Thursday October 1, 2009

Dan was staying with me and Dave for the week. We had been mostly sticking close to home, but Thursday afternoon, Dave got restless. He kept coming in and out of the back and front doors, pacing around the house, doing his parameter check. When I finally asked him what he wanted to do to relieve his boredom, he just gave me his characteristic shrug and eyebrow raise.

Lately, I have been writing out choices because Dave has a hard time communicating what he wants. So, I wrote “drive” and ‘walk” on a piece of paper. He pointed to drive, so we all loaded into the car. Dave navigated by pointing the way, and we headed north on 787. I was ready to aimlessly follow Dave’s finger, when Dan spoke up from the backseat.

“Isn’t there a big white temple somewhere around here?”

Before I could answer, Dave was emphatically nodding his approval. We were going to the Grafton Peace Pagoda.

We meandered eastward for twenty-five miles on back roads, listening to mix CDs at full-blast. As we neared Grafton, I thought we should visit the fire tower. It had been a cloudy drizzly day, but the sky was clearing and the late-day light was beautifully soft. As we rolled into town, I asked Dan and Dave if they would mind making an adventure stop to climb the tower.

Dave nodded and Dan agreed, but I sensed Dan’s growing reluctance as I piloted us from the main road onto a small, twisty road and then onto a dirt road. He may have doubted my judgment as I nosed my car partway onto a Jeep trail before cutting the engine.

We walked the 100 or so yards up the Jeep trail to the base of the tower. Dan leaned back to get a full view and said something like, “Whoa!” or “Oh my”. Dave answered with a pterodactyl call and started up the stairs, one foot at a time. As Dan and I followed, the bone-chilling wind was whipping and the tower metal creaked and shuddered.

At the top, Dan uttered a much more enthusiastic “Whoa” and Dave made pterodactyl and monkey sounds! The view was panoramic and magnificent! The sky was alive with color and the trees were bright with the reds and oranges of fall.

As we walked back to the car, we agreed the place had a sacred feel. We were content on our Grafton excursion.

We pressed on to the Peace Pagoda. We parked along the road and walked the driveway to the complex. We wandered around before circling the Pagoda to read the story of the Buddha. As we headed back toward the driveway, a playful black lab cornered me and insisted I play tug-of-war with her and her stick.

Meanwhile, Dave shuffled over the prayer house and looked in each of the windows. When Dan and I escaped the enthusiastic lab, we headed over to Dave and saw what he was watching through the windows: a yellow robed, bald-headed nun arranging the alter area and praying. Thinking we were interrupting, we stepped back from the window, but the nun smiled and waved us in.

She explained that prayer was starting and we were welcome to join and could stay as long or short as we wanted. We took off our shoes and sat on the embroidered pillows she set down for us. She handed us wooden drums and sticks before sitting with her back to us. Another woman kept a rhythm with a huge deep drum as the nun and a monk chanted in entrancing, melodious voices. A few other people came in and sat behind us.

I felt warmth and peace as I drummed along with Dan on my right and Dave on my left. Dave’s drumming was always forceful, sometimes right on and other times completely off beat. After a couple minutes he got up and circled the room, checking out the statues and offerings around the altar. He curiously went into the next room and looked behind a hanging tapestry in a doorway. He alternated between sitting to drum and exploring the rooms.

I could tell from his glowing smile when he looked at the nun that she was looking kindly at Dave as he wandered. On one of his circuits, he stopped at the altar and opened his wallet to put a bill on a tray.

After what seemed like ten or fifteen minutes, Dan stood. Dave and I quietly followed him to put on our shoes and let ourselves out the backdoor. Once outside, we realized we’d been sitting for thirty-five minutes. As we walked toward the driveway, the nun scurried out behind us. She graciously thanked us for visiting. She bowed to Dave and presented him with a small paper-framed picture of the pagoda. She adamantly told us she was happy to have Dave there and she knew he was someone very special.

We left feeling peaceful and happy and grateful for our day in Grafton. Dave led us on an awesome adventure!