Category: Dittmeier

Here and There, Then and Now

After 42 years in Asia, I returned home to Kentucky. But it isn’t the home I left. Things I saw THEN are different NOW. Life HERE is different from life THERE. Here is another sample of the differences.

here and then

My first bank account was at Greater Louisville First Federal Savings and Loan Association. And in those days banker’s hours were 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM.

there and now

My bank account in Phnom Penh was with ABA Bank. Many banking practices in Cambodia call to mind banks of the 1950s in the US, but as for banking hours, ABA was the best!

Monday 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM
Tuesday 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM
Wednesday 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM
Thursday 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM
Friday 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM
Saturday 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM
Sunday 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM

Here and There, Then and Now

After 42 years in Asia, I returned home to Kentucky. But it isn’t the home I left. Things I saw THEN are different NOW. Life HERE is different from life THERE. Here is another sample of the differences.

THERE

In Cambodia certainly but also in Hong Kong, backpacks were a basic element of daily life. Using all the available public transportation (ferries, trams, subways, taxis, buses) required some sort of container for carrying raincoats, umbrellas, books, notes, water, etc.) and so everyone carried a backpack when on the street.

HERE

In the U.S., backpacks are often useful but not required like in Cambodia. Here, when traveling somewhere, people just dump anything they are carrying on the front seat of the car they are driving. It’s easy and simple and convenient.

But riding a bicycle here is like Cambodia deja vu. Some sort of carrier is needed for the items I want to take with me. I have panniers that mount on the rear wheel and they’re very useful, but I don’t attach them unless I know I’m going to use them because when I arrive at my destination they are easily stolen if I don’t take them inside but they’re bulky and awkward.


So I got a couple carabiners to attach my backpack to my rear wheel mount when I’m on the road. I can wear the backpack when it’s cooler but now in the heat it’s hot and sweaty. With the carabiners I can just clip and unclip the backpack relatively easily.

Dittmeier family baby shower

My nephew Samuel and his wife Sierra were the focus of attention today at a baby shower in Cincinnati. Samuel is one of the children of my sister Martha and her husband Mark.
I have been having a lot of “firsts” since I returned, and this is certainly one of them–the first baby shower I ever attended. Being part of family events, though, is one of the major reasons I returned to the U.S.—in addition to just being OLD!
At this table, on the left, were Martha and Mark, Samuel’s parents, then William, Samuel’s brother, and then Hope and her husband, my brother Paul. It was a good gathering of family.

One year later….

Today marks my first anniversary of living at Nazareth Home Clifton. I moved in last year on August 20, 2025 as I returned from Maryknoll, New York where I had participated in the 50th anniversary celebration for the Maryknoll Lay Missioners.
This is Room 110 where I live in Cedar Hall. I have unpacked the two suitcases I brought with me from Cambodia but am still far removed from finally arranging my room. Most pressing is reconfiguring my computer set up, basically transferring everything from a failing laptop to a desktop with two big monitors.