Sci Fi Story

This Spring I visited a place not too far from my apartment. There, on the Island where Tabasco Sauce is made, is a beautiful garden. Inside the Jungle Garden is a true Budhist statue. Wikipedia describes the garden as follows...

One of Jungle Gardens' primary attractions is a bird sanctuary called Bird City. It provides roosts for snowy egrets and other wildfowl species.

In 1895 McIlhenny raised eight egrets in captivity on the island, and released them in the fall for migration. They returned the next spring with other egrets, and have continued to do so over generations. Today thousands of egrets inhabit the island from early spring to late summer. Numerous alligators, black bears, and deer also inhabit the island, in addition to nutria, otters, muskrats, snakes, and other wild animals.

The gardens are planted with azaleas, Japanese camellias, hydrangeas, Louisiana irises, Egyptian papyrus, bamboo, and wisteria. A glass temple, set within a Chinese garden, houses a centuries-old statue of Buddha given to McIlhenny in 1936. Four miles of gravel roads are lined with live oak trees and Spanish moss. There are also many walking paths.

A link to a picture of the Budha... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:B...82%29SMALL.JPG

The story of how the Budha got to the island is rather interesting. Originally, the Budha was at peace, but a warlord conquered his homeland and took the statue as a prize. Its unclear what happened after this, but the Budha ended up in New York City at an auction in 1936. Friends of the McIllhenney's realised that the Budha would make a wonderful addition to the garden. It was purchased, and given as a gift to the family. A shrine was built on the garden, and people come from around the world to visit the statue, especially around the time of the Chinese New Year.

My first visit this year was with several members of my family. My Mother, brother Tom and his wife Lynn were in town for Jane's Second Birthday. We arrived, and entered the shrine. We then walked around the beautiful pond that lies before the Budha. I waited at the steps up before the statue, and allowed my niece Jane to be the one to climb the stairs first. Once I ascended the stairs, I found that there were many gifts left by those celebrating the New Year. I cleansed myself with water they left, cleaning my feet hands and head. I lit the incense left before the Budha. I then removed my outer pants revealing a pair of pajamas I was wearing. I rolled them high upon my thighs like shorts. I removed my T-shirt, flipped it into a banner, and stretched it out accross the prayer flags crossing the locked door to the statue. This was done to encompass all of the prayers on the separate flags into my one flag. I bowed before the Budha, and gave prayers of gratitude in all directions. We left shortly thereafter.

I next visited the shrine and Budha with Suzie and her dog, Maggie. Maggie doesn't get out of the house much, so this was quite an adventure. This time I let Maggie ascend the stairs. Maggie is a rescued pet, and bears the scars of her previous owner. Maggie climbed up and stood before the Budha wagging her tail, but soon she decided to head towards Suzie. Suzie's physical limitations prevented her from joining us, but she watched from the bank. I repeated my prayers from the prior visit, this time including both Maggie and Suzie.

Anyways, I felt like sharing that especially with Nikolai. Cheers amigos, B