This Blog is Indeed, Going Backwards ...
In Sherwood Forest with Robin Hood
Born not too far from Sherwood Forest, I got to visit and play with Robin. But by the age of five it was all but over. The family was off to Canada for a new life and new opportunities. I think we were all very happy to leave the relatives behind. Maybe Mom not so much. All I can remember is the sweet shops ... and the wonderful smell of oil, leather and wood in my uncles Jag. All else is gone.
Published Author at the age of Eight?
My dad thought the story I wrote, "Little Red Bear" was a good one. So he sent it off to the Canadian Junior Red Cross Magazine and they published it. With drawings made by other public school students. It was the very first, and last thing I ever got published.
Howard Hughes is What I Wanted to Be
Already by the age of eight I'd figured that money was pretty much the only thing you weren't born with. I wanted lots of that. It could buy anything and I wanted it all. I really believed I was to become even richer than Howard. In retrospect, I did. But it would have nothing at all to do with money. Thank god because every venture I ever tried, eventually failed.
A Box with Moving Pictures Inside? What?
 |
| Jackie Gleason and Audrey Meadows in The Honeymooners. |
Thanks Walt for Mickey ... and Annette!
The Mickey Mouse Club was one of the first TV shows we got. And what a great one it was. My first love, Annette, can be seen bottom right. Walt Disney, the old guy, also gave us many wonderful animated films like The Sorcerer's Apprentice, Sleeping Beauty, Dumbo, Cinderella, 101 Dalmations ... etc. etc. Thanks Walt, we love you.
!ndiaKen Steps Into Never-Never Land
The original animated Peter Pan blew my little mind. "Of course, of course, I never have to grow up." And so ... I never did.
Never-Never Listen to !ndiaKen
There was this good friend in public school who wanted to be an NHL goalie. My big brother and I would play tennis ball hockey with him in the summer in his back yard. NHL goalie? C'mon Ken, you wear coke bottle glasses! And so, in my wisdom, I advised him to concentrate on his schoolwork and forget about that stupid dream. His name? Ken Dryden. Arguably the best goalie in NHL history. Plus, he became a lawyer, president of Maple Leaf Gardens, author, and now an MLA. Who knows, maybe the next Prime Minister of Canada. This crow I'm eating tastes terrible.
He Shook. And so did The World.
As John Lennon said once, "before Elvis, there was nothing." Raised in the Fabulous Fifties, I witnessed the revelation that was Elvis. With him everything changed. It was the very beginning of Rock and Roll and I was there to see it begin. "Just a flash in the pan" dad said. Fifty years later, and we're still rockin'.
It Shook Again ... and !ndiaKen.
The Beatles. Gods to IndiaKen at the age of 17. My girlfriend at the time was the editor of a high school supplement in a Toronto daily newspaper. One day, after school, she asked if I would like to see the Beatles perform at Maple Leaf Gardens. Would I? Not only that, she had tickets to their press conference in the Hot Stove Lounge at the Gardens. Just a large room. I was so traumatized that all I can remember is the Fab Four walking in and sitting down. Nothing more.
Maximum Capacity One
By the age of 22 I had done pretty well for myself. Thinking I was Howard Hughes, I moved to Vancouver to open it's first discoteque - Maximum Capacity One (in retrospect a great name for an ashram). They had discos in Toronto but not out west. This would be the beginning of my empire. Plus, lots and lots of girls. Yes. However, my architect failed to check the access route for the fire escape and, near completion, had to stop work and close up. Totally broke, I moved in with the hippies I'd hired to build the dance floor and furniture. Now what?
Please Let Me Be a Beatle
I thought that maybe music was my thing. And so I tried almost all the instruments including the saxophone, even getting into a rock group in high school. Problem was, IndiaKen had no talent whatsoever. Frustrating to say the least.
Ok then, I'll be a Hippie
I couldn't be a Beatle but I could be the next best thing ... a Hippie. My new friends had it all: acid, mushrooms, peyote, you name it, IndiaKen did it. And again, everything changed. And the Beatles played on as my life's soundtrack. After all, all you need is love.
Meet Mary Jane ... my Very Best Friend
It was love at first toke. Where have you been all my life? Didn't get started until I was 21 but soon made up for lost time. Forty years later, I'm still smokin', making up for those lost years.
!ndiaKen Stumbles on His "Calling"
I had no idea what I wanted to do after I stopped being a Hippie. What I knew I wanted was girls, lots of them. But for my career? No idea. And then one day the owner of a retail store I managed showed me the ad for next week. It was terrible and I told him so. "If you think you can do a better job, go ahead" he said. So I did. And that was that.
My career in advertising was launched. As a partner and creative director of McGrath Dunn Advertising things were going pretty well. I even got to tell all the girls how great in beds I was with the campaign I did for a local bed retail chain.
!ndiaKen Checks out ... for California.
 |
| Laguna Beach, Orange County, CA After the recession of 1981, and the wind down of McGrath Dunn Advertising, IndiaKen slipped quietly away to California, tail between his legs. Initially working for a Newport Beach ad agency and then freelancing for LA agencies. It was wonderful doing creative on the beach. |
The End of Rock for !ndiaKen
I first heard Glenn Gould's performance of the Goldberg Variations shortly after moving back to Toronto. And that was that. It was only Glenn playing Bach for many years thereafter. What a revelation. Music so perfect and so perfectly performed. This was as close to God as I had ever been.
The End of Glenn for !ndiaKen
It was 1985, the bicentennial of J.S. Bach's birth. The annual International Bach Piano Competition was to be held in Toronto at the Glenn Gould Theatre. This was too auspicious to resist. Over five nights five students each night would perform a Bach piece. The winner would go on to a performing and recording career.
The first three nights were disappointing to say the least. I almost didn't go back the third night. But I did and I'm so glad for that. An angel (Angela Hewitt) walked on stage and proceeded to blow me away with a performance so beautiful and perfect that I was compelled to find out where she was staying the next day to call her to congratulate her (this is not like me).
I finally connected with her in her hotel room and told her how much she moved me. I asked her where I could buy her music and she informed me there was none - at the time she was a nobody classically speaking. I was terribly disappointed. I suggested that I would get some later because for sure she would win. She did.
This story ends with my first meeting with Eckhart Tolle. You won't believe me when I tell you what happened.
He Changed the World. And Mine.
From here on in my life I owe just about everything to Steve Jobs and his insanely great Mac. Shortly after its arrival I packed up my stuff and left the office for home. Freelancing ever since. Being a writer and designer, I didn't need to involve anyone else in my projects. Above, my most recent home page. I love you Steve.
I DIdn't Deserve Her but Got Her Anyways
Finally, at the age of 40 I found her. 20 years my junior, she loved me anyways. We gardened together and I worked at home. But as she said, "You're here, but elsewhere occupied." She was right you know. George Carlin put it best "Women are crazy and men are stupid and women are crazy mostly because men are stupid." Indeed.
If They Don't Drool, It Isn't Cool
The internet followed the introduction of the Mac. Together, they have made the life I'm now leading possible. As the "Wordsmith at Large" I have no office, no meetings, no bullshit. Just getting the work dunn as best I can. I was an early adapter on the internet. The website above was my very first and Adobe showcased it to demonstrate what one could do with "Pagemill", now no more. When I first built this website there were many domain names still available. Friends suggested I snag as many as I could and sell them later. I thought this was too good to be true. It was good and it was true but I didn't believe it. But I did manage to snag www.drool.com - if they don't drool, it isn't cool. Drool.com was valued in the year 2000 at 90-100,000 dollars US. At least I got that one.
The Dark Night of the Soul
It happened to quickly. I guess I kind of saw it coming but never expected it would happen. My lovely bride of seven years left me for a younger, richer man. My fault entirely. Not enough intimacy. I loved her so. I wanted to die. What to do?
Back to BC and Salt Spring Island
Shortly after my wife ran off with another man, I headed back to BC and a small island in the Gulf Islands, Saltspring Island. Here I would lick my wounds and attempt to put my life back together. Try to figure out what happened ... and what this life is really all about. In retrospect, her leaving me was the best thing that ever happened to me. A virtual club over the head if you will.
After 15 Years I find Angela Again
I raced to the used record shop on the island but the owner had never even heard of her. However he did look her up in his book of artists and found that she recorded on Hyperion, in the UK. So I ordered her double CD Bach's Well Tempered Clavier. It arrived two months later and cost a bundle. But I had her again and my love affair with Bach was rekindled.
I emailed Hyperion and told them to tell Angela that the fellow that called her the night after her performance now had her music. A week later they replied saying that Angela remembered the call and was very happy to hear that.
But that's not the end of this story ...
Saved ... by The Power of NOW
I’d been on the island for 3 months and had no real friends yet. So I call an old girlfriend to talk. She tells me about this new book she’s reading. I feign interest since I already have a book to read - Awaken the Buddha Within. She offers to mail me the book she’s reading - The Power of NOW by Eckhart Tolle. I thought this was an awfully nice thing to do. Two days later it arrives.
I am overwhelmed by it’s simplicity and message. The one simple answer to every difficult question I’d ever struggled with. I knew deep down that the way had to be simple enough for everyone to follow. I devour NOW - reading it from cover to cover in one sitting. I had found it. This was it. The culmination of everything I had ever read or thought about. Here was I way to actually become enlightened, not just believe it possible. This was my liberation from pain and suffering. Best of all, the path was dead simple. There was nothing you had to do. The message fits with all the great teachings and I had finally found my way - there is no “way”. There is only “here” and “now”. I had read that years ago by Allan Watts but now I truly understood the message. Of course. How stupid of me to miss this.
I put away my other book and dive into this one. I read it daily. And I start to make some serious progress. There were a few simple truths revealed in a way I could act upon them. From his book ... “Are you always trying to get other than where you are? Is most of your doing just a means to an end? Is fulfillment always just around the corner or confined to short-lived pleasures such as sex, food, drink, drugs, or thrills and excitement? (yes, yes, yes, yes, yes) Are you always focused on becoming, achieving, and attaining, or alternatively chasing some new thrill or pleasure? Do you believe that if you acquire more things you will become more fulfilled, goon enough, or psychologically complete? Are you waiting for a man or woman to give meaning to your life?”
I put away my other book and dive into this one. I read it daily. And I start to make some serious progress. There were a few simple truths revealed in a way I could act upon them. From his book ... “Are you always trying to get other than where you are? Is most of your doing just a means to an end? Is fulfillment always just around the corner or confined to short-lived pleasures such as sex, food, drink, drugs, or thrills and excitement? (yes, yes, yes, yes, yes) Are you always focused on becoming, achieving, and attaining, or alternatively chasing some new thrill or pleasure? Do you believe that if you acquire more things you will become more fulfilled, goon enough, or psychologically complete? Are you waiting for a man or woman to give meaning to your life?”
First and foremost is the truth that we are not who we think we are. We are not our thoughts. Thoughts are phantoms and we are truly the egoless knower of the thoughts. When the thoughts stop we can experience what is real and when that happens everything changes.
I Gift the Publisher a Logo and Website
I am so taken with the book that I am compelled to email the publisher about the possibility of seminars and retreats. I’m surprised to see Eckhart Tolle actually lives nearby in Vancouver. Here’s the email I sent to the address shown in the back of the book. You’ll see that the book has already had a major impact on my life:
In my humble opinion, NOW is the greatest book ever written. Why did it take so long to reach me is my only question? It is changing my life for the better. Thank you so much Mr. Tolle ... I desperately needed to hear the truth in a form that I could really understand and act upon. I would like more information about seminars and retreats. I looked on the web but found nothing there. Do you have a web site with this information? If not, could you email me with this info?
The publisher emails back and thanks me for my kind words and tells me she’ll send satsang details by mail. I email back asking if they are thinking of putting up a website. She says she is thinking about it and so I tell her that I would be delighted to donate my time to build them one. She thanks me for the offer but suggests she would first like to meet me and see my work. She invites me to her home to that end. We meet, I show her my work and she gladly accepts my offer.
Meetings with a Remarkable Man
I’m so struck with the effect this book is having on me, I ask Connie, the publisher, if it would be possible to meet Eckhart, one on one. She tells me that he doesn't do that anymore, too busy. By now Oprah had made PON the book of the year and Eckhart is now quite famous. But a couple of weeks later Connie called to say that he was back in town and would meet with me. Wow.
I called Kathy (who sent me the book) to see if she would like to join me. She definitely would. We arrange for March 24th. First Connie, then the enlightened one. I was getting excited about this meeting. What if he was just a regular joe? Would he actually look enlightened. What will he say? What will I say?
Before leaving for my visit with the enlightened one, it struck me that I'd like to take him a gift ... his gift to me was the book. I'd already built a web site for the book but somehow that didn’t seem to be enough. I wanted to bring him something more personal. Something that meant a lot to me and even better something that was universal and spiritual. That gift could only be - you guessed it - my prized Angela Hewitt Well Tempered Clavier CD’s. Hard to give up - I just got them ... and I listen to them all the time.
But I was compelled to give them to him for the simple reason that this would be the absolute perfect gift since Bach, by Hewitt, is as close to the "Source" as anything I've ever experienced. Until "NOW", that is.
I must tell you that the night before the meeting with Eckhart it struck me, right out of the blue, that Eckhart had just connected with me. Just checking in before the meeting. I wondered if it were really possible. Deep inside I knew it was.
The meeting was incredible. No question, this being is enlightened. Everything changed the moment we walked into the room. A sense of peace and contentment. I asked some questions and then we joined Eckhart in the NOW as we meditated together. At the end of our one hour meeting, I remembered the CD’s. I asked him if he had a CD player and he said “no, but one may be coming in a day or so”. I don't know what that meant but suspect someone had arranged for him to have one.
I asked if he ever listened to music and he said sometimes. So I asked Kathy to pass me the CD’s - I had her put them in her purse in case he didn’t listen to music or didn’t have a CD player. She withdrew them from her purse and gave them to me. I explained to him the reason he was getting this gift and how much it meant to me. I presented the CD's to him.
He thanked me. He looked at the cover and asked me if I knew whether Angela Hewitt was still living in London. Amazed that he had even heard of her, and that he expressed interest in her, I said that I thought so. I knew she had been living in London but I thought maybe it was Germany now (it's actually Paris). Oh, he said. Long silence. "Why do you ask" I blurted out?
Before I tell you what he said, let's review what has happened here. Angela and Eckhart were the two people I admired most in all the world. In fact, all the world admired them. The author of the best selling book on spirituality and arguably the world's best pianist. I have met them both, spoken to them both, contacted both their publishers and now I'm sitting with Eckhart.
His answer to my question why did you ask: "Oh, I used to listen to her practice when we were going to university. We lived in the same house in London." Even more mind-blowing is that I wouldn't have known this had I not felt the urge to present my Angela to Eckhart. Figuring out the odds of this ever happening would be an acturaries worst nightmare.
Iinitially I concluded that the reason for this incredible coincidence was simply that it was my sign – proof that the miraculous does indeed exist right here in our world and that I am on the right path. I had the chance to be with Eckhart two more times. When Connie introduced a new book or author she would have a small get together at her house with the authors and others involved in some way. I was one of those privileged to attend and see the Master in a social environment. Of course, he had nothing to say.
The Movie That Almost Got Made
I'd written a movie a few years ago. The Osiris Formula. I found a Hollywood agent that liked it but wanted too many changes I couldn't make for the life of me. Then ten years later, Connie, the publisher of the Power of NOW read it and liked it. I did a rewrite adding some stuff I thought would make it even better. With her connections I thought it would happen. It didn't. Close but no cigar. I think because it wasn't very good. However, being an idea guy, I thought the marketing stuff was enticing.
!ndiaKen's Desert Island Book
Maybe I Should Write a Book? Nah.
The publisher of the Power of NOW suggested I write a book. But I declined saying I had nothing to say that hadn't already been said beautifully. However, I did mock up a couple of cover designs thinking about it. Anyone interested in using either title or design for their book?
The title for the book on the left tells it like it really is - the only route to true happiness is the death of the personal ego self. The title for the book on the right was inspired by one of the first "you can do it" books ever written: Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. I would later find out that not thinking is the way to real riches.
Meet the Incredible Jim Dandy
I loved him sooo much I wrote a poem about him:"If ever a perfect dog there stood / And I’ve had many stand by me. / It would have to be the legend that’s known, / As incredibly handsome Jim Dandy. / ... etc. etc. Geeez how I loved this dog and he me. See you again Jimmy.
A Must Read Before Travelling India
Ken Becomes ... !ndiaKen
I'd been reading I AM THAT for a few years and the fellow who introduced me to it suggested it was time for me to go to India. "But", I insisted, "Nisargadatta says we need not go anywhere." But one day I thought that maybe it was time to do something different with my life.
Life was better than ever, but getting a little boring. Also I was working too much and needed to slow down. I knew that one could live very cheaply in India. And so the combination of spirituality, money and boredom cinched the deal. I sold everything I could, found a great home for Jim Dandy and left for India not knowing if I would ever return. So far I haven't and it's five years now.
IndiaKen Meets Ramesh Balsekar
I'd reall all his books and impressed by the fact that he was once a translator for Nisargadatta and the president of the Bank of India. No slouch obviously. But the discourse was limited and endlessly repeated. This was no Nisargadatta. I stayed a week and met some young folks in Satsang there. They invited me to join them by train to North India. Why not? I had no plans other than to go with the flow. So I did.
One interesting anecdote. I asked Ramesh a question: "You say do whatever you like since you're not the doer. I like to smoke marijuanna. Is that ok?" He thought a moment and responded "In some places it's legal and certainly better than drinking. So sure, go ahead if you like." I asked a follow up question "Do you know where I can get some? The devotees were in shock at this question. But he looked over the crowd and pointed to a bald Indian and said "Maybe he can help you." After Satsang he approached me and asked me if I wanted some. We did that at his place later and gave me some for travelling. He was a Bollywood screenwriter who had been coming to Ramesh for months. But he had never come stoned and never discussed smoking with the Master.
IndiaKen Wakes Up INTO a Nightmare
The next thing I saw was the train leaving the station. "But I'm on the train, aren't I? I suddenly realized what had happened – I had fallen asleep standing up. As I fell out I must have turned around and fell onto the spears that made the iron fence along the platform.
I was impaled on the fence with my feet dangling two feet off the ground. Jesus. My only thought was to get back on the train, which was now moving faster. I pulled myself off the railing and grabbed one of the door handles and pulled myself back onto the train. All I knew was that I must make it back to my friends but didn’t know which way to go. Thought about it for a minute and then proceeded forward. After five or six coaches, I found them and showed them my wounds.
By now someone had pulled the emergency cord and the train had stopped. They took me by rickshaw to the local hospital where a crowd gathered and stayed with us for the couple of hours we were there. I was treated as best as they could. They were really wonderful, doctors, police, all of them. My friends handed out flashing Canda flag pins, which they all put on with great pride.
They arranged for an ambulance to take me to the big hospital in Jaipur. It was a very bumpy ride for three and a hlaf hours. Every time we hit a bump the pain was severe. But we finally arrived and found a bed. The doctor, looking at my x-ray was surprised I was still alive. "Folks don't generally live through something like this" he said. The upside to this incident was that I came face to face with death. I really thought I was about to die. And it was ok. Nice to have gotten over that. Shortly after I bought my first Bullet.
IndiaKen Recovers in Rishikesh
During my stay at the government hospital in Jaipur I met a family, next bed to mine. The kids, two boys, about 18 or so were very interested in taking advantage of a tourist in the next bed. We talked a lot and I learned a lot about India. When I finally got out they offered to drive me to Rishikesh where another friend said would be a good place to recover.I had no idea that both the boys and the mother were Indie 500 hopefulls. The drive was nuts. I was sure we were going to have a head collision at any moment. There was a lot of brake slamming and swerving hour after hour. And my healing ribs were taking a pounding. However we did eventually get there and I settled in at the New Bhandari Swiss Cottage.
I was told to take prana yoga classes to bring my one collapsed lung back to full health. So I did. And that led to the next big accident.
Three More Near Death Experiences
The Rishikesh yoga teacher that helped bring my collapsed lung back invited a few students to go on a short trek to the waterfall on the other side of the Ganga. I had to be careful because my broken ribs were still healing. I was too careful and slipped off the path over the side of a steep mountain incline. It was like out of Raiders of the Lost Arc sliding down that cliff. Just before it dropped off to waiting death I was able to grab a singe tree trunk. I hung there, whoa.
My friends above shouted "are you still there Ken?" "Yes" I screamed. They took off their shirts and made a rope out of them. That finally reached me and back up I went. Dragged through thorn bushes on the way. What a mess I was. But uninjured amazingly ... and still alive. I was one foot away from certain death.
The next two accidents happened on my bikes. First, the Bullet broke down on the way back from Gangotri, source of the Ganga. There was no one else on the road but finally a tourist Jeep from Nepal stopped. They asked if they could help and I said no since they couldn't get the bike on the Jeep. I would wait for a truck to come by. For 500 Rs trucks will put it on and let you off at the next mechanic. But no trucks today so far.
They offered to tow me. Not a good idea I thought but they persisted saying, "no problem" we've done this before. They found a guide wire from a hydro line and used that to tie the bike to the car and off we went. But not for long. After we got up to 40km I found that I couldn't steer the bike with no slack and so the first pothole we came to, down I went. Now I'm surfing on the side of the bike which is down and shooting sparks as we speed along. Finally they saw what had happened and stopped. A little bruised, but still alive was IndiaKen.
Next, I hit a huge bull broadside coming off a bridge in Goa. I had no chance to avoid it said the folks that stopped to help. It was mating season and two bulls were fighting and one dashed into the road from the bushes. I fractured my ankle on this one a bloodied my back and legs up pretty bad. Three months on crutches was the result but IndiaKen was STILL alive. Go figure.
IndiaKen's Incredible Royal Enfield Bullet
First, Royal Enfield of England made cannons and guns. Later came the Bullet for the English army in India. After India’s independence in 1947, the British handed over the factory to the Indians who build them today. The Bullet’s a heavy bike with lots of power. A 4 stroke 350cc engine pumps it out with gusto. This is not a computer, it’s a motorcycle. Other than electronic ignition, you won’t find any new technology here. This Bullet above is my third. I gave it to Vishwa. The fourth awaits my return to Tiru.
Trans Himalayan Motorcycle Adventures
I met Brendan, from Australia, at a Bullet mechanics one fine day. We hit it off. A few weeks later I'm in Gangotri and there he is. We ended up travelling together for several thousand clicks. We did the Manali-Leh-Kashmir trip together and then split up for a while. Later we met up again and another Oz, a kiteboard school owner/instructor in Australia joined the team.
They wanted to start a motorcycle tour business and so I built the website, logo etc for them. But after thinking through all the bullshit you have to go through to start something like that they decided against it. Geeez.
Roughly 150,000 kms ... so far
I urge anyone coming to India to get themselves a Bullet and be free to go wherever you like, when you like. And there are so many places to go. Yes, the roads and drivers are dangerous but if you are careful and don't drive like a maniac, you'll be ok. And you're in the picture, not looking through a window as you move about. Plus you get to go places tourists generally don't. For example on the trip from Rishikesh to south India, about 11 days ride, I saw NO tourists at all. Not one, except in Agra. Wonderful.
That's Good Enough ... The Story of India
Here's yet another book I intended to write but never got much further than the title and cover design. The point of this book is that there is no word in India for quality. "That's good enough" is the mantra. It's true in everything. From razor blades that give you one shave to buses with tail lights that don't work. But they have them ... good enough.
Goa and IAR International Animal Rescue
I spent a few weeks in Arombol, Goa. And was delighted to see so many happy dogs playing on the beach. All the dogs seemed to be in relatively good shape, even those away from the beaches. I wondered why when other areas were rife with suffering critters. And then I noticed an animal ambulance and followed it to the Goa offices of International Animal Rescue. I was so happy to see this NGO and volunteered my services, walking dogs and such.After some time I met the founder, John Hicks from England. What a great guy and so many fabulous stories he told. About having Christmas dinner with Paul and Linda McCartney. Linda was a big animal activist and knew John well from his efforts. John was the guy who single handedly won the court case that stopped fox hunting in England. Yes, he has a lot of enemies.
His home in Goa is fantastic. There are seven dogs and three monkeys running around in the house and a dozen or some more in a compound beside the house. These were all rescue cases. I offered my marketing services to John and was excited to have me help. But a middle marketing manager got her shorts in a knot over my involvement and I backed out of the situation. I don't need corporate politics in my life anymore.
!ndiaKen and India Light (Nepal)
I decided to come to Nepal just to see what it was like. Some call it India Light. And it is. Not quite so noisy, polluted, dirty etc. I ended up in Pokhara and stumbled on the guesthouse (next blog) where I've been coming for five years now. Four months or so each visit. It's a real live paradise.The cat above is the Clouded Leopard, the native species around Pokhara. It has the longest canine teeth of any cat. Some call it the only living sabre toothed tiger. It has taken a couple of dogs I've know and sometimes takes people. But none I know of. So far.
Anadu Gardens Guest Home
Leslie Robinson – Friend of Animals
If there's a Mother Theresa of dogs in India, this is the guy. Leslie Robinson from the USA. But he's lived in India for twenty odd years and India is now his home. I met Leslie by accident of course. A couple I'd met were sitting beside him doing their email. They overheard a discussion he was having and started chatting with him. He was starting an animal rescue shelter in Tamil Nadu.Knowing I was a huge dog lover they contacted me and told me about him. I emailed and then called him. The rest is history. I helped with the marketing and other stuff but he is the guy that single handedly stopped the suffering of thousands of voiceless creatures. Check out the entire story of the opening.
The Power of Demonstrative Love
There are animal shelters and there are animal shelters but this is the ONE. They don't just treat sick and injured animals, they love them too. And it makes a world of difference for the animals and the community. I filmed an interview with myself about the shelter. Check it out and see what makes it so very different. Also check out the interview with the general manager Vishwa - an amazing young Indian.
So Many Dog Stories
There have been so many dog stories since I arrived in India five years ago. So many that I thought maybe a book would be a good idea. Of course, as usual I got as far as designing the cover.
You can read some of them if you go to Arunachala Animal Sanctuary's website and subscribe to their newsletter. One story per issue but you can get back issues there also.
Passport Destroyed - "Major" Opportunity
I had met some folks from Sri Lanka in Rishikesh. When they left he gave me his business card (lawyer) and told me to call if ever I was in Sri Lanka. Three months later I was there getting my Indian visa renewed. I had a nice room in a guesthouse by the ocean and was nicely settled in. After a few days I called the couple and invited them over for chai.
When they left she gave me a business card of a friend and suggested I call him. He wanted to meet me and had offered free room and food if I would come. But I was happy where I was and only had a few days to wait for my visa. So I didn't call him. My new approach to life was do nothing if possible. So I thought if I was supposed to meet him I would, somehow.
My last stop in Sri Lanka was emigration. He couldn't scan my passport because it was a little crumpled from all the bike riding I'd dunn. So he tried several times to straighten it out. Finally he pulled too hard and ripped my ID page right out of the passport. Nooooo.
I pleaded with the authorities to write a letter explaining what happened so I could present that to the Indian officials when I landed. But no, they refused and insisted I leave the airport immediately since I had no passport. What? Really? Indeed.
So there I was, running short of rupees, no passport, no hotel, geeeez, what to do? Oh, that hotel guy. I could call him. I did. He was away but the manager who had been informed I might call said to come anyways and wait for his return. I did. The hotel was fabulous. Right on a lake. Swimming pool. Wow. I waited for four days for his return and in the meantime organized a temporary passport and then visa.
He arrived one afternoon and introduced himself as Major Vijith Welikala, retired army major. Turned out he owned three hotels, adventure tour company, had a security guard firm with 3000 employees, was voted Sri Lanka's entrepreneur of the year twice and married to a famous Sri Lanka movie star. Wow. And we got along like long lost brothers.
I showed him what I did for a living and he hired me on the spot. A year long contract to redo all his marketing stuff and develop a new offering for Sri Lankan nationals who were away from their families for long periods of time.
And so again ... what seemed to be the worst possible thing turned into the best possible thing. Go figure.
!ndiaKen Tosses his Cookies Paraliding
 |
| My pilot, ranked 32 in the World |
I'd been watching these guys paraglide across the lake for five years. And thought that maybe one day I would do that. Finally did. My pilot asked me if I wanted to do some acorbatics. "Sure, why not" I replied. Big mistake. The video of the event is quite exciting but even more exciting was the tossing of my cookies four times mid-air. I didn't include that in the video you'll be glad to know. We went 'cross country' to the Green Wall, way over there. Fun.
!ndiaKen ... India's Steve Irwin?
Tom wants to pitch a new series to Icon called the Dog Defender. That's me. 36 half hour episodes based on my life here in India riding around on the bullet dealing with suffering dogs as I go. We'll see. Keep you posted.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)