>>508190599
>five years later
>back down South
>laying asphalt road
>working for the county
>a coworker approaches me
>he is a federal informant, a Muslim
>I am under investigation as a Jihadist
>He tells me that he does not like Jews
>He wants to learn more about Islam
>He is a black man, found Islam
>While serving time in prison
>Struggles with alcohol
>Misses his prayers
>Has two sons
>He is CIA
>They threaten to kill his sons
>He wants me to talk about Jihad
>To talk about Hamas and Palestine
>I tell him: The highest Jihad is inside us
>It is to obey Allah and avoid all sins
>I say his Jihad is to quit alcohol
>And go home to be a father
>We part seperate ways
>His rusty old trailer
>My small home
>And my garden
>The street cat
>The flowers

>>105607875
I credit Islam for transforming me from a lazy stoner scraping by doing manual labor to a sober, disciplined student of computer science. I replanted my violets into fresh soil and now they are blooming like never before after years. I can't help but see a metaphor in this. I can feel my mind expanding rapidly with each new concept grasped. It is like Flowers for Algernon. Mathematics is so beautiful, an invisible world of complex structures built by pure logic.