The Ole' Bird

In a recent correspondence with a new friend on the island, I ioncluded an account of an outrageous experience that I had with Ram Dass... here is an excerpt from the email... enjoy!

Some time ago, I was talking with Ram Dass about how, living in Haiku, I had yet to meet anyone under the age of 40. Haiku is known for it's hippie culture and wiser residence. I was just simply wondering if there were any younger people on the island since my experiences only brought me to the elder crowd. This was right before I started working at Flatbread in Paia, after which I had met plenty of younger people that liked to stay out late at night and crash on the beaches at sunrise.

After I made the "not enough young people" comment, Ram Dass shifted in his demeanor slightly (he had a stroke about 12 years ago which confined him to a wheel chair-so a shift in his demeanor is very noticeable compared to his normal contented slouch) and responded with a jokingly upset tone, "What's wrong with old people? I still got it! Hmmmm?" I was forced to explain what I meant but realized, after looking at RD, that the damage was done and any other comment would only dig my grave deeper. I quickly changed the subject and we shared some static-free space together the rest of the morning.

A few days later, the topic came up again in the car on the way to the beach. I was telling one of RD's friends that I had finally met younger people and that it was rather refreshing. Right when I realized how bad that sounded, I was welcomed with the most sincere and perfect looking middle finger I had ever encountered face-to-face. I met the finger with a totally shocked smile as I realized that it was attached to Ram Dass, a being that I had always associated with peaceful spiritual ecstasy and bliss, and now the proud conjurer of the most solid bird I had ever seen. I was then assured by RD's friend that I had officially been accepted into the group and that this was my knighting ceremony. After the shock and laughter wore off in the car I felt honored and humbled as I revisited the fact that I had just been flipped off by Ram Dass; spiritual healer and bringer of enlightenment-sometimes in pleasently informal forms.