It's all anecdotal

Thailand, like many Asian countries, thinks that English is synonymous with pop culture and being cool. It's not uncommon to see a Thai posters or billboards written mainly in Thai except for a single English word or phrase in the middle. Usually the word is spelled wrong or the grammar is incorrect, which makes it fun for anyone who can actually read it.

Except today. I was standing on the river pier waiting for my boat, when a middle-aged woman and her son walked by and stood next to me along the rail. The son had just finished school and was dressed in a para-military uniform, while his mom had on slacks and a t-shirt. I happened to glance over and see that mom's t-shirt has a graphic that looked like a billboard for a British band called 'U.K. Subs', which I've never heard of. It was full of pictures with English words and phrases, but placed squarely in the middle in bold type were the words....

Well, I can't type the words here, not even with dashes in place of key consonants. Let's just say that the phrase rhymed with "Duck Cough."

Hard to imagine your mom picking you up from school in a t-shirt like that, isn't it?


The Break-Up

I had a great Father's day. Kaddi made me a special dinner of chicken-salad croissants, black-olive salad, and cranberry punch - all three are delicacies here in Thailand. After dinner Meg gave me two cards that she had made for me, each containing a chocolate treat that she knew I liked. One of her cards said:

"In all the years of Dads, you've been the best"

What father wouldn't love such praise? When I finished admiring Meg's card (which took some time) I asked Jake why there was no card from him. He rolled his eyes and said "Dad, I just don't love you that way!"

I guess he just wants to be friends.



Share the Magic

Some of our friends from Wisconsin are headed for a family reunion in San Diego this summer, and will probably visit Disneyland with their kids for the first time. When we mentioned this to Meg she was very excited for her best friend Whitney. She got a dreamy look in her eye and said:

"Whitney will have so much fun at Disneyland...cotton candy, ice cream, lemonade, giant suckers, licorice....so much fun!"



It's a Boy!

...for our friends Clark and Kim....that is. The Millers recently emailed us saying that they had their baby, on Father's Day no less. They decided to name him Russell Clark Miller. Clark and I served in the Elders Quorum together in Madison, I was the Millers hometeacher for over two years, and I even helped them paint their basement during their remodeling project. I was quite touched that they decided to name their second son after me (Russell is my middle name). Needless to say, I'm very honoured.

Although "Mack Strate Miller" would have sounded even better.