If I were to pick my possible past lives, one of them would be my life as a Roman domino(not the game stupid!It means 'lord'). The lives of the upper class Romans revolved around parties, orgies and more parties. They especially loved eating and would go to the pits at the back of their palatial homes whenever they were full to tickle their throats and vomit. After vomiting, they would eat again..
Octavian, the Bible quoter, lent me his dvd of Rome a few weeks ago to christen my then new dvd player with. I was not disappointed. A whole day was spent watching decadence, debauchery and violence in all its glory. Plus, I was treated to delicious lines like "Hello, old cock!", "Eat them(the goat's testicles) while they're still warm. They ought to put some oak into your cock." and "If you don't penetrate somebody today, I will burn all your books in the yard!". It was also fun to listen to curses involving the genitals of the Roman pantheon.
Rome, does not have clear-cut heroes or villains. Everyone has his or her excessive faults and few moments of glory. Everybody is ambiguous, morally and sexually. There's no attempt to explore the nature of morality and to do so would make the show sink in the bog of melodrama. The screenplay is told in a sombre tone,which is very Roman. Romans only copied their art forms from the Greeks and the other cultures they conquered and what they produced were rather dull but still managed to withstand the test of time.
My mind was still populated by images of nude Romans when I went to Atia's Baptist fellowship the following day. I would not have gone but the fellowship was going to be held at a well-known Thai restaurant and Tenaj was going too. I also made Atia promise not to make me stand in front and make soaring declarations about my faith.
The pastor preached on the symbolism of salt and light which were used by Jesus in His teachings. The Jews gathered salt from the Dead Sea and used them to fertilize the land, disinfect animal poop and to preserve food. The potassium-based salt gradually loses its salinity over time and then it would only be fit to be thrown to the streets and be trampled by men. He also discussed the three purposes of light. Light is used to ward off darkness, to examine things and to guide travelers at night. Since it is very useful, it shouldn't be put under a bowl.
So, as Christians, we were told to be the salt and light of the earth. Then, the pastor went on about the moral deterioration in movies and television shows. At that, Atia, Octavian, and Tenaj slowly turned their heads toward me. We were urged to live exemplary lives, to inspire others to drive darkness and immorality from their lives and to guide them on the path of righteousness. The sermon induced giggling fits in me instead of guilt. Whenever the pastor alluded to my deficiences as a Christian, I would smile and nudge Tenaj or make side comments to Atia.
During lunch, I heaped my plate with loads of food like a true Roman. People made small glances at my plate as I headed to my table. Earlier, the pastor told everyone to be conscientious in helping ourselves with the food and to think of those in the fellowship who have not yet eaten. I was exhausted from suppressing my laughter for almost two hours and gobbled up my food to replenish my energy. Octavian, who was seated beside me, watched me like I was a wild boar in a feeding frenzy on Discovery Channel.
I have accepted that I have long lost my saltiness and my light has long been extinguished. It doesn't bother me at all. I am beyond redemption and proof of this is that I thought of lewd connotations when the pastor was talking about rubbing salt into meat.
