2.19.07

two weeks ago i met mom and dad in waterville. the two little silver focuses parked side by side on the upper reaches of the hill at thayer, looking down over express care and the steps down, partitioned a third of the way over by the perfect-width ramp. we drove up the potholed hill to the colby art museum to see an ex-monk make a mandala.

the questions being asked were along the lines of "where do you get your sand?" everything in the gaping gallery felt wasted. ex-monk or no, he had the aura of compassion. partly to open the floodgates, i asked what the pig, snake, and rooster at the center of the wheel represented. he said they stood for passion, hatred, and ignorance. excitement flared at the connection with my previous life (bowdoin) and "raga, dosa, moha" came out of my mouth. he nodded and repeated "yes" three times.

later, he (very slowly) approached me where i was standing at the divider between the mandala and the audience. he came to within two inches of me, body to body, and leaned his forehead in close to mine. i can't for the life of me remember what he said except that it was an affirmation of anicca. he nodded slowly as he whispered to me and beamed at me with all the radiance of the dalai lama.

what else could be more precious?

since:

seeing cassidy play at blue with rachel and her jonah, the drummer making swooping, whole-body movements with his arms. red light suffused everywhere and a yellow-zone parking ban outside, the whole bar frantically exiting to move their cars. an army of dumptrucks full of snow, moving out of the city.

carrying my russian textbook with me everywhere i go. disbelieving the new growth on my orchid. watching flocks of pointy, dark birds blanket the city in their return. thinking about new apartments. getting excited about the herbal tea halfway up munjoy hill.

snowshoeing through deep snow for the first time in years. george's trail, then the bog.

leaving for slovakia in two weeks.