THE BEGINNING OF THE END

Dearest Friends,

I think Melody, Rich and their two kids were the first of our close friends to transfer out of Sumatra. Fortunately, they only went as far as Jakarta, so it wasn't too bad. We could actually go visit them if we really wanted to. When friend Patti found out that she, Brad, and their three littles would soon be heading to the States, she started to panic over whether she had seen everything she needed to see, and bought everything she needed to buy.

There was a whole lot of stuff you could buy in Jakarta that we never even saw out in the middle of the jungle, so that's exactly what she did -- she went to visit Mel! And, being such a good friend and all, I offered to go along -- just for moral support of course.

If there was anything left in Jakarta when we finished there, it certainly wasn't for lack of trying!

Once Patti and her family departed, it was as if someone had left the stopper out of the drain, for there seemed to be a slow but steady exodus from that point on.

GOOD LUCK FOLLOWS ME AROUND THE GLOBE

Dearest Friends,

I have always been rather lucky when it comes to contests. You'd be shocked at how many  prizes I have won, considering how few contests I have bothered to enter. In Sumatra I shocked even myself, however, by winning the grand prize in a contest I didn't enter!

Almost everyone on the compound had ordered at least a few pieces of teak or rattan from the furniture-makers in Medan, but only a few had ordered from this one fellow in Singapore (Or was it Jakarta? I really can't remember.) I had been with friends when they ordered from this guy, and his stuff was indeed beautiful, but it was just way too expensive for this frugal frau. Then, however, Danny and Peggy invited John and I over to admire their new fold-out bar when it arrived, and that was all it took. My hubby just had to have one! We knew we couldn't take our full-sized patio bar home with us -- there just wouldn't be room for it in most houses. But this? This would fit in most any house! Eventually, I caved in.

A few weeks after I placed the order, I got a letter from the furniture-maker. I expected it to say the usual "Oops, so sorry! Delivery will be much later than we told you." That is not what it said. Instead I found out that, unbeknownst to me, there had been a drawing for several pieces of furniture, and they had entered the name of every single person who had ever placed an order with them. Guess who won, not just any old prize, but the muy grande prize of a Fold Out Bar? Yep, little ol' me. They gave me a choice: apply the prize credit towards the bar we had already ordered, or use it to order something else. Sooo, we ended up ordering this...

and then we couldn't resist ordering this as well...

and, oh yeah, there was also a cute little curio cabinet to hang on the wall. So, yeah, as you can see, winning that contest ended up costing me a bundle. I should have know better than to let John go to the showroom with me! But, here it is, almost 20 years later, we're still using all those pieces, and they are still gorgeous, so...maybe it was all for the best, huh?

BAD JU-JU IN JAKARTA

Dearest Friends,

When my oldest sister lived in Saudi Arabia for five years, she got into the habit of bringing really nice gifts home to everyone in the family, each time she came to the States.  As our first home-leave grew ever closer, it suddenly occurred to me that my relatives were probably expecting the same from me.  Well, shee-yutt!!  That was not a happy realization, for 1) unlike my sister, who loved/lived to shop, I pretty much hated it, and 2) even if I didn't, where was I supposed to find all these treasures?  We were living on a company compound, in the middle of the jungle!

So, when my friend Peggy, the most organized, efficient person I know, invited me to go shopping in Jakarta with her, and said she even had a friend we could stay with, who would loan us her car and driver for the day, how could I say no?  To tell you the truth, I don't remember much of anything about our time in Jakarta, or what we bought while there.  I do, however, have vivid memories of the trip home.  I bet Peggy does too.

You see, we had to get up around 4:00 a.m. that last day, in order to get to the airport and catch the co-plane back to Lhok Seumawe.  There was no time to eat breakfast before we left, but I did remember to take one of the pills I had just been prescribed (I non't remember what for).  John had picked them up for me on his way home from work Friday, and thrust them into my hand as I headed off to the airport.  Anyhoo, on Sunday morning as we stood on the porch, saying goodbye to our dear hostess, I suddenly caught a whiff of dog-poo from somewhere in the garden, and that was all she wrote.  A wave of nausea hit me so hard, it almost knocked me over!  I ran around the corner of the house and barfed.  My two friends were very concerned, and tried to usher me back into the house.  "No, no.  I'm fine.  I always get a little queasy if I don't eat breakfast.  It was just the smell.  Besides, we've got a plane to catch!"

The traffic in Jakarta is just what you'd imagine it to be in most ginormous, third world cities.  There is a lot of speeding up for a few seconds, only to slam on the brakes again, with continual whipping back and forth between lanes.  In no time at all I was pretty sure I was going be sick again, but there was no way for our driver to pull off the road.  Lucky for us all, the ever-prepared Miss Peggy whipped a giant zip-lock baggie out of her purse.  By the time we reached the airport, I had filled it up.

Once inside, Peggy took care of checking us in, and I headed straight to the restroom, such as it was.  Every time I'd think it was safe to come out, the nausea would hit me again.  Peggy came to check on me, asking if I was certain I didn't want to return to her friend's house.  "No!  I just want to go home.  Leave me here until they start boarding the plane, then come get me."  By then there was nothing left for me to hurl, except maybe my intestines, and I was so exhausted that I just passed out on the plane, barf-bag clutched tightly in my hands.

When I finally made it to my house, I stumbled past my family and fell into bed.  The next morning I felt much, much better, though I looked as if I had been in a bar-room brawl.  Apparently, all that heaving had caused some blood vessels in my eyes to rupture, and the whites were now ruby-red.  As I was telling John what I had been through, he began to get a very strange look on his face.  "Uh, Beck? You didn't, by any chance, take one of those pills on an empty stomach, did you?"  "Why yes, I did.  Right before we left the house.  Why do you ask?"  "Well, I guess maybe I forgot to tell you what they said, about how important it was to only take them on a full stomach, huh?"  I probably didn't speak to him for a week.

LETTERS HOME: DISNEY WORLD!!!

20th February, 1992

Dear George and Theda,

Greetings from beautiful Lhok Seumawe!  I'm so sorry that we were late in making George's birthday call.  John was just sick about it.  The kids sure did enjoy the Valentine cards you sent.  As for those catalogs, I would love it if you sent the Spiegel and the Hearth Song (if they're not too big), but the rest can wait.  We're still trying to get things straightened out for home leave and our first trip to Disney World.  I don't know who's more excited, the kids or the parents!  We thought we would have to fly from Singapore to Tokyo to Dallas to Orlando, but the travel agent found a direct flight from Tokyo to Orlando, which will put us in around 9:00 p.m. Saturday the 30th.  We will leave there on June 6 and go to Dallas (provided this fits in with Mike and Prisi's plans -- we still haven't checked dates with them).  John will stay for just a few days, then drive our car on out to Odessa to see you guys, and the kids and I will probably fly out the next Sunday evening, the 14th.  We should be there about two weeks.

There are several doctors we need to see while there, and I would really appreciate it if you could line up a few appointments for us.  I guess the kids both need to see their pedodontist in Midland (Walter Taylor) and John and I need to see our dentist, Vincent Bash.  Also, I would like to get a mammogram, since I've never had one.  Wherever you get yours would be fine.  I will probably need to go see a dermatologist as well.  I was doing fine in nice, dry west Texas, but something about Indonesia has set me off.  Imagine, getting zits again at almost 40! (Note from the future: turns out it wasn't really zits, but some kind of creepy infection!)

I guess all of us will drive back to Dallas around Friday, June 26th.  John has to leave for Indonesia on July 1st, but the kids and I will stay in Dallas for that whole month.  Hopefully Alexis will be able to go to Girl Scout camp during that time, and we can get Austin signed up for something too.  Mom's checking to see what the Science Place and Children's Museum have to offer.  I may even send him back to Midland if Karen and Linda sign their boys up for baseball camp or something.  On July 31st the kids and I hope to meet you two down in Houston for the Lane family reunion.  Then, if you wouldn't mind, I thought I would let the kids fly back to Odessa with you, but that I would try to stay in Houston two or three days longer, so I could try and meet up with Paula and Charlene.  I will go on to Odessa Tuesday or Wednesday, the kids and I will fly back to Dallas on the 7th, then we head back to Indonesia August 12th.  Whew!  All this is very tentative though -- who knows what will actually happen!

I went with Peggy Reeh on a lightening quick trip to Jakarta this week.  Basically, we only had one day there, so we started out at 8:00 a.m. and didn't get to eat dinner until 10:00 p.m.  Fun, but tiring!  Found lots of good Christmas and birthday presents to bring home for everyone in the States.  John doesn't want to go anywhere over spring break.  He can't stand to use up any vacation days that could be used on Home Leave, and I don't blame him!  Next month I'm supposed to go with 3 other ladies to spend 3 or 4 days in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  I don't know much about it, but they say it's kind of like Singapore 10 or 20 years ago, before they tore everything down to build high-rises, and much cheaper.

I finally got my nerve up and made a trip out to the golf course.  Much to my surprise, I actually had a pretty good time.  Of course, I had no idea what I was doing, and the girl who was trying to show me how wasn't much better.  If we could just find a really good teacher, who knows?  I might finally learn to like a sport (don't faint!).  I'm sure I hit less than 100, though we didn't keep score.  Of course, we only played four holes.  You'd love the naked little boys that dive for your balls when they land in water, then sell them back to you!

Tomorrow night one of the girls here is having eight couples for dinner and Bunco.  I'm really looking forward to it.  Did I tell you about meeting Julie Underriner, the one having the party?  I was just chatting with her one day, and discovered that her sister lives in Midland, and is good friends with my old boss Barb!  We used to cater stuff for her all the time, but I never had a clue she had a sister in Indonesia.  It really is a small world, isn't it?

Next weekend the 3rd through 8th graders get to fly to Medan for an exchange weekend with the International School there.  Alexis is so excited about getting to go off by herself with all the big kids!  It should be a great adventure for her.  They are even taking them out to visit some kind of Orangutan Preserve.  They held auditions for the spring play this week.  This one is just for the older kids.  They're doing Pinnochio, but we are almost hoping that Alexis doesn't get much of a part.  She has enough trouble keeping up with all the homework they pile on her as it is, without having to memorize a million lines as well!

Not much else to tell.  I was certainly startled to see the town of Bogata, Texas in the headlines  today, for having six cases of AIDS in their itty bitty high school.  That's where my uncle's ranch is, and where all my cousins went to high school.  Good thing they've already graduated!  Well, take care, and write soon.

KIDS IN INDONESIA? I DON'T THINK SO!

Precious Little K., trying John's hat on for size.

Dearest Friends,

One couple, M. & C., had brought two daughters with them to Indonesia -- a small one, about 5, and an older one, S., who was about 15, I think.  There was no school there for S. to attend, but B&R had hired a doctoral student, wishing to do some research, to sort of homeschool any kids over 5 that were there.  Unfortunately for poor S., I was closer to her age than any of the other kids, and the schoolwork didn't take up near enough of her time, so she fell into the habit of dropping by to visit at least once or twice a day.

One day John had only just left for work when she showed up, banging on our door, and the news wasn't good.  The night before, her parents had invited R., E., and little K. over for dinner.  After the meal, the adults visited downstairs, and the two little ones went upstairs to play.  Our townhouses had a sitting area on the upper landing, surrounded by an open railing about waist high.  Little K. decided to climb on it or lean through it, or something, to wave to his parents, lost his grip, and fell to the floor below.

According to young S., they were all terribly relieved when little K. managed to stand up, but then his father grabbed him and started shaking him, yelling "Didn't I tell you not to climb on that?"  He didn't stop until C. came over and grabbed him, saying "E!  Stop!  Look at his arm!  We've got to get him to a doctor!"  Of course, that meant driving that poor baby all the way to Jakarta, on those horrible bumpy roads, with a compound fracture in his arm, then driving all the way back the next evening.  The following morning they woke up to discover that his hand was turning blue, and realized that the arm would have to be re-set.  They may have taken him back to the same hospital, but if I remember right, they actually flew him to Singapore the second time.  Anyway, this time they got it right, thank heavens!

A  few weeks later we were at a party, and John must have been a wee bit tipsy, 'cause I caught him looking all googly-eyed at someone's baby.  You could have knocked me over with a feather when he suddenly asked me, "When are we gonna get one of those?"  Well, I was tickled to death to know that he was looking forward to being a father, but perhaps you'll understand why I had to say "Not until we're safely back in The States, with good doctors, and less vermin!"  Of course, if I'd had any clue what we'd have to go through, or how very long it would take, before we finally held our first child in our arms, I might've dragged him away from the party right then and there, and insisted that we get to work on it immediately!

FA LA LA LA LA: A SHOPPING TRIP

John, shaking packages and trying to guess their contents.

Dearest Friends,

Our first Christmas abroad was to be quite unlike anything I had ever experienced -- and not just because I was far away from friends and family.  Thirty six years later, it still sits at the very top of our "Most Memorable" list.  Yes, it was to be my very first ever where I wouldn't be surrounded by my parents and siblings, hanging the same stockings and decorations in the very same places we always did, and eating the very same things we always did, with the very same people we always ate them with, but to tell you the truth, I was ok with that.  I was so ecstatic to finally be spending a Christmas with John, and to have the opportunity to form new traditions of our own, that the homesickness sort of faded into the background.  No, what really bothered me was that we had no tree, no ornaments, no stockings, and no gifts, and even worse, nowhere to get them!  I think I probably sewed a shirt and made a frog beanbag out of batik for him, and even covered a styrofoam ball with red sequins (the most tedious thing I'd ever done in my life), but you could hardly call that Christmas, now could you?  So, imagine my glee when John burst through the door one day, saying "Pack your bags baby, we're going Christmas shopping -- in Jakarta!

Funny, come to think of it, that I remember the beanbag frog and the sequin ornament to this day, but don't remember any of the gifts that we purchased in Jakarta.  Guess it just goes to show you, great memories have nothing to do with how much money you spend!  Anyhoo, I was so over the moon about finally getting away from Cilegon for a few days, spending some time with my hubby, and eating someone's cooking other than my own, that I wouldn't have cared if I'd had to barf all the way there and back.  Luckily, I didn't (perhaps Indonesia was toughening me up?).

What I do remember buying is that scrawny-ass plastic tree in the photo above, though to me, it was the most beautiful tree in the world!  We also found a box of those old-timey metallic glass ornaments, like our grandmas all had -- the first of many, many things we were to discover that, once they had gone out of vogue in the states, somehow found their way to third world countries (including many processed foods that were years past their expiration dates).

I&I's little girls.

We happened to run into our British friends I & I in one store, who were desparately trying to find a few things for Santa to bring their kids.  They had finally settled upon some really cute wicker baskets, about three feet tall, woven into different animal shapes -- all with big tummy pouches that could be filled with an assortment of small toys and "sweeties."  We liked them so much that we bought a kangaroo for ourselves!  It served us well for many years -- first as my sewing basket, then as a laundry basket, and finally as a toy basket in my kids' nurseries -- before we finally let it go.