[Joe Mc]

I'm sure I've told this little tale here before but here goes again. I had just visited the world famous Watkin's Bookshop on Charring Cross Road London.
I had gazed intently upon the gentle and mysterious face of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi inside a book about the famous sage. As I walked through
the door of Watkin's Bookshop the sun had begun to peek out in a beautiful dappled sky. White fluffy clouds were leisurely passing overhead, late spring
was breaking gently into early Summer.

I walked the short distance to Trafalgar Square which for a change seemed unhurried and unfussed with the just the right amount of people made up mostly
of young couples holding hands. I held the scene for a moment till I became even more mesmerised by the sunlight dancing on every water droplet in the fountains.
I thought there is something innocent here something loving, something holy. Then it started, the whining voice of a preacher with a megaphone, " Yous are all going to hell !!!!! " he said
or words to that effect. I saw the young man in front of me with Al Pacino Ray bands in a gloriously white t-shirt, his young woman wore a beautiful foral green dress and was nestling into his shoulder. The preacher let out another Roar about the mercy of Jesus and the reality of Hell !!!!!

And it was then I felt my legs grow weak and laughter started to rumble through my body. I wasn't at that time in the habit of laughing out loud in public although there were times
I felt like it. This time I just about collapsed onto the paving stones. I bent over on the bench where I sat as best I could and tried hard to hold it together but the laughter kept coming and so did the preacher's message, to the young lovers before me holding hands in the early Summer light their faces somewhat impressionistic as if the painter Seurat had been along and caught them nestling in each others arms behind the cascading waters of the fountains ! :)

(This incident for me highlighted for me two things. That I was having a very mild spiritual realisation, albeit a spiritual realisation before the preacher started
his rant and I was witnessing some kind of love before me in the shape of the romantic couples. There was something fragile beautiful and vulnerable about it all
till the preacher started to dive bomb it with his crackling megaphone and trusty old bible. And it was bloody hilarious !!!! lol )

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