Jules: "You read the Bible, Ringo?"
Ringo: "Not regularly, no."
Jules: "Well, there's this passage I got memorized, Ezekiel 25:17:'The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness. For he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know I am the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon you.'"I been sayin' that shit for years. And if you heard it, that meant your ass. I never gave much thought to what it meant. I just thought it was some cold-blooded shit to say to a motherfucker before I popped a cap in his ass.
"But I saw some shit this mornin' made me think twice.
"See, now I'm thinkin' ... maybe it means you're the evil man, and I'm the righteous man. And Mr. Nine Millimeter here, he's the shepherd protecting my righteous ass in the valley of darkness. Or it could mean, you're the righteous man, and I'm the shepherd, and it's the world that's evil and selfish. ... I'd like that.
"But that shit ain't the truth. The truth is ... you're the weak. And I'm the tyranny of evil men.
"But I'm tryin', Ringo. I'm tryin' real hard to be the shepherd."
— Pulp Fiction
The Dealmaker clan is on vacation next week. Based on past experience, that means there is a one-in-three chance the markets will go to hell in a flowered handbasket while I am away. Graze carefully out there.
© 2009 The Epicurean Dealmaker. All rights reserved.
