Last Monday morning breakfast was abruptly interrupted when my dog on his daily sniffing patrol came charging into the living room and began barking agitatedly at the sofa on which I was sitting. Although the hound regularly enjoys a healthy bark in the garden, he knows the house rules for indoors… strictly no yelping. So this blatant breach of barking etiquette had me a little concerned.
It was not long before Noi, who looks after the house, arrived on the scene to see what the racket was all about. He thought the dog must have spotted a lizard or a mouse and began poking about with his broom under the sofa, to no avail. It appeared to be a false alarm.
But suddenly there was a movement and it was definitely not a mouse. Noi jumped back in some alarm and shouted "ngoo hao!" (cobra). Now that's something you don't need at breakfast or any other time for that matter. At the first sight of the hooded creature I took up a defensive position behind a fan, offering words of encouragement to Noi like "look out!" and "run for it!"
Over the years Noi has dealt effectively with intrusions by uninvited creatures but he had never faced a cobra before and was clearly not at ease. The dog however was loving it, snapping at the cobra's tail, something the snake did not appreciate at all. For 10 minutes there was a tense standoff. All we wanted was to get this snake out of the house.
Good dog
Suddenly the cobra took off, slithering across the floor at great speed pursued by the dog while Noi and I sprinted for safety before following at a respectable distance. Fortunately the snake got out of the door and then slid across the garden under our gate into the lane.
It was only afterwards it sunk in that for half an hour earlier I had sat contentedly on the sofa happily munching my muesli and bananas blissfully unaware that underneath the sofa there was lurking a venomous snake, even if it was just having a quiet nap.
The dog received a well-deserved treat for acting above and beyond the call of duty. Next time he annoys me with his barking I might just be a little more understanding.
Farewell Jim
This week I belatedly received some sad news that American author and friend James Eckardt had passed away some time ago in Newburg, about 100km north of New York City. He was 77.
Jim, who lived in Thailand for many years, was a gifted writer with that rare ability to make readers laugh out loud and his entertaining books and short stories made him one of the best-known expat writers in the kingdom.
After serving in the Peace Corps in Sierra Leone in 1969, Jim went on to make his home in Thailand where he initially worked for the US Consulate in Songkhla. Long time Bangkok Post readers may remember Jim's hilarious short stories published in this newspaper in the late 70s and early 80s. His amusing tales won him a host of fans.
Among his most popular books were Waylaid by the Bimbos; The Year of Living Stupidly; and Thai Jinks. He also wrote books of a serious nature. His novel Boat People based on the plight of Vietnamese refugees was widely acclaimed. Jim later worked in Bangkok for The Nation for some years.
Apart from being a gifted writer Jim was a warm and generous person who will be missed by all who knew him. RIP.
Mutiny on the Bounty
Sundays in April seem to have adopted some historical significance. Last week, April 21 was the anniversary of the iconic photo of the Loch Ness Monster, while today marks the 235th anniversary of the Mutiny on the Bounty.
It was on April 28, 1789, in the south Pacific when, aboard the ill-fated Bounty, Fletcher Christian had finally had enough of Captain Bligh and stuck him and 18 of the crew on a small boat which 47 days later landed in Timor. Christian and the rest famously ended up in Pitcairn or Tahiti.
It was an epic tale of skullduggery on the High Seas, although my knowledge of events is influenced by movies the incident spawned. As a kid I recall seeing BBC Christmas re-runs of the 1935 version starring Clark Gable as Christian and Charles Laughton as a very scary Bligh, creating an image which was described as "a byword for sadistic tyranny".
A 1984 version, The Bounty starring Anthony Hopkins as Bligh and Mel Gibson as Christian was entertaining, but the most famous, primarily for all the wrong reasons, was the 1962 production featuring Marlon Brando as Christian and Trevor Howard as Bligh.
The seagoing Hamlet
The 1962 film was a financial flop and panned by critics, with most fingers pointing at Brando and his eccentric behaviour. Director Lewis Milestone, who had frequent run-ins with the uncooperative star, referred to the film as "The Mutiny of Marlon Brando". An exasperated Howard called Brando "unprofessional and absolutely ridiculous", some scenes requiring 30 takes. Another star, Richard Harris, called it "a total disaster".
Often appearing unfamiliar with his lines, Brando ad-libbed his way through with a weird English upper-class accent, prompting one reviewer to complain that the star played Christian "as a sort of seagoing Hamlet".
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