I’m writing this late Sunday morning and this post is inspired by a
song I heard on the radio this morning, which I’ve always liked.
The song reminded me of a short story by Michael Marshall Smith, called
“When God Lived In Kentish Town“.
As far as titles for stories go, that one is definitely in my top 10.
Originally I think they had an ad campaign for this which said,
“Available in all good bookstores…and some shit ones as well.” 🙂
The story is all about a man, a chinese takeaway and someone
who may or may not be God.
Michael Marshall Smith is adept at these kinds of stories and
it’s up there with another one I read by him about a hot female
motorbike courier that delivered computer parts, who was also
somehow, magical.
He was torn between her and the woman he lived with.
Magical Hot Biker Woman With Precious Components vs Normal Human
It’s a tough one, eh?
Side Note: I first read that story while lying on a hotel bed in Paphos,
eating dry roasted peanuts, if you’re interested. I couldn’t put it down.
Let’s get back to God and his Kentish Town activities…
I’m not religious, but I do believe that the universe is bigger than us,
and who is to say there isn’t something omnipresent manifesting itself
in human form in or around your local area.
They don’t manifest gods like that ’round ‘ere.
Personally speaking, I quite like the idea of God being a person
who works in a bookstore, keeping random hours, just to keep
you on your toes.
After all, it would never do if He or She was always there. A boring and
predictable God? Heaven forbid!
Somewhere quiet you could pop into now and then, just to chat about
whatever’s on your mind, if they happened to be in that day.
I wouldn’t care if God was male or female, although it might sound odd
saying, “I just had a chat with God and she’s really cute.”
If God were a man, I like to think he’d have the occasional beer, socially
of course. We could talk about vanilla stout and the kind of events that
involve a doner kebab after one too many on a Friday night.
I wouldn’t want God to be an alcoholic, just as I wouldn’t want
God to refrain from indulging now and again.
Let your hair down, God (for Chrissakes).
Yep, in my mind God is a rather interesting sort with a
few human frailties, even if that’s just to make him/her seem
more human and relatable whilst working in a shop.
I don’t think my interpretation of God would go down well in Church,
not that I ever go there for religious reasons (more on that another day, maybe).
Going back to the bookstore setting…
Imagine God recommending a book to you. Could you get a
better recommendation?
Why are you reading that book? It’s not your usual thing and you seem obsessed with it or something?
Oh… no reason.
Really? You just randomly chose a book on a topic you have no historic interest in?
Yes. I’m growing as a person. Just call me eclectic.
Hmmmm.
When you got to know God over time, I also like to think
a few things would start happening that went your way.
Small, quiet things.
Lucky turns you wouldn’t quite be able to explain.
Nobody else would ever know about them, of course.
A nod is as good as a wink, as they say. Maybe that’s faith in its simplest form.
Thanks for reading…
I’ll wrap this up with the song that inspired this
mornings post, which is One of Us by Joan Osborne…