Kort and I are getting ready to go back to New Mexico for our 1-year wedding anniversary. We will go back to Alma del Monte and also be staying at Sunrise Springs outside of Santa Fe. We had hoped to visit with our favorite Lama, Lama Chodrak, but Lama is is Hong Kong at the moment, though he did give us his telephone number and invite us to call.
On a recent visit home, I got to sit down with two of the incredible women who were my bridesmaids last year, Mada and Jenn. They have their own fond memories of Lama Chodrak. On the day before the wedding, before rehearsal, we realized that no one had been dispatched to pick up the Lama who needed a ride to get from Questa to Taos Ski Valley. My parents and brother volunteered and left early, since Questa is some distance from the Ski Valley and they would be driving unfamiliar roads. Apparently they arrived earlier than Lama expected, but they packed up my brother's trunk with the barbecue grill for the fire pit, tree branches, a change of clothes and turned right around to get back to the Ski Valley in time for the rehearsal.
We had the rehearsal in the meadow followed by dinner for the families and everyone involved in the ceremony at The Bavarian. Mada sat next to Lama at the dinner and she picked up that he seemed uneasy. She got it out of him that he had left behind some items in Questa that he would need for the ceremony. "Well, can I take you to buy them?" Mada asked. These were not your average items that could be picked up from any corner convenience store, so after the dinner ended around 7:00 p.m., Mada, Jenn and Lama got on the road to drive out to Questa. At the time, this information was concealed from me - as it would be just another thing to freak out about.
It had been a rainy day and the roads out to Questa are not well-lit. Lama does not drive and his judgment of distances somewhat reflects this. The girls would ask from the front seat every once in awhile, are we almost there yet? Oh yeah, 20 minutes. Forty-five minutes would pass. They'd ask again. Soon the gas gauge started moving towards empty. Is there a gas station around here? Yes, keep driving, another 20 minutes. It's already close to 9 p.m. by now. When they are finally near the turn-off, Lama abruptly announces it and they pull off the main road back into Lama's land. It's pitch dark and the girls are ready to get the stuff and go, but Lama is very proud of his stupa (a very beautiful stupa indeed) and wants to give the girls a tour of the land and he's on his own sense of time. Mada realizes she has to go to the bathroom, but there is no bathroom in Lama's house. So they drive up to the main center, but the building is locked down. Mada is trying hard do not lose her patience or to lose her temper in the presence of Lama. Finally, Mada decides that she has to go, and so she's going to go outside. But the land is sacred and she can't just go anywhere. I think in the end she opted to go near the garden because it seemed slightly "less sacred."
I noticed the girls missing at the after-dinner mixer at Tim's Lost Dog Cantina. My third bridesmaid was there drinking margaritas but the other two were notably absent. I was told that they were feeling tired and went to take a rest. After the mixer, I ran into Kort's brother in the bar of The Bavarian. He'd had a few drinks and when pressed he admitted that Jenn and Mada took the Lama back to Questa. About a 1/2 hour later, close to 9:30 or 10 p.m., the girls showed up and said very little. So it was great to finally get the full-blown story a few weeks ago.
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