TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING

B&R Christmas party in Singapore, B.B. (Before Beck)

Dearest Friends,

Though living on a tropical beach, making lots of money, and having people wait on you may sound idyllic, there is a dark side to expatriate life.  As Pat commented recently, too much of anything is never good.

Mr. S., acting silly.

Too much money was at the root of most problems.  A lot of the people we met overseas had grown up without any at all.  Now, suddenly, they had more than they knew what to do with, and no clue how to handle it, which led to some excessive behavior.  You do a little too much drinking, too much partying, too much gambling, have a little too much sex, or all of the above, and a life can spiral out of control.  Over the years, we lost track of how many people arrived on the compound as "social drinkers", but went home as alcoholics.

"Uh-oh!  She's giving me 'The Look!", says John.

I have often wondered just what made John swing so quickly from never even "going steady" with me when he left the country, to proposing marriage just a few months later.  Did he look at what was going on around him, and decide what he needed was a good wife who was just a wee bit prudish, to keep him on the straight and narrow?  Ha!  Not hardly -- or at least, not consciously.  But, could there have been something deep inside, telling him that a bit of balance might be a good thing?  Possibly. And, lucky for me, my John is one smart cookie, and knew just where to find it!

Miss Becky at work in the UT Student Union's "General Store."