I think China will own it lock, stock and barrel.

Wrong tense, methinks.

No... that's why I have not reproduced. But, it's okay because life is the most tenacious thing in the universe; and when all human suffering comes to an end, something will evolve to take our place. Repeat ad nauseam.

I've hit the seventy mark so i'm more optimistic about my past than my future.

What future and for whom? Some biographical details first and conclusion later I met my wife 15 years ago and fell in love at an advanced age with a wonderful woman. I've lived in several countries and like many men been in and out of love a good deal. But this time I knew there would be no "out of love.". So we have been married every since and now have two teenage kids. The second reason I am still here is because both of my parents are deceased and I have no brothers or sisters. In short back home isn't really home so I wanted my kids to have a home and nationality didn't seem important.
So, we opted to move to the small rural village my wife comes from, bought land and had a modest but comfortable home built. So now my kids have a family, a really big one, for which I am grateful and we make ends meet on the pittance of Social Security that I get monthly. Far less than we would require in my home country.
So far so good. The kicker is rural education. I think my moms had a more advanced system when she was a student in a one room school house in the mountains of Tennessee. While the Khmer Rouge regime hobbled it the current government is the most responsible. I will spare you the litany of shortcomings and say that not only is it inferior to the education the sons and daughters of the privileged class it is lamentably lacking in qualified staff and has no art, no music, no labs for chemistry and physics and no supervised sports. There is more but that is in the litany I promised to spare you.
So, in short I feel that I was somewhat selfish in pursuing my love interest. But I was naive and really didn't have the financial wherewithal to move a family back to my country. They now see themselves as Cambodian and would miss the country terribly if they were uprooted. As for me I'm an old man; I can live or die anywhere. But I don't think I'll ever forgive myself for having put my interests first.
So, in conclusion if I were single I would have left long ago and never come back. There are many other small countries that admirably cope with their problems and constructively use foreign aid to advance the whole country, not just a select few.

taabarang wrote: ↑Sun Jul 23, 2017 1:27 pm What future and for whom? Some biographical details first and conclusion later I met my wife 15 years ago and fell in love at an advanced age with a wonderful woman. I've lived in several countries and like many men been in and out of love a good deal. But this time I knew there would be no "out of love.". So we have been married every since and now have two teenage kids. The second reason I am still here is because both of my parents are deceased and I have no brothers or sisters. In short back home isn't really home so I wanted my kids to have a home and nationality didn't seem important.
So, we opted to move to the small rural village my wife comes from, bought land and had a modest but comfortable home built. So now my kids have a family, a really big one, for which I am grateful and we make ends meet on the pittance of Social Security that I get monthly. Far less than we would require in my home country.
So far so good. The kicker is rural education. I think my moms had a more advanced system when she was a student in a one room school house in the mountains of Tennessee. While the Khmer Rouge regime hobbled it the current government is the most responsible. I will spare you the litany of shortcomings and say that not only is it inferior to the education the sons and daughters of the privileged class it is lamentably lacking in qualified staff and has no art, no music, no labs for chemistry and physics and no supervised sports. There is more but that is in the litany I promised to spare you.
So, in short I feel that I was somewhat selfish in pursuing my love interest. But I was naive and really didn't have the financial wherewithal to move a family back to my country. They now see themselves as Cambodian and would miss the country terribly if they were uprooted. As for me I'm an old man; I can live or die anywhere. But I don't think I'll ever forgive myself for having put my interests first.
So, in conclusion if I were single I would have left long ago and never come back. There are many other small countries that admirably cope with their problems and constructively use foreign aid to advance the whole country, not just a select few.

taa ,,,what is this advanced age you talk of. Are you old enough to join the '' Grumpy Old Bastards ''club.

taabarang wrote: ↑Sun Jul 23, 2017 1:27 pm
So, we opted to move to the small rural village my wife comes from, bought land and had a modest but comfortable home built. So now my kids have a family, a really big one, for which I am grateful and we make ends meet on the pittance of Social Security that I get monthly. Far less than we would require in my home country.

So, in short I feel that I was somewhat selfish in pursuing my love interest. But I was naive and really didn't have the financial wherewithal to move a family back to my country. They now see themselves as Cambodian and would miss the country terribly if they were uprooted.

You made the right choice. IMO If you have a good woman that's all that matters. If you asked your wife if she thought you had been selfish I don't think she would say so. You have increased the life chances of your wife and children to more than what they would have known if you had not been there. If you, your wife and family are happy and have enough to live, enjoy it, you've done your bit.!