Had a fairly exhausting, one hour windsurfing outing yesterday afternoon, followed by a late evening meal with a few glasses of wine with my wife after she finished work. So by 23:00 I was very relaxed in a comfy chair and considering bed. So what the hell was I doing after midnight, sat in a car with she who must be obeyed as we pursued a rubbish truck around the streets of Pattaya?
She was in a contemplative mood as we sipped our wine earlier in the evening. She observed that she frequently complained about the long hours of her job, but she was well paid and had good conditions to work in; unlike so many workers who slave for very little to provide the goods and services that we take for granted in the city (e.g. farmers); plus those who work around the clock to make sure our utilities work, our rubbish is removed etc.
She said that she normally went to the temple on her birthday to make merit; but what was the point of giving more money to the temple, they had plenty of money already? No, this year she wanted to do something nice for the people who have the crappy jobs which make our lifestyle better. She decided that she wanted to give some money to the guys who take away our rubbish.
Every night, at midnight, a rubbish truck passes our condo and takes away our discarded waste. Last night, it was then pursued down the road by a determined she who must be obeyed in her car, with a bleary-eyed me in the passenger seat and roll of 100 baht notes in her hand, carefully segregated into four separate batches, one for each of the crew.
The truck stopped, she who must be obeyed jumped out and dispensed the equivalent of a day’s wages to each of the delighted and bemused rubbish collectors, with a smile and a “thank you for what you do for us”. Then she hopped back in the car and we drove home.
How can I not love someone who does things like that?
Comments 🔗
2012-08-09| Craig saysI am much impressed. K. SWMBO for El presidente !!
2012-08-09| Pete saysWhat a delightfully thoughtful gesture. I hope she has a wonderful birthday, she certainly deserves it.
2012-08-09| Pete saysSorry, place that in the past tense, I’m a day out!!
On a related note, a small glitch in the page design doesn’t put the post date on the title bar of the comments page whereas the main page does. That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.
2012-08-09| Grant saysShush, Pete! Clearly a total sweetie, right down to making merit where it matters. A Thai book we could all very well take a leaf from…
2012-08-09| Jan saysa lovely thought and deed - you are very lucky and have yourself a real star - ?? did they get the camera as well ?
2012-08-09| Jock saysGreat story .. well done SWMBO !!
2012-08-09| Spike saysNo, it is happily gathering dust in a corner.
2012-08-09| Spike saysAn annoying bug in the template. Need my technical support to fiddle with it; but unfortunately The Son is a little busy at the moment.
2012-08-09| Spike saysAnd yes I am lucky; but then so is she as I regularly remind her.