Guard perks up, Kew calls in

I thought I'd try talking to the condo's security guards, one on each entrance gate, to see if coordinated action was possible to stop teen racers from the slum getting access to the compound.

‘Both security guards need to work together. If one of you lets the kid through on the bike, the other will have to lift the barrier too,’ I said, appealing to reason.

One of the guards was a new face, so I thought I would let off steam about the young man who lives in the slum section next door, and likes to pass through our condo many times a day, revving his noisy engine.

He usually approaches from the entrance closest to the slum, on the posh Yenakkart side of the condo, but if he's heading back home from the wilds of Klong Toey via Rama III, can also cut back through the condo by using the entrance closest to the main road.

Guards at both ends have asked him not to use our condo as a short cut; he ignores them.

If one security guard raises the traffic barrier blocking access to the road, the other is obliged to follow suit, if only to ensure he leaves the condo precinct.

I suspect the first guard he meets can't be bothered dealing with the problem, so just lifts the barrier to let him in.

The barriers are now fitted with a sign saying, ‘Access forbidden if you don’t live here, as this is a private road.'

Last week a guard in his 60s told me that he lifts the barrier because he is afraid that if he resists, the teenager will round up his mates and come back in the middle of the night to assault him.

The guy I spoke to today was more helpful.

‘We need to get together to discuss how to deal with his lad. He has passed through the place many times already this morning,’ he said.

Next up: a conversation on how he intends to achieve this step.

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‘I really miss you, na,’ said bad boy Kew.

The other day he called, and we spoke for the first time in many weeks.

Kew’s 25th birthday passed last weekend, but he spent it alone, as no one was around to help him celebrate.

‘I just went to work, and went home to bed,’ he said.

He asked if we could meet again for a few beers.

‘Try me again this weekend,’ I said.

Since my visit to the Thon Buri side of town to visit farang M, I am keen to stretch my wings.

I want to see more of my Thai friends outside work. Since we moved to a condo in town, I have barely ventured out of the area.

‘I miss you – jing jing, pee,’ he said, sounding almost pleading.

If I could reach over the phone to give Kew a hug, I would have done so. I miss Kew, and am touched he still remembers me.