Dr. M Stanner – a friend of mine

Dr. M Stanner – a friend of mine

Dear Son
in NYC, USA

Picture- a small amount of boiled rice - unpolished brown rice, fried chopped cabbage, chicken soup, and a glass of cold water.

Most of my life is "eat to live, than live to enjoy eating". However, once in awhile, I will join a club of friends who eat carefully, eat healthily, and with greater variety yet finding fun in eating too.

You asked me how I got to know Mike, so I will tell you. I want to learn more about a country and people of Israel, by learning from an intellectual from the land. I want to learn how a country so small, yet having people so educated and intelligent.

Dr. M. Stanner, a friend of mine, liked to speak Thai and write in Thai. That disappointed some academics or students who thought he is a “farang” (European) from his look, and want to learn English by having conversation with him. Yes he can speak English fluently, but there are plenty Israel nationals or Jews who can speak good English, but rare indeed to find someone who can speak Thai. His knowledge of Thai, he once served as interpreters to save some Thai workers, from being jailed, for unknowingly catch rare and preserved wildlife animals for meals.

I know he wanted to be an Israel academic specializing in Thai language, cultures, and etc.

As an Israel national, but with values different from orthodox Jews or Jews in his country, nor Jews in New York City, who wear black suits and women in solemn dresses. He is like me, not very religious. I also call myself a Buddhist, but not going to Wats, or Buddhist Church very often.

He is careful to have friends. He had houses in Tel Aviv as well as in Yerusalem, just like me he can live comfortably in houses in his homeland. However, he likes traveling, and he called himself a professional traveler. While in Bangkok he stayed at a low cost hostel or a long-stay apartments near Mah Boon Krong (MBK Center, BKK). I met him once in a while in Surin as he was guest lecturer and visiting professor at the Surindra Rajabhat Universiry (SRRU), we joined in getting into town, 4 Km from the campus, to find food of good and diverse taste. Once he suggested me a Paktai cuisine (Thai Southerner's food), cooked by a southerner, marrying a native of Surin, named his restaurant, “Nakhon Si Thammarat Restaurant” after his hometown province. The restaurant is served by waitress from Cambodia who can speak Thai fluently. It was just a Kao Kaeng styled restaurant, but yet interesting.

While he was in Bangkok, he once introduced me tasty restaurants near the Victory Monument, with atmosphere of college students and urban working people, like you introduced me and Mom a Japanese restaurant near the NYU, Manhattan, New York City. He introduced me “Nam Tao Hee”, or “soybean milk” without sugar, which is quite rare, for most of them made and have sugar as standard. Yet he did not enjoy Vitamilk or Lactasoy in bottles or paper containers.

I had friends with diverse backgrounds we may call some of them bohemians, unique but interesting. I learned from reading as well as writing, from seeing as well as listening, and also from places as well as people from all walks of life. Diversity is the keyword of my life: diverse in friends, books, various means of readings, places to visit, life style to explore, etc.

Dad at Home
Aree Samphan
Bangkok, Thailand