Interesting story about James. So he moved to Vietnam when he was 42? That sure is a dangerous age. In 1997, age 43, I flew to Bangkok for a 3-week vacation. I spoke a little Thai from a previous life there, which was key. Within a week I had met a 17-year-old (she told me she was 19) who was not only hot but also seemed to have some good qualities. I proposed on Day 4, absolute insanity. Indeed she thought I was a little crazy, but my ace in the hole was that she wanted to leave Thailand. I insisted on meeting her family and we went up the ladder: niece, brother, and finally her mother and extended family in the village (dad was dead) near the Mekong. We did the traditional Thai marriage there. For face I had to give her mother $1,000 so she could show the other villagers, but as agreed she returned it to me secretly the next day. Good thing too as that was pretty much all I had. Guess that was a good sign.
The next year I got her back to the US on a fiancee visa. The reaction among my meager social circle was shellshock: one woman called me a child molester. Everybody predicted disaster and there have been a few close calls but we are still together today and have two great grown kids. Lots of jokes, lots of stares but you get used to it. Almost all the old-guy-young-chick car crashes, as far as I can tell, are caused by money issues. As a working stiff I never had much but she is a very hard worker (I'm retired now) and of course sends money home (an Asian reality) but her main focus is her children, which is the same nice unselfish quality I spotted back in 1997. Right this moment she's working a 10-hour shift at an auto plant while I watch YouTube videos and write this. Not a bad deal.
She won't go back to Thailand to live. I pitched the idea to her when I retired but it was an absolute no go. She intimated that we wouldn't have high status there because everybody would expect us to be rich, and we're not. My Johnson works fine BTW.
Interesting story about James. So he moved to Vietnam when he was 42? That sure is a dangerous age. In 1997, age 43, I flew to Bangkok for a 3-week vacation. I spoke a little Thai from a previous life there, which was key. Within a week I had met a 17-year-old (she told me she was 19) who was not only hot but also seemed to have some good qualities. I proposed on Day 4, absolute insanity. Indeed she thought I was a little crazy, but my ace in the hole was that she wanted to leave Thailand. I insisted on meeting her family and we went up the ladder: niece, brother, and finally her mother and extended family in the village (dad was dead) near the Mekong. We did the traditional Thai marriage there. For face I had to give her mother $1,000 so she could show the other villagers, but as agreed she returned it to me secretly the next day. Good thing too as that was pretty much all I had. Guess that was a good sign.
The next year I got her back to the US on a fiancee visa. The reaction among my meager social circle was shellshock: one woman called me a child molester. Everybody predicted disaster and there have been a few close calls but we are still together today and have two great grown kids. Lots of jokes, lots of stares but you get used to it. Almost all the old-guy-young-chick car crashes, as far as I can tell, are caused by money issues. As a working stiff I never had much but she is a very hard worker (I'm retired now) and of course sends money home (an Asian reality) but her main focus is her children, which is the same nice unselfish quality I spotted back in 1997. Right this moment she's working a 10-hour shift at an auto plant while I watch YouTube videos and write this. Not a bad deal.
She won't go back to Thailand to live. I pitched the idea to her when I retired but it was an absolute no go. She intimated that we wouldn't have high status there because everybody would expect us to be rich, and we're not. My Johnson works fine BTW.
I'd be surprised if a municipal street sweeper in regional Vietnam earned $265 a month. Very surprised.
speaking of India, Alanis Morissette wrote a song "Thank U" India which here is performed by a grade schooler band - the singer is remarkable -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbJN6t5CPBQ
A man talking about a woman:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDvKNwr9PX4