My friend, the poet Ken Weisner occasionally visits the New Camaldoli Hermitage at Big Sur because he can meditate there in complete silence. Yesterday, as his residency came to an end and he was headed back to civilization he found he was following a FedEx truck down the winding mountainside road. "What" he wondered, "had the FedEx truck delivered to the monks?"
Ken left me a lovely phone message wherein he offered the view that I might know.
Here are some speculations:
5,000 egg salad sandwiches mitt der dill pickles.
A truck's worth of remembered sorrows.
Fruit cake ingredients.
Imported tree frogs.
"The Miracle Hair Remover" from Ronco (500).
The rare cloth of Ch'i, white silk glowing and pure as frost on snow.
Chattering teeth, 500.
Big Foot imprint making devices.
Planet of the Blind 
These dudes in Big Sur have troubles. My husband and a handful of others are the only fans of fruitcake these days. The monks could learn from the cloistered nuns at Monastery of the Angels. Needing to maintain prime real estate in the heart of Hollywood just off the shoulder of the 101 fwy, these enterprising gals have turned to the most delicious pumpkin bread recipe in the whole wide world. Councilman Tom LaBonge alone buys enough at Xmas to cover their utility bills for the balance of the year. When he delivered two loaves to the authors of a newly published book on Griffith Park at Los Feliz Public Library last week, I wanted to peek out the window to see if he rents a van just for the holidays to fill with pumpkin loaves. And the nuns’ Marmels? It may seem boastful that on the box it states, “Better than the Best”, but it’s merely a statement of fact. I’m no fan of marshmallow, but Marmels? Wow.
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Guess three was closest. But this time of year, those trucks are heading out with finished product.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/dailydish/2010/12/looking-for-a-financial-miracle-catholic-monks-turn-to-fruitcake.html
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