Wednesday, November 18th, 2015

Wednesday, November 18th, 2015
Toronto, Ontario

The Mayor and More

I met Paras, age 30, after a long time.  I engaged him in some of my dramas in the past.  He’s on the verge of opening his own restaurant. 

“I’m vegetarian but I’ve got to serve some of the other stuff,” he said, almost apologetically.  I told him that I understand and that it will take time for the world to get off of eating animal body parts. 

This evening we attended an event.  The venue was Toronto City Hall and the occasion was "A Diwali Remembrance".   There we met mayor John Tory.  He remembers us (Keshava, Gayatri, and I) from the summer’s Ratha Yatra festival.  It was great to hear him say, “Hare Krishna” and also congratulate me on the walking. 

Speaking of walking, I decided to go home from that venue on foot via Yonge Street, always the more interesting route compared to blasé Bloor Street.  

There I met a fellow who was curious. 

“You’re a monk?” he asked. 

“Yes!  A Hare Krishna monk!”

“A hug?” he asked.

“Sure!”  And so we embraced. 

Then I met a man whom I had seen in Cuba.  As usual, he was puffing away on a cigar.  He reminds me of a cross between George Burns and a chimney.  He always seems to sport a good smile. 

“Hey, when are you going back to Cuba?” he asked. 

“The end of this month.” 

“Bring me back some cigars!”

“No, it’s no good for you.  It turns your lungs into something ugly.”

“I’ve got a lot more ugly things going on with my life than a set of bad lungs.”

With that we both laughed.  I kept walking, half amused and half empathetic. 

May the Source be with you!

8 km