Long catchup post. I have a new rolling home!

I was reminded recently by a couple folks that I haven't made an entry in a while. So I guess is time for me to make one. I have got a new home! For my 50th birthday, which is on Saturday, my mother is buying me a camping trailer for my motorcycle. It has come to me in the way the gifts from the universe often do, with coincidences that are just too obvious to ignore. I placed on one of the motorcycle forums a request for any information leading to my getting a camping trailer at a reasonable cost. 3 people replied with Craigslist ads from around the country. One of the campers is located in Olympia, Washington.

While on the site, I noticed that I had gotten a private message from a user named, Chromo. He said that he has been following my blog and that he used to be a clown and a magician and was thinking about pulling his stuff out and trying what I do. So I replied to him. Then I signed off and called on the trailer in Olympia. Jim, the owner, didn't answer so I left him a message, and sent him an email. I was answering a friends email to me, and had just written, " I found a trailer in Seattle" when the phone rang and it was Jim, about the trailer. He told me that there was a guy in Michigan, I think, that was interested in buying the trailer but he didn't know for sure if the guy was going to  buy it so he was going to call the guy and give him the first dibs. He hung up with me and called the guy and then called me back. It turns out that the guy that was interested in buying the trailer, was none other than Chromo the guy from the forum.

Jim told me that chromo had said to sell me the trailer as I could make better use of it than him. He said that chromo had said that he knew me and told him about the blog. So I now have a trailer, well, not quite yet. I ordered a trailer hitch which should be here sometime next week, then I will put it on, and I will drive up to Olympia on the 18th to pick it up. I'll stay in it that night, and then go pick up my friend from the airport in Eugene. The trailer will give me room for suitcases.

Backing up in time, I left Bellingham for the Buddhist monastery in Oregon a few weeks ago. I had planned to stay throughout the end of August into September 2nd, however, I have hurt my back while still Washington. It became too hard to stay at the monastery and so I left a few days early. While at the monastery though, I was able to give several people rides on the bike who had never been on motorcycles before. I even gave the abbot of the monastery a ride. That was fun. Actually giving all of them rides was fun.

The first thing I did when I left the monastery was to stop and get gas. While at the gas pump, I was accosted and abused by a  Christian preacher. I had never been through such an aggressive verbal assault. I was literally afraid for my life. If he had got next to me on the road with his vehicles, I have very little doubt that he would have tried to run me off the road. He was very ignorant about Buddhist practices and acted like I was worshipping the devil. He was actually yelling, I knew that there was nothing I could do to sway his opinion so I just bowed and politely said,"May you have a beautiful life and find peace." I actually had to talk over him in order to be able to say those things. He yelled, "Don't you go acting pious with me! I am giving you the truth!"

"Giving?!" I wonder if he actually thought that he could convert me with that behavior. I had told him that I had just come out of a Buddhist monastery  that should have indicated that I was somewhat serious about my Buddhist faith. His tirade raised my defenses and made it much more difficult to hear his message. Since his message was delivered in such an abusive way, even if I hadn't come out of a Buddhist monastery there is no way that I could have taken him seriously. He was obviously  in such fear of what might come next after death that he could not stand the possibility that someone would say something that could make him question his faith. He actually told me that he did not have any reason to study any other religious  tradition as he already knew the truth.