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28 January 2015

On 9:02 AM by Blog2539   No comments
hundred bucks to keep her quiet, and sent her on her wa Everything seemed to be going smoothly when I met ilirent  his fiancée at the Bangkok Hilton. I gave them the her<)in—fil1]:: Cans, two cans each, concealed in separate toiletry bags. The returned to San Francisco the day after me and breezed throng: U.S. Customs. Unfortunately, my return to Honolulu wasn’t as uneventful.  My last run had been in 1979, when I gave the mahu Fed the slip. While waiting for Brent, I re-acquired a heroin habit. To avoid a jones in route, I concealed a gram of heroin into the inside seam of my wallet. My wallet had never been searched in the past, and I didn’t think they’d bother me after eight years. Instead of an aisle seat as I was assured, I got a window seat, and spent the entire flight stuck on the inside, blocked by a weird couple. Next to me was a Burmese lady who could’ve been a hand grenade juggler from the Rangoon circus. She had stubs for hands. A thumb and baby finger protruded from her right stub, and her left hand was a finger- less fist. Her haole boyfriend couldn’t have been weirder. He had a gross pale face, with an ogle of perversion written on it. A match made in hell, they drank obsessively when we took off, and then slept the rest of the flight. Whenever I needed to use the restroom, Iliad to climb over them. To overcome the monoton)’ Of my flight’  lC0nsumed a generous amount of heroin in the restroom.  When I entered U.S. Customs in Honolulu, I was immediatelf “ken to secondary. I was strip-searched, my wallet was checked, and °"°FYthing that I purchased in Thailand was X-f3Yed- They didnit find the gram in my wallet. Ironically, the Customs agent  that . Searched me was from Kailua. 

21 January 2015

On 8:41 AM by Blog2539   No comments
Went to the 1988 Summer Olympics. Brent assured me that he had a false-bottomed suitcase with him and would meet us in Bangkok with jr_  Brent and I flew to Bangkok, and then on to Chiang Mai together. I left him in a hotel, took $10,000 in hundred dollar bills, and visited Charlie in the Karen village. We smoked several bowls of opium before Charlie and two black—cloaked hillbillies led me into the jungles. I gave Charlie the money to purchase the kilo. He scrambled off to meet the chemists. Within minutes of his exit, we met up with two plainclothes Thai drug cops, which was unusual according to the tribesmen. A young American in the middle of nowhere was more peculiar though. We were searched and questioned. Since we didn‘t have the money or any drugs, they had to let us go. When they left, we quickly got off the trail and blazed through a jungle of ferns and bushes. The hillbillies hid me in a mosquito-infested bush, and then left to meet Charlie.  Mosquitoes hovered like helicopters and attacked like dive- bombers. My only concern was to avoid catching malaria. Minutes turned to hours. For all I knew, Charlie was halfway to Burma and I was lost in the jungles. My malaria phobia subsided. I thought that I got ripped off and left for dead. The only signs of life were the unusual birdcalls echoing through the jungle. Out Of desperation, I returned the birdcalls. It was Charlie and the boys Calling. They had forgotten which bush I was in.  Charlie had the kilo of heroin. To avoid meeting the COPS: We hiked up the side of a mountain. Safely out of harm’s way, th°“53f1ds of feet above the city, we reached a small baml>00 hut  Wlth a killer view A fiery orange sunset filled the sky as I smoked 


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On 8:40 AM by Blog2539   No comments
bottomed suitcase. I couldn’t believe it.  3 fi1l5e' . a1ght,” I started out calmly. “We made  “Let me 89‘ thls 5"  greement that he was going to carry the dope back in a  a  :nl5e case right? Now you want him to carry a kilo :1  0n  Dld  ‘Duh, I didn’t know it was there.’ I say we take this kilo  -bott()m€Cl Suit I miss anything? What’s he going to say if he gets  caught? and flush it d “C’mon, already. I think he’ll make it.” “Yeah right,” I scoffed, “Strike-one——I almost got caught  own the toilet right now,” I said firmly.  ” Brent whined, “I’ve spent over twenty grand  making the pick—up. Then strike—two—you almost got caught bringing it in from Chiang Mai. Now we’ve got strike-three over here,” I said, pointing to Kastner. “Are we going to hit a home run or strike out?” I asked. The bad luck streak was a familiar pattern. I discovered it from banging cars. When things aren’t going right, stop whatever you’re doing. The warning was loud and clear to me.  “Don’t do it Kastner. You won’t make it. Why take a chance. We can always do it again another time,” I said. Kastner believed me, but wasn’t sure.  “Don’t listen to Botts, he’s just a snappo,” Brent said. “I say just load it up and we roll a hard eight. I think you’ll make it.”  Kastner bought Brent’s argument. I was exasperated. I know When I’m right, but knew they wouldn’t listen to me anyway. [gave UP and shook my head. “Fuck it; you guys are on your "“’f1.” I said. “Good luck, Don, ‘cause you’re going to need it.”  1 SW6 Kastner a hug the next morning before leaving the  h Owl‘ I knew he was a goner. We boarded different flights and I 

20 January 2015

On 7:56 PM by Blog2539   No comments
hundred bucks to keep her quiet, and sent her on her way. Everything seemed to be going smoothly when I met Brent and  his fiancee at the Bangkok Hilton. I gave them the heroin—filled  cans, two can returned to San Francisco the day after me and breezed through  5 each, concealed in separate toiletry bags. They  U.S. Customs. Unfortunately, my return to Honolulu wasn‘t as uneventful.  My last run had been in 1979, when I gave the mahu Fed the slip. While waiting for Brent, I re—acquired a heroin habit. To avoid a jones in route, I concealed a gram of heroin into the inside seam of my wallet. My wallet had never been searched in the past. and I didn’t think they’d bother me after eight years. Instead of an aisle seat as I was assured, I got a window seat, and spent the entire flight stuck on the inside, blocked by a weird couple. Next to me was a Burmese lady who could’ve been a hand grenade juggle-r from the Rangoon circus. She had stubs for hands. A thumb and baby finger protruded from her tight stub, and her left hand was a finger less fist. Her haole boyfriend couldn’t have been weirder. He had a gross pale face, with an ogle of perversion written on it. A match made in hell, they drank obsessively when we took off, and then slept the rest of the flight. Whenever I needed to use the rcstrtxini, Iliad to climb over them. To overcome the monotony of my flight. Iflmsumed a generous amount of heroin in the restroom.  When I entered U.S. (lustotns in Honolulu, I was itnmediately Men to secondary. I was strip-searched, my wallet was ehuked, arid ""'”3"VI1iI1g that I purchased in Thailand “as .\'-r.i_ved. The)‘ did“ find the gram in my wallet. Ironically, the 
On 7:55 PM by Blog2539   No comments
I bought her a Margarita, her new name, and left C me ' in Thailand. with the hottest :hl:,l(e caught a taxi to Koh Samui port. A large From Pat:alor,ted us to Koh Samui Island. Koh Samui simulated fwyboat “:11 pesort with palm-thatched beach bungalows. Feeling asouth PM crl lounged in the shade of an open-air Polynesian- right at home, (1 k ld Heineken and rolled a joint. Pot type restaurant, F3“ 3 C0 . was legal there. I scored a bag of weed from my waiter and ate a stack of ganja-laden pancakes. On the beach, twenty feet away, Margarita sunbathed topless in her skimpy white G-string bll<lr1l bottom. Afterwards, I joined her on the beach.  An Italian dude drooled while I massaged Margarita’s golden tan with coconut oil. A stunning olive skinned Italian chick lay by his side. “Did she come from Hawaii with you?” he asked, with the look of lust in his eyes.  “No, she’s Thai,” I said casually. “Why? Do you want to borrow her?” I asked. He grinned. The Italian chick glared.  From Koh Samui, we flew to Chiang Mai. Eight years had lapsed since my last run. I had to find a new connection. The Golden Triangle always had loads of China White. The hill tribes seemed to be the best source. Hill—treks into the opium fields became a tourist attraction. Under the guise of sightseeing, we Planned a hill-trek into the mountains above Chiang Mai. With Margarita as a translator, we caught a taxi to Doi Suthep temple. Impersonating a lost tourist, I strolled around and took pictures while Margarita negotiated our expedition into the jungles. 1“ the back of a canvas—cover  W ed 4—wheel drive Toyota truck, e . were d“V€I1 to the Karen vill  age. The densely forested route  OC 

17 January 2015

On 7:01 AM by Blog2539   No comments
แล้วการทำโจทย์ทุกคนรู้มั้ยโจทย์จะประกอบด้วยอะไรบ้าง ที่เรียกว่าข้อกำหนดที่เราถูกสอนว่าคืออะไร เป็นยังไง และมีความจริงิะไรปนออยู่ ก็ที่เราโน็ตย่อจากทุกๆชั่วโมง นั่นแหละคือที่เขาจะกำหนดอะไรมาเฉย แต่แอบแฝงไว้ด้วยความลับว่ามันคืออะไร โดยแต่ละคนจะแต่งโจทย์ ต้องการเช็คว่าเราจะกระแซะรู้ความลับเหล่านั้นได้ไหม และความลับแต่ละข้อกำหนดย่อยผสมกันกลายเป็นจริงว่ายังไงต่อ
เขียนโดยอดีตนักเรียนที่สอบได้ที่โหล่จริงๆ เพราะไม่รุ็ซฺะ๊วิธีเรียน ตอนนั้นชีวิตวัยเรียนบัดซบ  แสนวังวนแสนวังเวงจริงๆแต่พ่อซึ่งเป็นครูบอกว่า "ลูกพ่ออายลูกศิษย์พ่อแทบแซกแผ่นดินหนีแล้วนะ" จึงขอนั่งคู่กับเด็กที่ 1 กราบขอให้บอกวิธีเรียน วิธีทำโจทย์ให้ โอเพื่อนสงสารเพื่อน ยอมทำตัวเป็นครูจูเนียร์ แค่นั้นแหละ ด.ช. สกนต์ คนเขียนนี้ก็ค่อยๆเลื่อนลำดับข้ามทีละ 4-5 คนพุ่งพรวดขึ้นเป็นที่ 2 ของห้องคู่พระอาจารย์คนที่ 1 นั้น ภายใน 9 เดือน แล้วเพื่อนรักก็เปลี่ยนสอบเข้าเรียนที่โรงเรียนเตรียมอุดมศึกษา ปล่อยให้ลูกศิษย์คนนี้ติดลมบนแทน ครองที่ 1-2-3 ของโรงเรียนจนจบ ม.ปลาย โดยเฉพาะวิชา คณิตศาสตร์ ฟิสิกส์ ภาษาอังกฤษ เชือดเฉือดกัน 1 ถึง 2 คะแนนเท่านั้น จึงขออนุญาติ เอ่ยนามผู้ที่มีพระคุณสูงสุดของสกนต์ไว้เป็นเกียรติ ณ ที่นี่ว่าครูจูเนียร์คนนั้นคือ ด.ช. จำนง  วัฒนา   ผู้อ่านผู้เรียนครับ เธอจะเก่งหรือไม่เก่งก็คงไม่เลวร้ายถึงขนาด ด.ช.สกนต์ ตอนที่ได้ที่โหล่ในอดีตหรอกนะ ติดตามต่อไปเถอะ มีโอกาสเลอเลิศทางการเรียนได้จริงแน่ เพราะคนเขียนคนนี้เคยปั้นคนแย่ อ่อนสุดๆคือตนเอง สำเร็จมาแล้วนั้นเอง  จำนง บอก สกนต์ ว่า "เอ็งเห็นไหม  เวลาเราเรียนในห้อง เรานั่งสงบๆฟังแล้วโน้ตย่อว่า อะไรคืออะไร อะไรเป็นยังไง และมี"

01 January 2015

On 11:18 PM by Blog2539   No comments
I wake up to find that we have stopped and all the families are getting off the truck. The Village representatives have a few words with the truck driver before he drives away, leaving us in the middle of nowhere. All around us, green mountain peaks jut into the gray sky. July is the midpoint of the rainy season; the air, though cool, is heavy and humid, Thick, tall trees with wide, green leaves and fat elephant grass surround us. I sit next to Chou and Geak on our small piles of clothes, listening to the sound of shrieking birds while the others stretch their bodies.A few feet away, Pa and the fathers of the four other families who came with us on the truck listen to the representatives as they give out instructions.  “We have to walk from here up to the mountains,” Pa tells us-P3 picks up Geak and carries her on his back. Khouy, Meng, K€3Vs and Kim gather up our bundles of clothes and follow the representatiV€5” they lead us to a small, hidden trail up the mountain. Chou and I hold Ma’s hand and trail behind the other families. I try to run to be “P M  Pa in case there are snakes or wild animals who eat young Children in rill 11:6”?  the mountains, but pebbles and rocks slow me down by getting  flip—flops, forcing me to shake them out every few minuteS.\7Ve h  ' l   


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On 11:17 PM by Blog2539   No comments
4., _, L“,  F1n‘s$~v-1-r€Y “L  . .u’«-Is“ "M  Woman but am {am completely dead or alive. I feel sorry ofrweefl the two worlds. My fas‘ nated at the prospect of being Gang Cination overrides my fear Of her‘ “Are there any doctors Of anyone “There are no doctors imywherel looking for you?” She is right, of course. ' me to return. Luckily, In)’ family 15 to  the 01  can help her?”  whoo away! AI-en’t your parents caning my name and beckoning  I hear Mao busy boarding yet another truck me onto the truck, I notice two very  ,f1tting black Pajama Pm“ and Shirts mething on small brown pads  to be angry With me. As Pa lifts thin middle-aged men in loose ‘ so s.While one WW5 . the other Pom“ nd mY5e1f a seat where I can watch the  lies clamber onto the truck and fin  standing next to u of paper with his black pen. we climb onto the truck. 1 fl  C0u“"Y5lde'QuiCk1Y’ four other famgnce all the families are on board.  at our heads and counts as  up the empty space in the niiddlfi the two men take their notes an ‘ ' greeting us After they are finished, tl'1eY get ‘m0 the from Seats Wlth the truck driver and we begin to m0V€~  The truck rolls away from the waiting area and onto a bumpy  narrow road crossing the mountains.The families are quiet and somber,  d Count again, without smiling or  the only sounds come fiom the branches brushing against the side of the truck and the slush of mud sticking to the tires. After what seems like forever, I become bored with the scenery and climb onto Pa’s lap. “Pa,” I say quietly, so the others cannot hear us, “the people at the place we just left, why were they there?” “They are waiting for the base people to come and take them.” “Take them like they’ve taken us?”  Yes. The men wearing black clothes are representatives fI0m  rural villages. At the waiting area, these representatives are given 1155‘  of names and people they are to take back to their v'11lages”PaSal'5 quietly. ’  “Those two m . “Yew en. are they our village representatives?”  ;‘Wh0 are the b3Se people?”  “Shh - h ' ' ' I will tell YOU later.”  “How COHIC 1 we left them 50 fast while all the others waited? 


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On 11:16 PM by Blog2539   No comments
-.i.;ov""""' ”"" ‘VA ‘W A '  crazily as if trying to get  - th ir legs _ rid A11 around us, people are shaking 6 gS_ Khouy walks 1n a cite  - le h 1r Pan‘ , - . e, of animals that have crawled up tEr:m side to s1d€- He 15 3 martial tist Swinging his arms VCYY qmckly, :7 Khouy is slender and fin In Phno with a black belt in karate. Al’:  liractice karate. It amazed me that he . 1 Penh,I1oved to sit fifld Wf:>C\/e his head and hold the stance for a Ion . 3 ' 70”“ ml‘ °ne.1eg uliigh in the air, do mam’ fa“ klcks’ and land safely “me. He Could Jun?) seconds while screaming llunny Sounds and C0n~ . - W on ins felt all ml: always made me laugh NOW’ he Walks around fastfir torting h1S.faC€.'rC1e and his arms are like propellers about to carry him andlfiister linlpa (:1; ter He is doing the same movements Ive seen him do ' e ic - _ . off 1 e atmes before but this time his face is not funny and I am not so many 1 i 1 h'ng~ . auzifliter our short rest and meal, W5 S?‘ bafk Onlthe truck arid remam there all through the night. I wake UP 1“ P“ lap m the mormng to See that we have arrived at a “truck stop.” Thfife are People eV€TYWhere. Some are cooking breakfast, others are just waking -up, find many are still asleep on the side of the road or in the grass. Sitting in the back of the truck, we dare not move until the soldiers instruct us to.  “We are in Pursat province. You are to wait here until the base  people come to take you to live in their villa  ge,” a soldier tells us and walks away.  “Why did we have to leave last night?” I ask Pa.  Truop are from Phnom Penh.  gerous to live there because they  “Some of the new arrivals i  n though they are friends, it know who I am."  n Krang is dan  trouble!"  not - . , matter’ they m3Y not have a choice.” Pa 18 Verl '3 to lT1C.I do not  . i decide not to pursue this line f understand what he means bu 0 questionin  g.  "Friendship does solemn as he peak 


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On 11:15 PM by Blog2539   No comments
 WAITING STATION, JULY 1975 45  up by a Khmer Rouge truck. The truck will take us to Battambang. That is where your grandmother lives.”  “But I do not want to move anymore, Pa.” Pa has no words to soothe me. Biting back my tears, I put on my flip—flops and walk toward Keav’s extended hand. Pa and Ma turn to Uncle Leang and thank him for letting us stay with him. Uncle Leang looks at her, face hanging, eyes blinking rapidly, and blesses Ma for a safe journey. The cousins stand outside the hut to see us off. Their hands dangle lifelessly by their sides as they watch Pa lead us away.  By the time we arrive at the rendezvous area on the roadside, about thirty people have already gathered there. They squat and sit on the gravel road in four family groups. Many have almond-shaped eyes, thin noses, and light skin, which suggests they might also be of Chinese descent. Pure Khmer have curly black hair, flat noses, full lips, and dark chocolate skin. Our fellow travelers do not acknowledge our presence, instead they stare passively at the road. Like us, they carry with them light bundles of clothes and small packages of food. We sit on the gravel road next to them but no words are exchanged. In the dark of night we all wait for the truck. The world around us remains tranquil and asleep; all that can be heard is the chirping of crickets.The moments feel like forever. Then suddenly the glaring headlights of the military truck appear and it stops before us. Pa transfers me from his warm arms onto the hard, cold bed of the truck. I do not want to let go of him. I do not Want to ever leave his safe arms.  The ride is bumpy and loud, but the cool dawn air keeps us reason- ably comfortable. Ma stares off into the distance while Geak sleeps in her arms. My other siblings are half dozing, half awake while I find safety in Pa’s arms again. Everyone is very quiet as the truck drives on. All morning the truck heads northwest as the sun climbs higher and higher in the sky, and the wind blows away what little protection the clouds have to offer. The truck driver does not have Pa’s driving skills, nor does he care whether those of us in the back bounce and bump into one another. The truck drives all day and stops only in the evening for us to cook our food.  As soon as it stops, everyone jumps off to stretch their weary bodies. Pa lifts me out of the truck and puts me on the ground next to Chou. 


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I ask Mas rubbing my eyeS-  dld you wake me  up?“ Open my eyes to see the sky is still dark but that Uncle Lean  . 8, his wife, Aunt Keang, and all the cousins are up. Beside -me, Chou mus u  her thin blanket, folds her clothes, and puts them in her piflowcasg Outside, Lee Cheun scoops ladles full of cooked rice and puts it on banana leaves. Keav pokes the crackling fire to cook the dried fish while Kim fills up the petrol container with water.  “Quiet.We have to go.” Ma puts her hand over my mouth.  “I don’t want to go. I don’t want to walk again.” I want to go back  to sleep. Though we have been living at Krang Truop for two months and my blistered feet have healed, the thought of more walking makes my ankles throb with pain. i  “Quiet,” Pa adrnonishes me. “We don’t want anyone to hear you  crying. It is not safe for us to stay here anymore.We have to go and We will ride on a truck to get there.”  “Why do We have to go, Pa?”  “It is no longer safe for us to stay here.” “Are We walking a long way?”  . . . - d “No, your uncles talked the chief into arranging for us to b6 Plcke  / 


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On 11:14 PM by Blog2539   No comments
SEVEN—DAY WALK, APRIL 1975 37  Standing next to Uncle Leang,I have to tilt my head back as far as 1 can to see his face because he is so tall. Even then all I can see is the shape of his thin lips and wide, black nostrils that flare once every few seconds as he talks to Ma. At almost six feet tall, second Uncle Kim Leang hovers above all of us. His long thin arms and legs make him look like the stick figures I used to draw on my schoolbooks. Uncle Leang lives in a village called Krang Truop. Both Uncle Leang and Uncle I-Ieang have lived in the countryside since before the revolution and have never lived in a city. The Khmer Rouge considers them uncorrupted model citizens for their new society. Pa says we will go  and live with our uncles in their village.  The wagon, pulled by two yellow skinny cows moving very slowly, arrives later that evening.While Pa and Ma talk to my uncle, I quickly claim a seat in the wagon with Chou and Geak. Our trail takes us on a gravel road along Route 26 westward until we reach the Khmer Rouge—occupied village of Bat Deng. No matter where we go or in which direction we turn, there are people marching ahead and behind us. In the midst of the crowd, our wagon passes the Khmer Rouge vil- lage without stopping. We veer westward, leaving our roadside com- panions far behind. Somewhere between Bat Deng and Krang Truop,I fall asleep. 


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