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| This is not us - they have beverages and food sans Styrofoam |
Last night I think Cha Cha and I found out why Groundhog Day was filmed in Woodstock, IL.. Yes, the town square does resemble Gobbler's Knob where the rat comes out of his/her hole and prognosticates something we all know already anyway but that is incidental. We arrived at Woodstock an hour before meditation at the Blue Lotus Buddhist Temple was to begin. We went to Public House where we had eaten many time before and always had great experiences. We were seated outside pretty quickly but then, as if in the movie filmed here about time warping, we were not waited on (not even a beverage order or a glass of water). So, after about ten minutes we decided to say "the heck with this" and we went to Papa G's Family Restaurant where we had breakfast a couple of months ago. We ordered - I ordered a salad and Cha Cha got a burger and, of course, we ordered beverages (non alcoholic). After a bit the waitress brought out Jill's and my side-salads. Re-read the sentence before the last one and see where you might find a Groundhog Day moment Easter egg. So, when the waitress walked by our table a bit later I asked her if this was correct? I got a side salad with my main course salad? She laughed and took it away. Then we sat there and sat there and the clock kept moving (different than Groundhog Day) so we asked if we could get our food to go as we misjudged our time. She put our food in containers and brought us our bill. I am sure you noticed that I never mentioned her bringing us our beverages. That was not my mistake in writing (though I make plenty) - we never got our beverages. They removed them from the bill and me, being one of those people who are born every minute, I left her a $5 tip. I will probably never stiff anybody even if the service is very sub-par, However, she did not get my usual great tip! We put the food in the car and went to the temple.
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| Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them... |
The meditation was especially effective for me as I really needed to calm down and get centered and refocused after the earlier experiences. Someone was testing us and I think we did rather well. I really sound like a hippy don't I? At the end of meditation the monk / Bhante who led the meditation talked about a group of very poor children in Sri Lanka that our Temple wants to help. They have 50 children in one village that they want to provide with school supplies, school uniforms / clothes and backpacks... and said that if people wished they could sponsor a child. At the end of meditation Jill and I went and looked at the photos of the 50 children taken in front of their homes and we immediately knew that we had to be part of this. It costs $100 to sponsor one child but that is broken-up between two people donating $50 each per child. Jill and I looked at the photos independently and we had both noticed the same child without consulting one another. We forked over the $100 and we will have made a huge difference in this little girl's life. I only mention it here because I hope to inspire others to help people who need a hand-up in the world. I will take a photo of her and put it here in the next few weeks if I think of it. Maybe she will become a surgeon or something and save my or Jill's life one day and we will have, in fact, saved our own lives by saving her future. Now I am getting all Twilight Zone or something on myself.
While I was mowing a lawn yesterday (one of the three time over the last three days) I started thinking about John Tuturro. I mentioned that he is one of my favorite actors and I started thinking that he and John Goodman must be good friends. They have been in several movies together (actually three come immediately to mind): Oh Brother, where art Thou, The Big Lebowski and Barton Fink. They have probably been in more together but two of those movies I love and the other I like a great deal. Then I started to try to figure out who are my top ten favorite actors of all time. I am not sure why I feel compelled to make lists of everything - maybe I am like Rain Man in many ways. Hey, Dustin Hoffman makes the top ten for sure. Turturro, Al Pacino, Russell Crowe, Will Smith, Robert De Nero, George Clooney, Sally Field, James Stewart, Audrey Hepburn, Kathy Hepburn, Hanks, Nicholson. Streep, Redford, Brando, Connery, Newman, Fonda, Peck...? I have to work on that list. Why? Why not? It is a tough list to finalize I think.
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| Top Ten is almost impossible |
I was with my mom and dad today and my mom does not seem to be getting any better. She was not as bad as last week when I was over there but my dad tells me of things that occur during the week and I worry about her and something bad happening. There is really nothing I can do other than to help them as I have been doing and I will stay the night at their house in a few weeks when my dad has his surgery for his back. She cannot be alone. I don't think I can even sleep in the other end of the house where I would normally sleep (my childhood bedroom). I guess I could get a baby monitor or something and just listen and get up if she does. I have a few weeks to work out those details. My dad has really been putting up with a lot and I have to give him great credit. I try to think how I would be if it were Jill and I would be the same as he is being. He and my mom have been together since high school so that kind of love and devotion runs pretty deep. Jill and I have only been together for 33 years or so she is my favorite part of me and they have about thirty years on us (just a guesstimate).
I have to end now. It is 17:26 now and I am worn-out. It's back to the grind tomorrow and I have a few things I still need to get done before then. Thanks for slowing down for a few and letting me rant and wax poetic. I hope you have a great night and a great next few days. I am not sure when I will be blogging again. I am sure I will blog Sunday but I may sneak one or two past the goalie before then. TTT GOALLLLLL!... MITM (out) TA!
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