A Surprise!

While we were catching our breath at the top of Croton Dam, a Hasidic Jew walked up to us. After giving me permission to photograph him, he explained that he is a teacher at a nearby school for boys. We were further astonished when a few minutes later we spotted the boys several hundred feet below us. They looked like sheep scattered across the green meadow. Again, I was reminded of the tremendous religious diversity of this area. Although these boys appeared well-"shepherded," I couldn't help but remember Jesus' concern for "sheep without a shepherd."

Italian Day

For "Italian Day" we began with a visit to the area's newest Catholic church, St. Augustine's. The outdoor Stations of the Cross were so vivid. I wish I could describe the deep feelings these traditional scenes evoked.

After our visit to the church, we hiked the beautiful Croton Aqueduct Trail, a 6-mile round trip. And what does that have to do with the local Italians? Simply this: the goal of the journey was the Croton Dam and Reservoir, and much of the work on the dam was done by Italian stone masons. In fact, Tom said one of the reasons many of the Catholic churches in the area are so beautifully constructed is because many of these same masons would give their weekends to work on the churches!

You can guess where we ate tonight, can't you? That's right. . .Safina's is a wonderful family-owned Italian restaurant. Mmmmmm...

West Point

On our way to the Buddhist monastery, we ate breakfast in Cold Spring, and then walked down to the waterfront. I was intrigued by this view of West Point. And, in the next picture, Tom is standing beside a Parrot Gun, a "rifled cannon." It was first used during the Civil War's Battle of Bull Run and played a decisive role in bringing that engagement to a conclusion. The gun was invented by a West Point grad, Robert Parrott, and was made at the West Point Foundry.

Visit to the Buddhist Monastery

Today Tom and I visited the Buddhist Society of America's monastery in Kent, NY, about 30 minutes north of Ossining. This Buddha statue is 37 feet high, the largest in America or Europe!

As I was taking pictures, a diminutive Buddhist nun motioned us over, and, in broken English, asked us to assist her. Our act of "Christian compassion" for the day was to carry two statues and two boxes of books to the office one story down.

The goal of Buddhism is to teach people how to overcoming suffering through learning detachment from desire. It was both ironic and amusing, therefore, that our visit to the monastery was preceeded by a spectacular breakfast and follwed by a trip to the mall. I'm not sure how detached I felt, but I sure was fulfilled. That's appropriate for a Christian, since our goal is engagement, rather than detachment. After all, "every good and perfect gift is from above..." (James 1:17) and should be received with gratitude and joy!

Another great day filled with adventures, conversations, and surprises!