Run-ins with the Prophet

I've been seeing Prophet Blackmon regularly at the post office-- he's there nearly every day-- and lately I've been stopping to talk a bit. I first ran into him when he was selling his religious paintings outside of the East Library, and I bought one of his church magazines. He asked me how my health was, and if there was anything wrong with my respiratory system and my knee. I had bronchitis at the time, and a bad knee, so I was impressed. Maybe he could hear the rasp in my voice, and maybe I was limping a bit, though I wasn't aware of either one, but even so, if those were his clues, I was impressed by his powers of perception. But I preferred to believe, right then, that he was a Prophet, as he claimed to be. He offered to help me heal.

I had not thought about him in a few years, so I was glad to see him at the post office. He said that his 86th birthday is coming up in April. Each time I see him he doesn't seem to remember me, but he always seems glad to see me and talk a little-- usually he tells a joke, or some odd story. He mentioned my knee again, and I was wondering if maybe he just has these standard questions, the knee, the chest. I hate to doubt him, but it's the detective in me that makes me want to get to the bottom of things. But then, after, on this day, going on with stories for quite awhile, he asked me about my head, and I told him I do suffer from a lot of headaches. You won't anymore, he assured me.

By this time, anyway, I was ready to believe him completely, because a couple of weeks ago I was talking to him, just briefly, and then as I was about to leave he looked at me as if something suddenly came over him and asked, "Are you a writer?" I said yes, and he seemed pleased, but not at all surprised. I left then on that day, feeling kind of crazy, but also a little guilty, because I could also sense that he knew I wasn't a Christian. But then, if he could tell that, I figured, thinking about it, I'm sure he can also tell that I have respect for him, and his beliefs, and the unknown, and that I'm willing to accept anything, and I will gladly admit that, about this universe we live in, I know absolutely nothing.