And we're off!

In 1981, my family decided to move to Poona, India to live on the Rajneesh Ashram. We were packing it all in and going there forever. At least most of us were. All but David, who had some legal problems at this point, had been arrested for theft and at age 17 was battling all this and the guru who was taking his family away. He and Jason had both become sannyasins by then as well - David became Vedaprem and Jason became Madhav - but when we decided to move to India, it was decided he would stay behind alone and he became angry and denounced the whole sannyas thing.

The official title for deciding not to be a sannyasin any more among sannyasins is known as "dropping sannyas". David flushed it down the toilet. Literally - he flushed his mala down the toilet. I'm not sure how that worked, but that's how the story goes.

I was excited to go to India, it sounded fun and new and I am all about fun and new. I was horrified at leaving David behind. I loved him so much and we were very attached to each other. Every time we would greet, he would give me such a big hug that i would fart. He would laugh and then he would threaten to squeeze the farts out of me again. I squealed with delight and ran away. He was my hero.

But leave we did. And I didn't see David again until I was 9.

I went first with my dad, but left Madhav and my mom behind. I had given Madhav a killer case of chicken pox that entered his throat and lungs, so they had to stay behind a little longer so he could heal and they could take care of some other business. I've always considered that to be payback for all the torture he'd dealt me my whole life. After that moment, I felt we were even, and that part of our relationship was over.

Daddy and I went to spend a week in London and then on to Poona, India. I was so excited to see the world and meet all the new people i was meeting and I was incredibly anxious to start our new life. It all sounded so fabulous! In London, I met some of my Daddy's old friends and then he taught me to play chess. My dad prides himself on the fact that he's never "let" me win at any game. Suffice it to say that as proud as he was that i learned to play chess at age 6, i never got beyond knowing how the pieces move and what they're called and i have never, ever beaten him at a game of chess.

Finally, it was time to go to India. We climbed aboard our Pan Am 747 and flew for what seemed an eternity. I made a new home on that plane, the stewardesses all loved me and gave me extra playing cards and little plastic wings and fun paks. After 12 hours or so, our plane landed in Bombay. I peered out the window with glee and impatiently bounced up and down trying to get out. We climbed down the stairs and were hit with a wall of Indian air: Pollution, piss, cowshit, curry, sweat, and death. I jumped into Daddy's arms and began to cry.

"I wanna gooo hoooooome."