The Expatriate
April 1998
Who’s Buddha, and what will 
you get him for his birthday?

~ He’s that guy from India, isn’t he?  I’m going back to Australia really soon, I want to save my money. 

~ Buddha is the anti-thesis to god.  God is one therefore Buddha is nothing.  I’ll pour a bottle of so-ju into a river. 

~ Siddhartha.  You don’t get him anything; you go to the temple and eat food. 

~ He’s that fat bald guy.  I guess he needs a nice tie. 

~ He’s a fat pervert squatting by the road.  I’ll give him a poke with a sharp stick. 

~ He’s got something to do with enlightenment (reaching it) and nirvana (the state, not the band).  I’ll buy him a beer if he shows at the Crossroads. 

~ He lived a long time ago, I forget exactly what he said.  I think he needs a travel alarm clock. 

~ You know he’s the Buddha-guy.  You see him in statues and figurines and everything.  He needs dental hygiene. 

~ He~ s the Asian Christ.  Sign language lessons. 

~ A cool dude.  Sunglasses, man. 

~ He always reminded me of Jerry Garcia, or maybe he is Jerry Garcia.  I~ ll get him a gift certificate to see a good chiropractor I know in San Fran.