An uncle from the past

Ball was reunited with an uncle from the past, only the third time the pair have met.

His father’s elder brother, Toob, who works in shipping in Samut Prakan, spent the day with Ball’s family yesterday.

Mum bought a bottle of cheap Thai whisky, as did I. The last time the pair met was at the funeral of Ball’s father a few years ago.

‘He’s grown up so much,’ Toob said, referring to Ball.

Toob, 57, was one of 12 children, two of whom including Ball’s Dad are now dead.

He has two teenage children of his own, but after leaving his wife now lives alone, staying in one cheap hotel after another.

‘I don’t want to be burdened down,’ he said, asking why he prefers to live in hotels rather than finding a place of his own.

‘I have friends from a wide range of ages....my own age, your mother’s, even your own,’ Toob told Ball.

‘I can make B2000 or B3000 a day. In my job, I am comfortable,’ he said.

Ball lacks older male figures in his life on his Dad’s side of the family. He and Toob hit it off immediately.

‘I like the way Toob talks. He gives advice while also talking about stories in his life,’ Ball told me, while his uncle and Ball’s Mum were busy chatting.

Uncle Toob looks similar to Ball’s elder brother, soldier Boy, who is regarded as the hero of the family.

He is the eldest child, neither smokes nor drinks, and has a girlfriend. He is also good to his Mum.

‘I have my father’s fiery temperament,’ Ball told me.

‘My brother is widely liked in the neighbourhood. But when we were young, and argued with kids in the soi, I would be the first to stand up for him and sort people out,’ said Ball.

‘I’m small, but I didn’t let that worry me,’ he added.

I looked at the portrait of Ball’s Dad on the wall. ‘Everyone else has Dad’s nose. I have Mum’s,’ said Ball.

‘I want a long, tapering face, like Dad’s, but ended up with a wide face like Mum,’ he said, rubbing his features unhappily.

‘You have no need to worry about your looks,’ I told him.

Uncle Toob overheard me.

‘My daughter and her partner run a bar in Bangkok. The next time I am visiting, I will take you there. With your Korean-style looks, girls will swarm all over you,’ he told Ball.

Mr Fiesty Korean looked embarrassed.

‘I reserve the right to screen girls for him,’ I said.

Ball laughed, and looked at me to see if I was being serious.

‘Just joking,’I added, ‘though a visit to that bar sounds great.’

Ball has visited few nightspots in Bangkok. I want to take him to one, perhaps a beer garden, with Mum as our invited guest. We will see.

While Ball stepped away for a moment, I turned to his uncle.

‘Ball’s uncles seldom visit. I hope you come again soon. He would love to have you in his life,’ I told Toob.

‘I will try to come again soon,’ he said.