judy on September 20th, 2010

Well, Ira finally decided to go on and have knee replacement surgery.  He was operated on shortly after our return from Claude’s birthday celebration — on Tuesday, September 14, 2010, at Presbyterian Hospital (Walnut Hill Lane) in Dallas.  He came through surgery in fine shape and was discharged on Friday, September 17.

Painwise, Ira is doing fine but there is significantly more discomfort than either of us had anticipated.  Now begins the healing and the all important rehab process.  Cowboy is concerned and trying to help.   NurseCowboy

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judy on September 10th, 2010

Claude turned 40!!  Ira and I along with Olivia and Aaron joined the Massachusetts family for a grand celebration in Falmouth.  A wonderful time was had by all!!ClaudeCakeClaudeJudyIraClaudeGabeJudyIraOliviaIraSunsetKimClaudeCarrieSuzanneTedClarkensCrewCarrieClaudeCecileGabeCecileOliviaAaronOliviaIraJudySunset

judy on February 10th, 2009

Today, we made a difficult decision.  We decided that we need to stay in the States for awhile and try to rejoin the workforce.  The economy is such that we are concerned that our retirement funds may not last the way we had assumed they would.  So now we are polishing our resumes and looking around for positions that are not age-sensitive.

ira on December 9th, 2008

Well, we’re three days away from departure and as usual will leave with mixed emotions.  On the one hand, we can hardly wait for the warmth of hearth and home, family and friends over the holidays; on the other, we will feel a pleasant kind melancholy as the jets begin to whine.  This has been an exciting time and exotic experience which we mustn’t let slip away.

Our camera never seems to be there when we want it most!  On our corner stands a KFC, yes, Kentucky Fried with a smiling Colonel Sanders.  Christmas spirit has not bypassed this KFC.  It’s decorated with snowflakes, and on the steps in 85-degree weather, stands Santa, puffy red suit, white beard and all.  He holds a KFC “bucket” full of candies.  When the stop light turns red and the motorbikes pause momentarily, Santa wades into the idled swarm.  Here is a fabulous photo we need!  He holds out his bucket of treats to the children riding with their parents. “Reach in and get some!”  When the light changes, the children ride away chewing candy and Santa positions himself again on KFC steps, smiles and waves Christmas spirit to the passers-by.  We wished him a merry Christmas last night.

We heard a new take on retirement a few nights ago.  Get this.  We met a young man from East Tennessee, who is teaching in an international school here in HCMC.  Last year he finished a two-year stint in Burma.  And he will teach somewhere else when his contract is up.  He intends to continue permanently on this migratory teaching pattern.  Why?  Well, after graduating from college, he planned first to embark on a standard teaching career, and, in retirement, thought he would start teaching teaching in foreign countries.  But as fast as education is going on-line, he figured today’s opportunities to travel the world and teach students in situ might vanish. 

Think about it: Suppose he’s sitting there, thirty years from now, preparing to retire.  He surveys his options and discovers this avatar usurping his dreams!  So, why not do his career backwards?  Do it now, he figures; do the retirement scenario now!  That’s his take.  He does his dreams today, safe in the moment, immune to future surprises.  And without a retirement plan, there is nothing to lose when the economy craps out. It may not be for everybody, but it is to think about.

It is even to envy…briefly.  Note that he is single and lacks the fun and fulfillment of family and children—hearth and home as said above—that none of us would ever trade.  Like so many people, Judy and I tend to personalize things and consider the “what ifs” vs the realities.  What’s next for us?  Who knows?  We’re not exactly creaky anachronisms, but, while listening to this enthusiastic youth, a fleeting reminder of the calender did pass through us.  Our reality, we well know, is that we are happy and unusually fortunate, and that the rush of time hasn’t pummeled and pilloried our dreams.  They are alive and well.  So, we’ll keep on trucking while the roads are open.

The next destination: HOME!

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judy on December 4th, 2008

Ira and I were in Khon Kaen on T’giving and dined with a couple of our friends and fellow Americans who teach at our old school.  We ate well and counted all our blessings — at the top of that list is our wonderful family.  Except for the airport closures in Bangkok which caused us to get back to Vietnam three days late, we had a wonderful trip and enjoyed hanging out with old friends and saying good-bye for awhile.  We are now starting to think about getting organized for our return flight to Dallas which leaves from HCMC on Dec 11.  Can’t believe the time has gone so fast!

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judy on December 2nd, 2008

Ira and I are fine but we are now stuck in Laos.  We couldn’t get any flights out of Thailand for weeks and the flights from Khon Kaen only go to Bangkok anyway which is obviously no good.   So, we came back up to Vientiane by bus to try to get to Vietnam.  The flights here are all FULL.  The first flight we can get for sure is on Friday, 5 Dec, to Ha Noi.  Then we can fly on Saturday to HCMC.  So, we will definitely be back by Saturday. We are also going out to the airport everyday to try to get a stand-by seat.  Maybe we will be lucky.  
 
No telling what proportions this story will take on before it’s all told.  The nicest thing is that the Vietnamese doctors and students are worried about us and fear that we may be suffering.  We don’t have the heart to tell them that our only problem — other than being stuck — is deciding what to eat for dinner.

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judy on November 29th, 2008

Well here’s a first for Ira and me…  Thanks to the PAD protesters at the airports, we are now “stuck” in Thailand.  We’re here in Khon Kaen with our old friends so obviously no hardships!  But, we had planned to fly back to Vietnam today and hold class tomorrow.  All flights into and out of Bangkok are cancelled and we are now looking for alternative paths.

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judy on November 23rd, 2008

Sure enough, on my 65th birthday, I did have a terrific evening in Bangkok with a lot of our group who always used to get together at Doug and Yim’s old restaurant.  Those days from 2003 – 2007 were special ones!  We even met at the site of the beloved old Thee Sud Isaan.  It was great to see everyone again.

Bangkok 08 Old group        Bangkok 08 Judy, Yim, Rung       Bangkok 2008 Birthday Cake

While in Bangkok, we stayed at the Siam City Hotel as we always do now that we’re not living long-term in Bangkok.  Siam City is a lovely place and has an outstanding Food and Beverage Director — our good friend D.J.  He was busy the night of the party.   At the Siam City with DJ

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ira on November 19th, 2008

Tomorrow, Judy and I are flying to BKK and will be there over that auspicious date, the 22nd, and have ready access to email.  We plan to meet casually with some of the guys that we hung out with during the Bangkok years and still consider fast friends. 

On November 23rd, we will head to Vientiane, Laos, for a couple of days. It’s a nice city on the Mekong and the capital of Laos.  There is lots of French and other foreign influence from the embassies there, making for an enjoyable atmosphere. I think we’ll have a French dinner for Judy’s real birthday celebration.

By the way, we met our first French Foreign Legionnaire at an expat bar on the Mekong on our first trip to Vientiane.  Before joining the Legion, he had been a butcher by vocation in London. Hmmm.

After that, we will travel slowly toward Khon Kaen, stopping en route for a day in Udon Thani, an Isan city which we had always intended to see but didn’t.  In Khon Kaen, we’re set up to visit with some of our teacher friends, some students, and a doctor friend.  We will enjoy Thanksgiving dinner at the Sofitel Hotel and remember most thankfully of all of you back home and toast to your health and happiness.

We will return to Saigon on November 30th.  Once back here, we will probably try to fit in all the things we intended to do, but didn’t quite manage.  We’ll finish out our English-for-Medicine class the day before coming home on Dec. 11.

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ira on November 18th, 2008

We took a trip to Hoi An, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoi_An), for our fortieth anniversary.  Noah may have considered Hoi An as a site for his ark, such were the deluges we experienced. But, getting wet was no real bother, because there was lots to see and do. 

Getting wet at its best? Well, there’s a great story there! I have to tell you later about what Mom and I have begun to call a “limbic moment.” It was a moment in Hoi An of deep pleasure and equanimity evoked by a confluens of time and geography, of recollections of the past and the mood of the now. It is possible that the mist and rain outside the White Marble wine bar contributed to this grand moment.  The bar is on the right hand side of the street shown in the picture.

Hoi An Street         Hoi An Boat in Street

At its worst, sloshing all over Hoi An got my Tivas wet. They wouldn’t dry and began to stink…really stink. I figured they had picked up a fungus.  I consulted with Nigel, our PhD mycologist friend in BKK, about the problem. He agreed that jungle fungi can really stink, but reckoned that a chlorox treatment might not work.

Despite this grim prognosis, I submerged them in a strong chlorox solution for a long soak. It worked! I’m back in my Tivas. I have the newer sandal-type Tevas, not the old perfect ones. They look sharp and feel good, but I don’t believe the new design is water capable because of the spongy insole.

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