Grandma Rat at 106 decides it is time to take life a little easier

She was born in the reign of King Rama V, before the first airplane had flown, and when the motorcar was in its infancy. Now, at the age of 106, Mrs Rat Khemthong still has clear memories of her girlhood, and is active making herbal compresses used in traditional Thai massage.

The increasing years, however, inevitably mean that Grandma Rat needs special care and attention. Rat, who has been lodging with the family of Samroeng Chudchalamat, an employee of the Sattahip Naval Base, says she is ready to move to a home for the elderly as she does not want to be a burden on anyone in her final years.

Grandma Rat keeps with her one treasured possession, a garland that once hung on the bows of the warship Sadet Tia.

Grandma Rat is originally from Patumthani. Her father was Mon and her mother was Laotian, and Rat was their only daughter.

When she was 20, Rat married Pan Taothong and went to live in the Huay Kwang district of Bangkok, where she earned a living by selling desserts and learning Thai massage.

At the age of 40, Rat followed her husband to the Soi Tiewson community, in Sattahip, where Pan worked as a watchman chiming the bell as a signal and timekeeper for the villagers.

At that time Sattahip was a wild and remote place, but it had begun to change when Prince Chumporn, the Father of the Royal Thai Navy, founded the naval base there.

Pan passed away when Rat was 70. An engineer working at the base and lodging at Soi Tiewson, Petty Officer Sompol Chudchalamat, was a close family friend and invited Rat to stay with his family.

Grandma Rat continued working, her highly respected skills in traditional massage bringing her customers from the level of admiral through to the local villagers. She has always said that she can support herself, and that she needs only lodging.

Shortly before Sompol passed away he asked his son Samroeng, also a petty officer, to take care of her as Grandma Rat has no family.

Samroeng said she never gets sick and has a very good memory, remembering stories from long ago and the people that she knew.

Now in her final years and unable to work she does not want to be a burden on anyone, and feels that the social welfare home for the elderly would be best as she will be near a doctor.

Grandma Rat keeps with her one treasured possession, garlands that once hung on the bows of the warship Sadet Tia. Sompol had found this one windy day, swept onto the beach by the waves. Grandma said that when she received the garland she had a dream in which a man asked her to make some special garlands. This she did, and will give them to those who take care of her in her last years.

-Pattaya Mail

Patcharapol Panrak

Friday August 12 - August 18, 2005

That topic title needs work - implies she's topped herself.

Phew.....that`s a relief..thought we`d got a granny jumper from the headline

Ran out of space I'm afraid title limits - if mods like to edit it, please do so.

Ran out of space I'm afraid title limits - if mods like to edit it, please do so.

Better?

cv

Cheers Cdnvic!!