Singed Paws: Dogs Howling @ the Moon!

"I rolled on; the sky grew dark
I put the pedal down to make some time
There's something good waiting down this road
I'm picking up whatever is mine

Yeah, running down a dream that never would come to me
Working on a mystery - going wherever it leads
I'm running down a dream"

Tom Petty’s classic song, Running Down a Dream, sums up the multi-track muzak loop that accompanies my life these days...

It was twenty years ago today...as I chopped firewood and shoveled snow throughout the day, that I dreamed of escaping the harsh Idaho winter to live in the tropics. Little did I know that one day, after reinventing myself several times, I would live in Thailand on a beautiful island in the Andaman Sea. As I reflect on the absurdity of this, I continually unearth subtle meaning in both the exciting and the ordinary…huh?


Jump into the Fire

It was just too quiet that night…even the roosters are asleep at 4 am…something stirred my sleep. What was that crackling? ...what was that glow on the wall? ...what was that smell in the air?

I woke up, fell out of bed,

Fire Victim
Duang and Ba console a women who lost her house in the fire...

grabbed my hat, and forgot my head....walked sleepily out on the deck and gazed down the hill out toward the sea...yikes!!!....there was an enormous inferno illuminating the sky…Phra Ae village was burning…

My adrenalin surged...where's my clothes, where's my camera???...I scrambled down the hill and discovered that the shooting flames were licking on the edges of the Lanta Castaway Resort. After checking with the owner, my friend Darren, I grabbed a hose, wrapped a wet towel around my bald noggin', and helped put the fire out.

Once things settled down, many memories of past fires fought started to come to mind…and, of course, I thought of my Czech/Irish grandfather Carl, a San Francisco firefighter. He probably is laughing with the race track gods!

Unfortunately, a number of local working families lost everything in the fire. The next day we walked through what was left and tried to console friends who lost their homes. In the end, after the smoke settled, one thought that stuck with me is that while a destructive fire extracts a physical toll, the emotional toll is almost impossible to calculate.


Sunday Market

The Ban Sala Dan Sunday Market has become one of the regular touchstones along the crazy path of my wayward life. We, (Duang and me), like to go early in the morning, both to beat the sun and to get the freshest choices for fish and produce.

I think my favorite aspect of the market is seeing all the people. The mix of local Muslim farmers and fishermen, tourists, people from other parts of Thailand, Burmese construction workers, traveling sales people...all makes for a lively mix.

It’s a friendly affair…much like a carnival…children, old people, dogs, cats and chickens...and, oh my…all the great food that we carry home for our delicious spicy meals....arroy, arroy!

I truly miss my regular weekly treks to the market when I am not on Koh Lanta!


EAT, Eat, eat...

Everyone likes Thai Food…right?

Sure, there is a Thai restaurant in almost every medium size "Western" town that can spell “cuisine”…there's at least five or six within a couple of kilometers of my house in America.

Not surprisingly then, one of the core aspects of Thai culture is gathering together with family and friends to eat great food and enjoy one another’s company. Thai people like to eat lots of little meals all through the day...I have found this to be "grazing" taken to its highest level on the planet.

For a wandering farang yai, (big white guy), like me...it's just another wonderful bonus of living here! Phad Thai Pla Meuk, anyone...?



Howling @ a Full Moon over the Andaman Sea

The moon controls much of life in the Thai world --- every festival, important community gathering, the selection and planning of important family events, such as weddings -- are all dependent upon the various phases of the moon. Adding to this, on the island of Koh Lanta, the moon controls the incredible tides and the ever-changing character of the Andaman Sea.

A few days back we celebrated the Full Moon…and there was an incredible tide!...of course this called for a big celebration.

A old friend from Idaho and his lifelong buddy -- now known as the Pros from Dover -- were in town visiting. With the "bad moon rising"...we joined up with Duang's friends Pen, Ta and Wat, (who all work at the Castaway), and headed out to enjoy a grand feast at Thai Cuisine, extraterrestrial (organic) libations at the Mong Bar, and late night dancing at Club Earth.

Great food, good music, cold beer, funghi shakes on Hat Khlong Nin, and dancing to the chill faux disco at the Earth...it proved to be yet another great night to remember!

...................................................................yeeeeoooowwwW.............................................................

Syncopated Swaying Rhythms

After a long night of dogs howling at the Full Moon, and a good long siesta, island life has settled back down to something near normal...back to the quiet beach, singing cicadas, and warm ocean breezes.

Carlos Santana sums up the sweet, alluring draw of the seashore very well in his beautiful, Written In Sand...

"Your eyes are the color of the sea
You look my way and the waves
Wash over me
Your body shivers with the
Fading light
You say, baby, let’s just make
It last tonight.

We hear the ocean roar
We’re swept away on to some
Distant shore
You whisper secrets of the heart
They keep us close when the
World keeps us apart

Until tomorrow comes
Time is on our hands
Because this love is written in
Sand
Written in sand










Koh Lanta...where dreams can become reality...and reality feels like a dream...but, of course...the ever changing moon and tidal flow syncopate the swaying rhythms...

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