Mar 26, 2007
Let me tell you why I love frog jumping. I love it because it’s fun, it’s crazy, it’s an incredibly effective exercise for the abs and quads, and it’s mysterious. Very few people know what it is. For example, today I called my friend, Khipra, in Rhode Island, and asked him if I could stay over at his place on my way up to Boston to attempt the frog jumping record. He said it was fine, he had a spare room, but he wasn’t sure where he would keep the frogs!
Fortunately, or unfortunately, frog jumping doesn’t involve any living creatures except human beings. It is an exercise in which you squat down and hop around like a frog. The thing that makes it difficult is that you have to hold onto your big toe with each hand and you can’t let go. The Guinness record is for jumping 10 meters (about 33 feet) in the fastest time. I don’t know why French people are sometimes affectionately referred to as “frogs”, but maybe there is a good reason. It was a Frenchman who hopped 10 meters in a blazing 11.58 seconds to clinch the Guinness record!
Mar 21, 2007
Yesterday, I had to report for jury duty. I was waiting on line inside the foyer of the courthouse with more than 50 other Queens residents, and I suddenly noticed that almost everyone looked miserable!
At first, I wasn’t completely convinced about the accuracy of my observation, but once I made it through the security screening, I was certain. Our group was instructed to sit in a big room which, sure enough, contained hundreds of other miserable-looking people! I began to wonder why everyone had such long faces. I had just returned from a Buddhist country and Buddha’s philosophy is that life is suffering. Were all these people immersed in their suffering? Or, were they all simply upset about missing work and having to do jury duty? Or, was I just exaggerating things by projecting my own unhappiness at having to show up at the courthouse while still battling a stomach flu?
Mar 16, 2007
The other day, I was on my bicycle rushing to some appointment when I was interrupted by a New York City policeman. Instead of waiting for a traffic light to change, I had jumped onto the sidewalk and when I turned the corner, I drove smack into the officer. Of course, I quickly steered back into the street, but it was too late. The officer ordered me to stop and asked for my license. I dreaded getting a summons and, for a split second, I thought of just cycling away. After all, he was on foot and could never catch me. There were only 2 problems with that. First, it was morally wrong, and secondly, he had a gun! The policeman was compassionate and let me off with just a warning, but it made me think about my experiences involving guns.
Mar 11, 2007
In general, I try to avoid getting involved in politics. I believe in Sri Chinmoy’s philosophy : that if you really want to change the world, then first change yourself by becoming a more loving and more spiritual person. While I was out of the country these last few months, I hardly heard any news about the U.S. presidential race, but now that I’m back, I’m surprised at how heated up things have become.
Over the years, the only politician I’ve ever actively campaigned for is Congressman Gary Ackerman. I’ve known him since he first ran for office and I’ve always been impressed with what a kind, compassionate, funny, and down to earth person he is. Many years ago, Gary phoned me and told me that a little boy had wandered off from his home in Queens. The boy’s home was in the Congressman’s district, and Gary asked if my meditation group could help look for the child. Many of my friends went out in groups scouring the neighborhoods and we dropped off photos of the missing youth to the local newspapers.
Mar 5, 2007
I’m back in New York City after 3 months of travel and record breaking and, besides the jet lag, I’m experiencing culture shock. Why is everyone in such a rush and why do people seem so withdrawn into their own worlds? I guess in a few weeks I will once again become an assimilated New Yorker and I won’t be asking such silly questions!
Anyway, one of the more noticeable differences about daily life in the U.S., as opposed to Asia, is the bargaining. Here, when you go into a store, you pay whatever it says on the price tag. You don’t see shoppers at Key Food trying to convince the produce guy that he should give them a better deal on a head of lettuce. But, in Thailand and many other Asian countries, bargaining is not only normal – it is expected. Vendors deliberately add on 25%, or sometimes even double or triple their initial price, so they have room to give you a big discount. Usually, the back and forth negotiating is done in a spirit of fun.
