egyptian man: "please, please, let me take you there."
Cem:"no, no, im sure i can find it."
em:"no, please just giving me one second and i will close the shop and take you."
c:"no, its ok, im sure i can get there"
em: "i insist, you are guest. here have some water. would you like some tea?"
c:"no, really, i cannot. please"
em:"what? no.. no tea?"
c:"im sorry, i cannot, but thankyou my friend."

em closes his cell phone shop despite the fact that it is the middle of the day. as we walk he smiles at me and starts joking in the way i am becoming familiar with - the egyptian tease - the harmless but barbed, loud yet sly, winking humor that fills the cairo streets and coffee houses with noise.

em:"come with me mr.bush, right this way. now as a favor for me guiding you to the metro, i wish that you ask your amazing airforce to bomb this shop -" he points to a nearby cell phone shop, presumably his competitor"- they are really assholes for my business."
c: "what about the school nearby?
em:"yes, but that never stop them before in iraq"
c: "well, its no problem, the 'collateral damage' will be very little! actually, little children."
em: ".. yes.."

clearly i fucked that little conversation up.

none-the-less, he laughed, and i felt extremely uncomfortable with my sense of humor.

we walked to the metro station together. he was hilarious the whole time.
as usual in egypt, he introduced me to all of his passing friends and family - what must have been 15 people - along the way. i refused tea, seats, and cigarettes at least 10 times.

i was late but
it doesnt matter -
everybody is late.
late means people want your company, they want to say hello and ask about your family - even if superficially. and you want their company and want to know about their family. - it means you have social connections that are hard to break away from. late can be good.

is there any connection to this understanding that people and family and friends and life is more important than business and career goals ... and the broken down buildings and chaos around me - the inefficient businessess and government, the filth and squalor?

probably a little.

but which one is worse? bad business and lots of social life (sitting for tea for hours, missing appointments, missing deadlines, hiring family, living with family, sitting up all night with friends in coffee houses) or good business and very little social life(coming home exhausted, staying late at the office, less time with the kids, 6 days a week of work, moving away from family and friends for a job, 5 days of time off - A YEAR)? again, i have a lot more thinking to do.



i got to the metro station (oddly, the metro here is superior to new york's and dc's - and unlike the rest of the city - its quiet, clean, and on time),

em smiled and clapped me on the back.
em: "i will wait for the bombs. soon please, i want to buy a new TV."

the guy was hilarious
and i was late.
but it wasn't a bad thing.