Between Pope and Prophet

Of African Princes and Russian Poets – NYTimes.com. Alongside the luminaries of the town and province were high representatives of Russia and Estonia, as well as the ambassador of Cameroon and the sultan of Logone-Birni (now in Cameroon), resplendent in the colorful garments of their African homeland.  The requisite speeches were delivered, and all shivered at attention as the local marching band wrestled gamely with the European Anthem (more familiar as Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy”). Then the sultan, Mahamat Bahat Marouf, was ushered forward to pull the veil off a modest plaque affixed to the wall. The legend, in French…

Two different takes: A child An adult To believe as a child again. I grew up in Queens, NY. Jew, Arabs, Iranians, Arab Jews, Iranian Jews (it’s where I bought my comics from), Italians (but not Jews), Muslims, Hindus, even the occasional “All-American,” blonde-haired, blue-eyed WASP. We knew we were different, but it didn’t matter, in the way our hair color didn’t matter, but we knew about it. We all came to together and agreed I would be picked last for kickball (far more damaging than being called Saddam lover later in life). Not to sound utopian, but really, why…