My Father Disowned Me

I’m back after having taken off for a couple of months to make some legit money in the real world. It was a short contract with a U.S. military agency. I’m  still alive.

Meantime, I had to quit squatting and moved into a brand new house that was built just for me. It has three bedrooms and two bathrooms. All I ever need is a bedroom, a bathroom, a kitchen, and a little space to do yoga; what am I to do with all those extra rooms? You’re welcome to fill in the unused space. The first available bedroom is 13X10. That other smallest bedroom could be used as a den or a study. My house’s located in a wooded trailer park.

This 900 sq. ft. manufactured home is much bigger for my need.

Speaking of my current comfortable crib in the manufactured home community, I told my father about it over the phone a few months ago. He started saying something that came over unintelligibly on the shaky cell phone reception and then hung up on me. What I gathered and put together after taking many deep breaths was he was cursing me. My father has always used swear words fluently both English and Thai.

This is another milestone in my life. When I was about 12, my father left us (that is my mother, my younger brother and me). He told us that he would be looking for a better life. Shortly after that, he married another woman who could help make his dreams come true. I don’t know if he and my mother were legally married because generally couples in Thailand had only wedding ceremonies without registering their marriages or getting marriage licenses back then. The legal requirement is still a Western concept in Thailand. He walked out of my life then and did it again just now.

“My step-mother” and I had a cordial relationship. In fact, she told me about how my father never changed. In his very old age, he continues to play his playboy game with other women. I have another cousin who is exactly the same way like him. When caught cheating, the cousin was cut off from his only son’s life. His son has his mother’s last name. As a patrilineal culture it’s customary to carry the father’s family name in Thailand. Many Thai women give their offspring their own last names if they and the fathers have a family fallout. None of my father’s children carries his last name.

Renting a lot for a reasonable monthly fee, I paid for my manufactured home with cash. True to my squatter status, I plan to live here briefly and move on. I really don’t own anything or owe anyone anything; nothing I can take with me to another world.

I told you! It’s spacious.

I’m happy to have a kitchen to cook, a bedroom to sleep at night, and a bathroom to do my personal business. And extra space to warmly make my guests feel at home.