A charismatic Pentecostal couple were unpleasantly surprised when, upon their deaths and despite their Christian piety, find themselves reincarnated. They had been quite wealthy, part of the new elite in Atlanta and enthusiastic adherents of the Prosperity Gospel that became quite popular in the 1980's. The fortune was made in supplements (wife) and real estate (husband) and the couple lived in a lavish 7,000 square foot penthouse in Buckhead.
The wife awoke on a piece of cardboard, on the sidewalk, in front of a restaurant. Groggy from the transformation, it took her awhile to grasp where she was. When she finally came to her senses, she was shocked to see that she was across the street from where she had lived. She was in front of Cracco's, her favorite Italian place. So convenient! Within staggering distance from home, her husband used to say. Looking at her old place, she could see the Negro doorman, Williams, who was shooing ragged people away from the steps of the tower. They were also on her side of the street, shuffling, coughing. "Where did these people come from? In Buckhead of all places?" she thought. She had never seen them before.
The husband fared far worse. Arrogant, racist, homophobic, he awoke to find himself lying naked on a bed in a dimly lit "room" that actually was a curtained off area in a large room. The place smelled of BO and he heard grunting and groaning that eventually registered as of a sexual nature. Suddenly, a man appeared at the side of the bed, grabbed the husband roughly about the head and forced it to his crotch. The husband vomited, the man yelled in anger as another man appeared. This man took off his belt and began to beat the husband across the shoulders while yelling at him. He was the pimp, quite unhappy about the incident but determined not to strike the head, not wanting to mar the husband's "pretty face." Somehow, the husband understood the language and finally, looking at his hands realizes in horror that he was a black gay male prostitute in Nairobi.
One guiding principle in life is that one should not worry about the bastards of this world getting their comeuppance: the Universe will take care of their sorry asses. One has to have patience, though. Sometimes it's a case of instant karma, sometimes it takes a lifetime even while tremendous harm is being done.
For our couple in today's tale, perhaps if they had remembered Luke 16:24, they might not have suffered their fate.
A vivid tale!
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