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New Arizona, quad pix etc being added to the Arizona Etc etc page, along with some of the native flora and fauna.  

DON'T .... forget to check  www.eyesonbangkok.com   for what's going on in town.  Meet the people of Bangkok.  It's my brother Mike's site, and he does a better job than I do of keeping his site current!

This is the Clearinghouse for all new photos and they are stored here until I get a chance to move them to their respective pages.  So if anyone wants to see the latest from our little corner of BKK and surrounding areas, here's where they'll be.  Newest on top. 

Some pictures have been moved to the 'Bangkok' or  'Bangkok page 2' page to make room for new arrivals.  So if you don't see what you had hoped to see, check there.

  So there!!

Unofficial MIke Gilmore site.      If we have a picture of it, you'll see it here.  Film at 11:00.     

Disclaimer:   Referencing this site is not the same as an endorsement of any individual's products or services--there are many people out there making different claims and selling different products so do your own due diligence and caveat emptor. No one can predict the future. I can't say any major economy-collapsing disasters will happen in 2012 and I can't say that they won't. Neither can you, so there. Your actual mileage may vary. If you experience an erection lasting longer than four hours ..... wait ... wrong disclaimer ... Sheesh!!

Finally getting the pix of turkey day put up.  2011.  Named in honor of .... Gilmore?  Tim flys in from Calif, Gilmore drives in from Fla., Larry, Carol Ann and Lorie come from Casa Grande.  Great food and much fun.

Gilmore is notified by International 99 Rules Cmt, that what he thought were the rules of 99 were nonsense.    Gilmore contemplates suicide .... by turkey???        Gilmore gets us into a game of 99. Now who'd have thought that would happen.    Sally and I are crowned turkey king and queen by the head turkey. Not sure what that means.    We find that being king and queen has alcohol benefits.            It gets very quiet.    The ladies vote to eat by themselves.    Mike awards Sal a 'Whitman Sampler'. She refuses to share as it's only a sampler.    The 'Sinc's' go nutty about ice cream. (what's wrong with that?)        Brian, Julia and Julia's Mom and the young one come to visit.    We all go to the 'Franklin' museum for the afternoon.

New pix of the Mike Gilmore 'Extravaganza' retirement party in Virginia.   Stay tuned!!

                                                               

ON 27 July in the year of our Lord 2011, Mike Gilmore had his very last, this is final, no more after this one, this is the real deal, watch me go, the plane leaves in 3 hours, good bye everyone ..... going away party.  This may in fact have actually really been the last one or there may have been one in the vehicle that took him to the airport, and there may have in fact been a large party at the airport itself.  I cannot confirm any of that.  BUT ... this is the last one that I participated in and that I am aware of. 

   Mike booked Kanya's cafe, home of burgers, beers and other great food, and after a rousing few games of 99 which he handily lost, hosted a buffet for all the card players and well wishers as well as the usual number of freeloaders and tag-alongs.  Mike was presented (shamelessly by himself) a beautiful cake with the words 'Champion 99 winner' emblazoned upon it.  Of course as we all knew, the only way for Mike to get a cake like this was to get it for himself, as he hasn't won a game in over 3 years 

   But truly after all was said and done and the crumbs cleaned up, it was a wonderful send off by many friends and well wishers who knew that it was the end of an era.  Not only for his drinking and card playing mates, but for his friends and working companions at the embassy who enjoyed him immensely as well. So now a few pix of our final moments together and the knowledge that ... I'm sure we ain't seen the last of him yet!

                                                  

I still don't believe he is gone, and here I am questioning someone who I believe may be Mike in disguise. 

Early July and we are supposed to have a joint going away party for Mike Gilmore (party number 219) and a very belated birthday party for Ray.  However somehow it turned out to be mainly a very early birthday party for me.  To make matters worse, the lovely birthday cake that you see below with the chocolate frosting got lost in the kitchen and the staff brought out the one with the white frosting.  I was told that it was an honest mistake and that responsible parties would be punished.  Hmmm.  I'm still suspicious. I did however finally get MY cake!

                                  

Another going away party, but temporary this time.  The Pickled Liver closed it's doors after a grand exit from the currect location.  However, like the mythical Phoenix, it will come alive around mid July in it's (7/1) location.  Some pix of the festivities.  Someone used my camera to take some horrible pix.  When we find that individual we plan to neuter them. I know some of the pix are not of the party night, but the people couldn't make the party so will be given an 'honorable mention'.  They were 'Liver' devotees

                            Wow, Mike showed up. What a lovely suprise            The very lovely Singha Ladies    Fine lads, every one!           Choppa and the boss's sister. Uh oh!    The VERY lovely Miss Cindy, Mgr of ''Tapas" near by        PHOTO BOMB!!!!    NOT a photo bomb    Nick, the boss, on the right.    Buddy Jessie    Robert!!! Get away from that lovely young thing!!                        And the unsung heros. The kitchen staff   

 

   On 21 May 2011, Michael J. Gilmore had one of his last dozen or so going away parties.  A very quiet, subdued, poorly attended affair with little or nothing in the way of beverages.  NOT!  Of course it was another lavish over the top dinner party that will be talked about for a long time to come if not forever!  Everyone knew it was going to be a dinner party ... but they didn't know the rules.  However knowing Gilmore, they should have been prepared ... and most weren't.  I do know one couple that was going to have a snack before the party but since it WAS a dinner party ...... ??  Fools!

   It was a 5 course, sit down affair with 23 menu items.  Each person had a sheet of paper and was required to write down which items he wished for each course.  So no problem, right?   Wrong.  No one (except for those of us in the kitchen) knew what food or utensil item pertained to what number.  So for example if you ordered #2, #5, and #15 you had water, salt and jello.  And you had to finish each course before the next one could be delivered.  Of course you could save the salt for later. 

    Each of the 14 tables had 8 or in a few cases 9 persons.  Each table was given a dress theme, so now you understand the variety of costumes.  Hopefully the pictures will give you a fair idea of the magnitude of the party.

Jessie staking a claim to her allotment of Heineken. Go gal!!        This was a separate party location for those who planned to drink not eat. Good choice!        The layout prior to the arrival of the unwashed masses                            Mike with our old buddy, Gaph 'Tex' McClay.                Amazing how some people can hide their excitment so well. But we know!!            Two of my favorite cowboy action heros. John Wayne, and hopalong Gilmore.    Damn if he doesn't look just like 'Black Bart'.            I don't know either???                                   

    Now here is where the action took place.  L to R.  The menu key which only we had.  In the Nemo outfits are the servers (who didn't know what they were getting into).  The next pix is of the kitchen crew (hard working, all).  Then Gilmore explaining to the hungry folks how they were going to have to order.  Gilmore giving me my marching orders.  Note*  Being near him makes my hair stand on end.  The last two pix are examples of some of the food servings that went out. 

                    Rare shot of me actually doing anything.               

11 Dec 2010.  Brad and Note get married.  A lovely wedding and huge reception at the Hyatt Erawan. 

The ceremony was a blend of Thai and Chinese reflecting Note's heritage.  A brief description;  A double row of 10 or 12 of us, each carrying a ceremonial offering such as the one Mike is holding in the far left picture walked from an assembly point to a table in front of the parents.  On 4 or 5 occasions there would be a couple of young ladies holding a ceremonial string of beads across our path, stopping us.  Mike was the official 'Dow Gay' or M.C. of the ceremony and as such was leading this procession of ours. It was his duty to negotiate with these ladies to have us allowed thru these gates and on to the next gate.  Those in the procession were yelling 'let us thru' and things like that.  On reaching the location where the parents were waiting the bride and groom offered these gifts (probably just the groom) to the family, to see if they were acceptable.  The parents inspected the gifts (seen on the table in pix 4, 6 and 7) and when accepted sprinkled flower petals on them.  Each family member did the same.  After this the honored guests come to the couch and were served tea.  (Picture 5 with Mike and I)  If the tea was acceptable we would leave a ceremonial envelope on the serving tray.  The ring was placed on Note's finger at precisely  08:31, as that was the time determined by the Monk and moon to be the proper time to ensure happiness and success. 

I'd never before seen, much less participated in such a ceremony before and it was a pleasure and an honor to do so.

                               

Christmas dinner at the Novotel.  We had a very special guest this year, Judith Cefkin the Deputy Chief of Mission U.S. Embassy, Bangkok.  A very charming lady who regrettably was forced into the only empty chair ... next to Mike the Mouth Gilmore.  It is rumored that she is now undergoing surgery to hopefully restore at least some of her hearing which was lost due to the extreme noise level emanating from 'Mike the Mouth'.  Are prayers are with you Judith.

During lunch I was presented a gift from a representative of the hotel.    Regrettably it was a Thai frog. I absolutely hate those damned noisy things. How can such evil take place during a religious period such as this?    Mike the Mouth, DCM Judith Cefkin, Terry Lee etc.    Mike moves to another table to disturb their dinner.    Judith came to our end of the table for some intelligent conversation.    As you all know, that's Mike on the right and .... no! Wait!    Ray, why are you associating with those two?    Even on the way home Mike continues his traumatizing of children.   

In November was the annual Marine Corps Ball.  Mike G. and Ray dazzled the crowd in their finery. 

                    Strutting their stuff. Hey, if you've got it, strut it!!   

The U.S. Marines are arguably the finest fighting force in the world.  Some of their 'Unofficial mottos':

"Sweat dries, blood clots, bones heal ... so what's your problem.  suck it up Marine."

"If it absolutely, positively has to be destroyed overnight .... or your next one free!"

"Some people go thru their entire life wondering if they've made a difference.  Marines don't have that problem"  

Ronald Reagan, President of the United States.

"The deadliest weapon in the world is a Marine and his rifle!"  U.S. Army General John 'Blackjack' Pershing

And on and on it goes.  God Bless them all!

Thanksgiving 2010

Colorado Jim, Mike the mouth and I rode the train to Hua Hin on Tksgiving morning.  We had sort of resigned ourselves to 'turkey burgers' at burger king.  But Mike found the restaurant of an old friend from Bangkok days.  Her 'Sarah Janes' restaurant had a home cooked turkey and ham dinner with ALL the fixin's.  Awesome garden restaurant and great food.  Ended up having b'fast there several days. 

Colo Jim, me and Mike having b'fast    Same group having appetizers at Sara Jane's    Gorging ourselves. Wish I'd taken pix of the whole place. Too busy eating.    Some college ladies wanted to take us for drinks and dancing, but we were going to watch a cricket match. Pakistan won.   

 1 Sep 2010.  Colorado Jim and I decided to go to a lovely classy dinner house and have a quiet meal.  Well that all changed when Mike the mouth joined us.  It was going fairly well until after a few 'towers of beer' Mike coerced this nice lady to dance.  I warned her that within a few minutes she was going to have a tongue in her ear at which time she fled.  smart lady.  That was about the end of the good part.  Down hill was not an adequate phrase to cover the situation as it developed.

                This lovely lady invited guest singers to show their stuff.    She could see by the way he was preparing that she'd made a mistake. Not knowing how big a one yet.    Mike lets out a bellow that seemed to mimic the mating call of the Giant Hairy Armadildo Africanus.     Things happened fast. In rapid succession 1. She demanded the mic back. 2. He told her to go home as he'd finish the show. 3. Jim and I run for the door.    

July seems to be a party month.  Middle of the month was John Smith's, then a bunch of others.  Now then, I decided to have a bit of fun.  Mike Gilmore had a birthday and I thought it would be great to throw a small bash for him.  Also Johnnie G., had a birthday as well, and was smug in the idea that no one knew when.  Ah ha.  So I told John that we were going to throw a surprise party for Mike, and I told Mike that we were going to throw a surprise party for John.  Well Mike had been having daily teas, luncheons etc, so he knew that everyone knew his b'day had arrived, but no one but me knew the date of John's b'day.  As a result, Mike was not really surprised but always enjoys a party.  But John .... was totally taken in.  It was toooo funny.  Let us begin

John and Jesse walk in. John still not knowing he's been had    John and Jesse pose under the sign, which he still HAS NOT seen    He sees it. MERDE! ALORS! (unfortunately I don't speak German)    We shake hands. All is forgiven.     We put up an addendum showing Mike's b'day and John's son Richard's, and mine ... sort of    Once again, all is ok. We are again, 'Le Tres Musketeers'     Whence suddenly from the skys, 'lets have a drink!'    Always ready to lead by example    And Ray joins in, although most of believe she joined in some time ago    Meanwhile, Sally is running Brother Mike thru a battery of dexterity tests. Ain't going well        Here's Brendan thinking 'Boy those ribs look good'. Gilmore thinking "I'm eating them all"    Someone shouted 'lets eat' and in seconds the table is packed    Being helpful, Jesse brings out a plate of ribs ..... NO JESSE NO, STOP    Before anyone can lift a finger, Gilmore glomps onto the plate of ribs    With the finesse of a peasant (he's from Iowa you know) they're gone    What with dinner being a rather short lived affair, we move on to the 'giving of gifts'. Mike wears his magic glasses    It's large, therefor it has to be good    Jesse presents Mike with a bundle of excitement    Now everyone is happy, though everyone but Mike is a bit hungry    John and Sally are in awe    Mike Young is beside himself. Nope, no one else there?    The unwrapping is going very slow due to the fact that Mike is very full    Aha, a beautiful work of art given to me by Steve Masty in Pakistan, copied by John, and the copy given to Mike in Bangkok. Whew    And Jesse's bundle of joy turns out to be a Zimbabwean fertility doll. What splendid good fortune    In the meantime John has spent a very long time opening his VERY WELL wrapped gift due to his near starvation    And then as though to change the pace, Mike presents John with a lifetime supply tube of Oil of Old Age    As a finale Mike presents John with a lovely birthday cake, while wearing his magic glasses    When the candles are all lit, the Air Conditioning ceases to function    Ray does her best to blow out the candles so that we may get something to eat, but they are magic candles and won't go out. She finally spits on them to make them go out. We all go home in disgust. MERDE! (again)    Ray explaining to all how she decided to spit on the magic candles to put them out. Gilmore ... not buying in!   

Why it's St. Paddy's day, of course, a fine old Thai holiday.  A few of our friends were from Ireland and they had heard of it there and even celebrated it there in Ireland.  Amazing how these holidays spread around the world.

    The manager contemplating John's request that the ladies all take off their clothes. apparently some had not used the 'green dye' as requested.        L - R. Ireland, England, Canada. Oh yes he IS!!!        Mike just happened to have that ONE green outfit. Amazing.       Ali and Timo. Ali, where's your phone?        I attract them like a magnet!    

T'was the night before Christmas ... almost, and no one could be found who would play Santa for the American Chamber of Commerce Christmas party.  So in desperation Mike asked me, knowing the answer would be a resounding  'NO!'  But I thought about it for a few seconds and said 'yea, why not'.  Had a ball.  About 70 of the cutest kids you ever saw, and some older folks who just wanted to be in a pix with Santa.  After the performance, needless to say there were tons of food and the best Egg Nog ever.  Enjoy.

Suiting up for the big day. Very seasonal work        Not my first choice for an Elf, but their union is strong and my protests went unheard.    Ready for prime time. Bring 'em on.            Not all the youngsters were totally thrilled.    At that age where 'what am I doing on Santa's LAP!!!             Sometimes they came by the droves.    And the big gals like Santa too. Everyone does.        This is the lovely lady who took all the pictures. We got her in one too.                Mike ...... stop that will you!!!        And the Emmy for best actor goes to! SANTA!   

Odds and ends at the end of 2009. (click HERE)

Christmas Dinner '09.  More pix to be added as I gather them in.  Yes, that really is Michael Gilmore dressed as a  ...... don't really know? (click HERE) 

Did a preview of a very nice condo for Ray.  It will rent for around 240,000 Baht a month.  That's about $7,100 a month for those of you not in Thailand.  Being the 'Penthouse' of course it has it's own pool and sun area on the roof.  It is 4 floors and 5 bdrm, on the 23rd to 26th floors. (click HERE)

Ron Sangster on youtube.

 Nov 14 08    Sally Mc brings the kids to Thailand.  Gilmore tries to steal the show.  He's successful! (click HERE)

 

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