The Fuzz

So yesterday was my day off and it was nice. I hung out with the Britt in the morning and walked around an outside market on the Europe side. One of the best things that happened was that we found a giant cat. It was the biggest cat I have ever seen and I am not exaggerating. The shop owner proceeded to pick it up and make it dance. Everyone was laughing. It was great. (On a side note the word exaggerate is spelled so unbelievably stupidly. It took me about 15 minutes to figure it out using a dictionary. I am so mad. I am a college graduate dad gum it!)

[WARNING MOTHERS AND FATHERS YOU WILL NOT ENJOY THIS NEXT SECTION PLEASE PREPARE YOURSELF]

After hanging out with the Britt I went off to explore on my own as I often do. While in the square outside of the Blue Mosque I was approached by a man who had been hovering. Inside I rolled my eyes prepared to chase of this hooligan. He said:

“I think you are a tourist.”

“No I live here. (That sometimes chases them off.)

“Oh I didn’t know. I saw your camera. You are English?”

“American”

“Can I speak English with you? If you don’t want I can leave and I will go.”

“We can speak.”

“Thank you. Most people chase me away. One man yesterday tried to talk but he was French and his English was no good. So we spoke non good together.”

He was well dressed polite and I was in a very public place. I know I know. He told me he was a police officer and was studying to pass an English test so he could be promoted. He pulled out a pocket dictionary and we walked up and down the square. He took me into the Blue Mosque to show me but it was prayer time. As we left the mosque we began to discuss religion. I said too often people say our religions are the same but I think that is a disservice to our religions. We are very different. He asked if I was a Christian. I asked yes. So we talked about the differences in our religion. He was impressed that I had read the Koran. We talked about the prophets and Christ. We discussed the Godhead three in one. He told me, “It really is very silly.” I laughed, “It is a little strange.” As we strolled I explained that I believed my duty within my religion was to love and care for people. He told me that morals in his country had vanished and he wanted to help restore them to the younger generation. While strolling we saw a cuddling couple and he said, “See what I mean.” I smiled. He told me he was to be married soon. It would be an arranged marriage. He said it was better that way. He had to behave so he would get a good wife. He said everyone makes mistakes but we must try to be good. He was excited when I pulled out my cell and it was a cheap phone like his. So we began to talk about how money corrupts people. He said you save, save and then you die. What good was it?

My favorite part of our time together though was our conversation about the Berka. The Britt calls them the black ninja suites but they are the Muslim full body coverings that only show a woman’s eyes. We passed on and he said:

“What do you think of when you see a woman like that?”

“Well… I think she must be very religious and love god very much. But I wonder in she does it because she is told or because she wants too.”

“I think most do it because they want to.”

“What do you see?”

“I think they’re faces our white.”

I gave him a funny look because it sounded like he believed they hid their faces because they were embarrassed from a lack of sun.

He laughed. “I think their face shines with the light of god.”

I don’t know why it struck me so. I think it is because I see it as such a negative symbol. But this simple man believed that the woman was protecting the glory of god. I still think about that when I see these women. Do they feel like prisoners or do they feel like they are protecting a sacred treasure? Some would say Christians are prisoners. It is because religion is a prison. You could strive your whole life to follow the rules but you will never be perfect. We have the advantage in this area because our religion died with Christ and out of his resurrection was born a relationship. In a relationship you will want to please your father but you are no longer a slave to the law. We are free and freedom is sweet. Praise God for his sweet freedom!

After our two or three hour walk he bought me some street popcorn as a thank you and then saw me to my train and said goodbye. He didn’t ask for a number or offer me his. He didn’t even try to find me on Facebook. He had simply wanted to talk. I felt very much like a disciple at that moment. I sure Peter or maybe Thomas wandered the ulterior motive of every person that approached Christ but in the end though those people were honest with what they wanted/needed. I felt like as we walked we were not two but three. I also believe that as I listened Christ gave him what he wanted/needed even if he didn’t know it.

(As another side note and to totally kill the mood, ulterior is another word spelled in a very stupid way. Who wrote the English language? Who came up with these spellings? Why does my brain hate to spell correctly? The world may never know.)