Going to America

After our lovely almost 3 year sojourn in Thailand we are returning to the US to live. Partly it’s the civil unrest, which is becoming more frequent and more violent with each repetition. It looks like a gradual slide into civil war, which will be accelerated when the much beloved and revered King passes away. The succession will be disputed, and historically all Thai civil wars are over the Royal succession. Mostly, though, it’s that Jim’s mother needs us, and we want to be there for her.

The day after we made the decision we told our neighbors across the street. They are wonderful people, and have been the best possible friends that they could possibly be, in spite of the language barrier. It seems that one of their sons wants our house, so they will be buying it from us. We are selling it for a price on the low side of fair, and including everything we don’t ship back to the US, so everybody is happy. They also want our car, the other main item we need to sell. We will get a realistic price from the dealer today.

Curiously, this is, in a very real way, the story of my life. Serendipity rules. It’s not that bad things never happen, it’s that freakishly coincidental good things happen too often for it to be mere chance. For example, we sold our house in the US in 1 week, when other houses in our area had languished on the market for as long as 2 years. We sold it just before the home prices in our area dropped like shares of automaker stock. Jimmy decided to retire, and we proceeded to plan accordingly for the next two years. Just before he applied for his pension, they announced cash buyouts as a retirement incentive. You get the drift.

Fashion Update

Not my best photo, but give me a break. I was using a cellphone camera and giggling so hard I could barely hold the camera still. Please bear in mind that the color pink has no association with things feminine in Thailand. Unfortunately, that only helps explain the color of the suit. Yes, this is a men’s suit, proudly displayed in the men’s section of the most expensive store in town.

Extremists

Are there any normal people left on the Internet? I’d like to meet them, but I can’t find them.

The Catholic Blogosphere and Webosphere is dominated by 2 groups, the far right SSPX/Traditionalist bunch, and the far left Call to Action/Voice of the Faithful bunch. Middle ground, anybody?

The homemaking and parenting Blogosphere and Webosphere is dominated by the Religious Right, with their quiverfull, homeschooling, anti-evolution mentality and their incessant prayer requests. Why can’t they be Luddites as well? It fits with the rest of their world view better than monopolizing the Internet does.

The political Blogosphere is divided between the far right, which calls Obama a Socialist and calls for violent resistance to his policies, and the left which fails to question Obama even when questioning is needed. Think telecom wiretapping court cases and the attempts by the Justice Department to get those cases thrown out, under Obama, just like under Bush.

I remember the days -oh, sweet memory!- when the Internet was the sole domain of geeks and hackers. Everybody had an IQ of 125 or better. They had to, to figure out how to get on the Internet in the first place. They could all spell, and they used correct grammar. They even followed the generally accepted rules of netiquette. I miss those days a lot.

I don’t mean to offend anybody, even though I probably did. Maybe it’s just time for me to take a week or two off from the Internet. I’m beginning to hate it.