Thursday, July 16, 2015

The Guy in the Next Seat

We have arrived at morning sans daylight.
It's years since I flew to Asia and
Anticipate the wonders that once awaited me have diminished,
Or disappeared under new local priorities.

We are four hours out of Hong Kong
With no one to greet before we fly to Bangkok.
Les and Harriet are still sleeping.
It may be eight AM in LA, locally it's three.

Our flight to Thailand from Hong Kong featured George,
Who had about fifty viable suggestions for our trip;
From ordering special diet food for faster meal service,
To easy electronic communication in foreign countries.

A Californian who might show up in Coronado
With a need to see the beach.
He's in Thailand to see, yet again, the educated elephants
Of Chiang Ma and get a medical exam in Bangkok.

George requires one special pill a month.
It costs $4000, and allows him to live.
He comes here annually to have exacting blood work.
The Elephants are his reward for flying 7500 miles.

George is likely to be the improbable star
Of this trip, our first to Thailand and Vietnam.
He advises us softly of sights and sounds
That might make our vacation richer.


The sights matter, but it's the experiences
That will return to confront or comfort,
Offering yet other perspectives

Through the distorting mirror of memory.

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