About Some Friends Of Mine

I sat on a packed Boeing 777 airplane in Los Angeles, waiting for the plane to be completely boarded wearing a full suit on the way back home from a business trip.  Every single seat was taken on this flight from LAX to DFW except for the one seat next to me in the middle of the row.  You know that feeling you get when you have an empty seat next to you on a flight?  It’s like having a full BINGO card with one spot to go, waiting for each BINGO ball to pop up.

As the doors closed and people started sitting down, a tall thin man walked down the aisle wearing a long robe with long stringy hair with the appearance of the cartoon image of Jesus Christ Himself, but only if Jesus hadn’t bathed in weeks and was homeless and was way into The Grateful Dead. 

Of course, he sat down next to me in my empty seat as my flight BINGO winnings vanished in front of me.  Crap.

At first, I was annoyed at this bonkers scene of a crazy LA street person situated next to a buttoned up guy in business gear on an airplane.  I leaned over to him and sarcastically said, “Traveling for business?”

“Yes,” Homeless Jesus responded, as friendly as could be, which took me by surprise given how jackassed my question seemed immediately as the words fell from my mouth.  “Actually, I’m going to see my mother for the first time in years to finalize my father’s estate.”  What a jerk I am.

Turns out this cat was worth millions of dollars despite his transient appearance.  His parents were adherents and business managers for the estate of a New Age 20th century philosopher and self-help guru named George I. Gurdjieff, author of a book called Meetings With Remarkable Men which was also adapted into a movie in 1979.  Gurdjieff’s “Fourth Way” teaching method at The Gurdjieff Foundation had followers all around the world, and his parents were at the center of the legacy and income.

For the next three hours, I listened to this odd fellow tell me about being raised in this hippie movement and how he had a calling in life to be good to people without asking anyone for anything in return because of how he was raised.  He had all the money he could ever want, never asked anyone for anything, and gave as much as he could away to anyone he thought might need help while living the life of a total libertine without a care in the world.

I never even caught his name, but was forever affected by the fact that a truly remarkable person (just like the name of the book) sat next to me by happenstance on a flight and willingly told me his story.  I’d never met anyone like that before or since.  He was truly a remarkable man.

At first glance, it would be an interesting sight to see a buttoned-up business guy chatting for hours with a New Age street hippie, but I suppose you should never judge a book by its cover and/or robe and/or suit.