Friday, February 28, 2014
JESUS SAVES
after wasted days and and wasted nights i forced myself out
the house
and onto the 710 rapid bus . crenshaw blvd . northbound to hollywood
sometime after passing vernon avenue i fell asleep . when
the bus
turned left at wilshire i
woke up . a woman was seated next to me
an open bible was on her lap . noticing I was awake she
cheerfully said
“ good morning sir ! do you know jesus christ is our lord
and savior ? “
I sighed . looked at her for a moment and said “ my father
died recently
though there were tremendous difficulties he stayed with my
mother until
the end . over fifty years . he was like atlas with the
world on his back and
never shrugging . not even once . I did not appreciate him
when he was here
and now it is too late “ . a tear rolled down my right cheek
. I looked out the window
the bus turned at rossmore and stopped for passengers at
melrose avenue
when the driver announced santa monica blvd the woman said “
this is my stop “
i turned towards her and smiled . she handed me a pamphlet
and gently said
“ have a nice day “ then exited the bus . i glanced at the
pamphlet . “ JESUS SAVES “
was printed in large letters on the cover . i was going to
drop it onto the floor
but before doing so I opened it . on the right page written
in red ink diagonally across
the story about jesus christ was her name . her number . and
the words “ call me “
Sunday, February 16, 2014
A HAPPY SMILEY ASIAN COUNTRY
i woke up
this morning with dawns early light
still
suffering from jet lag after one month in
a happy smiley asian country
i decided to
go for a walk and find something to eat
just the
thing I love to do when I am in
a happy smiley asian country
but there
were no sellers of congee or soto ayam or pho
not at all
like the early morning hours in
a happy smiley asian country
the few
people I past look stern and eye me suspiciously
no cheerful
sabai di or chao ong or pagi pagi like in
a happy smiley asian country
a police car
pulls up and I am asked where I am going
i explain I
am just enjoying the dawn like I would in
a happy smiley asian country
the officer
looks me up and down then says
sir you are
free to go but remember this you are not in
a happy smiley asian country
often I
wonder with all our material comfort
why cannot we
be a bit more like
a happy smiley asian country