Toronto, Ontario
A Parcel Arrived
A parcel arrived from Montreal, a bunch of newspaper articles from the U.S. My dear friend, Gokulananda Prabhu, forwarded them from one of my support monks who accompanied me last year. I slid the first article out of the parcel, one from the Grand Island Independent. Did it bring back memories!
Only a year and a half ago, in the state of Nebraska, on a cold Monday, I had walked with strain on this overpass. The wind was fierce up there. It was outside the city of Grand Island, the birth place of actor Henry Fonda, if I’m not mistaken. The journalist from The Independent honked, waved and indicated he’d see me at the end of the overpass, in a place for safe parking on the road’s shoulder.
The interview went great. I changed my mind about the town. There was a mix of good and bad vibes to it. Hayagriva and Marshall, my support monks, remember it well for being a stinky place. In the centre of town is perhaps one of the largest slaughterhouses in the country. The smell of death-blood can occupy your nostrils for twenty miles in any direction. It depends on the way the wind blows, I guess.
The time I reached the town, employees were just changing work-shifts; employees from all over the world, and of all different races: blacks, whites, Mexicans etc. I recall female drivers pulling up to pick up their husbands who had just come out of the facility, a tall grey, massive fortress-type of structure. I also recall meeting a cyclist, a wanderer type headed for Pennsylvania.
I ended the walk on that cold, grey day, at a cemetery. Though there was darkness in a pervasive way, the news article from Grand Falls was generous, informative. It was kind to a Krishna monk.
May the Source be with you!
5 km
No comments:
Post a Comment