Farewell List

Farewell List
7
When we had nothing to eat, my father
prepared a meal he called ‘sad sauce’: eggs
with spices. Have you ever gone shopping with
half a euro? Is it a joke? I did it in the 1980’s.
Imagine what it could buy you. Half a kilo fish,
half a kilo tomatoes, hot pepper and
coriander…a good meal for five persons. I
remember my father say about me: ‘Mohamed
did not cost me too much!’
When he fell ill, I knew that my best
friend was to die. We went to Tangier, where
he had a medical check. The diagnosis showed
he had cancer. I did not believe what the
doctor said while he talked to me in low voice
so that the patient could not hear him. I heard
my parents laugh in their room. I cried alone in
my room. I knew my father’s time was limited.
He was on the farewell list. Thursday, august
25, 1994, the funeral day, while I was
receiving condolences, I worried about the
black ants at my feet. Life had a greater value
to me. I lost the poorest and the most
generous man I knew.
My father was a traditional baker. He
used to give bread and shelter to tramps in his
modest bakery. I cannot but thank both my
parents for the effort, the time and the money
they spent. Good education is the best legacy.
When we think money is everything, we lose
everything. Money is, indeed, the dirtiest thing
on earth if not used properly. The unfair
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