Let's have an Eric flashback!
I just stumbled across an old online journal that I was writing back in 1999. I’m going to post an entry or two, ok? ok!
The neighbor’s next door. Big red brick house. I’m still trying to figure out who lives there. I’ve only seen a 12 year old girl and a cat or two. I’ve heard the phlegmish hacking of a smoker and a yelling of a mother (I pity this girl). Shelly has related to me a story that angered her a little. We have three squirrels who we feed peanut prasadam for the happiness of their taste buds and their spiritual lives. Oh, and for our sheer enjoyment as well.
Anyway, she spied a squirrel sitting on the fence and held up a nut for the little critter to eat, saying, “Here little squirrel, I got a peanut for you.” They will come right up to you. At that time, the fellow next door walks up to the fence and says to the squirrel, “hey, come over here and get your nuts.” It was obvious he heard shelly and was… um jealous… yeah. Odd to say the least.
That was from June, 1999. I can remember that place. It turned out to be a complete shit hole. And Shelly? Well, I have no idea what happened to her. Weird, huh?
And here’s a conversation I had with my dad after calling him collect from an airport. I forgot my calling card pin number and needed to make a call about a flight being canceled. It was a pretty big deal. Remember, this is 1999. WAY before cell phones.
The conversation went a little like this:
me: Dad, I need your calling card number
dad: i don’t have a calling card.
me: yes you do, check your wallet
dad: [checks his wallet] ohhh, but this is MCI, are we still on MCI?
me: yes, you guys are.
dad: well, then this is an old one
me: well.. lemme try it
dad: no wait! this is new, it has our new area code on it!
me: ok. well.. give me it
dad: [tells me the card number and pin... hehe. you thought i was going to give it to you!!me: alright, thanks a bunch.
dad: wait.. um.. .... ....
me: ....
dad: ... ok, nevermind, that's for international calls..
me: ok. um.. thank you . bye
[click]
me: WAIT!!!!he forgot to give me the number to call to access the card. or really, i forgot to ask. so i call him back and get that. this all took about 15 mins. which seemed like much longer.
And then, earlier, in May of 1999, I had left New Vrndavana farm a little over a year and a half prior and I was really really missing it. I wrote:
Missing New Vrndavana *very* much these days. Was reading today about how Radha said that if She couldn’t see Krishna, She may as well be blind, that if She couldn’t hear His flute, She may as well be deaf. And if I can’t romp the fields and trails of New Vrndavana, you may as well just break my legs.
Well, certainly right now, it being bitterly and ridiculously cold, I wouldn’t really be able to romp the fields and trails of New anything… but come spring… yeah, I bet I’ll head back.
