China Jon's Syncretic Journal

I grew up in a family of builders, and became a musician, But then of course the builders were musicians as well. My mother could play very complicated classical pieces, and the house was usually filled with her playing. such a different world now, where the mother is working every day and the kids grow up with MTV, Sex, and drugs. I had never smelled marijuana until I was in my late teens. I wan not even sure what it was, but me and my pals figured it out. None of us used drugs.

I always lived in a single family house, until my university days, when my dad hired me to be the caretaker for some townhouses he had built.

Out on my own I played the real estate game well, buying low and selling high. that game has continued in my absence, and, having not played for 8 years, I can no longer afford to play the game in America. So, I play it in China... maybe. At least I bought while the prices were low and they have gone up, but I don't want to sell. Now, I live on the 20th floor in a flat of my own design. It looks larger than it is. I like to stand on one of the patios and take a look at the country around, noting the changes wrought by light and clouds, by construction and weather. I don't feel the need to move onward and upward. This feels like my home. It is a little island of Western Way, surrounded by an infinity of Eastern Way.

One strange little thought... I grew up Christian, and I enjoy talking to my friends and students about philosophy. I think I am growing my own beliefs about what is, and isn't. I feel closer to creation and miracles than I ever felt before. I don't think it is because I live on the 20 floor.