The area we now lived in was Aceh Province, reputed to be the most fanatically Muslim area in all of Indonesia. There had been more than a few periods of unrest here, over the years -- periods when the military took over and got out of hand, or when many Indonesians of Chinese descent had just been wiped out. We, however, felt perfectly safe the entire time we lived here. In fact, it was almost idyllic -- like being on the set of Mayberry R.F.D.!
Things had grown crazier and crazier back in the states, to the point where I was afraid to let the kids play out in our own front yard without me being right there beside them. John used to get upset when he found them inside on the computer, instead of playing outside, on a pretty day. He'd say, "When I was their age, I took off on my bike in the morning, and didn't come back until dinner time!" I grew weary of having to remind him that our kids weren't living in the small-town Texas of the 50's!
Living on this company compound changed all that. Suddenly we were able to turn the clock back. Not only could the kids walk to school and to their friends houses, I could even turn them loose on their bikes, and let them go exploring!
Of course, events were to take a drastic turn for the worse a year or two after we left here, but that's a story for another time -- one that I will have to let Miss Peggy, and other friends who experienced it first hand, tell for me.
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