By The River Piedra I Sat Down & Wept

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for Monica Antunes, my companion from the beginning, who with her love and enthusiasm spreads the fire all over the world;

for Paulo Rocco,for the joy of the battles we have fought together and for the dignity of the battles we have fought between us;

and for Matthew Lore, for not having forgotten a sage quotation from the I Ching: "Perseverance is favorable,"

AUTHOR'S NOTE

A Spanish missionary was visiting an island when he came across three Aztec priests.

"How do you pray?" the missionary asked.

"We have only one prayer," answered one of the Aztecs. "We say, 'God, you are three, we are three. Have pity on us.'"

"A beautiful prayer," said the missionary. "But it is not exactly the one that God heeds. I'm going to teach you one that's much better."

The padre taught them a Catholic prayer and then continued on his path of evangelism. Years later, when he was returning to Spain, his ship stopped again at the island. From the deck, the missionary saw the three priests on the shore and waved to them.

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