U. S. Soldiers Home, Washington: during a century
of travel (well 78 years!) both in and out of service I
have travelled to over 150 countries (I count both North
and South Dakota as countries) and for some reason have
jotted signs and happenings that I thought funny at the
time (and now wonder why). So here is the perfect
opportunity to share some of my anecdotes.

In the New Delhi, India YMCA (takes men, women, children
etc) a group of travellers travelling together from many
different countries arrived. They were part of a project to
show different nationalities could travel in peace and work
and travel together. There were people from Hawaii, the
States, Europe, Philippines etc. By the time they got to
India they had formed into cliques and some were not
talking to others, and some wanted to share room only with
their own nationality etc. None of them trusted the Indian
personnel at the front desk and when they found out I had
been in India for awhile they came to me with their
questions. They asked me if it was safe to drink the water
from faucet in courtyard. I had been drinking it with no
ill effects and there was a contraption on it that I
thought purified the water so I foolishly assured them it
was safe. They all got sick. I had been eating with the
dining room with them but from them on walked several
blocks to the YWCA to avoid their dirty looks!

A friend of mine at the Soldiers Home used to collect
business cards so I would try to collect them from all
around the world for him. I went into a gift shop in a
hotel in New Delhi, India. They had a particularly nice
card and so I told a white lie and told them I was a
director of a tour group and could I have more than one to
give to my clients. I forgot I was going to be in that
hotel five days. The next day I was asked when is your tour
group arriving? I said “What tour group” I then recovered
my self and announced that I had been fired.

An English girl who claimed she had become a Hindu in
England told me some of the Hindu temples that required you
to be a Hindu (not all) would not let her in as they did
not believe her. How do you prove you are a Hindu?

Armd Reg. In prayer that God may bless the souls of
those who laid down their lives during India Pakistan War
Dec 1971.

Mahatma (Soul) Gandhi is one of my heroes. Mother Teresa
is another one (she visited the Soldiers Home. She asked
that no collection be taken for her but I think one was.)
Gandhi is one of the few lawyers I respect. When he
travelled throughout India he often stayed in
friend’s homes. In the one he often stayed in Bombay
(now called Mumbai) the house has been made into a museum.
Along with some of his stuff they have a lending library
where you can check out some of the books he wrote. The
sign on the desk reads: “Please return out books after
reading. For we observe that though people may be very poor
accountants they are very good bookkeepers”. At the
Jain Temple there was a sign: “Women in menstrual period
may not enter”. Our guide says that Jains wear a
gauze mask over face so they will not kill any flies or
insects accidentally. At the hanging garden the guide
explained that Parsees instead of burying dead put them in
a Tower of Silence and the vultures eat the meat off the
corpse. It takes about twenty minutes. (Unless a fat
actor.) Indians like their actors fat so they will look
prosperous. (I look very prosperous!) They sometimes make
American actors’ pictures on billboards fatter than
they are. Paul Newman in one poster looked more like Orson
Wells. Back to the Tower of Silence and the vultures. The
bones then fall into a pit where lime and charcoal turns
them into ashes. I asked how often they do this and was
told: “Whenever they die” The Indians are so logical. It
was explained to me that there are so few Parsees left that
they had to feed the vultures meat in the meanwhile and she
looked directly at me or they would become a nuisance in
the neighbourhood. There is a water reservoir next door the
droppings from the vultures would fall in the water so they
covered the top of reservoir and made a hanging garden
there. The soil is not deep enough for trees, just bushes
and flowers. The Jain religion uses a swastika (a Nazi
symbol, only Indians had it first, and the Nazi reversed
the symbol) and rice in their ceremony. I will now take up
a collection for the vultures.

A rickshaw driver is trying to fix me up with a
prostitute. He said she is in the untouchable class. An
untouchable prostitute??

Another time I went into a temple and the people went
out of the way to welcome me. I asked what kind of temple
is was and was told A temple for untouchables, (although I
think this was outlawed.)

The other day in India I realized all my coats were
missing. My raincoat, nylon jacket, sweater etc. I thought
maybe I had left them on the airplane. Then when I went to
look for my shoes under the bed and there they all were. My
room was so small that I had put them under my bed to get
them out of the way.

Some Indians after talking to you when they get ready to
leave will say “May I leave now?” I always graciously
give them permission

Next month, Mac discusses India again.

If you would like to contact Mac, he can be e-mailed on:
macsan400@yahoo.com