spacious skies - 23. omar

by american joe

part 23 of 40

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omar khayyam never knew what hit him. one day he was on top of the world, with life spread out before him like a day at the beach in honolulu hawaii. everything was so great. i liked my friends, and they liked me. i had a great girl friend, and she liked me and i liked her - a lot. i really liked her a lot. really a lot. really a lot. omar paused in his recitation and stared into space. mr ingersoll waited for him to continue. as the richest and most powerful man in the world, he was used to telling people to “speak up” or to “get on with it” if they wasted his time by not getting to the point of whatever it was they were trying to communicate. mr ingersoll and omar khayyam were seated at a table in a pete and jenny’s in a shiny metropolis notorious for its large homeless population. omar was one of the homeless. mr ingersoll had offered to buy him a cup of coffee and either a donut or a sandwich, and omar had eagerly accepted the coffee and ordered a grilled cheese sandwich. mr ingersoll had been introducing himself in this manner to people, mostly homeless people, for a couple of weeks. so far he had not found the results enlightening or interesting, but he had decided to persevere, at least until his next scheduled appointment with dr dee. like all the other persons who had accepted mr ingersoll’s offer, omar had not asked why he was making the offer, but had seemed to accept it as he might have accepted rain falling from the sky. so far mr ingersoll had followed dr dee’s advice about not “cross-examining” people, or trying to “draw them out”, but just to let them talk at their own pace. but now he decided to do things as he always had - his own way. tell me, he asked omar, with his best smile, why do you think i bought you the coffee and the sandwich? what? why do you think i bought you the coffee and the sandwich? why? do you want to buy me another one? i haven’t finished this one yet. no. i was just wondering. wondering what? why you thought i bought you the coffee and the sandwich. because you are a nice guy, i guess. why else would you buy me a sandwich? you are right, i am a nice guy. see, i told you. what did i tell you? i knew right away, you were a great guy. thank you. it’s kind of you to say so. you know, i have had some bad luck lately. maybe you could help me out. maybe. just how bad has your luck been? thus encouraged, omar told his tale.. next