User talk:Kyrahowe

Dear Kyrahowe:

Thank you so very much for your kind and welcome email. Yes, indeed, I have lived a very fortunate, and privileged life. It is true that I have traveled and seen quite a bit (though there is always so much more to do and see - I need at least another 250 years!!!!), but then I am almost 66 - and you, at 16 are certainly well on the way to outdoing me before you get too much older!

I am really glad to hear you that you speak some Thai are interested in your Thai as well as your European heritage (and following up your interests in both!) I feel far more hopeful when I hear of young people who are truly interested in history and gaining a real, in depth, cross-cultural view and lifestyle. There lies our best hope for our future!

The most important lesson I have learned is that I can go almost anywhere in the world and make close and true friends and that, almost anywhere (except in war zones), I soon feel right at home (and welcome), no matter what people's race or religion or nationality. Everywhere I have ever lived there have been wise and stupid people; kind, loving and caring as well as horrible, and even "evil" people. I truly believe that no country or culture or people are "better" than any other, they just have differences and different circumstances which should add interest and spice to life rather than the fear and suspicion of "otherness," which is all too common.

I just hope your generation does better than mine at learning how to live in peace together in our fast-shrinking "Global Village" and to make sure their home (the Earth) is well looked after instead continuing to devastate it. Also, I believe strongly that we not only have to curb our greed but also our population. There are well over three times as many people in the world now as when I was born (some 6.7 billion instead of "just" 2 billion). I became aware of overpopulation when I was very young - in Trinidad which was overpopulated at the time but now has 3 times the population in spite of massive emigration. This can't go on much longer. Because of my strong beliefs on this subject I never had children of my own (though I have really enjoyed helping raise kids and now I have a wonderful step-granddaughter (just 3 and half) and my life would be impoverished without her. I would strongly urge you to do all you can to help people realise that we can't just keep increasing - that our planet is finite, and that the time to start changing our ways is now, on both a local and a global level.

Please accept my apologies to you and your generation on behalf of my generation - we are leaving you a world in much worse shape than the one we inherited. I am just beginning to hope that humans will wake up to themselves just in time - and it will be up to your generation to do this. This may be seen as an onerous responsibility but, really, it should be seen as an exciting and wonderful challenge - to be able to save our species from destroying itself by blindly following old patterns.

I send you my warmest wishes for a fulfilling, fascinating and joy-filled life and thank you again for cheering up my day.

May the road stay open before you and delight you with its mysteries.

All the very best,

John Hill (talk) 08:59, 13 November 2008 (UTC) PS I just reread this and realised I sound like an old, boring preacher! Sorry if I've rambled on and on - but I have enjoyed chatting with you. Cheers!