Daily Report: Funeral

I didn't get much work done today. I just kept getting sidetracked, and to that was added some technical glitches to keep my work down to just over a quarter-day.

Steve's (first) funeral was today. (His second will be in synagogue on Sunday in Bangkok, and he will be interred in a Jewish cemetery there.) Willie drove out to the house, and joined Pui and I, and Mike and Riza to drive out to the temple.

It was a Thai Buddhist funeral... although as this is my first funeral in Thailand, and it was a farang's funeral that wasn't to include cremation, I have no idea how close it was to "the real thing". (However, if you know one way or the other, please feel free to comment.)

Steve was there, lying with his feet facing the entrance to the temple. As I walked into the temple, I was first given some red string which was tied around my wrist. Then I received some incense that I knelt and placed in a pot of sand at Steve's feet. From there, I walked around, and was given a small silver cup with some water and flower petals in it. I took the cup and went to beside Steve, where his brother, Ira, and his widow, Mem, were holding Steve's right hand over a basin, over which I poured the water. I murmured my condolences to the two, and that was the end of my participation in the ceremony.

There were about 300 people there, I would guess.

After that, some food was handed out (rice chicken soup), and some water. Then Steve's body was moved off to the side. (I didn't see where exactly, as this was inside the temple, and I couldn't see the entirety of the inside as I was sitting outside for the rest of the goings-on.) Steve's relatives than went into the temple and sat on the floor, while four monks sat on a raised dais in front of them. The monks held head-sized, lotus-blossom-shaped screens in front of their faces, and did a chant. It was all very odd, and I understood none of it. Tomorrow when I have some time, I'm going to study it to see if I can get a better understanding. (Once again, all comments to educate are welcome.)

Anyway, after that, Riza and Mike, Pui and I, and Willie went to Rick's bar. We were joined by Glen, who is a New Yorker friend of mine from TQ2. (He has a Filipina girlfriend who is going to be coming to live in Thailand, and Riza (also Filipina) is looking forward to meeting her.) We had pizza, drank a few beers, and chatted for a few hours.

Pui didn't cry nearly as much today as yesterday, but the fact of the matter is that whenever she gets talking about Steve, the waterworks aren't far behind. She has a deep-seated desire to hug everybody now. She also confesses that she couldn't sleep at all last night, because she was scared that Steve's ghost was going to visit. (Trust me: Even the college-educated Thais think the same thing. As certain as you may be that Steve is in heaven now, Thai people are certain that he is wandering the night. Laugh at them only if you can laugh at your own beliefs equally.)

So it's off to bed now. I've had 2 crappy days of work in a row. I'm cutting into my spending cash for my trip to Laos on New Year's day in a big way, which is definitely not cool. Tomorrow had better be a good day.