(Jim) Haven't forgotten you man, but needless to say I've been pretty busy here in LOS. The guys in the group don't know what they missed. Ken Bower, Pete Cabrey, Gene Ponce and myself had our meeting with Princess Sirindhorn today and it went even better than expected. The formal ceremony became, at the Princesses' discretion, an informal situation. We got to make small talk with her, and answer her questions for a good 20+ minutes. She even related childhood impressions of hers to us. She has very soulful eyes, and I can see why the Thai people love her so much. So do we, now that we've had the opportunity to meet her. The biggest surprise to me was that she had brought a present for each of us. Enclosed in a box with royal wrapping paper was a set of gold edged china with an official emblem, 2 coffee cups and two saucers. Needless to say, to me it is priceless, and the Thai people I have shown the paper and porcelain to seem to be in awe that we were given such a gift from her. I wanted to share that story with you before posting on the group site, because without your hard work and assistance, for me, it wouldn't have happened. Later -- John

I couldn't agree more with what Pete and Don have said. I was expecting a lot, but today went beyond my wildest dreams. I'm still buzzed by it. I see why the Thai people love her so much. She is very charismatic and gregarious, and very down to earth considering her position in life. After talking with her, you realized how special a person she is, I think all of us love her now too. She has very soulful eyes, and you can tell what a kind, caring person she is. To hear her tell stories of her childhood, and memories of times and places was unbelievable. Mike W. got some great shots of all of us with the Princess, I already have a CD version and tried calling Pete to let him see the pictures, but didn't get through. There are a couple that I will have made into photos for display on the wall. Pete if you want to see them call 07-8577938. John A. back in Pattaya and on cloud 9 (Usually I'm only about a 6 or 7) lol