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I've been meaning to write about the people around here who frequent the natural food store as a segue into an old story. See, I'm used to stinking hippies running/patronizing the health food store. But here we have this strange contingent of tambourine-playing SuperChristians on a mission from God to teach people why they shouldn't eat meat.

Several years ago I became interested in hand drumming. Well, I heard there was gonna be a full moon ceremony at the home of this woman who was somehow connected with the health food supermarket in Athens. Supposedly it was going to be a drum circle as well. The invitation/information sheet, I might add, specifically stated not to come if you were going to bring children with you.

Well, there was a prayer/chant (Oh, Great Spirit, earth, sun, sky, and sea, you are all around us, and you're a part of me) then everyone "smudged" themsleves with a burning bundle of sage. Next they passed the "speech stick" around the circle so that whoever wanted to speak could do so, with the understanding that the only person who could speak was the one with the speech stick.

What followed were two hilarious arguments between two different pairs of strangers, each of them politely passing the speech stick back and forth after their retorts. One was between two guys, one of whom wanted to visit Israel but was afraid of being blown up, and a second man who was raised in Israel who told him very politely that he was being selfish and ridiculous. The second argument was between a very very very annoying woman who had brought a child and was letting the child play close to the fire and a second woman who pointed out that this was not safe. "That little girl is too close to the fire." "Well, when I was a child we used to build fires and see who could jump over them." "But Christy (the organizing hippie) specifically stated that children weren't welcome at this event." "You can't expect children to be too controlled. We don't want to break their spirits." On and on, back and forth, no one got the speech stick except the two pairs of combatants. And I never got to play my drum.

Someone finally left a negative comment in my guestbook but they didn't leave their name or page. It says only that I need to spellcheck my header, whatever that means.

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