Gregory Chronicles

It’s good to be home and settling in after a long journey via Taiwan and Los Angeles, a total of about 30 hours door to door, I think...with all the time zone changes and still somewhat fuzzy brain thats too lazy to pin it down exactly- best guess.  In any case, pretty remarkable how we can travel half way around the world in such a short period of time considering that a hundred years ago it could take weeks and several hundred years ago months or even years depending on what befell you in route. I arrived at our perfect time of year in the Sonoran Desert - the extreme heat over, milder daytime temperatures in the eighties but nights cooling into the fifties, mostly sunny and pleasant.  I won’t miss the heat and humidity of Bali although in time you adjust to that a little - still, not my preferred type of climate but makes me appreciate our Dry Heat in Arizona. 🥵 Soon, the Snowbirds arrive in Tucson, not the avian sort but what we call the winter visitors from the ...

I am home again in Tucson not even 24 hours and after posting what appeared to be my farewell address that I forgot to post the day I was leaving so posted earlier today, I realized there were still a number of events I intended to write about in the last few busy days there that I didn’t get to. So, I will continue with another post or two, as if I was still there, in the next day or two before my memory exits stage left. Writing some more will also give me a little more transition time to hold onto Bali before being totally consumed by the ongoing present at home and catching up here. This, in spite of teachings of being in the present by Suzuki Roshi in Zen Mind , Beginners Mind which, by the way will be republished for the 50th anniversary of its first release soon.  David is currently working on that with some updated corrections...... We return to last Monday November 4th, the day before my departure with what you know by now is pretty much same o same o beautiful paradise ...

I will be departing Bali in a few hours after many amazing experiences over this last month that now seems to have gone by in a flash, but while here, was so full and rich and feeling the forever present day to day.  I am now ready to turn my mind towards home and to my wife especially - she was the one to encourage me to go when I waffled back and forth, knowing I needed a change and to see my long time friends that I always stay in touch with but hadn’t seen in probably 8-10 years.  Those missing years were immediately irrelevant because as we all have experienced, time apart from those we’re closely connected to is magically spliced back together as if we had just gone down the block and back again, picking up the conversation just where we left off.  I have essentially been right at home here with David, Katrinka, Bandi dogette and Kuchi Kat, their numerous interesting friends as well as the many Balinese people they interact with frequently and the warm acceptance by...

Yesterday’s journey to the interior turned out to be longer than anticipated - not unusual as these trips have proven and while we were tired afterwards, it was interesting and satisfying.  The morning started out with a stop at the BIWA, Bali International Women’s Association that Katrinka is a member of, for their annual environmental fund raising bazaar and would be there assisting all day.  We arrived early with our replacement driver for the day, Ketut - sort of relative of Komang, our unavailable regular driver.  We walked among the various booths selling everything and anything - clothing, food, electronics, used household items, drinks, you name it.  We were here so David could give one of the opening invocations starting off the days event.  The four major religions of Bali - Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism and Christianity are represented with a prayer given by someone in that community to start things off.  David gave the Buddhist Mantra of Loving Kind...