The Sunset Limited Page #9

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that thing that allows you

to ladle out benediction

on the heads of strangers

instead of curses.

And it's all one thing.

And it ain't but one thing,

just one.

And that would be Jesus.

I got to think about

how to answer that.

Maybe one more heresy

won't hurt you.

Pretty loaded up

on them already.

Here's what I would say.

I would say...

Mm!

I would say

that thing we're

talking about is Jesus,

but Jesus as understood

as that gold at the

bottom of the mine.

He could not

come down here

and assume the shape of a man

if that form was not done

shaped to accommodate him.

And if I said ain't no way

for Jesus to be every man

without every man being Jesus,

well now, I think that would

be a pretty big heresy.

But that's all right.

It ain't as big a heresy

as saying like man ain't

no different from a rock,

which is how I see

your point of view.

It's not my point of view.

I believe in the primacy of the intellect.

Mm, and what's that word?

Primacy? It means first.

It means what you put first.

And that would be intellect?

Yes.

Well, what about the primacy

of the Sunset Limited?

Yes, that too.

But not the primacy of the

people waiting on a later train?

No, no primacy there.

Hmm.

You tough, professor.

You tough.

You see yourself

as a questioner.

But about that

I got my doubts.

The quest of your life

is your quest.

And you're on a road

that you laid.

And that fact alone might be all the

reason you need for sticking to it.

As long as you're on that road

you can't get lost.

I'm not sure I understand

what you're saying.

Oh, I got my doubts about

you not understanding

anything I say, professor.

I'm fixing to say grace.

Lord, we thank you

for this food

and for the many blessings we

have received from your hand.

We thank you for the life of the

professor which you have returned to us

and ask that you would look

after him, 'cause we need him.

Now I don't know

why we need him.

I just know we do.

Amen.

Tell me how you like this.

It looks good.

This is good.

This is very good.

Supposed to be good.

It's soul food, my man.

It's got what in it?

Molasses?

- Mm, you a chef, professor?

- Not really.

- But some?

- Some, yes.

Bananas, of course.

Mangos?

- Got a mango or two in it, rutabagas.

- Rutabagas?

Rutabagas.

Them's hard to find.

It's very good.

You know, it gets better

after a day or two.

I just fixed this last night.

You gotta heat it up a few times

to get the flavors right.

Like chili.

Like chili.

Yeah, that's right.

You know where I

learned to fix this?

- In Louisiana?

- Mm-mm.

Right here in the ghettos

of New York City.

There's a lot of different

influences in a dish like this.

Many parts of the world

in that pot over yonder,

a lot of different countries,

different people.

Any white people?

Not if you can help it.

Really?

I'm just messing

with you, professor,

just messing with you.

You know them chefs

in them uptown restaurants?

- Not personally, no.

- You know what they like to fix?

- No.

- Sweetbreads...

Brains, tripe, all that sh*t don't

nobody like to eat.

You know why that is?

Because it's a challenge.

You have to innovate.

You're pretty smart

for a honky.

That's right.

It's a challenge.

The stuff they fix...

dead cheap.

Most folks throw it out,

give it to the cat.

But poor folks...

They don't throw nothing out.

I guess that's right.

Anybody can make a porterhouse

steak taste good.

But if you can't buy

no porterhouse steak

and you still wants to eat something

that tastes good, what do you do then?

- Innovate.

- Innovate. That's right.

And who is it

that's got to innovate?

- Poor people.

- That's right. Poor people.

You fixing to get an a+.

So how you like this?

It's very good.

You don't think a glass of wine

would have been good with this?

I do think a glass of wine

would have been good with it.

But you wouldn't

drink it?

Oh, I might.

Just one glass.

Jesus drank wine...

he and his disciples.

Yes, he did. Says so

right here in the Bible.

Of course it don't say nothing

about him hiding it in the toilet.

Is that really a favorite

hiding place?

Oh yeah.

I've known drunks

to lift the lids off toilets

in strange places

just on the off chance.

- Is that true?

- No.

It could be though.

Wouldn't surprise me none.

What is the worst thing

you ever did?

- More jailhouse stories?

- Why not?

Which why not you want to hear?

Is bludgeoning the man in the prison

cafeteria the worst thing you ever did?

No, it ain't.

It isn't?

What's the worst?

- I ain't gonna tell you.

- Why not?

'Cause you'll jump up, run

out the door hollering.

It must be pretty bad.

It is. That's why

I ain't telling you.

- Now I'm afraid to ask.

- No, u ain't.

Did you ever tell anyone?

Yeah.

It wouldn't

leave me alone.

Who did you tell it to?

I told it to a man of God

who was my friend.

- What did he say?

- He didn't say a word.

But you're not curious about

the worst thing I ever did.

Yeah, I am.

But you won't ask me

what it is.

- I don't have to.

- Why is that?

'Cause I was there.

I seen it.

Well, I might have

a different view.

Yeah, you might.

You want some more?

No, I'm stuffed.

Hungrier than you thought?

Yes, I was.

Good.

Is this some kind of

test of your faith?

- What, you?

- Me, yes.

It ain't my faith

you're testing.

You see everything

in black and white.

It is black and white.

I suppose that makes the world

easier to understand.

You'd be surprised

how little time I spend

trying to understand the world.

You try to understand God.

No, I don't.

I try to understand

what he wants from me.

And that's everything you need?

If God ain't

everything you need,

then you in a world of trouble.

I don't make a move

without Jesus.

When I get up in the morning,

I try to grab ahold

to his belt.

Sometime I go into

a manual override.

I catch myself.

- Manual override?

- Yeah, you like that?

- It's okay.

- I thought it was pretty good.

So you come to the end

of your rope

and you admit defeat

and you're in despair.

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