Thursday, June 16, 2011

NIGHT OF FIRST WRITINGS

Sarah and Jonathon sat perched on two gilt occassional chairs in the middle of a crowded 'livingroom' in a suite at the Four Seasons Hotel - Jerusalem.. Nice place. Good air conditioning. No bugs. A mixed group of spiritual types crowded 'round them. The fat woman with the loose bun cirrculated  with a tray of small sandwiches. Some people munched tuna on challah rolls, others made due with some kind of ultra rare roast beef ( a bit too bloody to be truly kosher) on rye bread. I think there was some lox, salami and danish too (Jewish L.S.D.---God bless Henny Youngman)  Everyone sported carefully pressed business suits, or conservative-lady-business-dresses. For the most part it was the men in the suits and the woman in the dresses. A few of the men wore small prayer caps. I guess they were rabbis or popes or something. A hanndful spoke in tongues. But one of the tongues sounded familiar. I think the Three Stooges used it in one of their funny-films when they were supposed to be Russian diplomats or something. But, hey, we are not here to judge.

The woman with the sloppy bun gave Jonathon and Sarah lit aroma candles (pomegranate and citron, I think they were - this is the Holy Land after all). Eating-staring-small talk time was ending. People selfconsciously sucked fatty morsels of cow flesh out of their teeth. Then a man in a yellow suit (summer-butter-khaki actually)  scootched his chair forward and addressed the two vampires.........Good evening. I am Reverend Walker. perhaps you have heard of me? - he crooned......Jonathon said that he had not....But the California holyman continued unpreturbed.....You claim to act on visions, I am told. Can you describe one for us? - he asked.........Everyone grew quiet, waiting for a response.......Jonathon cleared his throat, more for rhetorical effect than necessity, as he quietly said - They are real. They are true. They are Divinely inspired. I could describe the very Saphire Throne of God itself  for you. Belief is in your heart.........But before he could continue, a young lady in the back spoke up. She said - Please, you are right. Belief lies in the heart. Tell us what is in your heart. Tell us what we should know.........Sarah looked. She knew the girl. It was Morticia, her 'goth' friend from a few months back. She whispered  this fact into Jonathon's ear. They smiled at the now decidedly non-goth human female. And she smiled back........All was silent. Then Jonathon went on........In the past, most of you here would have burnt us. We were demons. We were damned. We were persecuted and tortured. What changed your minds?...............A tall, thin man seated off to the side carefully put down his glass of iced tea and said - But if you'll excuse me, some of us have been having visions too.. They (all the humans, I mean) sat in embarrassed silence.

May I make a suggestion? - said a studious looking woman. Why don't we all simply write down  a simple description? Just tell what we saw. Then we can pick a leader. No, not so much a leader, more like a facilitator. That person could read a few of them, out loud, I mean. And we might be able to see a common thread. It would give us a starting point, a jumping off point. Well, what do  you think?.......A murmur of consent traveled through the room. Then a salt and pepper haired gentleman in a pale gray suit and collarless shirt (an imam, I believe) took some stationery out of a drawer and began to pass it around. Surprisingly each soul present had a pen (not Jonathon and Sarah. they were in those funny white outfits, but extra writing implements were soon brought forth). And every pen worked........a minor miracle in itself, you might say.....

Then they all began to write.