Along the Way
It was along Arcola Avenue that Tom saw me and asked if I needed a ride. I accepted because I would not make it in time on foot to my destination at the ISKCON Centre on Retallack Street.
I got to know Tom during the time we spent on the drive. He’s from Vietnam, and came over to Canada in ’79. He was one of the ‘boat people’ who left his native country for Malaysia and then eventually arrived in Canada. It was a bit hard to get his story totally straight because of his accent, but I understood all but something about being on a boat/barge with 581 passengers (meant for 200) and perhaps all of them drowned except for himself? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnamese_boat_people
In any event, he’s alive and believes in the Buddha.
“Buddha saved me. Are you Buddhist?”
I explained that I respect Buddha as one of ten primary avatars, but that I give more attention to Krishna, someone he has never heard of.
Tom brought me to the centre then asked if he could come in to see our temple and the shrine within. He was curious as he had driven by it before. Tom left satisfied and I was grateful.
Now the venue on Retallack was our last performance for our group, “Vedic Mace,” on this tour. The attendance was low but appreciative, especially by the children. Oh, they so much loved the magic.
“Magic, Monk and Mantra,” was the catch phrase we were branding, at least unofficially.
We are thankful to our guru, Prabhupada, for this journey on tour, covering thousands—at least hundreds—of kilometres.
May the Source be with you!
5 km
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