On Conversation and Salvation

Email to an American friend

so infequently do i have a chance to just talk

i mean

really

really

talk

without strings

i walk a lot

it isn't real exercise

like racquetball

but\

like tonight

about 2 miles to dinner

about 2 miles back

well

maybe 1.5

anyway

i am all sweaty

but it was a good dinner

and good conversation

and i learned some things

and the wine was excellent

and so

as i was walking back home

i quoted Goethe to myself

Wer immer strebend sich bemueht

Den koennen wir erloesen

protestant work ethic

salvation lies in work

in struggle

in keeping on, plugging on, slogging on

i am not like the Witnesses, who KNOW that they are saved

nor the Jews, who KNOW they are Chosen

but the only hope i have is in

doing what i am doing right now

which is working to help these kids learn english

because, believe me,

without english they are screwed

not necessarily BIG TIME

but screwed nonetheless

so

I keep at it