The chosen landowners

8.4.14

6am-Heavy fog, the foothills barely visible.  The Bengalis are awake, it must disappoint, what to do, go back to bed and relax, the air is clean, the rain falling now is clean, say this weather is from Dhaka, welcome it.

The sound is working.  Comfortably numb I am not right now.  If it continues to work I won’t take it to Pokhara, obviously, but why does it work now and not before?  A heating element, a bent chip, I do not know.

The Bengali six are in room six enjoying tea brought by Ram.  The pc sound no longer works.  Clouds and fog drape the valley, rain comes and goes.  I think I’m leaning to stay here and then go to Dubai for five days or so before returning to the armpit but it’s a decision made from indecision.  Here comes the toast and eggs and potatoes. 

I explain my long term plan to Maya: ‘I save money, I buy a home, I die in home.’  It’s as simple as that.  Not buying a home and running out of money I am destined for the streets or the forest.  I have no pension, nothing from my government to sustain the last years.  So, I must save.  And calculate how much I’ll need to die indoors. 

“I will give you so many descendants that no one will be able to count them.” 

“God makes a covenant with Abraham.  You will be the ancestor of many nations.  I will give you many descendants…so many they will become nations.”

This includes Ismael and his descendants.  They are part of the overall comprehensive covenant. 

And then comes the amendment, the second covenant and God makes trouble.

“Sarah will bear you a son and you will name him Isaac.  I will keep my covenant with him and with his descendants for ever.  It is an everlasting covenant.

Ismael, I will bless him and give him many children…and make a great nation of his descendants.  But I will keep my covenant with your son Isaac.”

So what is in the covenant?  Wealth.  Land.  For crying out loud.  Bleeping land.  Ya’ll fighting for gold and land.  And then it gets ugly.  Wonderful Sara, not really.

Ismael plays with Isaac and Sara gets nutty:  “the son of this woman must not get any part of your wealth, which my son Isaac should inherit.” Abraham is troubled with this woman, God reminds him not to worry about Ismael and his mother for it is through Isaac this covenant is to follow. 

The covenant of land.  That’s it.  God is a God of Isaac and Ismael. One gets some really great real estate, the other elsewhere. 

The Palestinians are behind the eight ball all the time here.

So that is the problem.  Same then as now.  And I feel further from finding an answer now than when I started. 

10:42am

Heavy fog persists and it is blindingly brighter .  The Bengali six hang out, they’re ok with things.  There is no reason for them to leave.  Walk around the village it’s not raining.  I don’t see anything in the Isaac-Ishmael narrative that should be reinterpreted but that’s exactly what the followers of Mohammed did. 

And that’s it.  The chosen ones, the Israelis, got a homeland again in 1948.  Chosen for what reason you ask now, I ask now.  Israelis don’t buy the Jesus story.  Are they still chosen?  Yes, they are, the land was chosen for them.  And to the Indian and Sri Lankan we say, who the hell cares?  You think you got the only revelations in history?  Do you really think you’re the only chosen one?

Chosen to be landowners.  I don’t know about this.  I feel like something is missing. 

2.43pm

I walked the Sarangkot circuit in the rising fog after breakfast #2 and had a nice workout on the up hill homestretch until I reached room five.  Plans to go to Pokhara today changed, I am ok with that.  Tomorrow.  I will go see the descendant of High Priests in a short while, the Bengalis are staying another night or 24 hours I don’t know but Laxman came down to ask what is up.  There is a lot of talking.

I tell ya what.  I don’t like feeling one minute I should go to everything is ok in my head a minute later.  True the length of time between the go and ok moments changes.  The sun breaks out for the first time, blue skies above and east.  But no mountains.  Time again to take a nap. 

7.09pm

A half moon appears, so a full moon is next Monday, the 11^th, that’s my cut off date.  Do I stay or do I leave?  Would it be auspicious if I flew on a full moon?  No.  The Bengalis are encouraged they might see the mountains tomorrow but there are no guarantees.  The day cleared up nicely for them and they are feeling the trip was worth something. 

The mosquitos are biting and my door and window are open.  The Bengali doctors close their doors and windows.  I’m sure these suckers are malaria fueled in your delta.  Thankfully not here, perhaps it’s too cold or the mountains have kept them out.  I do not know. 

A candle burns on the threshold, the children run back and forth.  Mama, the American is burning a candle in front of his door.  For what reason might this be? 

I enjoy talking with the guests though I usually keep out of their affairs and discussions.  I didn’t speak with the Spaniards nor the Russians in room two last night.

A seven woman-man team of Chinese come down the mountain, their guide leading the way and someone shouts ‘ni hao’ and the man in the back turns around and says Korea.  I haven’t heard of many Koreans here but down the mountain a new Korean-Nepalese project called Agape Love will be a place for Koreans to stay, I presume because they don’t eat any kind of food except their own.  Seriously? 

The lights coming on in the city shine brightly.  It might be my favorite song of all time and I am not really sure why.  It’s worth buying an Indian smart phone just to listen to Steve Perry? OMG

 Am I going to be hungry soon?  I don’t know why I am not hungry, the last meal was nine hours ago.  Two milk teas and a small bowl of roasted beans since, hey, it’s gotta be the beans or last night’s raxi, I don’t know. 

9.32pm

Before fog came a brilliant starry night with a red orbed halo around the half moon.  I saw Suraksha for the first time in three days, she’s sleeping in higher and safer places so it seems.  I explain to Maya that $80 shoes in Europe and the Americas is normal and I tried to explain why I wanted Suraksha to not keep the shoes when her feet are too big.  I think we understand each other though once I’m gone, the matter is dropped and no gifts thereof should be expected anymore.  If they are uncomfortable I have gone too far and it is easy to make amends. 

The Bengalis are having heated conversations on each side of me.  And now they’re outside.  What is there to discuss at almost ten pm?  Doctors please.  And I have no problem keeping my shades open.  Sure you can steal glances at me in my underwear typing about you.  What can you tell me about yourself?