Siddhartha Comes to America

It was a sunny summer day when I got a letter in the mail written by somebody from India. Thinking it was junk mail, I still decided to open and read it. When I read the first couple of sentences, I was very confused and shocked. The letter read, “My name is Siddhartha. I have been wandering the woods of India for 3 months now trying to follow the ways of the Buddha. I was unhappy with my journey and would like a new place to travel and explore. I will be arriving in New York City tomorrow at 12 o’clock noon. I cannot wait to meet you. From, Siddhartha.”

Not knowing what to do or to expect, I called my friend Adam to ask him for some words of advice. I read him the letter and he told me what he would do. He said to meet him in the city and talk to him. “If he seems harmless, you should let him stay. We could both take him places and show him a new way of life.” said Adam. For some reason he seemed very excited to meet Siddhartha.

It is now the next day and I was on my way to go pick up Adam so he could come with me. We got to the boating dock at about 11:50. Nobody was there yet. At exactly 12 o’clock we could see the boat coming up to the dock. When the people started getting off the boat, Adam and I both thought, “How do we know which one he is?” We started to get worried that we were going to miss him or he would get lost. Just as we started looking around, a young man of about 18 years of age came up and said, “Hello, I am Siddhartha.” Not knowing what to do or say, Adam stepped in, introduced himself, and asked him if he could take his bags. The three of us then started walking back to my car.

One Wednesday Night...

One Wednesday night, Taylor was going to a parenting class to help her learn how to take care of the baby that was left to her. She notices a handsome guy sitting at a table by himself in the back of the room. Taylor pretends not to notice him and looks around at the other people at the other tables. As she gets to the back, she sits down in the chair next to him and says, “Hello. I’m Taylor.” He looks as if he doesn’t normally get approached by women. He sort of shifts in his chair, looks up and says, “Well, hello Taylor. I’m George, nice to meet you.”
As the instructor started the introduction to the class, Taylor and George began chatting about why each of them was in the course. Taylor explains that her baby is not really hers. “My car was broken down in Cherokee Nation, Oklahoma, so I pulled over and went into a bar to get some food. As I got back into my car, there was a woman there saying she didn’t want the baby, put it in my car, and walked away?”
“Wow.”, says George, “That is a very big responsibility to have to take on. Especially without having any experience.” Taylor just shrugs her shoulders and pays attention to the rest of the class. After about 20 more minutes of hearing the instructor talk about the proper way to be a good parent, George turns and asks Taylor if she would like to do dinner after the class. Taylor responds, “I would love to! Would you like to go to the restaurant down the street? We could walk.”
Walking down the street, Taylor asks George about why he was going to the parenting class. He tells her about how he made it his responsibility to take care of Lennie. He continues, “Lennie has a mental disability and hasn’t developed into the mature adult he should be at his age. Once Lennie’s aunt had passed away, I took him on to travel and work with me. So far he has done a good job, minus the little bits of trouble he gets us into here and there.” “That is a very impressive and touching story. What you are doing for Lennie is great.” The waitress had just brought over their check and Taylor tells George, “I had a wonderful time tonight, and you seem like a great guy. Would you like to go to dinner again later this week?” Stunned by her reaction, George agrees. “What about Friday night around 7? I’ll be more than happy to pick you up!”
As they left the restaurant, they walked back up the street back to their cars. “I am very glad we met tonight,” says Taylor. “I will see you Friday.” They hug each other and wave to each other as they drive away.