About a week ago, I was struck by some mysterious tourist flu, complete with high fevers, profuse sweating, and diarrhea smelling of dead snake and rotten papaya. During the worst of it, we were staying with Julian and his dad in their home near the Venezuelan border. For the first day, I barely left the bed. On the second day, just as I was getting my strength back (but by no means, was I better), Dad corners me at the kitchen table.
- So, you're a math teacher. Tell me the solution to this calculus problem !
- Hmmm, well it's been ten years since I've studied this...and I didn't really teach this to my underperforming 13 year-olds...and uh, my head hurts.
But I looked at the problem anyway. It looked familiar, and it seemed like it needed factoring before continuing any further. But it wasn't factorable. I must be missing something... And after 10 minutes I gave up.
- What ?! You can't do this ? You have to factor ! (x^2 + 2x + 2) becomes (x + 2) (x + 1) obviously !
- Uh, but that doesn't work...you'd need '3x' in the original problem.
And this is where he taught me my lesson. He scribbled out the 'two' and wrote 'three'. Silly me.
Then the conversation drifted to why I take pills. I tried to explain that there are two small organs, near the kidneys, that produce several hormones, such as adrenaline. And that my body has, for unknown reasons, attacked these little glands. Yes, I still have adrenaline, but no, I'm missing a couple of other ones. Thus, the pills.
Silly me again, I don't need those pills. What I need is God ! And then, I kid you not, he grabbed my arm and said, "Repeat after me".
I was a bit scared at this point. I'm sending distress glances at Pauline and Julian; HELP, my eyes are screaming !
And it went something like this...
- Dear Jesus Christ, who is my landlord, and who likes to fish or maybe to eat fish, please make my organs grow back (like they were before you took them), and don't take any other organs either. Amen.
And then Pauline said, "Do you want to watch a movie ?" Aaaah, the voice of an angel; that was the prayer my heart was saying.
Amen.
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