109 PALACE AVENUE

I alluded to the above address in my previous post. It is the location in Santa Fe, just off the town plaza, where nuclear engineers worked in secret during World War II on plans for the atom bomb. If you go to that address today, you'll find an upscale bed and bath shop with very little indication of its nefarious past. On each of my visits to Santa Fe, I make a point of walking past that location and noting its presence. I'm not sure why.

The title of my blog is Pilgrim Path. Most of my entries are about my life experiences and how they relate to the spiritual path that I'm on. Some of the entries are very much "in your face" about my spirituality while others are fairly lighthearted. But all of these experiences total up to the person of faith that I am today - but just today, because it's fairly likely something will happen, or I'll meet someone, that will slightly shift my perspective on life and faith and cause me to make a mid-trip adjustment on my way to....well, wherever it is I'm going.

109 Palace Avenue...it is an address that has changed the world. Just in the past week, the anniversary of the dropping of atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was commemorated. The combined death toll from these bombings defies comprehension - over 10 times the number of victims of 9/11 were instantly incinerated by these bombs. The after effects of these heinous acts continue to play themselves out in Japan and the world today. A formerly white-hot presidential campaign was tripped up in the past few weeks by the candidate's stumbling, bumbling inexperienced answer to a question about the use of nuclear weapons. At the same time, a store clerk in Santa Fe wrapped up a purchase, declared, "Have a nice day!" and a customer smiled, walking out the front door of 109 Palace Avenue with a package of fresh new bed sheets and pillow cases.

Recently, a custom has developed in the US of placing makeshift wooden crosses by the side of the road where victims lost their lives in traffic accidents. Teddy bears and plastic flower bouquets dot the landscape alongside these crosses on just about any interstate you travel. At 109 Palace Avenue there is a sign announcing an annual white sale. O-bla-di,

o-bla-da...