Dtaa

My father-in-law is a funny guy. We call him Dtaa, which means “mother’s father.”

He grew up in Buriram. When he was about twenty, or 45 years ago, his aunt, the only person in the family with money, told him, “Come, we must go to Ta Phraya, where there is a beautiful girl.”

The whole family, 15 or 20 of them, traveled. The elders, invalids, or very young children rode on the buffalo cart. The others walked. The trip took 15 days.

Once in Ta Phraya, the two families visited. After three days, it was arranged. Dtaa and the beautiful girl would marry. The family of the bride-to-be gave them many gifts: tubers and roots, tapioca, rice, and mostly, dried fish.

Now, for the return trip, the buffalo cart was overloaded. Dtaa was required to carry a basket, he claims it was 50 kilos, and it was mostly dried fish. On the first day, Dtaa proudly exclaimed, “No problem, I am a strong young man!” and every time he rested, he used great care to set down the precious basket of gifts from the family of his bride-to-be.

After two days, his legs began to tire. His mother and father showed him, “look, on the side of the road, there is a tree and you can eat its fruit. But, be careful, eat only one or two pieces of fruit per day.”

Dtaa tasted the fruit. It was delicious! A sour fruit, though. The next day he tried another fruit. Even more delicious—this one was a little bit sweet!

After seven days, Dtaa was very tired. Every time he rested, he carelessly threw down the burdensome basket. His legs ached and he was hungry. He saw the fruit trees by the side of the road. He ate and ate and ate until he was full.

The next day, he had the most terrible diarrhea. He describes it: “if I stepped over a log, poop! If I walked fast, poop! If I walked slow, poop!”

Now, as he laughs and reminisces, Dtaa slaps his forehead and exclaims, “Oh! I should have listened to my mother and father!”