The umbrella thing

The argument of the umbrella

If the forest-dwellers (squirrels, birds, passers-by hidden in the leaves, angels, etc.) have been listening to my conversations with God recently, they are most probably having a laugh.

Would you believe it that I am trying to give God a lesson in marketing, with the obvious conclusion that I need a breakthrough with my comic books in the USA to be able to live off them?.

I don’t really know what He thinks about this, seeing as He has never said anything to me on the subject, unless …

As I reach the edge of the forest, I stumble on a relevant thought that appears as if by magic in a corner of my mind:

‘Hmm, so you want to go there and you don’t even know any English!’

‘Well, that’s certainly true!’ I say in reply. Ha! Ha! Ha! I laugh at myself – it’s a bit like praying for rain and then going out without an umbrella... Go figure!

Right, OK, I get it, but where am I going to find English lessons in this remote spot where I live?

My clothes are still filled with the good smell of the forest when I welcome Rosie into my workshop. A small lady wearing glasses, full of energy and pressed for time, who has come to get some comic books to give to work colleagues...

Oh my! I’m due at my English class!’

All I need to do is ask if I can go along with her... As on all the following Mondays...

The aim of the course

The members of a church in the area have invited some Mennonites from the USA to go on a pilgrimage in the region that they originally come from (the same region of origin as the Anabaptists, a small number of Amish and certain gastropods, but let’s not mix everything up!) and, so that they can give them a warm welcome, these big-hearted parishioners have decided to give themselves one year to learn English…

God must be in the know because here I am enrolled in the classes which they have organised for this occasion.