by Ray.Charles » May 4, 2011, 4:28 pm
He introduced himself to me as ‘Michael’, I assumed that that was his first name. I think he said that he used to be a cryptographer on board an U.S. navy ship. After retirement, he went back to the States but couldn’t fit in. I hesitate to write too much about his personal life on an open forum; but, I do so in the hope that it may jog someone’s memory.
He was a big guy. At the time I met him, he had a drinking problem. He started on the beer early in the day. He did not seem to have that many friends. We exchanged visits to each other’s home a couple of times. He lived in a single story house on an odd numbered Soi after the end of the lake inside Hansa. His wife had a hair dressing salon in the house, but that had closed by the time I met him. He also told me that his wife was suffering from a serious medical problem. The last time I met him, just before I went on a trip to the States, was probably about two years ago; at that time his mom was in Udon for some church work, but was not staying with him. Anyway, after coming back, I was busy for a while, and then I asked a mutual acquaintance about Michael. This guy was a golf-pro, husband of the lady who had leased the Hansa restaurant. He said that Michael had moved to the Big C side of Udon, and was probably going through some treatments. I was very busy at that time trying to finish our house in the village and could not follow up on the lead. Michael was a very open person, and one who chose not to be ‘sophisticated’, I hope to reconnect with him.