THE SMILE OF AN AFRICAN

Introduction

My name is Cary, Cary Rasof, Dr. Cary Rasof, MD. Son of Sharon, grandson of Nathan and Lillian, friend of Tonnies and lover of man. Aimlessly scuttling the world in my teens in search of my life’s work, I engaged in dialogues with specially placed people who offered me unconditional love. Through their prophecies and dictates, I came to hear my life’s calling to serve the poor while seeing scouring garbage caressing children in Turkey and lame and lamenting donkeys in Egypt. The script on these pages is a play. It is a manuscript of a story, a single and solitary event that took place in my life and enhanced it. The play has many characters and the theme is a simple, familiar one that we have all seen repeatedly on stages named and renamed. The actors and actresses have changed in this particular performance, but behind the scene is that same thing, that same love, devotion and heart to render unconditional service. Whether the players are villains, heroes, princesses or simply stage-setter-uppers everyone has their particular special role and makes an important contribution, kind of like the ingredients to a mango almond crisp. The oats, mango and slices of almonds all take their respective roles to create their masterpiece, the reflection of their creative talents and contribution to something higher. As you go to the theatre to pass a moment in another world, read this script with the same awareness and commitment to spending some quality time with yourself and the world around you. The pain is an illusion, as are the conflicts, strife and hunger, the misplaced pieces of rice, the blinding bite of a black fly and subtle mist of the waterfall on the face of an unassuming African princess who is disguised as a beggar woman decaying with AIDS. It is all just an illusion, a play of consciousness, a theatrical production. It is unusual to start a work with the end, but why not be real and go to end before the beginning begins. No frills and no surprises. After all, you know this work, the protagonists and antagonists, and the moral of the story. It’s all round. The ending is the beginning and the beginning is the ending. And sometime in the future another production will claim acclaim. I wrote this diary as an offering to those who live in a distant place that somehow took birth without its senses being able to communicate with the world around it. The cradle of man somehow rocks without the kind embrace of mother who looks so well after her other children in neighboring nations. This play is Africa’s claim to adulthood. It will speak to you as it speaks through me. While the events may seem tragic, traumatic and treacherous, the smile of an African commands nothing but honor and respect and inclination before her feet. This is not my story; these are not my words. I humbly accept the privilege to bring them to you and ultimately, you to them. This is my mission, this is my plan, this is my intention, and this is my will. If through this moment you come to see a brother, a sister, mother or father in the smile of an African then I invite you to do the necessary to welcome them back and reunite them as a family, your family, our family. And in this offering I do present, may God give each of us the courage to make a difference on this planet we call Mother.