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A rough draft of the spiritual autobiography of Joseph B Wilson. The history that lead to Toteg Tribe.
Copyright 2003 by Joseph B Wilson
She told me she wanted me to be her "tilock" (lover) and stay with her as long as I didn't go see
other girls or care if she continued to "work Suzy Wong." Through broken English and gestures
she explained that she had been married but left her husband because he got drunk and beat her.
She "work Suzy Wong" to have money to support her five children. Up to that point I lived in an
open bay barracks with 20 other airmen, several of whom had stereo tape players which were
blaring different music at the same time. I said OK, took a few uniforms and my shaving equipment
to her bungalow and effectively moved off base.
It was an illegal move on my part since people of my rank were not allowed to live off base, and
people of higher rank were only allowed to live in US government approved quarters -- those which
had all of the conveniences of an apartment in the US (stove, refrigerator, flush style toilet, hot
water heater, showers, etc.) and cost about the same. I maintained a bunk and locker in the
barracks, though from that time on I never slept there.
Som's bungalow was one 10x10 screen enclosed room elevated one story, lit by one 50 watt bulb.
There was a Thai style toilet (basically a cement encircled hole leading to a sewer pipe) in the
lower portion. Also in that area was our bathing facility -- a 10 gallon baked clay container out of
which we used a bowl to dip and pour unheated water over ourselves before lathering and then
again to rinse. We'd fill the container with water from a faucet in the yard shared by others who
lived in that area.
I bought Som's cigarettes on base since she liked Salem, and gave her my entire pay -- the whole
$10 per month. That was exactly what she paid to rent the bungalow. When I found that we had a
small room large enough for them next to the bathing facility, I told her that her children should live
with us rather than stay in the country with her parents.
Som treated me like a king. She cooked breakfast and my evening meal for me on a charcoal grill
in the courtyard just outside the bungalow. Except for my noon meal, which I usually ate at the
dining hall on base, my diet was identical to what the local's ate. Believe me, the hot peppers they
use are hotter than anything else in the world! Sometimes she would make me lunch which I would
carry in a three tiered lunch bucket, the same as the Thai nationals who worked on base. She also
arranged to have my uniforms cleaned and pressed. She also paid for my Samlo ride to and from
Checkpoint Charley. At night before she went out to work she would buy me a liter of Singhi, then
bathe, get dressed up, do her hair and makeup, then come and make love with me. Then she'd
bathe and re-do her clothes, hair and makeup before she went out to "work same same Suzy
Wong." Some times she'd return shortly after the clubs closed, other times she wouldn't return until
dawn when she'd wake me for work.
I lived exactly like an ordinary Thai national, except for the fact that I wore a U.S. Air Force uniform
and worked on base (and I doubt if any Thai man was treated as well as Som treated me). I'd often
get up in the morning with her and take food offerings out to put in the Buddhist Monk's bowls as
they made their morning begging tours. The people in the neighborhood recognized me and
respected me because I didn't act like I was better than them like most of the other GIs.
It wasn't easy to communicate with Som. She was trying to learn English and refused to speak
Thai to me so I had difficulty in trying to learn that language. Her English was rudimentary at best.
Many times we'd communicate with a combination of Pidgin English, gestures, and occasional
help from a Thai-English/English-Thai dictionary. For something difficult I'd look up the English
word and point to the Thai translation so she'd know what I meant. She'd do the opposite for me.
Somehow it worked.
Thailand is officially a Buddhist country. In the part of Thailand where I was located the common
people mixed the official Buddhism with much older and more pagan practices and belief in spirits
of the uneducated peasants.
Before she went out at night Som would sit in front of an image of Buddha, light incense, and
meditate. I soon started this practice along side of her. Before long if I didn't meditate with her or
she didn't see me meditate separately she would chide me saying "Why you no do!?" I soon made
it an evening habit to meditate while she was making her final preparations to go out.
I had never tried marijuana and one day asked Som if she could get me some to try. The next day
she brought home a bundle of stems loaded with dried leaves and buds that was about two foot
long and eight inches in diameter. Before long I habitually smoked a marijuana cigarette before
our meditation sessions. It made me feel timeless and as though I were merging with Buddha
consciousness as I dispassionately watched colorful mental images flow through me.
