B E B E R E

Oh, the sky was so blue and the sun shone so brightly this morning as to really lift this girl's spirits during her walk into work. Got over to the quick mart where I usually get my morning coffee and found Ali settling down to his cup of tea. Wished him a glorious, sunshiney day. Goodness, how his eyes bugged out at this:

"What do you mean glorious? It's freezing out. It's terrible!"

"But Ali, the sun really helps my mood. Sometimes it's all I have."

"My lady (that's what he calls me), this is not real sun. It is FAKE sun. It creates no heat; it's only there for appearances. You want REAL sun, go back to MY country. Now there's sun for you. Warm, direct, useful."

"Ali, I realize this. I'm fully aware of the quality of the sun where you come from. That is partly why I am here. Look at me. Come on, just look (for those of you who don't know, my skin's so white that on parts of me I look like the Visible Woman). Don't think for a minute that I wouldn't enjoy going there. How long, though, do you think that I'd survive?"

Ali gave me one of his full body laughs (love those - I know only one other person who laughs so forcefully that it radiates to everyone around him) and admitted that I had a point. "Okay, my lady, go and enjoy your day. Enjoy your fake sun."

"You bet I will. Stay warm, okay?"