I just had a dream about the people I stayed with in Arkansas.  True Christians though I do believe they are, the lack of faith they displayed toward me in the dream was painful.  Another gringo-grade rejection.

What a nightmare.

I hesitated bringing up "the sandwich incident" in the video above, but the object lesson is important.  A friend of mine took me to task about it, said true humility doesn't need acknowledgment.  He's right.  I hesitated bringing the incident up because I don't want credit for it.  But the object lesson is important.

I didn't come to Mexico for the culture, or the weather.  I came down here because it doesn't seem that the US has any use for faith.  I get it from every angle, friends, agents of the Matrix, brothers in Christ, everybody:

"You're 52 years old.  When are you going to get it together?"

The question is lopsided.  It assumes it has the answer..... for me.  But the question is for the person asking it.

If you want to ask me anything, it should be this:

"You're 52 years old.  How much more time are you going to waste talking to and singing for people who clearly are incapable of listening?"

The question isn't rhetorical.  I've been recently patronized by a true brother in Christ in these exact words.  The "You're 52" part; his tone implied the 2nd part.

There's nothing to say to that.  You can pray for it, but you can't talk to it.  It is a high horse of impeccable impurity.  Fortunately the weirdness was cleared out, rendered null and void.  That guy had some bad blood toward me I think, because he helped me out when I was frankly undeserving of it.  I had been waiting to apologize to him for years.  I was grateful to finally be able to do it.  The air was cleared.  But the question remains, to be reflected back at the people who think they are authorized to ask it:

"You're 52, or 22, or 82 years old.  When are you going to realize you need faith?"

I'm talking to myself, y'know.  Never listen to anyone who isn't.

Thanks for listening.

p.s.  It's an afterthought, but this doesn't come up very often (thank God), so I might as well take another baseball bat to the dead horse now, while we're on the topic:

My work was actually a lot of work.  You believe it's invalid (and that you're valid) purely for economic reasons.  You ignored the warning of the dead musician in the coal mine; in fact, you patronized his corpse, lying on the floor.  As a result, you now have to lose your livelihood as well.  When the plate of inedible refuse arrives, don't complain.  You ordered it.  In fact you laughed at the waiter, told him to get a real job.  If you don't repent, you will have no choice but to choke down the horror of the meal.  You heard it here last.

As they say in Spanish,

"To God,"