A Gemini's Life

Sunday I went with some friends for Dim Sum at the Phoenix Chinese Cultural Center. I love Dim Sum. The carts rolled around, each with different delights. They should rename it Yum Yum.

Having never visited the Cultural Center before, we strolled the grounds. Fascinating architecture replicating real pagodas and statues. Reminded me of being in China. And then we enter the Chinese Herbal Shop. If the pagoda replicas reminded me a China, this transported me there. It was the smell! China has this indescribable smell. If you really want to know - go to the Herbal Shop.


Jokingly, I ponder aloud to my friends, I wonder if they have any baby-making herbs? Before I know it I am being ushered into a back room to visit the Herbalist. The herbalist feels your pulse, gently and slightly moving his fingertips around, feeling for your veins. Right hand. Looking intently at nothing, focusing of the feel of your pulse. Left hand. He writes things on a pad of paper in Chinese. You have very low Chi, he says, heavily accented. I look around. Diagram of acupuncture. I look at your eye lids. I look back towards him and he gently lowers my eye lids and peers at my eyes. Ponders some more, writes on the pad. Tongue. I stick out my tongue. He peers.  Ponders, writes. What startles me is he asks me about things in my body I did not tell him before. I sleep poorly. I get constipated.  My heart gets irregular beats. Your Chi very low. Weak pulse. Weak kidney. Make these right and it will effect the other areas. Okay. Makes sense. I believe in the power of Chi.

The Herbalist writes a "prescription" and his assistants prepare it up front. There's an entire wall of herbs. Herbs in drawers, herbs in jars. All have Chinese labels so there's no telling what they are giving me. All I know is i will prepare a tea from what they give me. They pull out what looks to me like sticks and rocks and shells and dried roots. Woody and earthy smelling. I am relieved they did not use the dried seahorses I saw in a jar. Five different pouches of about 15 different ingredients. It's not like the little flowers in neat little tea bags. These are put in big plastic bags. I will end up boiling the bag of goodies in a honest to goodness pot with a lid. The shop keeper and I go over the directions several times. I am not usually scared by language barriers, but I am a little scared now because this tea is scary looking and I don't know what the consequences will be if i get this wrong. I take my woody tea and step outside of the Chinese Herbal Shop, breathing in deeply, returning to Phoenix.

Here's hoping my Chi improves!