Buddha in the sky

Buddha in the sky

fiction
edward w pritchard

Bud had few friends but those that he had often told him he looked like the Buddha. The very fat friendly one for Bud had gained an enormous amount of weight and had trouble running the small construction company he owned and managed. With the heat of the Summer and the demands of the physical labor of the home improvement business Bud began to lose jobs because he couldn't manage his crews and could no longer swing a hammer himself because of the excess weight he carried.

One hot July day down in Hartville, tearing out a porch Bud had enough. He was sitting on top of the job, on a small roof overhang, supervising his crew, in the very hot Sun and he decided not to come down from the roof ever.

The owner's of the house he was working on were progressive people and with Bud's
Buddha like appearance, and the fact that Bud began to give advice on spiritual matters to passers by on the main street through the town of Hartville, the homeowners allowed Bud to stay permanently of the second floor overhang of their house.

Bud awoke very early in the morning and commuters in cars along the main road, 619, that ran very close to the house, where he now stayed at, would stop and give him rice or other food. For the rest of the day Bud would give advice to anyone that asked. In time people would line up along the main road to speak to Bud. Although that caused some traffic congestion the local authorities took the inconvenience in stride.

Because of the heat on the roof and the direct sunlight that struck Bud throughout the day, Bud began to wear an orange flowing robe that one of the advice seekers gave to him.

Sitting on a small sloped roof, about fifteen feet above the busy street of 619, dressed in flowing orange robes, the fat and happy former construction company owner, formerly named Bud, would provide spiritual solace to the Commuters of Hartville, Ohio.