When W. was 13, despite the fact that he had not been brought up religiously, he demanded to be taken to church. It was a great moment, he says. What brought it on? W.'s not sure. – 'You've never been religious, have you?', he says to me. I'm Hindu, I tell him, and he laughs till beer comes out of his nostrils. – 'Oh yes, your Hinduism, your spurious Hinduism'. What idea could I possibly have of Hinduism?
Sal thinks W.'s drifting back to religion. She gives him a year. – 'It's al this Rosenzweig', says W., 'it's very plausible'. And then, 'You need a religion', he says. 'It would be a channel for your pathos'.
If there's one thing he's learned from me, W. says, it's pathos. – 'Saying nothing, but with great emotion'. He's always impressed at my presentations. – 'You sound so serious. If only they knew'. I tell him I am serious. – 'No', says W., 'it's because you're working class. You think you have to be serious when you give a presentation, but you don't really have to be'.
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