ROYAL PLEASURES

Liz and Steve are congenial hosts, providing accommodations and convivial conversation and allowing us the freedom to gallivant around town visiting others tied into all this Peace Corps anniversary celebration. In fact, even telephone conversations over the course of the day tied into our focus on Peace Corps, including a brief one with our lawyer (Bill Buss, a RPCV from Brazil) and a longer one with friends, Peggy and David Sloan (RPCVs who served in Turkey).

We had a yummy Thai lunch in nearby Herndon spent catching up with Mim Keo (a PCV in Heidi's group who lived next door to us in Bangkok during most of our year there in the sixties).

Back at the O'Tooles, Steve and I managed to convince Liz and Heidi to watch the first episode of “Revenge” with the hope both might become intrigued enough to watch more of the series in the season ahead. It also helped those of us seeing it for the second time to sort out all the clues which washed over our heads the first time around!

Another highlight of the day was the evening buffet reception at the Royal Thai Embassy in Georgetown where we encountered Carole Jenkins Smith and Susan Breckenridge- Larson.

Carole was on the Peace Corps staff, arriving in Thailand with Heidi's group in 1964. Lee knew her from high school in Illinois when both were active in regional Methodist Youth Fellowship activities. She visited us in Ban Don, attended our wedding and became good friends with Dan and Helen Parker (older friends who helped us arrange all our Bangkok associated marriage festivities – Dan Parker walked Heidi down the aisle at our wedding). We had lost touch over the years, so it was especially nice to encounter her here in Washington.

We recalled that, among our Thai photographs, we have a shot of Carole walking barefoot on a vast but otherwise deserted Koh Samui beach. She, in turn, mentioned that she had some color slides of our Bangkok church wedding, an event largely existing in our archives in black and white photographs. We agreed to send copies to one another!

Susan was stationed in Nakorn Srithamarat, the province one further south from where we were stationed. She (and another Susan – we always spoke of “the Two Susans”) also visited us in Surat Thani and journeyed with us out to Koh Samui (long before it became the famed international resort island it has become today). We especially enjoyed hearing about her later very successful career as a television producer specializing in programs focused on China.

The embassy event itself drew mainly “old timers” – twenty members (of forty) from Thai I were in attendance, for example – but proved an enjoyable, upbeat beginning to this celebratory extended weekend. (with lots of good food into the bargain). We managed to be among the last to leave, then (using our GPS but missing a great many turns along the way) drove Carole and Susan back to their hotel, passing by most of the city's illuminated monuments in the process. Despite five miles of single lane traffic along I-66, we managed to be back in Reston before midnight, exhilarated by the day but ready for a good night's sleep as well.