Evil Spirit/Banana

     After taking the world's most rewarding shower, eating my sandwich, drinking my wine, and having a little nap, I was ready to re-acquaint myself with the world.  So I went next door to the Three Rivers.  I did love the place despite wanting to indulge myself in the upgrade next door.  I explained that to Eden, and he was most understanding.
      Seated at the bar at the Three Rivers was Sue, an Englishwoman who'd given herself three weeks at the Project as a 50th birthday present [what a great idea!]  She was looking forward to her stay there, so of COURSE I had to regale her with my tales of wonder and woe.
      My buddy Tom was there, and it was good catching up with him about the preceding two weeks.  He even invited me to go play poker with him--competitively--but since I couldn't remember the difference between a flush and a straight--I decided that would be unwise.
      Then Jack showed up.  His flight for England was due to leave late that afternoon, so he had a little time to kill before leaving for the airport.  I introduced him to Sue and got to exchange some chit-chat and hugs before he left for the airport.
      I feel like I haven't said enough about Jack.  So here goes.  Jack's a 28 year old Englishman who got bored working in corporate Britain.  He took a holiday to Asia and wound up at an elephant park in Thailand.  He loved the elephants and stayed.  He came to learn more and more about the suffering of the elephants of southeast Asia and found out that Cambodia was home to a lot of abused and neglected elephants and that there were no facilities there to help them.  So he went to Cambodia and began his quest of creating some sort of preserve for them.
      Some of the guys at the bar told me that when Jack first showed up in Phnom Penh, they all scoffed at him.  Here's this young guy--maybe 21 or so--talking about setting this, this, and this up, and they thought, "Oh, sure."  But now they are incredulous; be damned if he didn't DO it!!
       He soaks up languages like a sponge and soon became fluent in Cambodia's official language, Khmer.  He focused his attention on the tribal peoples of Cambodia and soon became fluent in THEIR language, Bunong.  It was funny to learn that at first the Bunong were very uncomfortable around him and not at all receptive to his ideas.  He learned that the word "jack" means "evil spirit" in Bunong, which went a long way to explaining their hesitation.  He changed the pronunciation of his name for them to "Jake."  THAT means "banana" which was much less threatening.
   He was very persuasive in negotiating with the Bunong that the Project would provide jobs, some health care, some schooling, and steady income for tribal members in exchange for their allowing their land to be used for the sustenance of Asian elephants.  It's my impression that his primary motivation in doing this was at first to help the elephants, but that it evolved over the years to empower the tribal people to live a decent life style, respecting their own traditions, on their own land with dignity and some degree of stability.  That turns OUT to be good for the jungle as well, but I don't think that was the intent.
     Jack enters into complicated negotiations for the placement of the various elephants at the project.  Only three of the elephants are owned outright.  The others are the subject of complex arrangements--rentals and leases--that permit them to stay there, hopefully permanently.  The tribal people are employed as mahouts and staff at the Project and there is basic medical care provided.  The Bunong experience a 50% infant mortality rate, but no babies have died at the project since its inception. 
     I don't know about you, but if I were 28 years old (or 58 for that matter), I'd feel like I'd accomplished an awful lot with this resume.  Jack's a remarkable guy, and I'm lucky to have met him.