Luna the Cow, Deer Hollow Farm
Rancho San Antonio, Los Altos Hills, CA
Photograph by Peter Y. Chou (June 19, 2015)

I've Learned My Lesson Well We took lots of graphic design classes at Foothill College & she became a good friend. I called her "a shrimp" because she's small, then "a snail" for she's slow & late on dates, and "a sloth" because she's always sleepy. She never complained on these nicknames. Often we'd go to the Stanford Theatre to see films of Hitchcock, Fred & Ginger. After finishing a tub of popcorn, I give her a cup of red seedless grapes; then she asks "What's the next course?" I say "Cookies, almonds & Brazilian nuts— it's better to wait till the next movie." She tells me "I want to eat it now!" That's when I say "You're eating like a cow!" Then all hell broke loose— she won't speak to me for weeks. I backtracked, telling her the cow is sacred in India— "Moo" spelled backward is "Om"— symbol of the Absolute and the god Krishna is a cowherder. Vishnu churns a milk ocean to nourish Earth, and our galaxy is called the Milky Way. All these explanations were to no avail, even profuse apologies did me no good. Suddenly an acronym for "COW" came— "Compassion Opens Wisdom"— my web site WisdomPortal.com shares this vision with all— She liked that and I've learned my lesson well.             — Peter Y. Chou                 Mountain View, 2-1-2016