============================================================== 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. ============================================================== Close to my residence, there was a technical school. Ai Nu (literally means mouse) went to that school. Though not related to my family, he was well treated as my parents liked to help people. I, too, liked to go to that school. Of course, it was not to learn anything because I was too young to be accepted to that school. Besides, I liked to go to that school when they had no class, preferably on the weekends. What attracted me the most was Mak Chab as we, kids, always used it to fight one another. The one whose head still remained after the furious hit would be declared the winner. It was known that, Mak Chab over there was strong and you could collect as many as you wanted. If I remember correctly, this technical school had three buildings in a very big area. As a result, most of the empty spaces were occupied by the weeds and Mak Chab especially during the rainy season. Sometimes, the school backyard became a fishing pond as a large pool of water emerged after a heavy rain. During the night, you could even hear the sound of the frogs and toads plus the flashing light shining everywhere. Ai Nu was one of the many who participated in the frog and fish catching. By the way, Ai Nu was a very amicable guy who liked to tell me old stories about Yak, Phi, and Thevada. To me, he was an expert in the storytelling as he could recited stories like SinXay, Khoun Lu Nang Oua, Nang Phom Hom, and so on… as good as from the radio. Besides, his style of storytelling was animated and always had something new added to the stories each time he related them to me again. What I learned from those old stories was that truth and goodness always prevailed in the end. In another word, If one was really good, honest, diligent, caring, just and courageous, heaven (or "Savan" in Lao) would always be on his/her side. There was one saying that captured that spirit: "Tok Nam Bo Lai, Tok Phai Bo Mai". Translated into English, it was: "Even if you fall into the river, you won’t be drowned. And even if you are caught in a fire, you won’t be burned." Ai Nu, true to his good nature, survived all the vicissitude of life, is now prospering in Laos (that's what I heard). (to be continued) __________________________________________________ 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) *****************************************************************