THIS IS A TRUE STORY

An Out of Country Experience - Part 30

I was sitting at the computer at the association. Thip had supplied me with my morning pineapple, people were coming and going and in walked Manoon.

Manoon was a delightful young Thai man, a musician and a friend of Thip's. Thip, Manoon and I talked about James. Manoon listened with great compassion. He could not speak English too well so we did a lot of charades and depended on Thip for translation. Manoon was such fun. He informed me of his radio contacts and his Army contacts. This intrigued me.

A few days later Manoon presented a folk song he had written about James. He strummed his guitar and sang the song - in English. It was a great song that made a plea for James to contact his Mom. I was so excited and moved that he would do this. Thip, Manoon and I went to the recording studio and Manoon and his friends recorded the song. The song was broadcast on the radio all over Thailand. I was so grateful and impressed with Manoon.

It was great gift of compassion and I had hopes the song would reach James. Manoon had a good heart and never asked for a thing. I insisted I return the favor somehow. He finally suggested that maybe I could fix his computer. I agreed. We hopped on his motor bike and went to his place. It was a small room with no facilities, only a bed, guitar and boxes of computer parts, old parts.

He had very little but gave what he could with his heart. So I had to rise to the challenge and put some parts together so he would have a working computer. He had no windows programs but he had a DOS music program. We got the computer together and up and running. He was so happy to have a working computer with Cake walk, a DOS music program. It did not take much to please him.

We all hung out a bit. I went to some of his concerts along with other friends. He invited me to join his friends for a night of karaoke. Although I did not do a whole lot of socializing and did not want to get sidetracked, I thought that Manoon and his young friends might have contacts I would never be privy to. James had a great interest in music and would have gotten along great with these Thai guys. Hanging out with these younger people gave me an idea of what people did and where they hung out. My karaoke evening was fun, although most of it was in Thai.

In Thailand you see many friends hold hands, boys and girls, all ages. I had seen this show of friendship all over Asia and thought nothing of it. As Manoon and I were walking he reached down and held my hand. I was a little startled and thought it must be a friend thing….or even a mother thing. I had shoes older than him.

A dozen of us went for some Thai food. He asked me to go home to stay at his place over night. I laughed (not thinking) and said no as I couldn't see any logic in that. I had a great room at the Trang Plaza. I had no idea that I had hurt or insulted Manoon. He left and most of his buddies followed, except for one that made a crude attempt at rubbing two fingers together to suggest we sleep together. OK, by then I had figured things out. Manoon never came around again.

Language and cultural barriers can sure lead to misunderstandings, not to mention stupidity and insensitivity. I felt sad to loose my friend.

At the Monastery I'd been to, where James had also been, they had mentioned his interest in music lessons. I also wanted to check out a small village area where Frank said he owned land. I took the bus to Haydyai, checked out music stores and schools, bought take out pizza and took the bus back along the highway, pizza boxes in hand.

I got off at a small village on the highway. It was an area I remember where Frank had said he owned land. It was a long shot. I showed James' photo around and finally a young fellow said "Yes, yes, that way" and he pointed up the road. A couple of other people looked at the photo and agreed.

I asked how far and if could I walk there. He beckoned for a motorbike taxi. A fellow whipped up beside me, looked at the photo and nodded his head acknowledging the face. He waited for me to get on. What a sight I must have been, with my umbrella and pizza boxes. Lord, ask me why I was toting the pizzas around! And why I got on the bike.

We went quite a ways, maybe close to ten miles, through windy roads in the beautiful countryside and past a monastery. There were farms and acreages. I could see a large house up on the hill. The fellow biked up the hill and stopped in front of the large house that was under construction but nearly finished. It was a beautiful home, very secure. It was to be surrounded by a high wall and tall fancy, iron gate.

The fellow waited for me to get off the bike. He pointed to James' picture and to the house. A number of vehicles were in the driveway. So I knew people were there but I didn't want the driver to go and asked him to come back to get me. He nodded briefly and took off. I hoped he understood me.

I walked toward the house. A man was coming toward me. A foreigner. A man who spoke English. He was the same man that I spoke to through the gates in Trang. The man I was led to from the pool hall. The same man that refused to speak with me and the same man that was not happy to see me. The same man who had told me not to come again. The house belonged to him. He walked toward me with a scowl on his face, totally puzzled by my appearance.

He stood there looking at me waiting for an explanation.
"How did you find this place?" he asked.
I stood there stunned myself.
"I brought you guys pizza."
"Pizza?" he said.
"Yea, "I smiled, hoping he wouldn't notice my fear.

I walked toward the house as if I had been invited. He just watched me pass by him. His workers were milling about. I was glad they were there.

"Pizza break" I announced. Workers stopped and we all sat around on whatever was available to sit on amidst the bricks, cement and dust. The man spoke Thai to the men. I opened the boxes to display the pizza and grabbed a piece. No one else took any. I chatted away asking about the house. It was a fabulous design, very modern and built with the best imported materials. Gorgeous house. He had imported special wood from around the world and had a bar area that was amazing. I was given a tour. The man's beautiful Thai wife was there. I imagined what the house would look like upon completion with landscaping and fancy front gate. Stunning.

There was a water storage house in the back that seemed to double as a look out. I could barely see the rooftop of another large house not too far off. There were a lot of trees but a path connected the houses.

I carefully and casually brought James up. The unwilling host told me he was most likely dead. He further told me that there were many mercenaries in Thailand, and, in fact there was a mercenary camp ten miles from him and that I should take more care in what I do. None of his workers offered any input at all. The point was taken and that was my cue to leave. Right in the nick of time my ride showed up. I was very happy to see him. I said my farewell to the homeowner and thanked him for his time. My host stood watching me as I left. I wished he had been friendlier.

I stood next to the bike. A white truck drove into the driveway. Two Thai guys got out. No one from the house seemed to be watching anymore. I said hi to the new arrivals, smiled and asked how they were.

I showed them my photo of James. They looked briefly and casually pointed to the house through the bush. They both spoke English.

"Over there" they said. "But not there now. He never comes. Sometimes."

I asked if he owned the house over there and they replied yes. I asked where he was and they replied England. I asked if he was English and one fellow said " No, he American Chinese, very tall".

Men started to come out to the gate so I said bye and got on the bike. I would leave the other house for another day and perhaps take the back roads so as to not be noticed.

OK. In my room I decided to recap everything, put everything in order and make a plan. There were leads and I was going in every direction but I felt it was crucial to make the best out of my time. I wrote out where I was, what I had learned and where I would go. I had a feeling I may have to make a hasty departure so I had better take a leap, get real serious, perhaps take a risk and check off all leads. Focus. And so my list…

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