Letter to Julia 20111006

Of course, I still have some traveling left to do. Do you recall my telling you so? I still have to complete my Hajj workload, then I have to go to Salt Lake City to keep my promise with the mysterious piano player. Then, there is you. Once we are married, I absolutely won't have you travel alone. Wherever you wish to go, then I will have to accompany you, so please don't make it too often and unpredictable, for you will have countless people hanging on a string, if Allah perfects my plan. Then, there is my journey to get you. I may go to either America or Germany to find you. I don't know which country yet. Most likely Germany, because I should meet your parents, plus you should have a stronger network there to keep an eye on me because I will be traveling alone. However, I don't speak a word of German other than the stuff I learned from reading all those war comics as a kid. I certainly don't want to go to New York City, because I hate the city in general, and I feel that I would despise New York City. I think of America because I have to go to Salt Lake City anyway. I don't know which country to go right now! What is important is that you make yourself easy for me to find. If you are difficult for me to find, then there can be no marriage between us. PLEASE DON'T FORGET THAT. Also, please prepare a chaperone for your journey to married bliss (insyaAllah), I suggest she be your maid-of-honor. More details to come as the clock ticks. Of course, you could always come to me, but I don't expect you to.

Oh, it's been raining again. I have a lot of vegetation to burn. I had to prune off huge, heavy branches of the tall mango and amra trees in my yard, because people were taking fruit without asking. Certainly, I can't eat all of that fruit, so I have no problem in giving it away, or even selling it. But I'm shy, so I don't go knocking on doors to give away fruit, so I eat what I can, and let the amra fall to the ground for the chickens to eat. No one seems to sell or buy amra, but I might have the nerve to sell ripe mangos by the side of the road someday. Maybe. Anyway, I chopped off the limbs that were hanging over the road, broke them down, and arranged them neatly into a bonfire stack to be burned when it dries up. Hey, it looks almost like a flower arrangement! It must be all those flower arrangement videos I've been watching from Martha Stewart Weddings. Too bad I've gotten too manly-looking to wear a wedding dress. **sigh**