The Unsinkable Molly Brown--I've been to her house in Denver--there I bought a tussie mussie holder--

for my aunt in Bangkok who "has everything."

Her daughter said, "You know who will love this? Mummy."

Indeed--I found she had a glass-fronted cabinet full of knick knacks,tchoekes ? I think they are called.

I went to Thailand many times between 2001 and 2010.

I worked with exile and Burmese refugee non-profits, I ate a lot of Thai and Burmese food and tropical fruits and I revived my taste for pickled tea salad.

Each time I saw Aunty, and I tried to see her at least 3 times on each visit,I looked at the items I had given her in her cursiosity cabinet and I felt happy.

I told her about Molly Brown. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marg

aret_Brown

"Oh Aunty, you have everything. I didn't know what to bring you, so I got this." "You know what it is? You put some fragrant flowers in it and hook it to your belt.

"When you feel faint you smell the flowers."

She was very pleased-"You know how to find something like this."

She gave me a double jasmine from her garden. I kept it a long time. Her daughter my cousin gave me sagar flowers,which came still fragrant out of my shirt pocket years later.

Sometimes she didn't get on with HML--

I guess they got on each other's nerves --

When last I saw her, I told her about the non-profit I worked with ABCD.

"I wlways wanted to open a school on the (Burma-Thai) Border. But you can't open a school without money,

"my co-worker and nominal boss said,'ya te Aunty. Kyun taw yan pone gnwe shar like me."

(I will look for funding. He was an expert international fund raiser.)

"Then they said they were bringing over 40 monks from Burma, for training."

A lot of people get AIDS these days, Aunty, and how do you explain to monks how AIDS is contracted??

Ya te Aunty, there's an AIDS expert based in Chiangmai, we'll call him in.

"But where will we put the monks. Forty!!"

Monks are very high maintenance--the Vinaya Rule says they can't eat after 12 noon. Breakfast is at 4 or5 AM. They need peace and quiet etc.

My colleague said, Ya te,Aunty, we've already found a Thai monastery."

Aunty said, "I heard you are surrounded by friends."

It wasn't always so--I was almost surrounded/drowned by jealous people at work and jealous (mostly female) co-workers in Rangoon.

I mostly did not talk much--I just did my work.

Like Aunty always said, "Lo thu shii, ma lo thu shii."

(There are those who mean well towards you and those who don't.)

From the time I was about 13, and I lost my father, Aunty was one of my closest Elders and Mentors.

Thank you Aunty, Thank you friend from Beirut who drove me to Denver and Molly Brown House. Her name was Christiane S. Kyi May Kaung. 12-14-2025