Американские боги
Chapter 8
BythetimeShadowrealizedthatheshouldhaveaskedifhemightbeallowedtoreadone,themomenthadpassed."Anyway,whatwegivethemhereiscontinuity:there’sbeenanIbisandJacquelinbusinesshereforalmosttwohundredyears.Weweren’talwaysfuneraldirectors,though.Weusedtobemorticians,andbeforethat,undertakers."
"Andbeforethat?"
"Well,"saidMr.Ibis,smilingjustalittlesmugly,"wegobackaverylongway.Ofcourse,itwasn’tuntilaftertheWarBetweentheStatesthatwefoundournichehere.Thatwaswhenwebecamethefuneralparlorforthecoloredfolkshereabouts.Beforethatnoonethoughtofusascolored—foreignmaybe,exoticanddark,butnotcolored.Oncethewarwasdone,prettysoon,noonecouldrememberatimewhenweweren’tperceivedasblack.Mybusinesspartner,he’salwayshaddarkerskinthanmine.Itwasaneasytransition.Mostlyyouarewhattheythinkyouare.It’sjuststrangewhentheytalkaboutAfrican-Americans.MakesmethinkofthepeoplefromPunt,Ophir,Nubia.WeneverthoughtofourselvesasAfricans—wewerethepeopleoftheNile."
"SoyouwereEgyptians,"saidShadow.
Mr.Ibispushedhislowerlipupward,thenlethisheadbobfromsidetoside,asifitwereonaspring,weighingtheplusesandminuses,seeingthingsfrombothpointsofview."Well,yesandno.‘Egyptians’makesmethinkofthefolkwholivetherenow.Theoneswhobuilttheircitiesoverourgraveyardsandpalaces.
