Session May 28, 2016

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He slammed the door as he went out, instantly regretting his display of emotion.

By CC

Roshi Terrence the Terrier was famous for his doglike appearance. In fact many people assumed he was a dog, but others supposed that his name was a tongue in cheek reference to the unfortunate hirsuteness that afflicted his body. Terrence would never say. In fact Terrence never spoke at all.

Lester had been studying zen with Terrence for about 6 months when he decided enough was enough. The Roshi sat on his mat, eyes closed, apparently deep in meditation. Lester uncoiled his legs and stealthily got on his knees, trying not to disturb his fellow meditators. He padded forward on all fours until he got close to Terrence, who opened one eye and sniffed a few times before returning to meditation, obviously unimpressed with his student.

Lester reached out to touch Terrence. At that moment security guards stationed at the rear of the temple burst in and rushed up to him. Lester stood up, haughtily straightening his robes. He glared and them and slammed the door as he went out, instantly regretting his display of emotion.

The other meditators jumped at the sound of the door slamming, then took a quick look at their Roshi for guidance. Terrence’s nose wiggled once and then returned to stillness. The meditators closed their eyes and squirmed into more comfortable positions on their cushions.

Terrence himself didn’t care what happened in the meditation hall. He didn’t know what he was or why he was doing this. Sometimes he thought he’d been trained as a trick dog, other times that he really was half human. But basically it was all too confusing for him and he didn’t think about anything very much. He wanted to scratch but that would have to wait. 

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"We need to rent a room for our party," said Lisa. "Our house is too small."
by GS

Hannah and Lisa had been friends since diaper days. Their moms were best friends and close neighbors so the girls grew up together. They decided to create their own birthday party for their fifth while they were playing in front of Lisa's pumpkin patch. 

Hannah filled their one-room house all by herself so Lisa announced "We need to rent a room for our party. Our house is too small."

Finding a suitable rental was easy - they just emptied another produce box. The girls hosted a successful party attended by their dogs and grown up siblings. They eventually grew up to build successful careers in public relations work with the confidence that came from effective party planning at age five!

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The storm caught them unawares and they had no place to shelter from it.
by RMAF

The storm caught them unawares and they had no place to shelter from it until they came upon a swap meet full of tents in the middle of the Arizona desert. They took shelter from the rainstorm in a tall teepee. There were many earthy things for sale. There were wrapped sage sticks for smudging. There was a beautiful abalone shell for the smudging's ashes. There were long, light brown turkey feathers for fanning the smoke from the burning sage. 

I, being non-familiar with this stuff, asked the weathered-faced Indian "What is all this earthy stuff used for? What is  it good for?"

The red-skinned man said in his deep voice "Why, it's a cure-all, it's good for what ails you. Buy some?"

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She dropped to her knees to search for the dropped earring

Subtitle: The Truth about Dragons
by RC

People think that the Chinese dragons, of which we see so much in their art and celebrations, are just the imaginings of the people through the ages, but little do they conceive that these things came from real experiences and relations the people had with dragons in past ages.

Take the two dragons, Bo-li-dan and Mo-ri-phat, who lived many ages ago, according to one expert on the subject. Let’s call them Bo and Mo for short. As everyone knows, dragons love gold, but they also love jewels and other kinds of treasure, and are always on the lookout for how they may obtain it. Of course, this usually means how they may steal it from people.

In one province of China there happened to be a rich merchant who had plenty of this kind of thing, including a fine collection of jewelry. Bo and Mo came upon this merchant’s house when he was away on a business trip, but his youngest son, Ho Chi happened to be home, and his mother was out back in the garden. The two dragons were not the huge things of European legend, but much smaller and thinner, and thus able to be far more sneaky.

They snuck into the house and rummaged around until they found a nice selection of jewelry. Now, as you no doubt are aware, dragons do not have a great capacity for carrying things. The mouth usually works fine. As Bo and Mo made their way back out of the house, little Ho Chi was awakened when Bo bumped into the fine dresser and sent it toppling. He followed the dragons carefully so as not to be seen.

When they were a good distance from the house, Ho Chi confronted Bo and Mo. He was a very brave boy. Well, Mo just couldn’t believe his temerity, and she opened her mouth to roar. The earring she was carrying fell out onto the ground. Immediately, she dropped to her knees to search for the dropped earring. That’s when Ho Chi ran in, kicked her in the chin, and snatched up the earring. He ran away chortling about his feat. No one ever believed his story, but he grew up to write it down anyway.

As for Bo and Mo, Ho Chi painted a picture of Mo, so startled and grieved from being beaten at her game by this little boy.

And so, dragons are real. Some people say that they are still at it, sneaking into houses when they think the owners are away—and who knows? But they still are no good at protecting their loot when it comes to a determined and brave little boy.

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"They took a stroll up the hill, hand in hand."

by MD

The Alaskan winter had been a different one, at least according to expectations.  Instead of the blizzards and biting cold, the weather was unusually warm, sometimes even balmy.  The evergreens competed with the plains grasses, and the landscape displayed none of the driven snow and rooftops burdened with shelves of snow and stiletto-like icicles. 

“Look out the window,” Margaret said to Johnny.  “Where did that totempole come from?  Have you ever noticed it before?”

            
“I think this is the first time the snow drifts have been sparse enough to uncover it.  Let’s get closer to see it.”  They took a stroll up the hill, hand in hand.  As they approached, one of the native Eskimo tribal chiefs emerged from the nearby hut and fixed his harpoon hurler on the mother and son. 

            
“Don’t shoot!” Margaret hollered.  “Little Johnny here and I simply wanted to see the beautiful wood carving alongside your home.”  The Eskimo lowered his weapon and walked Margaret and Johnny all around the towering sculpture.  He told them of the symbolic meaning of each of the sections, and introduced Johnny to the fables and myths of his culture.

            
Johnny was entranced, and Margaret, frankly, was smitten.  Over a short period of time, a romance bloomed between them not unlike the blooming grasses and flowers of this atypical Alaskan winter.  By the spring, they were married, and their nuclear family was established.

            
Margaret’s new husband congratulated himself on his accomplishment.  “My chick-bait totem attracted more than I expected.  Not only a wife, but a son.”  And so they lived happily ever after.

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She only paints with bold colors; she does not like pastels.
by TNT

For Mountaineers

It was a panorama of extreme aggression - the steep cliffs and pointed knife-like swords of stone piercing the sky. The snow was avalanche ready with steady rumbling before crashing like thunder down the slopes.

The helicopter blades chopped at the air as the rotors turned. The view was breath-taking - the world below unmistakably dangerous and beautiful. She took several photos for her work and it would be pure magic, she knew. She only painted with bold colors. She does not like pastels. She would squeeze the colors out of the tubes and use her palette knife to spread the buttery colors on the cake for the Sherpa's birthday party. She knew the mountaineers would appreciate her creation when they came to the party. The balloons of helium clung to the ceiling. It was all ready for when they arrived.

Where the heck were they?

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"Let me help you with your baggage," asked the stranger.
by KC

The altitude - 18,000' - had its effect on Malicahn.

For her, it felt like sea level. She was used to 20,000'. The air was thick and sticky, but she was still sharp as a razor. 

She took one more jab at Al.

"Let me help you with your baggage," asked the stranger is not a question. 

Al grumbled and spat. Alpaca's do that often so Malicahn didn't take it personally. "Just let me finish the story," quipped Al.

Malicahn smiled and said, "Okay, just finish your darn story then," she asked.