Comprising a Life

As the teahouse in my Zen garden was nearing completion a group of mostly retired men that I hang with, who call themselves "The Codgers” came over to help me christen it.  Since none of us knew very much about proper tea ceremony as yet (although coincidently five of our membership had visited or spent some time in Japan) it was decided that until we had the guidance of a true tea master we should take advantage of the skill of one of our own members in the art of preparing Saki and another member's expertise in matters of wine.

It was a cold winter day but we were soon warmed up not only from the effects of what we were drinking but also due to the fact that one of the types of Saki that we were drinking required it be heated by putting small individual flasks of it in a pot of boiling water.  Wade, our Saki expert had purchased several kinds of excellent Saki and other members had contributed assorted cheeses and other delicacies suiting the occasion.  Bill, one of our more colorful associates had brought along his samurai sword which was immediately pressed into service for cheese cutting purposes.

We set up on the patio table so when we had fully satiated ourselves with the solid offerings we wandered through the middle of garden and through the covered gate to the Zen garden there we seated ourselves in the newly constructed teahouse; Saki cups and wine glasses in hand.  As it turned out I was very thankful that there was no tea master about because some of our antics would have demanded the act of immediate seppuku.