Thu, May 7th 2015

Thursday, May 7^th, 2015

Toronto, Ontario

Hard To Come By

A busy day it was, and I’m happy, all except for the fact that I put not one kilometre under my feet by 9:30 PM.  So on with the Crocs I go to make the day complete.  It was south on Yonge and west on lively Bloor Street that I explored.  Bloor was vibrant, contented people spilled out of one church where a symphony had just played.  My guess is that it could have been Bach.  I also passed by this one hall that’s frequented by heavy metal, grunge, and punk rock bands.  It was there that three mildly toxiced young folks took a fancy to my dhoti and kurta.  “Can we get a picture taken with you?”  And so, we proceeded with pleasure. 

It was on Bloor, the north side, that I was trekking and fingering on my beads, when I walked by a café/pub, when I met someone I knew.  People were sipping and eating at whatever.  At this one particular eatery, up popped a young man who recognized me.  He’s Asian by looks, part Filipino I believe. “Hey, Maharaja, remember me?”  I looked at him, and indeed, I did remember. 

Here’s a guy who played Dhanvantari, the god of ancient medicine, in one of my theatrical productions.  I was moved.  We first met in the bus en route to Montreal some 15 years ago.  He was on his way to a retreat with The Art of Living folks, and I was bound for the Hare Krishna temple on Pie Neuf Boulevard.  We made friends at that point.  He had this look of Buddha, knew martial arts, and I thought I could use him in a part.  Low and behold, he came to India with me, and played the role of the Ayurveda herbal god, in the drama, churning the ocean.  He did splendid. 

While talking, he refused to sit down, although I insisted.  I really respect the respect demonstrated in retrospect.  From what I can see, his folks molded him well.  I’m not going to judge him on what he was consuming at the pub, it just didn’t look like Ayurveda herbal soups.  Dhanvantari might not approve, but that’s beside the point.  This young man is a good man, they’re hard to come by.  He made my walk this evening, worth it.

May the Source be with you!

7 km