I often think of John Parkin and his young friend Don. They would show up regularly, on Saturday mornings I believe. They had immaculate manners, and almost seemed a little out of place in our somewhat bohemian setting. In a way, this pair is a symbol of what the Living Seed was all about. They had an "appointment" and they kept it with strict punctuality. Perhaps some of you remember John's observation that the youth fashion of wearing army fatigues was an indication that soldiers killed in the world war were now returning...and this in turn led to his statement that he would never go camping again...he'd had plenty of that in the army, thank you very much!
Another highlight was the "I AM" group. "Dean" is the only name I remember. On the surface, they were very "normal" and somewhat ironic people (the women wore heavy makeup and the -vegetarian -men had jobs that regularly took them into a slaughterhouse.) Yet they had a strong and unwavering devotion to the teachings from the great mountain in the west. They touched us, and I believe we touched them...I expect that this "conversation" will be renewed at some point in the future.
And who could forget "Drink-a-water Don", the (very tall) ontological Emissary of Divine Light. He was deeply concerned about the way in which anthroposophists embraced the concept of reincarnation, fearing that we would become procrastinators..."Oh well, we'll have to take care of that next time around..."
Just what happened when people crossed from the store back into the bookroom? I sometimes feel those of us who were the visible hosts were just getting in the way...The first sentence in Bruce's training manual (no, Bruce never did give us a training manual which is probably a good thing) should have been: "Serve the tea and shut up!"
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
1 comment:
Ah yes! John Parkin. He was editorial page editor of the Hamilton Spectator, and something of an occultist. One day he arrived shortly after one of my friends had left, proceeded to the same corner of the front room where my friend had been standing, assumed the same gesture, and then repeated word for word what he had said! It was some trivial movie expression like, "Never give a sucker an even break."
His friend Don (are you sure that was his name. I know his last name was Polish.) Anyway, one Christmas when I told him we couldn't afford a Christmas tree, promptly went out and bought one for us. Ah, the memories!
Post a Comment