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=> Excerpts From "KOOLAIDS"

Excerpts From "KOOLAIDS"

Posted by Emil (Guest) squaremoon@emilsdiary.com - Thursday, November 3 2005, 1:34:21 (CET) from 24.148.65.193 - 24-148-65-193.grn-bsr1.chi-grn.il.cable.rcn.com Commercial - Windows XP - Netscape Website: http://www.emilsdiary.com/ Website title: Square Moon Diary of Emil Keliane

From "KOOLAIDS" by Rabih Alameddine Death comes in many shapes and sizes, but it always comes. No one escapes the little tag on the big toe. The four horsemen approach. The rider on the red horse says, "This good and faithful servant is ready. He knoweth war." The rider on the black horse says, "This good and faithful servant is ready. He knoweth plague." The rider on the pale horse says, "This good and faithful servant is ready. He knoweth death." The rider on the white horse says, "Fuck this good and faithful servant. He is a non-Christian homosexual, for God's sake. You brought me all the way out here for a fag, a heathen. I didn't die for this dingbat's sins." The irascible rider on the white horse leads the other three lemmings away. The hospital bed hurts my back... ...March 20th, 1976 Dear Diary, This day is without a doubt the worst day of my life. The shelling was getting closer to our apartment. My husband thought it was okay to go to work today. No problem, he said. They won't be fighting here, he said. The children were underfoot all morning. The maid was having another Egyptian anxiety attack. She was no help. When a loud shell exploded, she let out a bloodcurdling scream which made Joumana cry. I wanted to slap her, but didn't risk it. Then it happened... ...My life has become nothing but regret. When the nurse told me I was HIV positive, I wanted to scream. Hold on a minute. Hold on. I haven't even begun to live my life. I thought I had more time. After a childhood of complete and utter confusion, I started grasping who I was when I turned fourteen. It was not a single event which precipitated a change. It was gradual. My fourteenth year, 1974, was the happiest year of my life. I had finally adjusted to living in Lebanon. The war started in 1975. When I was told I was to be sent out of the country, I wanted to scream. Hold on a minute. Hold on. I haven't even begun to live my life. I thought I had more time... ...Cervantes told me history is the mother of truth. Borges told me historical truth is not what took place; it is what we think took place. So Billy Shakespeare was queer. Ronnie was the greatest president in history, right up there on Mount Rushmore. AIDS is mankind's greatest plague. Israel only kills terrorists. America never bombed Lebanon. Jesus was straight. Judas and he were just friends. Roseanne's parents molested her as an infant. Menachem Begin and Yasser Arafat deserved their Nobels. And Gaetan Dugas started the AIDS epidemic... ...A process of genocide is being carried out before the eyes of the world. Pope John Paul II told the world that in 1989, when the Syrians were shelling Christians in East Beirut. A rumor started circulating that the Pope was coming to Beirut. He wanted to suffer with the Lebanese. The amazing part of this story is everyone believed it. Christians and Muslims alike believed the Pontiff cared enough to make a statement with his physical presence. The Pole never showed up, of course. The Syrians annihilated the Christians. Lebanon became a Syrian state. The Pope did brunch with Ronnie and Nancy... ...Much had changed in Beirut since Samir left. Much had remained the same. He returned for the first time in the early eighties. He spent most of his vacation at the Coral Beach. The Coral was one of the better beach clubs in the city. On one occasion, he was swimming in the pool. He noted the usual lineup of sunbathers circling the pool. Very few, if any, went anywhere near the beach. Very few, if any, actually went in the pool. The club's clientele consisted mainly of women who socialize. The sunbathers were all perfectly tanned. All wore designer bathing suits, never too revealing, but always alluding to something more. While he was swimming, the sound of a huge explosion rocked the club. Cabanas shook. Some of the empty beach chairs moved. He panicked. His first reaction was to dive underwater. He realized that was silly since whatever happened had already happened. He figured it must be one of those car bombs he kept hearing about. Nobody around him budged. One woman finally sat up on her recliner. She lifted the designer sunglasses from her face, looked around her, and said, "That was close." She repositioned her glasses, lay back down... ...Even diseases have lost their prestige, there aren't so many of them left...Think it over...no more syphilis, no more clap, no more typhoid...antibiotics have taken half the tragedy out of medicine... Rabih Alameddine is a successful painter who has had gallery shows in cities throughout the United States, Europe, and the Middle East. He lives in San Francisco. He is also the author of "The Perv". --------------------- - BACK TO INDEX - REPLY - QUOTE - EDIT - DELETE -

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