A Race For The Military
A Race For The Military
In California we held a race especially for the military. Unfortunately, they heard about it only at the eleventh hour, so there were hardly ten runners. Our runners joined them.
The race began at seven o'clock in the morning. Around five-thirty I got inspiration to compose a song on the military. I didn't know that there were women in the military. Later I saw that four or five women soldiers were there.
One of the high-ranking officers came over to me and said, "This time we have very few people, but next time it won't be like this. We deeply admire your races." He took off his jacket and showed me one of our T-shirts. He said, "I run all of your races."
-8 March 1981
Restaurant Experiences
The first night in Fort Lauderdale I went out to run around ten o'clock. After I had run about two and a half miles, I became quite hungry. I had some money, so I went into a restaurant. But they said to me, "No, you can't eat here. You are not properly dressed." I was wearing tennis shorts which came right to my knees. They were quite modest-not the thin, Bill Rodgers running shorts.
So I left and went to another place. There was a guard sitting at the door. He said to me, "Do you want to eat?"
I said, "Yes, I am very hungry."
He said, "You can go inside and eat."
I went in, but here also, one of the waiters saw how I was dressed and said to me, "This is not the place for you. Here you can't eat." They also asked me to leave.
There was a place beside the main restaurant, like an adjacent dining hall.Nobody was there. I asked, "Can I not eat there?"
They said, "No, you are not properly dressed. You have no tie, no suit, nothing."
Two places had thrown me out. Now it was like a challenge to find a restaurant. Otherwise, I wouldn't care. But since I live in America, American blood has entered into me, and Americans love challenges. So I was running and running. Finally, around eleven o'clock, I came to an Italian restaurant. I saw a menu on the window, and I was reading it with the hope that I would be able to go inside. Somebody came out and looked at me. I said to that person, "I want to speak to the manager."
The man said, "I'm the manager."
I asked, "Can I go inside and eat?"
The manager asked, "What is wrong with you? You have no money?"
I said, "I have money, but I am not properly dressed."
So I went inside. Except for one table, all the tables were occupied. I ordered eggplant, as usual. Beside me there was a group of people at a big table: an airline pilot and his wife, the co-pilot and his wife and their parents. The wives were sitting on the right side of the husbands and next to them were the parents. It was one of the fathers' birthday and they were all very happy. They had ordered a cake, which one of the waiters brought, and they were about to sing "Happy Birthday."
Quite unexpectedly, a middle-aged couple came over to them. The couple had been sitting at another table. The co-pilot stood up and shook hands with the man and kissed the woman. O God, the co-pilot's wife became furious. She stood up and walked out of the restaurant. Her husband's father and some others went to bring her back. At the table, some were laughing, some were serious, some were shocked. Even people from other tables came over to see what the commotion was. But the co-pilot just said, "Let us sing 'Happy Birthday'."
My bill was for seven dollars and something. So I put a ten dollar bill on the table and left. I was not enjoying my eggplant. "Next," I thought, "will come a fight. Before bottles fly in the air-bottle-bullets-let me leave this place."
-21 March 1981
The Police Chase
It was around midnight and I was going back home. There were some grocery stores that were open twenty-four hours, so I went into one and bought a Tab, some fruit and juice-no candy at that hour. Two or three other people were also inside the store.
A middle-aged lady was behind the counter. Each time a person wanted to come in, she would open the door from the inside and then bolt it again. She was very nice.
O God, suddenly three young men tried to open the door forcefully, but the lady would not let them in. The three young men were being chased by the police.While the other two were still banging on the door, trying to escape, one fellow hid under a car. There were three or four cars in front of the grocery store.The police were having such trouble getting this man, because they were too fat to get under the car. They were screaming at the fellow, but he continued to stay under the car. The other two had already been arrested, and they were laughing at the police. I said, "O God, O God, I don't want to know the remainder of this story." So I bought four or five dollars' worth of things and I left.
-21 March 1981
Looking For Sally
I was coming back home around twelve-thirty. About three hundred metres from my apartment was a small hospital, with windows facing the street. One fellow was standing on the street drinking and calling for his girl-friend: "Sally! Open the window. I want to see you. I have not seen you for a long time." He was screaming up to the second or third floor for the patient, Sally, to open the window and talk to him.
But she was not opening the window. Another man from upstairs started screaming at the drunk fellow: "What are you doing at this hour?" He used all American slang, screaming at him from the third floor.
-21 March 1981
A Young Running Companion
Another time in Fort Lauderdale I was out running. A beautiful six or seven-year-old child, wearing a necklace, came up to me and asked, "Master, can I run with you?"
I said, "Why not?"
I had been running at an eight or eight and a half minute pace. Now, very slowly I ran with her. We covered three blocks, and then she stopped near her house. She came from a respectable family. She was so happy and proud that I ran with her. She thanked me and gave me a broad smile.
-21 March 1981
Mister, Will You Help Me?
Two days later, a little child, even younger than the other little girl, was on her way to school when I ran by quite fast. All of a sudden she said, "Mister!" There were no cars, but she wanted me to help her cross the street. So very slowly I walked across the street with her. I didn't even need to hold her hand, because there was no traffic. As soon as we had crossed the street, she thanked me and entered into a little school.
-21 March 1981
Lost And Found
Another day I went out to run for two hours. After I ran for about an hour and forty minutes, I got totally lost. It was raining. I said, "O God, where do I go? I don't have any money." Luckily, I remembered the apartment number and, with greatest difficulty, I even remembered the name of the street-Las Olas. I said, "This is the time for me to look for a taxi."
I asked a lady where Las Olas Street was. I had to listen for at least five minutes while she explained which road to take and where I should turn. I didn't understand her in spite of her five-minute explanation. I said, "All right, let me take this street."
Then whom did I see running down the street? Savyasachi! I said, "How can it be?" I had run six or seven miles. He was staying only one mile away from where I had stopped running. He had just gone out for a short run, and he got great joy when he saw me. Then we ran together.
When I play tennis with Savyasachi, his standard always makes me laugh-not only inwardly but also outwardly. But when he runs with me, I feel that inwardly he is laughing at my standard.
-21 March 1981
The Braggart
As I was running the next day, a young man went ahead of me. Four men saw him run past. They said to me, "He is bragging. Don't pay any attention." The runner went four or five hundred metres ahead, while I continued slowly running. Then he stopped and began to walk. His bragging was over. I passed him. When I was returning from my run, he was still walking.
-21 March 1981
Competition-Blood Will Never Leave Me
Another day I saw an old man running. I said, "If my speed has really increased, I will be able to pass him." I came nearer, only to discover that the runner was a lady. I said, "Let me run according to my speed." After two hundred metres, I turned around. O God, she was so far behind! I tell the disciples to have no competitive feeling, to compete only with themselves. Here I was competing with an old lady! Competition-blood will never leave me.
-21 March 1981
