We Americans like to gripe. We gripe about crowded roads, about crowded schools, about pollution, about how expensive everything is and about how lousy the politicians are that run the place. Gripe, gripe, gripe. The country is awash in "half-empty" and it's so easy to just join in the cacophony and gripe along with the crowd.
Still, there is nothing like going to a third world country to give you a sense of perspective. This very nice man was sitting outside of Wat Na Phra Mane Ayutthaya (I dare you to say that correctly 5 times in a row), one of the gorgeous Thai historic temples. He was very congenial and smiled for miles. He was photogenic and put on his best friendly face for me to snap a picture. He didn't speak a word of English but his palm frond grasshoppers spoke for themselves. His deep brown eyes spoke to a warm heart and a good demeanor. The big grins on both of our faces spoke for days. In fact, he was so laid back and congenial, I totally missed that fact that this man is thinner than a rail. I can't imagine when he last ate or how little it must have been. Had I noticed, I would have been tempted to buy all the grasshoppers just to give to the gals at the Hotel front desk. I'd bet even chances he wouldn't have accepted it if he thought it was charity either. These are good people. They work hard but they surely have a positive outlook on life that we could all learn from.
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