Saturday, February 1, 2014

Neanderthals in Heaven

Lady Neanderthal. My drawing. I was thinking how her work was never done.I was thinking this while mopping the floor this morning. I still think it's important to do things relatively laborious. It's fun to think of things to write while doing it as well... Lady neanderthal...

Last night I had a dream. I dreamt I died and went to heaven. I entered in to heaven and witnessed life in all its diversity enjoying eternity. Birds chirped, Pirates arghhed, and some suicide bomber enjoyed 72 virgins, sometimes two at a time, sometimes three. All this was done blissfully. I came across a neanderthal who grunted contentedly. Apparently God had forgotten to take away my annoying nature of questioning.
"Why don't you give this neanderthal a mind like mine," I inquired, "which would probably be more capable of really feeling and understanding bliss more deeply? He would grasp it more and his happiness would be heightened. Right?"

I smiled. God looked perturbed. 
He responded, "Why don't you mind your own business, you little creep. Who asked you? Besides, Einstein, you don’t have a “mind” anymore! How can you have a mind when you don’t have a brain? Huh? Didn’t you learn they were inextricably linked! Didn't you learn that down there? Hah! Answer that one!”
I asked, “You mean to say he doesn’t have a mind either?” 
I pointed to the Neanderthal as he masticated on a heavenly piece of mammoth meat.
I continued annoyingly, “If he doesn’t have a mind, how is he grunting? How does he know he’s enjoying it? In fact, why no brain but he gets a mouth and taste buds and..."
"He's fine!” God shouted annoyed. “Look! He's enjoying himself! That's the point! Doesn't it look like he’s enjoying himself? Doesn’t it appear so? That's the point! Eternal enjoyment! His own! Do you want to enjoy yourself, smartboy? Huh? Keep it up and you won’t! Keep it up and I'll punish you! Yeah! I'll punish you by giving you a mind like his! Would you like that? How would you like your eternal bliss to be steered with a brain like that?"
God caught himself. He looked embarrassed. He finished his thought in a mumble.
He whispered, "I mean a mind like that..."
 He trailed off. 
I frowned. Then, in a moment, I looked puzzled. So did God, for that matter, like a person who just uttered words while at the same time realizing the words were something even he couldn't decipher. I didn't want to cause more discomfort. But the stupid part of my brain could not stop.
I stuttered embarrassingly, "But...But...That would be...That proves me..."
I knew like a nerdy know-it-all I was turning the tension up. Why can't I just stop?
God cut me off. "Shut up! Just shut the hell up! Shut up!"

Moments passed. To break the tension I smiled a bit. I smiled and my voice took on a very playful tone. I said in a teasing manner, “God. Oh, God!. Are you just as confused as me? Hmmm?”
“Fuck you!” he shouted. But I spied him trying to hide a sly smile.
Even in my dreams I am an annoying little bastard. I must change.




2 comments:

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  2. From Lion Feuchtwanger's 'Odysseus and the Swine' (in which the sailors turned to pigs by Circe are said to relish their pigness). Says a rescued sailor to Odysseus:
    "So you are back, you busybody? Again you want to nag and pester us, to expose our bodies to dangers and force our hearts to take ever new decisions? I was so happy, I could wallow in the mud and bask in the sunshine, I could gobble and grunt and squeak, and be free from doubts… Why did you come? To fling me back into the hateful life I led before?"

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