Pa checked in. I had a feeling he would. He’d never admit it, but he doesn’t like being left out any more than the rest of us. In some respects, Pa is still human.
It was earlier this evening. Walking along a bamboo bridge in the hills north of Pai
I felt his presence.
Skirting the forest edge,
I approached a Buddhist temple,
when he spoke:
“Young man. It’s been a while. How are you?”
I didn’t want to say it had only been five days and I was doing fine. Instead, I told him I’d missed him.
“I thought that might be the case,” he said. “That’s why I stopped by.”
I asked Pa about his time away.
“It’s been good. Bea and I have had a chance to catch up. I’ve visited with my parents and grandparents too. And played a lot of baseball. I don’t think I told you that our games must last at least 100 innings, and end in a tie. There are no winners or losers. I still love hitting home runs though.”
He then inquired about my time.
“It’s been good as well. Jen showed up in Bangkok the day you left. That evening we took a river cruise.
The next morning I had a 3 hour massage
before we flew to Chiang Mai.
The next morning we took a van to Pai - 3 hours and 175 hairpin turns. Quite an experience.
I told Pa that Pai is a mountain town with a lot of young people who come for hiking and rafting, food and drink, and marijuana. It reminds me of the old days.
Of course I didn’t tell Pa that.
He then started talking about the Buddha.
“He’s well respected here. Always has a good audience and is never preachy. Just wants people to relax. It can take a long time to get anxiety and ambition out of your systems. I struggled for a while. Baseball, the way we play it, has helped a lot. Along with meditation every seven innings.”
I told Pa that the Buddha has a following in Thailand as well, then showed him a few photos.
“I’ll make sure to tell him,” Pa said as his voice faded with the setting sun.
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