Now Here’s A First

On the way back from Florida, in a Days Inn motel in Gainesville, no less, we opened the drawer of the nightstand and found in it, next to the TV remote, a copy of the Bhagavad Gita. Years ago—to be sure that was in Utah—I’d once encountered the Book of Mormon instead of the ubiquitous Gideon Bible, but this holy book was a genuine surprise! This particular version is subtitled As It Is and is a rendition of the text by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Now by way of completing the interestingly evolving picture of American Culture in the twenty-first century, this particular Days Inn was evidently owned and managed by a Chinese family—whereas, in Northern Michigan, for instance, virtually all motels are managed by Hindus. And this find, to give it more underlining, was in Gainesville, Florida. We live in wondrous times… (Florida notes.)