============================================================== 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 *** Announcement: *** Please send your member fee to Victor if you haven't done so. ============================================================== It was funny that some post office employees called me "Koey". Literally, this word meant "greedy" or "take everything as one’s". Maybe, they thought when we had a Boun and served food at our house, I swallowed everything down my throat without leaving anything pieces for them. Or maybe, it carried some special meaning to Jarn Koey who became a legend himself in Savannakhet folklore. I don’t know. Whatever it was, nobody called me by that name again once my family moved to Thakek in 1967. Before we left Savannakhet, my family went for a family picture featuring every member of the family (at that time, there 9 people including my parents and my adopted sister). My parents thought that they were not going to have any more kids. From Thakek to Vientiane, the members of our family were almost annually added: three more in Thakek and the other two in Vientiane. That’s to say the family picture which we hung in the living room in respective towns showed a different face each year until there was no place to add anymore, and that’s when my parents decided to go for no more kids once and for all. On the very last note, I would like to talk about Savannakhet patriotism before I moved on to the next installment about Thakek. First, let me touch on a personal note. I came to know one post office employee very closely. In fact, it was both him and his wife who was a babysitter to my little brother and sister. Their names are Ai Thaum and Euay Bea. Their houses were close to the market. I frequented their houses quite often even when I left Savannakhet for Thakek, I liked to spend my summer vacation in their houses. Built like a typical Lao house with a first story vacant, this house was but one big room. It was used as a sleeping place for a family of 5 (at that time), as a dining place and as a place to park Ai Thom’s bike. It must be hard for him to carry his bike up and down the steep stairs every morning and evening. Whatever it was, he loved his bike dearly. He wiped it until it shone very brightly. Anyway, that’s not what I want to talk about. Instead, it was his patriotism. When Vice President Johnson (before he succeeded the assassinated President Kennedy) visited Laos in the early 60s, there was talk about deploying American troops in Laos. I thought it was a good idea indeed because that was the only way to roll back the North Vietnamese gains in Laos. He didn’t entertain that idea at all. He said that was like bringing the fire into our house. With hindsight, I came to realize that he was right. This made me appreciate the wisdom of the ordinary Lao more and more as time passed. Secondly,, there was a music concert held in Lao Chareuan movie theater. If I remember correctly, it was the band from Vientiane featuring many famous Lao singers such as Khamteum Xanubanh, Kobkeo, Thantavan (a local singer who later became famous for the song "Song Phal Kong" - the two shores of the Mekong River ) etc… The place as tightly packed - a sign of Lao patriotism running high in every Lao vein. On another time, there was a Lao movie showed in the same theater. We, Savannakhet people, rushed to support it with all of our heart. If I was not mistaken, the place was packed for quite some time. From those two events, I came to realize that Savannakhet people were very patriotic. They didn’t think they were apart from the Lao nation as some Lao people from other parts of the nation tended to nourish this divisive idea. Sometimes, I found it odd as Savannakhet, as a town, was quite a recent phenomenon. Historically speaking, Savannakhet should think of itself first. It has its own distinct accent - a Savan accent which is kind of middle tone between Pakse and Luangprabang accents. Maybe, because of that, Savannakhet temperament was kind of in the middle perfectly reflecting Buddha’s teaching the way of the middle road to life. I guess I just understand Savannakhet when I discovered that it had a legend of Chao Ratsavong - a Lao hero in the war against Siam, breeding in every Savannakhet soul. It became even clear to me when I found that not a few of Savannakhet people resettled the area from the left bank of the Mekong River. They were the descendants of the great Chao Anou warriors who would rather being Lao than being Thai. On this note, I would like to take this occasion to salute you, Savannakhet people especially my dear friend - Thip Chinthalasy for carrying the torch of a true Lao to us, the ethnic Lao everywhere on the globe. May Savannakhet spirit live in our heart and soul forever! May the good people of Savannakhet fight on with an undying spirit! and may Savannakhet rise up in unison greater and brighter! The End (Thakek coming up next) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Talk to your friends online with Yahoo! Messenger. http://im.yahoo.com _ ***************************************************************** Visit SatJaDham Homepage at: http://www.satjadham.org (or .net) *****************************************************************