Dispatches

I took the front seat beside the driver, who was listening to a radio evangelist. I am not really fond of listening to those gospel preachers on the radio but I had no choice.The preacher was telling a story about a rich businessman in Europe. He said that this businessman was very healthy, had a big company and had millions of dinars.

“Wait a minute,” I told myself. “As far as I know,only Middle Eastern countries use dinar as their monetary unit.” I stopped listening to the preacher, looked outside to conceal a mischievous smile.

“Do you listen to these programs?”, asked driver. I answered “no” but I did not bother to look at him.

“I also used to laugh at these radio shows but when I discovered God everything changes,” he continued. “Do you attend Bible studies?”

“No.”

“Why don’t try attending one?”, he said. At this point, I felt annoyed. (I don’t like talking about one’s religious practices and beliefs)

The driver then started to do a monologue for about ten minutes. He narrated his transformation and even cited the story of a his friend.

“I have a friend who was very busy that he did not have to do his religious obligations….”"I go to church every Sunday and pray everyday. Are these not enough?”, I said in a louder voice. (My plan was to prevent him from finishing his story because I had a feeling that he would used the story to invite me to attend Bible study sessions.)

The driver did not answer my question and instead he said: “You are the only person that can answer that question.”

“If you think you are already happy with your spiritual life, I am happy for you brother. But if not, just don’t forget that there are ways to improve your spirituality. You have a lot of options.”
At last, the driver stopped stalking. He was silent during the rest of the trip. When I was already one block away from my destination, I alighted the vehicle. But before I closed the door, the driver said : “God bless, brother”

I tried to get the plate number of the FX taxi but it was too dark.

“It was a weird experience”, I said to myself. “What’s the significance of that event?Is this just a result of my addiction to the TV series Joan of Arcadia? Did I sound rude when I answered the driver’s questions? Why did it happen? Is there something wrong with me or with my religious beliefs?What if the driver was actually God?” The incident reminded me of Joan Osbourne’s song.

I have so many questions but I have not found the answers so far. I did not expect that a short talk with a stranger could elicit so many questions.