"I'm A Vegetarian"

Ya-Ya: House of Excellent Tea
(from Ya-Ya's website)
I should begin by mentioning that I always seem to attract these sorts of people.

I occasionally help our good friend Diane at Ya-Ya House of Excellant Tea. In addition to selling and serving a good selection of high quality teas from all around the world, Ya-Ya's has a well designed Zen Garden located in front of the teahouse.

I should also mention that for some reason people just cannot seem to resist walking through or writing in or generally molesting the manicured gravel and sand of the Zen Garden.

Last Thursday I noticed a man taking pictures of the Zen garden located in front of Ya-Ya's.


Ya-Ya's Zen Garden
(also from Ya-Ya's website)

I watched this man for a bit and privately mused about how much time would pass before this man too would disturb the Zen Garden. Sure enough, not two minutes passed before he walked over to the garden, reached down, and grabbed a handful of the pristine white sand.

I was moved by the situation and decided to take immediate action: surely some form of penitance (or Karma, in this case :-) was on order. I walked outside and kindly suggested that perhaps he would enjoy the Zen Garden more with a cup of tea in his hands.

I certainly did not expect his response to my suggestion. He said, "I have never drunk tea or coffee: I'm a vegetarian."

The man's response seemed to be such a non-sequitor I was left speechless. I was born and raised in Southern California and the concept of vegetarianism is not entirely foreign to me.

I realize vegetarians generally do not eat meat; however, I am not aware of any vegetarian restrictions on caffeine, but I could certainly be in the wrong. I did perform a cursory search in regards to vegetarianism excluding the intake of caffeine, but did not find anything which supports the man's assertion that he does not drink tea or coffee because he is a vegetarian - It was a new one on me.