Thailand Letter
October 29, 1997
Bangkok, Thailand
Dearest Family,
JOHN - I was SO happy to have a letter from you this evening and I just had to write right back. You and Jean have sent "glowing reports" about Bob's fireside presentation - I loved it when you said "we were proud to be associated with him" - I am proud of all of you!!! I wish I could have been there for the fireside and I also wish I could have been there for the "potato bar". I am SO hungry for a good "Woolley Idaho Potato" with lots of cottage cheese on it - I wouldn't tell you that except that I know you would NEVER send me a potato and besides if you did, Virginia wouldn't let me heat the oven to bake it!!!
BOB - thank you SO much for the news you sent. I am a little worried about the stock market crash but I know there isn't anything I can do about it. The articles you sent were quite reassuring and again we just devoured everything you sent. I know the market has been way over priced and this was not unexpected but it is a little scary. It is SO funny - on the way home from school today I asked our driver if he had heard anything on the news about the New York Stock Exchange Crash - he just smiled at me and that means "I don't have the faintest idea what you are talking about".
John, I can't believe you winterized the evaporative cooler - GOOD FOR YOU!!! I had a contract with Sears but I don't remember when it runs out - they would know. Did you find the cover for it? It is in the garage on the overhead thing. DON'T FORGET TO CHANGE THE FILTER ON THE FURNACE - YOU NEED TO CONTACT LEWIS AND GUYMON FOR THAT AND I DO HAVE A CONTRACT - they should have been out to check the furnace by now. Did you take all the garden hoses in? We left one hooked on one Winter and it froze the pipe going into the room downstairs and Daddy had to tear out part of the wall to fix it. I AM SO GLAD YOU HAVE ALL THOSE WORRIES NOW - you will do a great job because you know much more about things like that than I do. I hope you and Julianna will have fun at the Tippets Halloween party - they are some of my most favorite people and did you know they lived in Bangkok for five years? Mark grew up here while his father worked for the government during the Vietnam War and then he was called to serve his mission here - my Branch President remembers him. I told Mark that you have a picture of that Branch President - it is in the group of pictures that Bishop Patch took home for me. The Branch President is in the picture with the girl who was baptized. Show it to Mark.
John - would you please deposit $1,000.00 in Zion's bank in my name? You just need to tell them I am on a mission here - the church has all their accounts here with Zion Bank. I can then have the church office couple get me some checks and get money soon without any charges. They told me that was all I had to do - it seems too simple so if there is a problem let me know. I won't need it for another month if my other check comes through. I will need cash for when we go to Chaing Mai on Nov. 27th and surely my other money will come through by then. Also - would you tell me how much they are charging when I use the ATMs.
We have had some more water problems. PraPa sent her "officer" out to fix the pump and when we came home today we didn't have any water. Finally we found out it was turned off out in front again so we got it turned back on. We had our English Neighborhood group in tonight - they come at 6:30 and stay until 8:30. We had to hurry to get ready for them when we got the water turned back on.
We are invited to a "wedding party" on Friday night. The assistant director of "Soi Annex" is getting married and invited us to her party. She will be married in a Buddhist Ceremony and then they have this big party in the evening. She has arranged for someone to come get us. We are also invited to another wedding on Nov. 3rd and this one will be in the "Grand Palace" - I promise I won't wear my $12 dress - Ha!!! I had a dressmaker make me a little blouse out of some Thai Woven material that I will wear with something - it is much too large and needs shoulder pads but it is the best thing I have.
I miss you all SO much and I truly appreciate all your letters - and Bob thank you again for your thoughtfulness in sending all the news!!! I love you all so very, very much. PLEASE BE VERY CAREFUL IN EVERYTHING YOU DO. Grandma B