Oliver Benjamin
“I was born near the Blue Mountains,” Niles said, “You’ve been
there too?”
“I’ve been a lot places, but not Jamaica. Can’t be too bad if it
grows the best coffee in the world.”
Niles demurred, “Well, coffee was born in Ethiopia, so I reckon
they’d have the best. But we Rastas are a bit biased about that. For us,
Ethiopia is Eden.”
“Have some,” Leona said, handing a cup to Niles.
“No thanks. I can’t drink coffee,” he demurred, “My religion
doesn’t allow it. No drugs.”
Colin laughed, “Bob Marley smoked parsley?”
“No, no. Ganja’s not a drug, it’s divine. The bible says to enjoy
herb. It’s a commandment.”
“No alcohol either?” Leona asked.
“No. No booze. It opens the door to evil.”
“Evil?” Colin rejoined defensively, “People in the bible drank
wine all the time. Jesus too. It’s practically the drink of the gods.”
“Maybe of the gods,” Niles smiled, “But not of men. Every time
someone drank wine in the bible, bad things happened. When Noah
got drunk after the flood, he went crazy and cursed his black son
Ham and his descendants to be slaves. People have used Noah’s
drunken curse to justify racism. Even if I weren’t Rasta, I wouldn’t
drink on principle—it’s anti-black. Some even say it was wine that got
Adam and Eve thrown out of paradise.”
Colin scowled, “Yeah? Well if Ethiopia is Eden and coffee grew
there, maybe it was coffeethat got them thrown out!” He crossed his
arms. “How ‘bout them apples?”
Roy smiled broadly. The conversation in his shop had not
heretofore been so lofty. It reminded him of the religious debates that
took place at his father’s old place on Fairfax.
“You know a lot about the bible for someone who isn’t Christian,”
Roy complimented the deliveryman.
“Rastafarians use the bible too. Only we believe white people
stole the story from us. We believe the first Jews were black.”
Colin shook his head. “Why would anybody want to steal that
story? That is one hard luck epic.”
“But it’s a tale the black man is still living,” Niles said. “Look
around and you’ll see. Most of us are still stuck in Egypt, in the
wilderness, in Babylon, looking for a home, a temple, and wondering
where God went.”
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