Lino at Large

I had actually been in a fairly unhappy mood on my way to work today. Actually this opens up a can of worms. I didn't go to my internship today because since last night I've been feeling sick (dizzy - which leads to bad stomach feelings, etc). But I still had to go to regular work today. On my way to work I passed my old High School and I started having one of those 'down on myself, depressed, want to do everything over again' moments that lasted for 2 hours. But as I was sitting here at work it popped into my head that Lino Rulli should have posted something new on his website.

I was introduced to the website a couple weeks ago on a message board and I just love it. His thoughts are the most random, and the most like my own when I'm with my friends that I've ever seen from a Catholic writer. I did just add him to my list of links, I wonder why I didn't think to add him before?

Sure enough when I checked the website he had updated after his trip from Turkey and I was laughing in no time. This little exchange in particular lightened my mood.

I was out to dinner one night and the waiter started speaking some sort of gibberish to me. Well, it wasn't actually "gibberish". It was probably "Turkish". But since I didn't understand a word he said, it just sounded like "afk wekrj ach, oiplekm vdfo".

After saying "WHAT?" several times in English, here was a transcript of our conversation:

Gibberish talking Turkish guy: "Oh, you're not Turkish?"
Gibberish talking American guy (me): "Nope."
Him: "You look Turkish."
Me: "Nope."
Him: "But you are Muslim, yes?"

Stop. Awkward time. (That phrase best sung to the tune of MC Hammer's "Stop. Hammer time.")

So I thought about it. Do I say yes, I'm Muslim, just to play along and try to fit into this country where the population is 99% Muslim? Or do I say I'm a Christian - and see what kind of reaction that potentially unpopular decision is.

Well, I felt some sort of inclination to not deny my faith. Plus, I was eating a pork chop and drinking a beer...which may have been non-Muslim things to do anyway...so I took the risk.

Me: "Nope. Not a Muslim. a Christian."
Him: "You are Christmas?"
Me: "Yep."

And we left it at that. Kinda weird to say out loud, to a total stranger, yes, I'm a Christian. What made it even more odd was that I admitted I am a "Christmas" to him. But hey, I celebrate Christmas...so why not admit that, too.

And that was it for my "faith sharing" in the land of Turkey. I know, I'm quite an evangelist. I'm a regular Jimmy Swaggert the way I talk about my faith. Or not. Oh well. Onto other things...

For whatever reason I got the biggest kick out of that and hopefully my mood will be much better, at least for the rest of today.