HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]:

Pluses outweigh minuses

Pattaya International Marathon

My last marathon was a great one

Compliments to Pattaya Immigration

The Reigning Queen

Pluses outweigh minuses

Dear Editor,
In reference to Flounder MD’s letter: Just what we need, another disgruntled expat living in Thailand. If everything is so bad why doesn’t he go back home? Oh, that’s right he can’t afford to live there and the only girls that would have anything to do with him would be his own age. I have been living in the Kingdom for over 20 years, the last 7 in Udon Thani. I couldn’t think of a more wonderful place to live. I am a Merchant Seaman and have traveled to all corners of the world. No place comes even close to living amongst the wonderful people of Thailand. Every place has its shortcomings, but the pluses of living in Thailand greatly outweigh the minuses.
Greg Williams

Pattaya International Marathon

To the Editor,
As an extremely fast runner, I am qualified to write on this subject. To be serious, it was a very well organized event. Although one of your correspondents complained that 42 km was too far, it is historically the correct distance for the marathon. There was also offered a half-marathon and a 10 km race, so there was no cause for this complaint.
Having spent 20 years of my life running in 5km, 10km, half marathon and marathon races, I am aware that, as in many other sports, there is traditionally good camaraderie and friendly handshakes after the event when each one has done his or her utmost to beat the other. This is just as relevant and even more important in an international event. Because the winner was not Thai, he was handed the prize money with a “Thank you – Good-bye!” Some smiles and photographs would have been more polite. I would have expected newspapers that billed this event so enthusiastically to want not only a photo but short interview with the winner. Certainly a handshake photo with the Thai runner who did so well, would have been appropriate. The Kenyan runners came here as strangers in a strange country. I did not expect to be telling Thais to be open to the foreigner. In an international event we have an opportunity to show appreciation and friendship towards the winner, where ever he is from.
I would also suggest to the organizers that the 10km and children’s race be run on a different day from the International Marathon.
Chonburi Hotpapa

My last marathon was a great one

Dear Sirs,
One of Pattaya’s greatest events just took place on the 16th of July. It was the Pattaya Marathon. People from all over the world came to have their day of ‘joy in the streets’.
Once again the city council & the marathon team put together a great effort which resulted in a fine public presentation. Hats off to all the policeman, traffic coordinators, students & all those involved from the sign-ups to the finish line. Superb! I don’t know how you’ll beat this one.
This will be my last marathon (for awhile) as my tee-lock & I are moving to the other side of the bay. Actually we’re going to Hua Hin as this old guy needs some peace & quiet.
On the Monday before the run Jai & I were training on Beach Road & I felt a twing in my right calf & slowed down for the fear of injury. Later that night on the Monday Aussie Hash run I really pulled the calf muscle after 30 minutes into the run, so I walked & limped the rest of the way in. The rest of the week lil’ Jai was giving me leg massage’s 2 or 3 times a day & I was in the pool every day for an hour.
Now to give you an idea of how great the Pattaya Marathon is, Jai tried to talk me out of it. Even though my leg was just starting to mend I knew I couldn’t run. I like it so much I told her I would walk all the way. Jai loves it & she can run the entire distance without stopping. We agreed to try it.
The night before the run we both went to bed early but for some reason (& I know it wasn’t the pressure of the E.S.P.N. cameras) I couldn’t sleep. At 2 a.m. I was watching TV & I think I fell asleep about 15 minutes before the alarm went off. Man oh man, this is going to be a great start.
Now it’s 5:15 a.m. & we’re on Soi 6 looking for the 10k runners. We find our place & wait for the countdown. We’re off & lil’ Jai leaves me in the dust. I haven’t felt this lonely since I was in divorce court. Now remember I told you she can run.
I walk by the Dusit, Dolphin Circle & city hall making my way to Sukhumvit Road as thousands of runners pass me by. Oh what a feeling! But I say to myself “keep going, walk faster, don’t slow down & just finish”. The beauty of this event is to see so many having fun. This alone made me happy.
Suddenly I hear someone call my name. Is it CNN-Sports Center about to interview the slowest guy in town? No, it’s Jai & she’s waiting for me as the sun just starts to break. She must have ran 20 k just coming back for me & running again. I told her to go ahead but she didn’t. It’s the same ole story of bad legs, age & concrete. Sometimes they just kick your butt!
Also on this early morning I saw some of the guys & dolls from the Pattaya Hash House Harriers; the first one to pass me buy was Bottoms-up. I also saw our G.M. Flying Frog, Rambo WWII, Rambowling & Hannibal Lecture (with his great smile) & I heard that our lovely Tadpole ran like a deer, or was it because she was being chased by a Belgian frog?
We all made it in & I’m almost certain that I came in with the last 100, but seeing that finish line made my day. Now the next great event coming up in September is the Jesters Care 4 Kids charity Drive. Please support them, as kids all over this world are our future.
Goodbye Pattaya, keep up the good work & thanks to all the good people I’ve met here. Best of luck, be good & take care of those families.
Sincerely, Jesse Salazar
A.K.A. Poncho

Compliments to Pattaya Immigration

Dear Editor,
Tuesday 18th July I went to immigration in Soi 5, Jomtien to get a 30 day extension to my visa entry. Within 10 minutes of walking in, I was walking out with my passport with the 30 day extension in it. My compliments to Pattaya Immigration. Other countries could possibly learn a lesson about efficiency.
Yours Sincerely,
James Flanagan

The Reigning Queen

With a purist elegance,
And the surety of a hundred regal lifetimes,
She raises her hand and gives the command,
The Aegean tumultuous with Her longboats,
Ten thousand men ready to carve Her will into history,
With a resolve as cold and fixed as the broad blades of their swords,
The fate of the Known World hanging tenuously by a thread of Her whim.

But the weight of responsibility shall not bear heavily upon Her delicate shoulders,
The fortress of an undeniable righteousness affords impenetrable shelter for Her dogma,
And absolution from the consequence of Her determination.
Will Her subjects feel the soft, warmth of Her benevolent breast?
Only history may illustrate.

But Hers is just one voice, just one lifetime,
No more than yours or mine,
And Her capacity for goodness or greatness no less nebulous than ours,
Perhaps only more publicised.
Should we think differently, act differently, live differently,
From an ancient Queen, gone so long now as to almost be myth?

Two millennia and more – continents away,
Another Queen ascends to her thrown,
Without ceremony or recognition.
A child of displacement defies nature,
And becomes a woman without disaffection.

Though Her realm is not one of force and subjugation,
She furthers Her empire by captivating the hearts and minds of Her patrons.
Fortune smiles upon Her subjects,
Much more willing than their antecedents,
Her artform, Her armory,
In the battle for the cultured soul.

‘Lend me your ears’,
You will not hear Her cry,
As She will command your aural gratitude,
With the face of an angel,
And the voice of a crystal mountain.

I heard Her strike that note,
Broader than the arc of a sword’s blade,
Broader still than the horizon,
If you open your eyes, your ears,
And your heart,
You will understand the strength of a true faith,
And pledge your allegiance to the new Queen of Song.

Regina sings jazz from Her throne - The Jazz Pit, Chonburi, in the Kingdom of Thailand.
Anon

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