together.  I guess it is somewhat like the saying associated with the newspaper industry - "Bad news sells papers, not good news"  Just as we often find the "Bad boys" or "Bad girls" more interesting and exciting in our youth, we seem to enjoy stories and tales of ill fated love more desirable and memorable than ones of dreams fulfilled.

Shakespeare penned "Romeo and Juliet"

In Brasil the Guarani Indian legend of "Naipi and Taruba" explains the origins of Fos do Iguazu Falls in a tale of good love leading to anguish.

The Greeks had plenty of these tales of woe which included "Narcissus and Echo", and "Orpheus and Eurydice".

The Romans through the poet, Ovid, gave Western civilization the Babylonian love story of "Pyramus and Thisbe".  Two forbidden lovers who commit separate suicides after mistakenly believing that the other was dead - a great cautionary tale of why we need to verify facts and conditions before acting.  No matter the lessons to be learned or not from this tale - it is a story of good love with a tragic ending.

The Chinese also have made contributions to man's panoply of tragic lovers stories, tales and legends.  In recreating my catalog of photographs, I was reminded of the legend associated with Huangshan China.

Huangshan is a mountain range in the southern part Anhui Province which is located in Eastern China.  The mountain range is also commonly referred to in English as "Yellow Mountains".  The area is a very popular tourist destination for foreign as well as Chinese travelers.  Over 15 million people visit the area annually.

There are several high peaks in the range with Lian Hua Feng (Lotus Peak), 1864m (6,058ft) being the center of a Chinese legend of ill fated lovers.  The legend is about a beautiful young girl (why are there not many legends about ugly middle aged women?) who fell in love with a poor young man.  The girl's father, thinking in his daughter's or perhaps his best interests, did not want his daughter to marry a poor man.  Her father arranged for his daughter to marry a rich man whom she naturally did not love or want to be married to.  On the day of her scheduled wedding to the rich man, the poor young man kidnapped her and the they fled to Huangshan Mountain.  They ended up on Lian Hua Feng, held hands, and jumped off the peak into a deep ravine.



A Vendor Prepares to Engrave Locks For Lovers

Today people travel to the peak not just for the sheer wonder and beauty of the location but to commemorate the lovers of the legend.  They purchase a pair of padlocks, have them engraved with their names perhaps along with some sentimental words, lock the padlocks together on a guard rail or safety chain along the edge of the peak, and throw the keys into the abyss below.  It is believed that locking the locks together will keep the lovers together for a whole lifetime.  If one of the lovers wishes to breakup, they have to return to Huangshan Mountain, find their key and unlock their locks.  This would be an extremely daunting task not to mention the rumors or rather allegations that local vendors have been recycling the locks.  I can't imagine the horror you would experience upon returning with all intentions and good faith of breaking up with your lover only to realize that your locks are no longer there. It is difficult enough to search and find a key cast into a steep ravine from the side of a mountain years earlier but not having your locks where you placed them would be heart breaking to you instead of your lover.


Verifying the Words to be Engraved

Some people will install locked padlocks to the safety chains and guardrails on the peak to seek family happiness and for children's health.  I don't know how this equates or is tied to the lover's legend but it sells padlocks and keeps the local vendor's happy as well as busy.



Lover's Locks Afixed to Guardrail and Safety Chain

Huangshan mountain is reknowned for its scenery and unique vegetation.  The area has been the subject of  many paintings, poems and undoubtedly millions of photographs.  The area is also famous for many naturally occurring strangely shaped granite rocks.  I am not sure all the rocks are granite or that they are naturally occurring - they might be natural shapes but I wonder if man did not have a hand in forming some of them - or at least one of them.


I Don't Know the Chinese Name for this Rock, But I Have an English Name for it!

Perhaps it is like mysteries of the universe as well as with religion, it is best to just accept it at face value rather than to try to explain or strive fully understand what very well may not be understandable.  It is also OK to just smile and enjoy the moments.

One of the World's Beautiful Places

Frozen In Time



Duang Hibernating On Cold Afternoon In New England

We have been in America for two weeks establishing our home in my boyhood town of Groton, Connecticut.

My wife is getting accustomed to American culture and Connecticut weather.  Everything is so new as well as different for her.  It is also very new as well as different for me.

I essentially left my home town in 1967 when I went off to college.  In 1975, I left New England for 35 years.  Although I had made some visits during those years the visits were never longer than 5 to 7 days until last May when I came alone for a month to care for my parents.  We are now becoming residents once again.

Duang is adapting and adjusting to New England climate - 15F (-11C) low temperatures, ice on the roads and sidewalks, snow on the ground, and cool temperatures in the house.  She often wears an outdoor coat, scarf, and sometimes even a knitted hat inside of the house.  She has even taken an afternoon nap wearing outdoor clothing underneath a sheet, a blanket, and two bedspreads on top of the bed.  I had tried to explain to her what -5C, or -11C was like but it was difficult for her to comprehend since she considers 68F (20C) to be "cold".  I believe that the coldest weather that she has experienced was around 55F (13C) in Vietnam.  I told her about "nam kiang" ice cubes on the ground, and in the rivers but I am not certain that the concept of temperatures below freezing was familiar to her.  No matter the case she is aware of it now.

The strange thing for me is that places and things have also been frozen in time so to speak.  Last week two of my Aunts visited.  One of my Aunts is going to be a Great-Grandmother once again - for the ninth time.   My cousins that I last saw in the late 1960's are now Grandparents.  In my mind they are still the 8, 9 and 10 year old children that I knew in the late 60's.

The same is true for my home town.  I remember places and things from the 50s and 60s.  Many of the places and things that are long gone in reality.  The former Melody Rolling Skating Rink was used by Electric Boat for so many years as office space that it has now become a roller skating rink once again.  As the French say - "The more things change the more that they stay the same".  It also may be like being lost in the wild, once you become lost you will most likely end up walking in a big circle to whence you came.  I do not believe that the "King" and Queen" of the Melody Rolling Skate Rink have returned to the venue.  I last heard that April is now in Australia and who knows where Bruce with his DA (Duck's Ass) haircut may have ended up - hopefully wherever he is, he has a different hairstyle!

I drove Duang down to Eastern Point Beach where so many of my summer days were spent swimming and playing basketball. During the summer of 1967, I spent all but one day at the beach - even playing basketball or swimming in the rain.  The beach has changed - the Kiddy Pool, a small beach on the Thames River is now walled off.  The grassy area where the "In Crowd" congregated seems so much smaller now and so much less important than it was in the early 1960s.  the beach that was free to "walk-ins" now charges admission.  Parking for non-residents is $10.  The offshore rafts which served as a right of passage are no longer there - removed upon the advice of a city

Pfizers large pharmaceutical plant down the road from my parent's home is long gone.  All the large buildings that produced antibiotics, medicines and other chemicals are been demolished and replaced by campus style research buildings.  The manufacturing jobs have been outsourced to far away places like Ireland, India, Puerto Rico, and probably China.  Last week it was announced that 1,100 of the highly paid white collar positions at the research labs were being eliminated - once again outsourced to low cost centers such as China and India.  In the global economy, very few jobs are really secure - there is always someone willing to do your work just as well for a lot less money somewhere else.  For companies and stockholders focused solely on profits, those are the places selected to do the work.

Yesterday, Duang and I went to see the film, "Doctor Zhivago", at a local theater.  I had seen it several times before since it was first released in 1965.  Duang who was 2 years old at the time has never seen the movie.  In 2006 on a date, I brought her to only the third movie that she had ever seen.  Life is different back in Isaan.  Her life experiences are so much different than mine.  I am pleased to finally be able to show her some of the places and things that have shaped a large part of my life as well as introduce her to some of the people who have affected my life.

Duang loved the movie and it was fun to watch her viewing the film.  I enjoyed the film also and saw it in a different light.  On previous occaissons I viewed it as a history lesson, an instructional in cinematography and directing, a story of class struggle, as well as a portent of what was to come if the Soviet Union prevailed in the Cold War.  All perspectives influenced by current events and personal experiences of the given times.

Yesterday I viewed it from the life experience of a man who also had left his wife to be with a younger woman who he thoroughly loved despite social conventions.  For the first time, I could emphathize and appreciate the heart as well as the soul of the film.  I could value the passion that the film so realisticly portrays.  It is passion and the value placed upon passion by other cultures that has richly enhanced my life and brought me great happiness.  Becoming unabashed regarding recognizing and accepting emotions can be liberating.  I consider myself to have reached this point with the help and encouragement of my  friends.

On an aside, after experiencing two winters in Northern Alberta, the winter scenes of the film had lost much of their impact upon me.  Once when travelling through the barren ice ladden country between Edmonton and Fort McMurray in December on a bus in -40 weather I thought of "Doctor Zhivago".  After seeing the film yesterday, I realize that my Northern Canada experience was more beautiful and memorable.

Upon returning home last night from our first date here in America, my parents asked if I saw anyone that I knew.  I said I most likely did but I did not recognize anyone.  It has been 43 years since graduating from high school and I am beginning to realize that although people are frozen in time, in reality they have moved along in the years, growing older, and changing their appearance just as I have.

By chance the movie "Mystic Pizza" was on television the other night.  I used to go there often with my friends Nicky and Nick - long before it was Mystic Pizza and famous; back when it was smaller and called "Ted's".  We had a good childhood back in those days; days when the shipyard was working to capacity to build submarines, and we used to say that we didn't need to take vitamins because the odors from Pfizer kept us healthy.  Some landmarks remain from the old days, one of them being "Angie's Pizza" on the Mystic - Stonington border on Highway 1 - gonna have to try it out once again.

As time moves on here in Groton, I am confident that memories will become updated and new memories will be created. Until then people, places and things will remain for me remain frozen - frozen in time.