Hello Wati!!


     Well it certainly is a real pleasure to hear from you  after 
such a long time. I would like to let you know that I always 
remember you with warm thoughts and felt bad that I couldn't write 
to you. A valuable piece of luggage was lost on my trip back to 
California. It was valuable because I kept your name and address 
inside it. When I could not retrieve that piece I was very upset. 
So this little letter from you is a very big surprise and a real 
pleasure in the truest sense. I certainly remember well our nice 
conversation in the little restaurant at the Marco Polo. And I 
will never forget how nice it was when you called me from your 
room that evening. I would have liked to have joined you but I was 
leaving for my long journey home in just a couple of hours after 
we met. So it was very important to get a bit of rest. 
Nevertheless, meeting you was a very pleasant experience.         

     So how are you these days Wati? I really enjoyed your letter 
in that each line of English was interpreted in your own language. 
The cultural exchange is very pleasing. I am also surprised at how 
few days it took to receive your letter. Four days is pretty good 
time for the great distance that the letter had to travel. I have 
recently returned form another vacation myself. And when I arrived 
home I had visitors from Germany who stayed here for a little over 
a month. It was a lot of fun but I am glad that they are gone now 
because I can have my home to myself for a while. The peace and 
quiet is a real pleasure. 


     How is your new nursing job? It must be quite interesting and 
complex. You must have had to study a long time and had quite an 
intern-ship to become a full nurse. I have a lot of respect for 
the nursing profession. When a person is sick a good nurse is like 
an Angel from Heaven. I would like to hear more about your job 
when you have the chance to write to me ok? 

     The past few months have kept me busy around the house 
writing music and doing some gardening. The weather has been real 
hot but that is nice for all kinds of outdoor sports. Recently I 
purchased a motorcycle. It is large enough to go on some nice 
trips like to the mountains or the ocean. And with the weather 
being so nice I'm really looking forward to nice little trips on 
my new motorcycle.


     I've also been quite involved with working in my studio the 
past few days. Now that the guests are all gone home I can settle 
into my favorite pastime: writing music. I have a studio in my 
home with a lot of nice instruments and computers to write modern 
music. It's a whole lot of fun. I am planning to return to school 
for a Masters Degree in Electronic Music. So I have to do a lot of 
preparation work because my four year degree is in Mathematics 
which is a bit different. So there is a lot of preparation to 
learn all the traditional music skills, along with programming, 
and sound synthesis before I can continue into a new field. It's a 
lot of fun though and hopefully, just hopefully, I will produce 
some real popular stuff. Oh well, our dreams keep us alive every 
day and make living fun. 

     So how are you these days?  I would really like to hear from 
you again. We didn't have much time to talk or visit while I was 
there last time as we met during the very last hours of my trip to 
Indonesia. I would really like to know about your home town, your 
family and what you do for fun in your free time? It's a lot of 
fun to have friends in far away lands and I am so glad that you 
didn't forget about me here in Crockett, California. 

     While I was in your wonderful country I had the chance to see 
and experience lots of new and exciting things; the culture, the 
people, the traditional dance and the art. While I was there I 
purchased some wonderful art work (wood carvings), the quality of 
which I have never seen anywhere else. When I brought them home 
everyone here was so impressed with the fine detail and 
craftsmanship of the art. The pieces are carvings of some ancient 
gods and are really quite impressive. I have them displayed in a 
very special place where everyone can see them when they visit my 
home. And they are really good conversation pieces as well as 
being very beautiful. I really enjoyed the art work in Indonesia a 
lot. As well as bringing home some wood carvings I also brought 
back many batiks which are also very beautiful. It is very hard to 
find nice batiks here in the U.S.and when you can they are very 
expensive. My father is still framing the batiks so I can put them 
up in my home.  

     Anyway Wati, it sure is a pleasure to hear from you. And I 
hope that you write to me again soon. The world is a wonderful 
place to live. And it is even more wonderful knowing that there 
are good people like you to share it with. I'll be waiting to hear 
from you, so write to me soon ok?


     May the Good Lord bless you each and every day. And may the 
best of everything come your way.


               Your friend from California.


                         Donald W. Skaggs

                         131 Rolph Park Drive
                         Crockett, California
                         U.S.A.         94525