May 2008 Not an easy month, despite some good news, beginning with a fine presentation of “I Puritani,” the Bellini opera, accompanied by an orchestra that included my friends John, Scott and Zart, and included an exceptional soprano. What a pleasure to hear such tuneful music so well performed!

During May I made my first order from booksXYZ.com, a nonprofit that gives all its profits to education, and 5% of every sale to a school of the customer's choice. In eight years the fine folks from this organization (some of whom I know from GPGC) have distributed almost $600,000 to schools, which can use XYZ’s ReadersLink.com program as a fundraiser. Given that XYZ has some of the best prices on the Internet, why delay further?

One excellent book that you can order immediately from XYZ is My Journey in Mystic China, the travel diary of famous Sinologist John Blofeld, translated by my friend Daniel P. Ried:

During May I beaded my own bracelet (to be given, not worn) at The Bead House, in Bristol, RI [www.thebeadhouse.com/]; first learned of Webkinz [http://www.webkinz.com/us_en/]; and first enjoyed a lemonade from Del’s Fresh Fruit [www.dels.com], a Rhode Island institution whose motto is, “Stop at the sign of the lemon.”

During May, while visiting New Hampshire, I attended a stellar performance by NHDI (New Hampshire Dance Institute), to which the two Moses brothers belong. This year’s theme: “To Fly”, in which the boys hoofed their way through a Wright Bros duet.

It was in New Hampshire that I received during May news of the death, at age 28, of Vikramaditya Singh, nephew of Vimalananda’s foster daughter Roshni. Coming on the heels of the demise, one week earlier, of the talented and well-loved Manik Sandrasagra of Sri Lanka, whom I had known for nearly a decade, this particular one-two punch was a welcome (if brutal) warning of the single guarantee that each of us enjoys: that of certain death, quite possibly without the least warning. May we all strive always to live each day of our lives to its fullest!

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