Some people might have heard that it was the 60th anniversary of the Thai King’s coronation this last weekend: The longest reigning king in Thailand, and the longest reigning king in the entire world, ever in history. Thailand isn’t run under a monarchy anymore, though sometimes I think it’d be better off it were. The prime minister is mildly liked by some….strongly disliked by some. there have been protests against his continuing his presidency or prime ministry, whatever you wanna call it. He came to visit Mae Sai a few months ago, weeks before his election and it was rumored that people were given 200 baht to feign allegiance to him by handing him flowers.

The king, however: everybody loves the king. The biggest mistake anyone could possibly make in Thailand would be to insult the king in any way. Even inadvertently stepping on a piece of currency with the King’s face on it is a huge no- no. That’s even grounds for jail time. If you go to the movies in a major city in Thailand, after the previews finish, the audience stands up while a tribute to the king airs for two minutes, showing different clips of the king traveling around the country to under-privileged areas and hill tribes, communicating with villagers and drawing out development plans. It’s quite moving. The royal family is also largely responsibly for transforming opium plantations into orchid gardens. Some of the most amazing flora you’ll ever see grows out of these places now.

On the news, people celebrated the coronation, all wearing yellow shirts (the king’s color) and many with tears their eyes. The King, unfortunately, probably enjoyed these festivities less than anyone else that attended. He's about 80 years old now and perhaps a little bit senile. He was complaining about his foot hurting him and no one let him sit down. Twenty Five monarchs from all over the world came to pay their respects and celebrate. It's like an event from a previous century. Here in Mae Sai, the kids all drew various portraits of the king and hung them on the walls of the school building. There's a framed photograph of the king hanging in a sortof shrine. Amost every kid asked me to take their picture holding the king's portrait.

In other news, Judy, the girl who suffered from a severe epileptic seizure a few months ago, has been living back on site for almost a month now. She still cannot speak and her motor skills are still extremely shaky, though she can walk. And boy, does she walk fast. A week ago she was walking around outside, supervised by two staff members, but with a shaved head. I had assumed that her head needed to be shaved for some sort of medical treatment she was being given. Just yesterday, I was told that her mother shaved her head in the middle of the night, performing some sortof ancient chinese ritual her ancestors once performed for sick people like Judy. This is the same woman who once forced her daughter to hold a live dog's head in place while she poked and scooped the inside of the dog's brain. Who left Judy's mother alone with her? Beats me.