Blessings from St. Joe

The weather turned unseasonably cold and my low-grade exhaustion has turned into a low-grade cold. I'm trying to drink more fluids, get more rest, and I'm dosing up on a bottle of chewable vitamin C that Maria Teresa kindly left me. And of course this is another good opportunity to practice staying upbeat, cuz unconditional peace and happiness means embracing whatever comes along.

Feeling under the weather has made the latest temptation for this pseudo-monk that much more challenging. I was offered the possibility of housesitting for some friends of friends of friends (yeah, degrees of separation again) when they go on a two and a half month vacation to Europe at the end of May. My only responsibility would be watering the plants. And this isn't just some ordinary place----it's a luxury home with a pool located in a really upscale neighborhood of Hancock Park. And they were offering $500 too!

My, my, what a tempting challenge to my only two vows: homelessness and poverty. I could probably make a good argument that I wouldn't really be breaking my practice of homelessness since it really isn't my place and I've already stayed in friends' homes in New York and Carol's apartment in Culver City and motels with Maria Teresa. And after all, my practice is not only about embracing the challenges this lifestyle throws at me, but is also about accepting the blessings that flow my way too. But the 500 bucks would definitely be breaking my practice of not using any money.

I was truly torn: after all, I could still housesit and turn down the money, but I also really want to hit the road again and see what happens in a new town. Stasis, introversion, and security vs. mobility, extroversion, and risk. Taoists are supposed to balance yin and yang and thereby attain their freedom, not get stuck between them.

Anyhow, this tempting offer never fully materialized because the owners found a friend that would do it for them instead of some dubious dude who thinks he's stuck in some kinda Kurosawa flick. (Actually, it often feels more like a Charlie Kaufman mind-bender....)

Speaking of samurais, there's a guy that frequents the St. Joseph homeless services center who wears the top robes (a hapi coat?) of a light blue samue, very similar to my robes. He also carries two round sticks stuck through his waist belt like samurai swords. One stick is long and the other is shorter, just like the long sword (katana) and short sword (wakizashi) that the samurai used. He cuts quite an imposing figure since he always wears dark sunglasses and gloves. And then there's those two big sticks.

Well, this town ain't big enough for two homeless kung-fu nut jobs, so I finally approached him to find out what his story is. I was ready to scream and run like hell, but he turned out to be a nice guy, if a bit intense. His name is Orlando and he is genuinely interested in the culture of the samurai, having read the classic The Book of Five Rings by Musashi. (Musashi was probably Japan's greatest swordsman. He was so good that for his final duel with his arch rival he didn't even take his sword. He was being transported in a boat to an island where the duel was to take place, so he merely carved one of the oars into a wooden sword, quickly dispatched his adversary, and then gave up sword fighting altogether.) Orlando and I also talked a bit about bushido, the code of the samurai, or, more literally, "the honorable way of the warrior". He is quite sincere about his practice and even spars with his sword sticks against trees. As I reflect on him attacking trees with his sticks and me picking up trash and begging for food, I think our practices come closer to kukushido, or "the honorable way of the nut job".

Another day at St. Joe's, I met a frenetic woman named Nancy who kindly gave me an extra watch she had. We continue to touch base whenever we see one another, but to be honest, I don't always understand what she is talking about since her conversations aren't always rooted in reality. But she has a sweet disposition and she is somehow surviving fairly well on the streets. And the watch is very handy since many of my basic activities (meals, showers, laundry, internet, etc.) are scheduled at specific times.

One morning I found a copy of Jack Kerouac's On The Road in one of the bathrooms at St. Joe's. I've always meant to read it, especially since it seems so apropos to my life. Yet another blessing from St. Joe. And I've decided to take it as a sign from the Universe to get my butt in gear.

So I've arranged with my St. Joe's caseworker to use Santa Monica's "Homecoming Program" (AKA the "Get the Hell Out of Our City Program") to get me to my next destination. (And yeah, I realize I'm bending the rules a bit, but to a wandering Taoist all places are home.) A friend in Austin, Texas has generously offered her place as a landing pad, so I'm hoping to leave sometime next week. But first, there's the small matter of getting a background check at the Santa Monica Police Department so that they don't accidentally send someone out of state if they have a warrant out on them. I imagine that this process will go smoothly, but in the past it's often prompted curious question and answer sessions.

(Despite my run-ins with the police---both recently and throughout the years---I truly appreciate them. They have a very difficult and often thankless job, and for the most part they are pretty decent people. The only ones that were ever disrespectful towards me were some cops who were screaming obscenities at me as they chased me in a dune buggy as I ran through the desert at a Nevada nuclear test site protest as police helicopters flew overhead. But I'm digressing here.....)

(And now that I think of it, two policemen actually saved my life back in college when they jumped this guy who pulled a gun on me, intending to shoot me......But I'm digressing back into Egoland again. (But notice that I haven't deleted any of this...yet.) Of course, it's all Egoland-----some parts are just subtler than others. Now where the heck was I? Or better yet, where should I be?)

Looking even further on the horizon, one of my numerous cousins is getting married in July and then there is a family reunion on my Japanese side, the Takahashis. I am tentatively planning to return to Southern California for these events. And if I make it that long, then it will be a year since I started this walkabout back in upstate New York. I plan to fess up to my family about this whole monk gig because I am becoming increasingly uncomfortable not being honest with them. I called my mother for Mother's Day and we had a wonderful conversation. But she thinks I'm back in New York City. Good thing I don't have any vows against lying.

Ouch.



"Anybody want some 99 cent acupuncture?"
---a homeless guy I call Non-Sequiter Man, querying the crowd at Bread and Roses Cafe

"I'm suing Ralph Nader because he's not German like Joseph Thomas, Jesus's father."
---Nancy

"Don't piss off the voices."
---written on a guy's shirt at St. Joe's