take a naked stand

A light breakfast at 7, a calm morning, a child below somewhere screams for justice.  The Himalayas mix it up with puffy clouds, a nice view, perhaps a visit to the top before they are hidden again. 

Ram and Baba cut buffalo grass below but there isn’t much since the parking lot was established.   It’s hot early so I predict an afternoon rain earlier than yesterday’s dusk deluge.  Why do you guess weather patterns?  Because it’s unpredictable? 

Suraksha wants to toast marshmallows on Saturday and I agree but warn her I’m beginning to eat them. 

Fog moves in.  It not yet ten in the morning.  I realize when I leave here I will probably not think too much about discovering the solution for Israelis and Palestinians.  Ok, when did this all start?  All the way back, leaders never discuss Sara and Hajar or Cain and Abel.   Because any discussion about the two is the same argument used for how long?  The land granted to Israel by Yahweh was a hellava lot bigger than it is today.  Israel conceded that a long time ago. The Palestinians, reviled by all the neighboring Arab countries.  In part because they don’t have their own country.  You didn’t have a country in  1948, no one recognized you, why didn’t you seek recognition when Israel was doing it? 

Stand half naked in the windy fog and breathe in pure organics.  

4.47pm

If it rains it’ll be the same time as yesterday.  Similar clouds in the Kathmandu valley are moving north.  I finished cleaning the blue and green sections of the restaurant ceiling today, good exercise for the left arm mostly and it was a shower and a nap and that is that.

I did walk for almost an hour before the mid-morning main breakfast, visiting the paraglider jump spots, up Moti’s Way, over to the round houses and up the mountain with the stone road.  The soreness from the Pokhara to and from walk is about gone. 

I am disappointed my computer has no sound.  I’m ok with the silence here but sometimes I’d like to listen to anything.  Any decision on the rest of your holiday?  No, but I feel I should do something, if I’m headed to the states, within six days.  We will see.

Another wall of rain the entire length of the city moves steadily toward the lake.  Will it then hit the mountain, shoot up and kabow the village?  The ugly dark gray wall is moving north west and may not come this way, and it looks relatively small from here but that is how it looked yesterday.  The suspense is killing me.  And no one else on the mountain, I tell you truly, gives a rat’s ass. 

A rainbow appears out of the storm’s right flank,  the wind is nil right now.  The storm, I regret to note, is moving west over the mountains.  Sarangkot remains dry for now.

Any thoughts on your save the Middle East exercise today?  Not really, politics, settlements, tribes battle for everything.  The majority of Arab countries are more than willing to shake hands with their cousins, let’s settle, in’sha’allah, drink tea make money.  The Palestine boy.  Millions displaced, probably doing better off because of it.  Why not recognize Israel’s existence?  The stubborn refusal will always be a lose lose and they know this and yet they die, one generation after another.  There is nothing patriotic about death, shabob.  
A double rainbow follows up the rain that stayed west.  The stronger one remained strong and then behind me Lamjung and Annapurna consider coming out.  It’s a monsoon break.  The two eldest of Prem Maya’s girls drive up the private road on a scooter and park in the garage.  There were no tourists yesterday and none, it appears today.  The steady business lasted ten days.  

A symphony of clouds from a panorama spectacular.  I have been cloud goofy of late for sure, I should learn these graceful movers names.  No rain of course results in more mosquitos and they are hungry,  dirty #@$. 

9.49pm

No rain came to the mountain.  A new pattern.  Yawn.  Who cares about the weather?  Because it can be so dramatic.  There were no resolutions made tonight.  Two mustang coffees were nice after a meal of chicken yogurt with rice.  Ram is the welfare spotlight tonight.  An orphan, lived with an uncle here and there, wound up in Pokhara with boys similar in his age who are quite skilled for their age, and the boys referred him to Laxman and Maya, who are not only providing him tasks that challenge and develop the kind of skills one needs to work in any tourism business, but not only that,  they’re giving the boy some structure and advice on life.  If he can stick it out until he has saved enough to…what, no education, no English, perhaps he can become independent, which is what every culture wants, with ties to the family never forgotten or ignored.  And if he has no family?  Stay in one place, offer a skill, learn a trade, become a member of the community.  Respected, appreciated, they will take in the orphan. 

Stand naked in the cool dark and stretch, breathe deep organically glacial restoratives into your lungs and hold it and om.