Hungry Inlaws

[Redbaron]

After reading the "marry the family" thread not so long ago, this little story came to mind.

 

A friend of mine, another Aussie going out with a Thai girl, relayed this story to me not so long ago.

A bit of background information first: They met in a bar about 18 months ago. She comes from a family who seem to have a bit of money, her grandfather was a "big noodle" in the police force before he retired to a good pension.

As a result, her aunts (mum's sisters, the ex-policeman's daughters), have rarely had to work. They do work from home, a house my friend's girlfriend's mum built with her late husband, doing a bit of sewing and so forth for a bit of spending money. They have no bills - they are all taken care of. They live in a nice small town, an hour or so from Bangkok. Not Isaan.

 

Now - after 20 odd years of being single, the mum has met someone special. Or rather, she has hooked up with a very old friend who has stood by her and been a shoulder to cry on through the good times and the bad since her late husband's passing. They truely are a great couple. Both in their late 40's, enjoying life like a couple of teenagers might. It really is a beautiful sight, and you couldn't hope for two nicer people to have found such happiness.

Soon they will be married, and she's told her sisters they can keep the house in the town, as they will be living in Bangkok where he has his own business. Mum wants nothing in return, she loves her sisters, and is happy for them to have the house, as she will be happy living with her new husband in Bangkok.

 

You'd think everyone would be happy. The mum has found true happiness after having a rough 20 years, raising 2 kids on her own. The sisters get a house out of the deal. The grandparents too are delighted.

 

Problem.. The new husband, who has never been married before and has no kids, just happens to have a lot of money stashed away. He has been a man of little needs, and has worked hard all his life, content. Now, he's looking forward to not working so hard, and spending as much time as he can with his new wife.

Where's the problem? The sisters. They have their hand out.

 

Last time my friend's girlfriend called her mum, she was told not to call the sisters (aunts), as they have their hand out. They were quoted as saying:

"You have a rich husband now, and your daughter is marrying a farang. Why are you so sticky?"

 

The girl now no longer wants to go back to see her aunts again. Like the mum, she can't see why the aunts - who can be very nice ladies when they want to be - aren't happy with what they've got.

 

Just goes to show, it's not always the "poor Isaan folk" who have ideas about receiving money from those who appear to have more.

[Guest]

Yup, greed and avarice are universal human traits.