Betsy's Blog

     Turn, turn, turn. David Crosby die today at age 81 in LA where he was born. I have listened to his music since I was a teenager, saw him in concert at Denver Red Rocks Amphitheater, and know most words to his songs. What happened? I am still in shock from the news today. Social Media is full of tributes to Crosby from his bandmates, family, and fans around the world. I love the unique Tweet from actress Christina Applegate,  "Tonight at 7pm, my LA neighborhood will howl and then blast CSN to honor this beautiful soul and legend. If you do this, please send me videos RIP David Crosby!! We love you.”       R ecently, I read David's autobiography "Long Time Gone" about his career, drug and family struggles, rehab, jail, and his return. David has produced eight solo albums, and numerous concerts, and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame twice. David has survived a liver transplant, a motorcycle accident, and an almost fatal car accident ...

  Oh no! Not Lisa Marie Presley! Like father, like daughter, like son. A triple loss! Lisa Marie was born in Memphis, Tennessee 55 years ago and just missed celebrating her birthday this year by ten days. What is the curse on the talented Presley family? Lisa leaves behind four husbands and four children. Soon she will be buried next to  her son Benjamin who died two years ago at age 20 by suicide. Lisa Marie visited Graceland with her grief counselor days before she passed away. They sat together by her father and son's graves where she told him she wanted to be buried. Her counselor replied that would not be for a long time. She agreed. However, four days later she was dead. Lisa Marie's daughter just announced that her mother will be buried next to her beloved son Ben at Graceland. I must admit that when I was embarrassed for her when I watched Lisa Marie interviewed at the Golden Globes Award Ceremony three days before she passed away. She was slurring her words and seemed...

    Why am I confused? Cambodia is a mixture of royal palaces, pagodas, high rise apartments, and wooden shacks in the capital city. We took over a five hour taxi ride south from Siam Reap to the capital city of Phnom Penh through green rice fields filled with cows, goats, and signs for a cheap German beer called Ganzberg. Our driver stopped halfway in a riverside rest stop and asked if we wanted to see the tarantulas. We thought it would be an outdoor zoo. Nope! A crowd of women in straw hats rushed up to our taxi with straw baskets full of fried tarantulas to eat! Yuk! No thanks! They might be a little crunchy and perhaps poisonous. We took photos instead from our taxi window. No need to buy any spider snacks! Ugh!     Cambodia is full of many other surprises! After our scenic country drive, arriving in the 679-square-foot capital city of Phnom Penh was overwhelming. There were motorcycles, tuk tuks, and fast cars on wide streets along the river in the center of to...

It seems like a lifetime ago that I first visited the ancient capital city of Laos, Luang Prabang. I traveled here years ago when I was teaching at international schools in Thailand and Laos. A lot has happened since then. During the pandemic, my former Laos colleague died of a heart attack and another survived open-heart surgery. Almost everyone caught Covid despite wearing masks and washing their hands repeatedly. We are all survivors and have learned that we have to choose to be happy daily. My husband and I did just that this morning in Luang Prabang. We got up at 6 am to join the tourists in the sleepy streets of this historic city in the mountains. Daily, the local monks walk in a single line down the main street in orange robes holding golden bowls. Tourists place bags of rice in their bowls for breakfast. As the sun rises, the monks file back to their Buddhist temple to pray and eat. And so the day begins.       What can we learn from this ancient ritual? Rou...

         There is a great deal of unsettling news these days. As I gaze at the scenic mountains dotted with hot air balloons and hang gliders in northern Laos, I feel uneasy about worldwide events. I read the news on my phone, watch it on TV, and discuss it with tourists. The United States is a divided country with the recent Georgia election for a new Senator. The Pandemic has left many citizens with health issues, insurance complications, and job loss. Many people got COViD vaccinations and still caught the virus. Some did not survive. We are all changed by the pandemic and government issues. We are a country divided. We manage our daily obstacles trying to find our way. We are at different stages of our lives, but we all have inner doubts, worry about our future, and wonder if we are good enough. I am inspired by Michelle Obama's first book after leaving the White House, "Becoming. " She states that history and hearts are complicated. We need our own personal...

      Laos survived the Pandemic and recently reopened its borders after two years. We used to work in an international school here that was shut down by the government due to the Covid virus. When Laos closed its borders, I was one of the last foreigners to depart. Now the streets are quieter and many places are permanently closed, but the strong spirit of the people can still be felt. Stoic expressions on solemn faces show their determination to survive. Even though the city buses are not running in the capital city of Vientiane, the local people still greet us with a smile. They need tourists and businesses to return to their lovely country with mountains, beaches, and three National Heritage Cultural Sites. Laos is called the "Land of a Million Elephants" and is famous for its scenery, ethnic villages waterfalls, and unexplored land.     My husband and I visited our former international school today in the capital city of Vientiane. It just reopened after th...

         Are you pleased with your facial features? Do you have your favorite face creams, lotions, and foundations? Have you considered facial improvements with surgery or botox? We are surrounded by beautiful faces in the media and wish to improve our own. We want to look like air-brushed models with perfect eyes, noses, cheekbones, and lips. There is a new trend called 'face positivity ' that is encouraging women to revert to the 'au naturel' look.     When I was growing up, my mom had a subscription to "Vogue Magazine." She loved to look at the latest fashions on the chic models on slick pages. I did too and wished I looked like the tall, sleek models in beautiful outfits with perfect skin. There were no freckles, blemishes, or scars to be seen. The sophisticated models posed in perfect outfits on Fifth Avenue, New York City, and on yachts in the Caribbean. They ran through leaves at countryside mansions or walked their poodle past skyscrapers. I w...