I got in trouble with my wife.

She goes into town every day with Kelly and swims a mile and a half (2.4 km). Kelly had injured her leg was on crutches and rehabing in a pool. Initially she couldn’t drive or shop herself so she bought Vidya a 3 month membership at Four Seasons, a heated and enclosed poll in Moundsville, so she would come with her.

For the past month they have done this 5 days a week. On days Vidya doesn’t go to the pool, she walks four miles (6.4 km). Yesterday she came home a little late, as she had swum her laps and then walked a 1/2 mile on the treadmill so she said let’s go to the temple for lunch which we did.

There, after a typical ISKCON lunchtime conversation of bemoaning the current state of temple management and whether there is any circumstance where it would be okay to allow a mayavadi to speak in the temple, I got a chance to talk to Soma about a small ceremonial/hospital/birthing stall barn (talk about a multi use building) the cow department wants to build next to the existing Temple barn.

On the way out, I asked if he wanted to look at the space and see what the idea was. At the site Vidya got out and starting walking towards home, telling me to pick her up when I was done, which I represented as being about 10-15 minutes.

The site has some problems, including the need to expand the oxen facility and the power line coming through that bifurcates the space. This is an issue because you can’t build under a line. More about the barn later, but we got absorbed in the discussion, looking at different ways to resolve the variables.

Soma is a talented knowledgeable guy and we drifted out of left brain city where remembering that your wife had set out walking and was expecting to be picked up would be SOP and slid into right brain creative energy dhama.

When we had roughed out the concept, we went back over to the temple to run it by someone, and the only person around was Kuladri so we laid it out for him, as he has the skill set necessary for sheparding a project into motion and seeing it carried to completion, even if he lacks position in management.

He suggested we get some rough drawing down on paper to make a more organized presentation, so we did. We went to Tapapunja’s office where he has a drawing table and some large paper with one inch grids on it. Soma laid it out and we spent time adjusting it and trying to figure all the angles.

A couple of hours had passed.

We finished that stage, then took a breather. Right brain control slipped away and left brain popped in, immediately reminding me my wife was walking.

Oops.

Two hours after she set out I remember.

Kamala Sati was having a birthday party so I stayed for that for my dinner and to hang out with Varshana Swami who spoke, but eventually I had to sneak back into the house. Vidya was working in her studio in the basement, so it was late before she came upstairs. Fortunately, she wasn’t carrying a weapon and nothing was thrown.

While the walking 3 miles may not have been the worst part, she had been wearing Crocs and they aren’t designed for long walks so she had taken them off and had to walk in stocking feet. Her feet got cold, and although she stuck her thumb out for everyone who drove by, she didn’t get a ride until Bahulaban, a half mile from home, 2 and 1/2 miles from the temple.

I am keeping a low profile today. :-)