Summer at the Center

Sunday August 9, 2009

Well, June and July have been busy pilgrim months! We have had four couples and six single pilgrims come since the May anniversary day. They have come from east and west as well as East and West! Jehangir Daver from Sydney, Australia and Bob Fredericks and his wife Toktam Mashad from India came followed by Mark Choi from LA (newly back from the Phillipines) and Don and Margaret Euker from New Jersey (Baba House in NYC).

The houses are both basking in the summer heat and the yards are growing like crazy even in July as we have had lots of rain to keep everything green. Unfortunately this means the grass is still needing to be cut ($) and vines and bushes are getting overgrown. Where the garden has been wonderful this year yielding many greens, roots and herbs it is now getting overgrown with squash vines and tomato bushes and heading toward the “dormant” hot month of August before time to plant the fall garden in late September.

Yeah, partial success!! The B house has two more of the four awnings up, thanks to Dan Sparks coming out from OKC yesterday (Saturday) to help Ron put them on the back of the house. That makes three and leaves only the hardest one, two stories up, to finish mounting. The one that went up last fall made it through the winter with only light hail dent damage, and it stayed up!

We had a great Baba meeting with the Euckers a week ago Friday, reading Mehera Meher, and then a fish barbeque with Lynn Wilhite, Dan and the Euckers yesterday. We had local ripe, ripe watermelon and watched “When Meher Grew Up” by Bob Fredericks and the Meher school on the tube.

The week before that, Mark Choi came roaring out from LA non-stop to light the Dhuni at the accident site. He was out at the site that Thursday afternoon with his little white car, doors thrown open, and a red carpet laid out in front of the Dhuni brazier ready to light it when the next door neighbor (who’s parents lived there at the time of the accident) came along mowing the grass. Mark reported that they talked and “she was cool” with his lighting the fire there. We came along later and it was quite nice to honor Baba with the Dhuni there. Does any one remember the Dhuni being lit at the site before?

Personally we have been busy also. Miriam has opened her clinic on Main St., Prague (eighteen people in her first weight management class!) and, in mid July, Ron just spent a week in Charlotte, NC with time for a side trip to the Meher Center. We are looking forward to our October trip to Meherabad, India when there will be temporary relief caretakers coming to be here at the Heartland Center.

Be well, and we will try and write more often,

Ron & Miriam at the Heartland Center

Pix of May work retreat

http://www.flickr.com/photos/38946904@N08/

Hey All!

Some of the photos from the May Board/Work retreat!!! It was a lot of work, but what a great time to be working together for Baba's cause! And the weather was great... and so was the food!

Jai Baba!
: )
angela

Coming to the Anniversary Gathering? May 23

Hello again everyone!
May is starting this week and Miriam and I are getting excited about visitors that are coming for the Anniversary Meher Baba's Auto "Accident" outside of Prague. If you haven't heard, there will be a gathering at the Center on Saturday May 23rd. We will also be Dedicating the Morrison House to His service. All are welcome to come and add to the celebration in their own way.

You can meet our Board of Directors and us, "the new caretakers", and enjoy the beautiful "Prague" spring. (It's pronounced Pray-egg!) There will be a tea and tours of both the accident site and hopefully the hospital room where beloved Baba stayed in 1952.

Let us know if you are coming and also if you would like travel and lodging assistance. We know have a "shuttle-wala" in OKC for the hour's drive East to Prague. There are many places to stay in near-by Shawnee, OK, a wonderful retreat center up by Tulsa with cabins in the woods and, if there is still room, a bed and bath in downtown Prague. Camping is available out by Prague Lake (closer to the accident site).

We would love to see as many of you come as possible (Memorial Day weekend).

Hope to see ya'!

JB
Ron

Spring is Here and Annual Open House is Coming!!

See, flowers do grow in Oklahoma!! We are excitedly getting ready for the up-coming commemoration of Avatar Meher Baba's 1952 auto accident here in Prague. There will be a one day gathering here at the Heartland Center on Saturday, May 23. Our whole board of directors will be here and a formal dedication of the newly purchase Morrison House next door will take place. A tour of the hospital is planned, trips out to the site of Baba's accident and tea, cookies, music and camaraderie will ensue!

The M house will not be open for pilgrims yet as it is still an empty shell of its former grandeur. It has great "bones" though and plans are underway to re-do it. Thanks to all of those who so lovingly donated funds to help the AMBHC plan for the future. Prague property doesn't change hands very often so getting this place right next door was a real Baba-find.

What I heard, Speedy Morrison, who owned the house, was a friend and business associate of Dr. Burleson and helped finance the hospital back in the fifties. His heir, son Scott, met Baba when he was here. Scott really went out of his way to pass the house along to the Center.

For those who are coming for the Baba Memorial Day Weekend, let Miriam and I help with travel and lodging plans. NEWS: A new Bed and Bath is now available in downtown Prague just a few blocks walking distance from the Center.

Around the place, there are tiny little lupine all through the grass. They are beautiful!

See them under the big old tree out front!

The garden is getting planted in the twelve beds Michael set up and we are looking forward to sharing fresh veggies with those who come and stay.

Any stories about past visits to the Center would be appreciated (let me know if I can post them here).

Baba's Love to y'all!!

Ron & Miriam, co-caretakers, AMBHC

Springing into March

Good Day March!
It may not be quite the first day of spring but the first day of March has dawned bright and sunny here in the Heartland, though below freezing again! This week we saw the daffodils start to bloom and trees budding in 70- 80 degree sun shine but the old North wind has blown in again for a few days.

Miriam and I are looking forward to the annual commemoration of Meher Baba's car accident in May. There will be a tea and day of activities on Saturday, May 23, here at the Heartland Center in Prague, America. Last year, I am told, there were 30 plus people who came. If you would like to come and need local travel and lodging information you can drop us a line or give us a call (ambhc@allegiance.tv. 405-567-4774).

I went up to Osage Forest of Peace (near Tulsa) yesterday to hear Marilyn Buehler give a Baba talk to the folks who hang out there. The talk was well received and Marilyn did a wonderful job of presenting Baba to this group of Christian-based spiritual seekers. Osage used to be a Benedictine monastery until a year ago and has been transformed to a more eclectic spiritual retreat center. It is a beautiful wooded spot on a hill (yes, Virginia, there are hills in Oklahoma!) with little cabins like at Baba's Meher Center.

Also, for anyone looking for a Spring Break retreat, we have rooms available and this is a very pleasant time to visit OK. We put fresh flowers out at the accident site recently and sitting in the grass next to where Baba so profusely bled and suffered moved me deeply; reminding me why I moved here.

Over at the hospital things continue as usual though we hear that the operating group has been bought by a company that will be building a new hospital on the edge of Prague. The newspaper says that ground-breaking will begin soon. The City of Prague owns the old hospital building. We are keeping an eye on progress of things.

Drop us a note here on the comments if you want, I plan to start watching this blog more regular like.

Love In Him,

Ron

It's a New Year and Things are Stirrin' !

It's half way to Meher Baba's Amartithi and this is my first journal entry of 2009! Miriam and I have both been busy with personal work stuff; she is hoping to get her medical clinic open in the next month and I just got back from the cold, white north of Hartford, CT on a business trip. The Center "complex" (now the two houses) is doing fine, a little heater problem with the Morrison house (upper left) and some plumbing fixes and a new basement door at the B House, right photo.

The OK weather runs, as they say, "hot and cold" and it does it quickly! We had 65 to 70 degrees last weekend and went out on Sunday to put fresh flowers on Baba's site next to the highway. Then the temp dropped so that we had a high of 16 yesterday and we will be seeing 50's and sun for the next week! Baba's flowers take a beating. We went out and found the water in the vase frozen solid and His red roses gallantly standing tall!

We have just heard from the Board that this year's Accident Anniversary Open House is definitely happening so mark your calenders to be in OK the weekend of 23 and 24 May! A special treat should be coming out in a letter from Debbie Nordeen soon.

Please let Miriam and I, the AMBHC Board members and the rest of the Avatar Meher Baba Heartland community hear your comments and ideas here or through the web site email, http://www.ambhc.org/ and ambhc@allegiance.tv.

Happy Meher New Year!

Ron,

Caretaker in Prague

Christmas in Prague

Hello Everyone! Seasons' Greetings from the Heartland Center in Prague!
Lynn Wilhite invited Miriam and I over for Christmas dinner at her house (see her beautiful table with Baba at the head). We all enjoyed the roast chicken and got stuffed! Miriam fell in love with Lynn's new kitten, Cream Puff, and enjoyed playing with her as Lynn and I worked on getting dinner on the table. In another photo, back at the Center in the Library, take a look at the Christmas spread laid out in "Michael's Corner". Our little Rosemary bush Christmas Tree will get planted outside later. Also, we were excited to find that Santa had brought a new ping pong table to the Burleson House basement on Christmas morning! And it fits!

Surprising to us transplants from Oregon, the day-after-Christmas temperature jumped up to 75 degrees and we enjoyed going out in the balmy wind and planting bulbs by the tree between the carport and the garage. We had been having below-freezing days and nights!

We invite you all to excape to Baba's Center in the Heartland this coming year and relax and refresh at His well-spring of Love.

Best Wishes in Meher Baba's Love,

Ron Lansing and Miriam Rose, Caretakers @AMBHC