[Carl in Tampa]

"The Appointment in Samarra"
(as retold by W. Somerset Maugham [1933])
The speaker is Death

There was a merchant in Bagdad who sent his servant to market to buy provisions and in a little while the servant came back, white and trembling, and said, Master, just now when I was in the marketplace I was jostled by a woman in the crowd and when I turned I saw it was Death that jostled me. She looked at me and made a threatening gesture, now, lend me your horse, and I will ride away from this city and avoid my fate. I will go to Samarra and there Death will not find me. The merchant lent him his horse, and the servant mounted it, and he dug his spurs in its flanks and as fast as the horse could gallop he went.

Then the merchant went down to the marketplace and he saw me standing in the crowd and he came to me and said, Why did you make a threatening gesture to my servant when you saw him this morning? That was not a threatening gesture, I said, it was only a start of surprise. I was astonished to see him in Bagdad, for I had an appointment with him tonight in Samarra.

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Think twice before fleeing Death in The Villages, only to meet it on the heavily congested highways that you will travel or in the apparently "safe" destinations you might have in mind.

.

[justjim]

Originally Posted by Carl in Tampa

"The Appointment in Samarra"
(as retold by W. Somerset Maugham [1933])
The speaker is Death

There was a merchant in Bagdad who sent his servant to market to buy provisions and in a little while the servant came back, white and trembling, and said, Master, just now when I was in the marketplace I was jostled by a woman in the crowd and when I turned I saw it was Death that jostled me. She looked at me and made a threatening gesture, now, lend me your horse, and I will ride away from this city and avoid my fate. I will go to Samarra and there Death will not find me. The merchant lent him his horse, and the servant mounted it, and he dug his spurs in its flanks and as fast as the horse could gallop he went.

Then the merchant went down to the marketplace and he saw me standing in the crowd and he came to me and said, Why did you make a threatening gesture to my servant when you saw him this morning? That was not a threatening gesture, I said, it was only a start of surprise. I was astonished to see him in Bagdad, for I had an appointment with him tonight in Samarra.

-------------------------------------------------------

Think twice before fleeing Death in The Villages, only to meet it on the heavily congested highways that you will travel or in the apparently "safe" destinations you might have in mind.

.

Wow! This should make a person evaluate "Things" carefully. I am inclined to agree that TV is a safe place.

[manaboutown]

Originally Posted by justjim

Wow! This should make a person evaluate "Things" carefully. I am inclined to agree that TV is a safe place.

[rubicon]

Carl:

Your story causes me to reflect on a book. its one of those books that you just have to go back and re-read from time to time. a book that I also purchased for my kids.

Its title "Acres of Diamonds" by Russell H. Conwell.
Ali Hafed his guide and his guide's story

Personal Best Regards:

Love this. My perspective is that I am glad I am not in Miami.