Tobacco

I read it on Thailandblog beautiful story by Joseph Jongen about The meaning of the Thai word Tamboon. This reminds me of a story I wrote a long time ago, in 1998. With Joseph's information I could undoubtedly have turned it into a nice story. I wrote the following.

“Thia has set up a campaign to raise money for a poor temple in the north of Thailand. There is a fixed procedure for such activities. First, people are approached who, on the one hand, enjoy some fame and who, on the other hand, can be expected to give generously. When there are sufficient commitments, a letter is drawn up that not only states the purpose, but especially the names of those who have already made a commitment. The cashier is also mentioned, making it clear that it is a trusted business. In Thia's letter, Rit, our beach tent owner, is listed as cashier, because everyone knows him.

Four people are willing to donate a thousand Baht. They are in bold letters. This includes those who have pledged five hundred Baht. My name is here. Not in the first category, because I have no idea where this money goes. I belong to the category that prefers to wait and see first and tell Thia that I would like to see the temple for which all this is being done. Later, Thia promises. Thia hands out hundreds of envelopes with the letter in question. The intention is that he will pick it up again later, filled.

A few weeks later, I was invited to Rit's house with some Thai boys. All envelopes have been collected and now we have to count. Four times a thousand Baht, twelve times five hundred and the rest of the envelopes contained twenty or fifty notes. Some a ten Baht coin. Every little bit helps. I count diligently. The total is not less than nineteen thousand eight hundred Baht. Not bad. I am willing to pay another two hundred Baht to make it a round amount. By the way, I hear that there are three other groups elsewhere in the country working on the same temple. I am very curious.”

So much for my Tamboon. Of course I have been eagerly looking forward to my visit to the temple in question. I found it, but only as the end of a long story.

“I almost forget the reason for this trip. The temple in BanLai, for which Thia was active. I now understand his action. Terribly poor. The foundation is made of concrete. There is no money for the rest. Board cardboard and corrugated sheets. I'll take another look in a few years.”