Who is His Holiness?

In these pages I often refer to “His Holiness” and some might wonder if I maintain an intimate relationship with the 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso – I don’t. His Holiness (HH for short) is my nearly three-year-old son. I gave him this moniker when he was still a very little person and in the care of a wonderful human being, who before settling in New York, just happened to have been part of the entourage of the official Dalai Lama. During her time in our lives Tsering knitted HH a brilliant Tibetan orange cap, sweater and scarf and when he wore it he looked all the world like a small, round and very young version of a monk. He also has a wonderful full-faced smile and generally happy and loving disposition. In fact, I would not be at all shocked if one day a delegation of saffron robed men with shaved heads appeared at our door, bearing relics and personal grooming articles of some previous Dalai Lama and set them before HH to see if he could perform the ancient test of discerning the genuine articles from the imposters. So “His Holiness” he will be until he is old enough to tell his Papa to please stop calling him that silly name or until that knock at the door.