Thursday, May 17th, 2018

Sussex, New Brunswick

Billy Graham Crusader

I took a head start walking toward our evening’s destination which was Sussex, over an hour’s drive from our place at the Norfolk Motel.  A Billy Graham Crusade follower pulled over and started talking.  He had hordes of questions, not curious ones, but the type that might lead you into a trap if you did not answer according to his take on Jesus.  I found it fun, though.  The point is, he saw me—the second day in a row—and felt I needed to convert, that I needed Jesus.  Personally, I’m happy with Krishna and Jesus together.  He could only have one and not the other.

“Maybe I can challenge you this…” he started, and I politely cut him off.

“You see, it’s not a question of your camp or my camp.  We are running parallel, truly as one camp.”

Then he offered to say, “Yes, there’s one camp.  THE camp.  A camp.”

Then I butt in saying, “A camp. ‘A’ stands for ABSOLUTE.  We are both going for the Absolute.  It is not black and white.  We say in Sanskrit, achintya-beda beda tattva,which means we are onein purpose with slightly different approaches.  I will take your brochure.  Here’s mine—a mantra card.  God bless you!”

That was that!  I met more people in town.  A fellow in a wheelchair said, “I'm 71.”

“Well you look 35.”

“I wish girls would say that about me,” he said in glee.

A woman approached me.  “Do you have some change?”

“No, but I have a bottle of water.”  She laughed and shrugged it off. 

Finally, the boys (monks) picked me up for the Sussex program at a fitness studio. Well, we got ‘fit’.  We danced and chanted in community spirit.

May the Source be with you!

7 km