============================================================== |SJD's Fifth annual conference is June 30-July 2, 2000. We're| |almost there. Please help the hosting crew by registering if| |you plan to attend the conference. Log on to the conference | | homepage at http://www.satjadham.net/sjd5sd/ | ============================================================== As you might remember, Thakek post office - the place I lived, was by the Mekong River. Sometimes, a big ferry boat would stop by and anchor there. It was rumored that, in one of the ferry boat, lived a Phi Pob. At first, I didn't pay any attention to this rumor. Then, something very close to home struck. My niece, a daughter of my half sister, died unexpectedly. At that time, she was 7 or 8. Of all the three daughters and one boy she had, this one was the prettiest. They all lived in the post office compound. The three girls behaved okay. Maybe, because they were old enough. The little boy, instead, when left alone playing in the yard, would eat dirt, mud or whatever he could lay hands on. I guess that kind of things happened when you lost your father. By the way, his dad was the T-28 pilot whose life was cut short when his plane plunged into a tree on the way back home from Oudone. To my remembrance, she was slightly sick that her daughter didn't pay much attention to her. In fact, the night she died, her mom wasn't at home. I, myself, was awakened in the middle of the night when the wailing and the pounding of the wood to make a coffin for her permeated the post office compound. I had to admit that it was really sad to witness a little girl die - a girl you saw and played with every day. When my three siblings died, I was very little that I didn't remember anything. Now (then) that I was old enough, death was really a devastating and mournful moment. Since my niece's death, no ferry boat came to stop by the shore in front of our post office. Maybe, Thakek people living close to the post office chased the supposedly "Phi Phob" ferry boat away. Or maybe, they found somewhere else to anchor their boat. Whatever it was, I was glad that I didn't have to be scared about Phi Phob in the area any more. By the shore of the stream next to the bridge, I and my siblings planted the corns. It was said that if you planted the corns laughing or smiling unpleasantly, when they gave their fruits, they wouldn't be nice. That was the corn wouldn't be lining up nicely. Proud to say that the corns we planted gave a very nice fruit. Though not fenced off at any way, no one came to steal our corns. If I remember correctly, we planted the corns every year and they were good to us every year. In general, I got along very well with my siblings. Still, at one time, I fought with my older sister. She complained, maybe rightly, that I never called her "Euay" despite the fact that she was 3 years older than me. At that time, what I didn't like about her was that our parents gave her more money than to me. What I didn't realize that, as a grown up girl, she had more to spend. Just look at her pants, they were all fashionable. Typical of the 60s, the tip of the pant was large. At times, when she spent time at home wearing those kinds of pants, we didn't need to sweep the floor. The tip of her pants just took care of that task! Now, I would proudly say that I get along very well with her for she is sure a good sister. And she rightly earns my respect to be called "Euay" at last. (to be continued) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Photos -- now, 100 FREE prints! http://photos.yahoo.com _ ***************************************************************** To reach ALL SJD members, please send to sjd@satjadham.net ... Do NOT include any other addresses when sending to the list... Include as LITTLE of the original messages as possible........ Message sent by: LanXang Siengkhene *****************************************************************