A Real Love Story

Dear friends,

Below is a short tale that was e-mailed to me, some years ago. I've slightly re-written what was originally sent to me by a very special friend of mine who lives in the Bronx (New York City). Nevertheless, the story always brings back memories to me, as a child who was raised inside of the Civil Rights Movement of the early- to mid- Sixties. It helps me recall the types of stories that we heard and the kind of songs that we sung. Moreover, at least to me, it represents a genuine love. Enjoy!

One Love, One Heart, One Spirit,
G. Djata Bumpus
*****************************************

A cruise ship was sailing on an ocean. It was packed with people and their cargo.

At some point, the ship's bottom hit a large object. The ship began sinking.

The water filled the ship so quickly that almost everyone aboard either drowned while still on board or as they tried to flee by swimming away from the vessel.

Two men, one bald-headed, the other - hairy and bearded, did survive, however. In fact, they were able to swim to a small island that was nearby.

The island was completely barren. There were no trees, plants, or animals - only sand and a few boulders here and there. Fortunately, the weather was nice, not too cold or hot.

The two men, now seemingly bound together, decided that the only thing that they could do is hope for some divine intervention.

They agreed that prayer was the answer. However, the bald man said, "I don't know whether or not we'll be saying the same type of prayers or asking for the same things...Why don't we just split the island in half and each of us can pray for himself?"

The bearded man went along with him.

A line was drawn in the sand. Each man stood on either side of it. Right away, each man dropped to his knees and began to pray.

The bald fellow prayed aloud for food. Lo and Behold! Out of nowhere, a banquet-size amount of food appeared in front of him.

The bald man looked over at the bearded man who was still praying and seemed to have added nothing to his situation.

The bald man then said to himself, "I don't know who he's praying to or what he's asking for, but he better learn how to pray like me, if he doesn't want to starve to death."

It was now getting late and the sky was darkening. The bald man decided that he'd try his luck again by praying for some shelter. So, once again, he got down on his knees and prayed. Well, what do ya know? A small shack appeared out of nowhere. The bald fellow jumped up and down, and ran towards the shack for a good night's sleep.

Just as he entered the doorway of his new abode, he looked over and saw that the bearded guy was still praying, but had nothing to show for it.

When he got up the next morning, the bald man went outside and saw the bearded man still kneeling down and praying. He yelled over to the bearded man, "Hey, what's the matter?...You don't know how to pray?"

The bearded man said nothing. He just kept praying.

The bald-headed guy was really beside himself with pride and confidence, by now. He decided that he would pray for a woman, because he was lonesome in his little shack.

Meanwhile, as fate would have it, as he prayed, another cruise ship had a wreck nearby. The only surviving passenger was a woman. She ended up on the island.

The excited bald man invited her in for food and gave her shelter. She gladly accepted.

However, after a few hours, they both began discussing the need to get off of the island and return to their previous lives.

The bald man now got down on his knees, for a fourth time, and prayed. However, nothing happened right away, like it had previously, so he and the woman went to sleep inside of the shack.

The next morning when they got up, looking outside, they saw that a boat was sitting right there on the shore, in front of them.

The bald-headed guy started dancing and jumping around, once again, to see that his prayers had been answered. "I'm going home!", he exclaimed.

The woman, although excited too, asked him whether or not they were going to take the bearded man with them. The bald guy responded, "Nope...Let him pray his way out of this by himself - like I did."

So, over to the boat the pair went. The bearded man was still on his knees praying.

Just as they reached the boat, the clouds darkened. There was thunder and lightening.

A deep voice from the sky roared, "Where are you going?..Are you going to leave the bearded man?"

The bald-headed guy looked up and replied. "He's been on his knees praying for almost three days and nothing has happened...Why should I help him?"

The deep voice responded, "Do you know what he's been praying for?"
Still looking towards the sky, the bald man said "No, I don't...What was he asking for?"

The voice told him: "He's been asking that all of your prayers be answered."