Slim Novel 16 - http://adventuresofkimi.blogspot.com - See Homepage
49 Black Christ ----
is the first thing that catches Eddie's eye after he debarks past passport & customs at Addis Ababa airport. As he faces greeters, he notices a very handsome, sallow brown, slim man, looking like the late Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie, selling effigies of a black Jesus Christ. Wow! He thinks. I guess I really am in Africa.
DR EDWARD STEINOWITZ, a sign held by a medium size light brown man.
"At's me!" Eddie exclaims out loud and the man smiles and comes forward with extended right hand that Eddie grabs and shakes as the man says "I am Tilahun Tegegni, call me TT. I am the guy communicating on your information highway. Welcome to Addis Ababa. You will please stay at my house and I will show you everything."
After a pleasant trip in TT's Volkswagen Beetle car, they arrive at his home. Eddie is surprised by the ranch style, large-spaced American house that could have been designed by the world famous architect, Frank Lloyd Wright.
TT's wife, who introduces herself as Sissy, is also light brown skin with features like pictures of the late Emperor, which Eddie has come to associate with Ethiopia.Eddie is ushered into the guest room, a large room with triple-size bed and thick wall-to-wall rug and a computer at desk that Sissy says "Gets you on the information highway." She wishes him to rest and relax, closing door softly behind her and, just before, saying, "If you will join us, we have supper at seven."
Eddie sees it is 2 PM. He investigates the bathroom. The bath is a gigantic, 10 by 6 feet, he estimates, and there is a toilet with bidet control. Also everything is hand-controlled electronically.
What does Mr TT do? He muses.
Eddie drops his clothes and steps into the pleasantly hot pool. Normally, at home he dislikes baths as ecologically wastefully but When in Rome, he thinks, settling down on his buttocks, his back against warm Delft tiles, and his legs stretched out in the hot mineral water. He reaches left arm behind and to left, grabs the pants he'd dropped on the floor beside the bath and from left pocket, takes a quartered pentagin pill and puts it under his tongue.
A pentagin repose in the bath ensues with Eddie contemplating the joys of the trip so far.
Several minutes later, TT comes in and says, "I should like to join you," taking off clothes, briefly washing himself off, stepping into the pool, and sitting oppositely beside and facing Eddie.
"I am complete communist, liking to share all things, as at present we are doing the bath. A real communist, in contrast to the usual who likes left-wing thing but is really an individualist in his living. Et tu?" he ends jokingly in the famous Latin interrogative. Not wishing to talk, Eddie simply nods head Yes, and TT says:,"Since the emperor was killed in 1974, we have a communist dictatorship in Ethiopia. But the leaders are merely greedy left wingers - they do not really believe. So they have become a corrupted bourgeousie element - like in China - and will be overthrown, I guess, once the Soviet Union collapses, which I predict will happen soon for the same reason as in Ethiopia. Well, enough of politics." He is silent and Eddie, who is hugely curious about what TT does and how come this fabulous house, asks, "Could you say about yourself?"
"Sure. I am architect; my parents, Ethiopian aristocrats, part of Haile Selassie's faction and they benefited greatly. I was educated in USA and in the 1960s, when a student, I was much influenced by Hollywood. I especially admired the late Hollywood movie star, Gary Cooper, his movie roles in which one can trace a single character played by Coop through several unrelated movies. Start with 1930 Morocco where Coop is Legionnaire Tom Brown who, we learn in the early dialog, ran away from college in USA. Then in 1932 A Farewell to Arms, the Italian Army volunteer ambulance man, Frederic Henry, who, we learn, was an architecture student at University. And in 1943 For Whom the Bell Tolls we find Coop, now full-fledged architect, Robert Jordan, volunteering his skills to blow up an important bridge for the Loyalist side in the Spanish Civil War. Finally, in 1949 The Fountainhead, we meet Coop, as master architect Howard Roark. From these I conceived my ambition to become an architect, albeit not an individualist like Howard Roark but a communist like Robert Jordan. So I progressed my studies and apprenticed to Charles-Edouard Jeanneret, better know as Le Corbusier of A house is a machine for living in, whose politics I much prefer over Howard Roark's creator Ayn Rand's.
Eddie thinks, Wow, I fell into another pot of jam here. "What is your take on Africa?"
"Switching the subject to Africa, Ecologically, I would keep it mostly in an uncivilized state: ---" He stops, smiles and adds "But not Abyssinia --". He stops. "Oh I am sorry! Abyssinia is the former name of our Ethiopia."He continues his thought about Africa: "In the south I would except The Union of South Africa. In my Utopia I should leave Africa wild and natural including the aboriginals."
Eddie is surprised. After all TT in USA would be considered a Negro, or in the modern parlance a Black.
TT sees the surprise in Eddie's eyes and explains further. "Considering Africa, first off, we start with uncivilized savages - and the fact they are black, or as we say, Negro, is irrelevant to the argument. Essentially they are uncivilized. Next, the temperatures are too high," he stops and fixes Eddie with a look. And, as you must know we are already into a period of global warming because of the overpopulation of the civilized people and their over-intensive use of energy for trivial enjoyments and living purposes. So a policy of civilizing central Africa is insane." He again looks at Eddie. "Yes! Yes! I know my idea is Utopian and therefore seemingly non attainable but it is a must if civilization is to survive."
Eddie asks, "So what should the intelligent few like we do if this is the only road?"
"We should live intelligently and not waste time, energy, money, helping civilize the uncivilized. And work for a gotterdammerung ending of this today's capitalist society, and, afterward, a science-civilization." TT stops and Eddie realizes the harangue is at end. After a moment TT says. "OK, now I go and make love to my wife. And, after an hour she will come to you, ready for your embraces. Please! You are my guest, so be it."
Eddie thinks, This guy is no bullshitter. He really is communist.
It happens that way. Then Eddie spends a fascinating next day touring with
TT and Sisay. And, on for Zurich Switzerland.
End of Chapter. To continue next, click 16.50 The Best Lawyer in Zurich
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