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J-R’s Coming to Dinner!

 

Dave Wright, circa 1978


Looking out your living room window and seeing J-R and the staff pull up is, well, an experience. I think I said something profound like, “Mary, J-R is here.” And I think she replied, “Well, let him in.” And so I did. “Come on in J-R,” I said. And he did. Along with assorted staff. I really can’t remember who was on staff in the early eighties, but they seemed nice enough 🙂 .

We hugged at the door and the next thing you know J-R is sitting on the couch quaffing a Bud Light. Okay, not really. I think we offered him something to drink but, to be honest, I was in a bit of a cloud.

Mary and I were MSIA Reps at that time and man were we good at it 🙂 . I think we had about 30 service appointments lined up so as to make the staff trip feasible. Sounds easy enough doesn’t it? Any Reps out there that have ever lined up 30 appointments? If you haven’t, I suggest you use a pencil (hey, I’m old). The changes they are a coming 🙂 .

We were living in Mesa, Arizona at the time in an absolutely extravagant 3 bedroom, 1700 square foot home in a semi quiet neighborhood. We did home seminars in that home for about 8 years, so when we sold it the new buyers wondered why it was floating a couple feet off the ground. I think I told them we had occasional flash floods of purple water. I should let you know my accuracy wavers a bit. We sold it anyway.

Our amazing volunteers for the appointments / seminar helped put together a pot luck dinner. I felt like it was more of a “we’re luckier than hell” dinner, but it was really fun. Before we ate we gathered up in a circle in our family room. Did I say that J-R was in our family room!? We held hands and someone said very appropriately, “Let’s call in the Light.” I was standing next to J-R holding his hand and I whispered, “That’s a bit redundant.” He just gently squeezed my hand. There are moments… and then there are moments, right?

And then we ate. I don’t remember where J-R sat exactly — hey, I remember most of it 🙂 — but what I do want to say is how unbelievably cool it was that, at those times we were all just folks sharing some food and good times. I had studied with Maharishi a few years earlier and he was a wonderful loving man but jeez, everywhere he went he was in white robes carrying flowers surrounded by adoring votaries with expressions like they were in a contest to see who could look the most starry eyed. Maharishi sure is a cool name though. “What’s your first name Mr. Yogi?” “Maharishi.” “Oh.”

After we ate we kind of settled in our dining room and J-R began to talk. About stuff. It wasn’t a seminar (or was it:?) but it was casual and really fun. As far as Mary and I were concerned he — okay, staff too 🙂 — could have stayed for oh, I don’t know, a year or so? I just have to pause again and thank all of you reading this for your loving support of our Travelers.

J-R held a seminar. We took one of our living room chairs to the hotel for J-R to sit on for the seminar. Of course later, back home, we all took turns sitting in it and espousing words of Soul and stuff.

It was an amazing few days with J-R and the staff in town. There was like a buzz in the air. I remember the phone ringing a lot. People on staff asking about things like if I know the staff likes Volvic water. I would ask in my best ego voice, “What’s that?” We got a few calls from God knows who asking if J-R would call them back. I was a bureaucrat for a couple years in Flagstaff so it was easy for me to tell them, “I’ll see that someone on staff gets the message.”

And then just like that it was over. J-R and the staff were gone. The phone quit ringing. The house was quietly asking, “What just happened?” Someone once told me that when J-R was in the room it was different. I agree. I know our dining room was different. So Blessed!

God Bless,
Dave Wright

4 thoughts on “J-R’s Coming to Dinner!”

  1. Fun! I love your playfulness, Dave! Thank you for writing and sharing this. Brought back memories of JR doing a seminar in a motel ballroom in New England. My job was head count and I was so nervous I kept getting it wrong. I came up with a way to count by threes and twos to make five which I still use to this day!

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