Cassie's message (continued from previous page): The
Kantner's were one of those families that braved the roads with us. The
Lodge's (another UN family) were also usually in attendance. Our time in
Pakistan to me meant lots of freedom to explore and wonderful cross-country
trips. I was definitely happiest when on-the-go whether riding one of the
British black bicycles all over Gulberg II or taking off pell-mell with one
of the horse-wallahs. It's probably a good thing we didn't grow up in the
States, stuck in an ordinary public school. Aren't we lucky to have had
the world as our classroom?
Our first home was Faletti's Hotel until our new house was finished. Mom
almost died from food poisoning while at Faletti's, so we moved to the
Imperial Hotel. Our first house was 23 E3 Gulberg III - at that time it
was the LAST house on the outskirts of town - no one there but the
migratory puhindus (sp?) who came with their string of camels for water at
our well. Our first cook/bearer & his wife, Ali & Yati, had two teenage
daughters. Mom thought they were great until she found out they were
running a brothel in the servants quarters! Our first Christmas was
wonderful - we fattened up two geese, Sahib & Memsahib, had oodles of local
gifts (I loved the local dolls and sports equipment from Sialkot) and we
waited until April for our Christmas order from Sears to appear. Even good
ol' See's Candy made it all the way from California - a little worse for
wear but still edible after giving several pieces away as buksheesh to the
customs inspector. After 2 years we moved closer in near Dad's office to
71 L Gulberg II - our neighbors in back lived in a mud hut - can still
smell the hot cow dung patties. Does anyone remember sleeping on the flat
roofs of the house in summer? Or watching when the Echo satellites would
go across the skies? Or riding in the Horse & Cattle Show and being there
when Jackie Kennedy attended? Paddling all over Nageen or Dall Lake in
shikaras? Buying out-of-this-world chocolate from Mr. Moonlight and
beautiful embroidered fabrics from Mr. Butterfly from a shikara in Kashmir?
Seeing snow for the first time and you are in the Himilayas or Hindu Kush?
Staying at dak bungalows while travelling overland? The butchers at
Tollinton's Market preparing your water buffalo undercut filet with their
feet? Soaking everything edible in iodine first? Swim meets at the FCC
pool and getting American candy as prizes? Crossing the Pakistan/India
border? Taking the Khyber Mail to Karachi or Peshawar? Waiting
interminably at train crossings while the snake charmers or dancing bears
entertained us? It all seems like a dream, but I guess we really did live
it.
My mom (now living in Roseburg, OR - Betsy Gardner Starrett;
rs@rosenet.net) still has her weekly letters she wrote from Pakistan
faithfully to her mother back in the states. They are priceless - all the
anecdotal entries regarding servants, housing, sea-freight, food, illness,
wonderful friends that stuck together through thick and thin, and loads of
adventure. Dad was relentless making us pose for color slide photos
everywhere we ventured. Mary couldn't stand it, but thank goodness he
persisted. Dad unfortunately passed away many years ago - in 79. It is so
good we still have tangible evidence of our time there.
After Pakistan, we moved to Bangkok; Dad left the UN and went to work as a
soils scientist (as he did in Pakistan) for Engineering Consultants, Inc.
based in Denver. Mary & I graduated from ISB. Mom & Dad remained in
Thailand for 7 years total, then they moved to a tiny town in Indonesia for
2 years, then to Manila for 2 years. They returned to their beloved
Mendocino Coast of California where they had built a retirement house. Dad
made one last oversees assignment to Egypt, then came home and promptly
"died in his boots". Mom contined to live (and thrive) in Mendocino and
eventually remarried.
As I write this, Mom (now 84) and Mary are travelling in Thailand. I
wasn't able to go with them this time, but we went 2 years ago. We still
have not been back to the Indian Sub-continent, but that is my next travel
goal. I've been working in the travel industry for about 5 years as a
group tour manager, so I am lucky to be able to be on-the-go still. My
husband of 22 years, Craig, luckily tolerates my wanderlust and enjoys
travelling with me when he gets a chance. Our two sons, Andrew, 18, and
Ryan, 14, also get to go with me about once a year. We live in a small
goldmining town in California called Murphys. It's about as far away from
the rest of the world as you can get. But it's always wonderful to return
to after globetrotting.
I probably won't be able to attend the LAS reunion in Savannah this year,
although I would love to.
If anyone would like to reconnect, please write. Otherwise it's wonderful
to have this website to keep in touch.
Cassie Gardner Burke