Thursday, July 28th, 2011

In the South

To Los Angeles, USA

So you can’t walk on the US interstate highways. It’s illegal. And then such places as Texas, New-Mexico, and Arizona are rather over-heated with the sun baking overhead making even a stroll tough. I get my meager opportunity to stretch legs at truck stops when we fuel up.

The truck stops that are most prominent in the southern states are a chain store called “love’s”. At one privately owned gas station an outdoor sign read “We Have Pretty Waitresses.” That doesn’t really interest a monk very much. I imagine that it’s geared more towards cowboy culture. In any event the truck stop parking lot is the place to walk in circles just to put on some kilometres.

From Houston to Los Angeles the drive is a good 24 hours. With such a long haul you make the best of your time. Patience should shine. It reminds me of a Chinese Proverb, “One moment of patience may ward off great disaster. One moment of impatience may ruin a whole life.”

We find that kirtan chanting and stimulating talks grabs the interest of our youth. Not too much, not too little. Above all, it’s important to befriend and encourage these young men in their teens who are entering into a crazy world.

The air conditioning isn’t quite up to standards but all of us appear to be reading, texting and in one case the boys got to viewing “The Karate Kid”. I know the old version included in it the Maha-mantra. How so does the new version? I don’t know! I hope it does.

3 Km