mother

I knew Gorilla Munch's mother. True story:

I worked at the probation service for a couple of months before I left for Korea. I was in the department responsible for courses criminals were sent to, writing letters to tell them when to attend and things like that. The office was a mess. Our manager was a middle-aged woman with a homely face, though her smile was a little worn. She bustled round showing me the ropes on the first couple of days, then disappeared for the next couple of weeks. Either she was off sick, or she came late after letting in some builders. I still can't believe the contracts they give out for council workers. Walking up the stairs to our office was exhausting for her. She hired another worker, but didn't see him for a week. Despite it all, she had a great confidence in the reason of the office. Though only a tenth of offenders got to the end of their course, I think she really believed in what we were doing. There was a performance review a little before I left, she got a real drubbing. This was a great calamity, a terrible twist of fate to her, but she never lost faith.

When I told her I was leaving England behind, leaving my family and friends for a new life, she encouraged me. She told me her son lived in Thailand, had been there the last 4 years in a tiny village. He was disabled and wheelchair-bound, but was treated with warmth and love by the villagers. He had married a Thai woman there, and told his mother the visas wouldn't let them come home. It seems he lived a simple life there with his wife, helping work on a farm as much as he could. Of course, there was not much that he could help with. She thought of him all the time, and always believed he was doing what was best.