Flavor drink for my aunt

I really liked living with my aunt's family. I felt at home. None of her
family members ever gave me a hard time as in harassing me to
leave. I was her special "servant" when it came to a certain flavor
of drink that her children wouldn't want to get for her. When she was
under its influence, they didn't like her behavior. I was a willing
agent to get it for her from a nearby merchant. No wonder she
didn't mind having me around.

Every time I went back to my own family, I always went with a $20
bill with me. That meant a lot in those days. Now, I can't recall if
that money was for me or for my parents. I know I dreaded having
to go back to my own home. Now I know I was destined to be up-
rooted from my own country.

My aunt was what I would consider a 'merchant' woman. History
tells me that Cambodian women are in charge of business affairs.
At the market place a person won't find many male merchants.
Unless it is something pertaining to machinery of sort.

They had fruit and vegetable farms that I helped to tend in
season. That would include planting rice. There was no lack
of work for sure. I don't think I complained much about having to help.

I can't remember if any of my other brothers ever came to stay
with them. They might have came only to escort me back home.
I was never homesick. Life was better there with my aunt's
family. All my needs were met. And I got to go into Battambong
once before the country was over-thrown by the Khmer Rouge.
Being in Battambong was a big deal to a country boy.

Hold it. I was in Battambong before this, with my whole family
and other people from our village, to a celebration of fire works.
It was awsome. I never saw anything like that before. But we
didn't stay, we traveled back home in the dark after the event.
I believe we hitched oxen to a cart wagon to take us there
and back, being that it was night and long distance. I'm sure
most of the young ones were asleep on the return trip.

I can still hear the singing of the shaft on the cart wagon created by
friction from wood rubbing on wood under the heavy load.
Beeswax was applied to help eliminate this 'whinning'. But actually,
it has a musical tone to it. Better than hip hop and rap...