Oregon

     I finally got free of Orcas to get my eyes fixed with RK which just came on the market for eye surgery. The Russians pioneered this technique which involves slicing the cornea like a pie. This changes the focal point and improves vision . No longer needing glasses. No more masking to work.  Later on Lasix replaced this type of eye surgery.  I had that too.
    I was on my way to Oregon which is the land of no state taxes.  I met up with Mark Frank, the cousin of Anne Frank, who invited me to the Ashram of Devotion since he was still following his guru. 

    This is where I met Debbie or as she liked to be known as Deborah. Her real name is Judy though.

( another Judy for Gods sake). She was a new divorcee and was lonely.

       I took her shopping. We were just getting to know each other. When I said I had an extra $100 dollar bill on me she went for it. She bought a new outfit and skirt that made her look swell all purple and black with a new pair of boots.  I finally found a way to please women.  All it takes is money.
       The money disappeared faster than I could make it. For the first 6 months I supported us. We were soon losing to reality of nothing again. No jobs, no nothing was presenting its ugly face. The aunt who raised her died in Florida leaving her considerable wealth.         

     This was the answer to our

 prayers but short lived. Whether I could stay was up to her, now that the honeymoon was over. She liked me a lot. I liked her a lot. 

      She had a great dog. She farmed him out to an old boyfriend.  The dog was hyper and killed itself.   He took off running across the road and ran into the side of a car.  This broke his neck clean through so death was instant.  I was given the job of grave digger for the dog.   My rating was slipping.
       We were living with people from Denmark. All that European culture came out with a Sunday breakfast.  Belgian Waffles were the order of the day.  There is absolutely nothing that says home like waffles.

      Alas, things were turning to misunderstandings again. I had day work installing solar heaters on roofs but that was about it.  You can always find roofing jobs if you want to die by falling or sunstroke.
    There were problems when we tried to turn the small attic into a living space. It was a tough project but we finally made it livable with a small stairway I built narrow yet serviceable. One at a time please.             No drinking.  Debbie was also a devotee of this particular Guru. We lived this way to the end.  She started having blackouts while driving.  I had to steer the truck from the passenger side and work the brake while in rush hour traffic. I landed the thing carefully.  She slowly became angrier and angrier as time went on. She overheard me talking about her health problem.         

      She threw a potted plant at me from the balcony I had built for her. It came crashing down right behind me.  It was over. After many tearful episodes,  I had her drive me to Portland airport where I caught a plane to the Big Island. I was completely discombobulated.            There were many guys around her. I am pretty sure she serviced them all. 

     I wound up staying at the Mango Hotel for a few days.   Lee was no where to be found and the road was terribly lonely in Hawaii.  I was looking for a new start. I landed in Honolulu and took up residency with the Devotees at 51 Coehlo Way near Temple Row. When handed lemons make lemonade. I was soon selling Malolo near the public beaches.        

      We also sold cookies to the hungry tourists. These were not your nutty cookies. We learned to make the simplest sugar cookie that was big and satisfied the gnawing hunger of strangers. We would sell them in a pack of 5 for $4 dollars.  The ingredients were worth maybe 3 cents. Pure profit is what selling is all about. The sea breeze stimulates the appetite so being there at the right moment it seemed like a service. Clever is as clever does. When you have mouths to feed, anything that turns a buck works.

      I became the protector of the devotees. Other former devotees started an identical stand and set up right next to us.  They were super aggressive and would steal customers from us. We were legitimate they were not.  I warned them not to steal our customers. He continued on with this arrogant talk until I walked up to him and round housed him in the neck. He went flying into his own table knocking the legs out and spilling Malolo all over himself.    

      They called the cops.  The cops talked to me. I told him he slipped and fell. They were trying to start a Malolo war. It turned into a Mexican standoff. The cops left smiling since they knew me as basically a good guy. These pretenders never had a chance.            

      They suddenly fell in line.  They respected our wish that they relocate to another beach. There are so many other possible sites to develop on Oahu. Don't mess with the bear.
     My mentor was a good devotee of Krsna.  He left on a mission to help with hurricane relief in Florida.  He loaded a small plane with supplies and took off from the coast of Louisiana flying across the Gulf of Mexico. The plane went down in one of those unexplained accidents of the air. Such a loss. He will be missed when I think of the businesses he helped create in Honolulu due to his encouragement and guidance.  His life left an indelible mark on me. One of kindness and sincerity that was so valued by new Bhramacharis trying to gain acceptance in a very difficult Monastic Order.
    When traveling in Oregon you wind up staying where all the other single men find a nights' rest.  One of these places was a startup Christian hostel. They filled it every night with travelers from Alaska who all seemed to have something wrong with them.  Drinking and drugging were the main issue.                

      These were big humans with full beards and big attitudes who don't mind telling people around them what's what.  Sleeping in the same bunk room was a invitation to a big snore fest. I learned to carry earplugs and blinders because these guys had no respect for other sleeping males.         The lights would go on at every need to go toilet or to find something.  You would go to bed exhausted only to wake up to a new exhaustion constantly being deprived of any rest.  

     One suddenly travels catching a snooze in route to a different set of problems.  Life is hard and then you die. Oregon attracts the poor because it is one of the few states in America with no state taxation system. You get to keep a little bit of what you would have given to the state. Beer anyone? I'm buying... The golden incentive to live was alive in Oregon.