| A comment in Readers' Comments |
| 4-06-07 - After forty years our paths cross again.....sort of [This is an interesting email I just received from Randy Kavara - DC] [[I don't know if he's receiving my answers to his email. He sent it twice - the first time a month ago - and MK told me he'd found my Cc to him in his graymail, spam filter.]] It was late 1966 or early 67, and I had just arrived, as part of that youthful pilgrimage, in San Francisco. While the details have become sketchy over the years, I do remember staying in a flat in the Fillmore district. Of all the people I met while there, and there were many, one in particular stood out. We both had a strong desire to understand, how shall I put it, the nature of self, unconditioned mind, ultimate reality, etc, you no doubt get the picture. Anyhow, that one person was none other than David Chadwick. I was only there perhaps two weeks but during that time you took me to the Zen center for meditation and to see Suzuki. We had many interesting conversations and philosophically were in a very similar place. You also escorted me around the area, I remember eating at a little cafe in Fillmore, and were all around good company. When I left to go back to L.A. you gave me your name and an address where you could be reached, I believe it was a Texas address. Of course, that disappeared decades ago, but my memory of our meeting did not. I have wondered many times over the years whatever became of David Chadwick. In fact, I've mentioned you to my wife as well as my children. My children still remember me relating an incident that took place on one of our walks to the Zen center. Walking through Fillmore we were accosted by two large fellows, who at one point grabbed my arm and tried to pull me into a a car. Triggering off the fight or flight response, I was just starting to resist, although I hadn't really figured out how best to handle the situation, and almost instantly you grabbed my other arm and had the cultural insight to tell them that we were on our way to church and that "God wouldn't like someone interfering with that" at which point they loosened their grip and we continued on our way, albeit at a faster clip. As I've said earlier, every so often something would trigger off a thought related to that time and I would wonder what became of you, how your life unfolded. Then , just a few days ago, in a large used bookstore in Knoxville Tennessee, I saw a book about Suzuki and noticing the author's name told my wife that this was that fellow I connected so well with on one of my forays into San Francisco. Now I realize the likelihood of you remembering is slim and it doesn't matter a great deal in any event, but it has been satisfying to me to have an answer, of sorts, as to what ever happened to David Chadwick. It's also satisfying to know your life appears to have gone reasonably well, that you pursued a philosophical path, and even that you're still on the planet. In any event, it didn't take long, thanks to the internet, to find a little more info, including this e-mail address. If this rings a bell of any sort let me know, if not there are a few more details drifting into my mind that might help. Glad you're ok, Randy |