My father's favorite expession was "The Devil is never ugly." I thought that was silly when I was a teenager, but I've grown up a bit. We expect Satan to be hideous, not like us. So when we dine with Mengele, we are babes in the woods. I once had a conversation with a Dixie mafia hit man who was a gifted story teller. I suddenly came awake after having identified with his trials and tribulations in breaking into this guy's house when he's pouring scalding water over this stubborn sonofabitch to get a safe combination from him.

It was one on the most uncomfortable moments in my life to realize how readily I identified with a complete monster. My father was right.
Dumaurier-Smith | 01.25.08 - 9:42 pm | #