A blog of a friend of mine reminded me of this wonderful story. I hope I haven't told it before.

You know, the old coot who keeps retelling stories, not remembering or caring whether he told them before? Every family reunion has one! :) This story needs a little bit of background.

I dropped out of college to go to Colorado with my older bro. This was in 1982. Our destination was Stillpoint. This little community was what some folks might call a commune! The figurehead was Gia-Fu Feng. This dude was most noted for an english translation he made of the Tao Te Ching, and as a teacher of Taoism.

Okay, that's a lot to digest! :) At the time, I thought of it as an adventure. My bro was going no matter what, and I decided to tag along. We went by Greyhound Bus! There's lots of stories about the trip itself! When we got there, I quickly realized I wasn't in Mississippi anymore.

Here's a quick take on the scene: We were sleeping in a tent on the side of a mountain. There was a main house and small cabins around it. The routine included bedtime at sunset, and waking up a couple of hours before sunrise. In the early morning darkness, we would eat peanuts and talk... taoism, I guess.

The most interesting thing to me, was that most of the group was European. They were really into Gia-Fu! Most spoke english, but they would slip back into their native languages at the drop of a hat. I figured they must be talking about me! :) But still, there were all these European girls, many of them trapesing around naked, looking for enlightenment! :) Sadly, it was all too weird for me.

I only lasted three days! :) Got a Greyhound home! But my bro stuck around for about three years. He left the "compound" and got around more secular folk.

Here's the Funny Story
One of the routines at the compound was the Daily Hike. It was about 20 miles worth. I did it once, and puked. Well, my bro who stuck around, he took many hikes with the gang. And when there's that many people hiking, they break into groups, couples, or individuals. Kind of like worker ants.

Well this one particular hike, it was the beginning of Spring. In the mountains of Colorado, there was still snow on the ground, slowly melting. My bro is hiking along, and he happens to see a girl who has stepped off the trail.

She was squatting over a patch where the snow had melted, and flowers had bloomed from the barren ground.

He thought it was so lovely, so special, he walked over and kneeled down to appreciate the beauty with her. He looked down at the new life, and smiled back at her. She looked back alarmed, concerned and intimidated. She was taking a whiz!

:)
TG