There is a funny American movie that tells about quadruplets, girls who were born to two different families in a hospital. Two twins were born to a wealthy businessman, and two twins were born to a poor farmer. A mix-up occurs in the nursery, so that each mother takes her daughter and the other’s daughter. Each mother assumed that they were identical twins. The result is that we see the twins as they grow up. The wealthy businessman father has a daughter who loves wealth and another daughter who loves a life of poverty and integration among the people, and has clear revolutionary tendencies. The same goes for the poor farmer... He has a daughter who is satisfied with her life and a daughter who has annoying class aspirations, and loves everything that is luxurious and expensive! American actress Lily Tomlin played the poor twins, and Bette Midler played the rich twins. I remembered this movie while I was standing at the cane juice seller, enjoying a large drink. I hope that the cup does not empty quickly and that this pleasure lasts forever.. I get high from the fleeting headache caused by the coldness of the juice as it penetrates my stomach. I have seen many countries in the world, and I am not poor, thank God. I have tasted many drinks (halal, of course) and tried all kinds of those juices that you drink in a plastic cup covered by a dome, and I have tasted the strange mixtures in expensive cafes, which are presented to you by a young man with a ponytail and an apron tied around his waist, and three-quarters of his words are foreign terms: - « Your Excellency.. This is a new mixture of cola, vanilla, lemon, Red Bull and pineapple with biscuits beaten in a blender, and there is a layer of mushroom and mayonnaise with minced meat. The price of a cup is thirty pounds, for example, and he comes every five minutes to see if you are enjoying it. Of course, you must convince yourself that you are enjoying it after paying thirty pounds for a cup. I tried many of these things, but I never felt the euphoria caused by cane juice, especially when you lean on the cold, wet metal surface, waiting for the moment when the press finishes emptying the pleasure in the oud, and the man behaves with the dignity of a priest as he hits the metal flask with the strainer successively, then It offers you a charming soup topped with foam... As for restaurants, I have actually gone to many places. But I have never enjoyed the pleasure of eating except in that terrible restaurant that resembles a gang den in one of the neighborhoods of Klut Bey... where you support the table with your knee so that it does not fall because one of its legs is broken, while the cats surround you and look at your food with hatred and envy, until you throw them the first piece. Chicken, of course. As for sandwiches and take-out food, I am the first to make pizza in my community. Note that we were at the beginning of the era of openness. I found the recipe in a Western magazine and tried it. I presented it to my acquaintances at a time when they used to call this (feteer). Despite this, I could never love her. I kept feeling like she was a loaf of bread distorted under mysterious circumstances. I also never liked hamburgers. I was ashamed to admit that, until I found Dr. Jalal Amin, the great economic thinker, says that it is just an illusion, and has almost no taste except for the ritual additions of ketchup, mayonnaise, french fries, and soda... As for sushi, in my opinion, it is a terrifying food and nothing more. I invited my friend - before the opening, of course - to try donuts at a famous restaurant. He didn't even know the meaning of the word. He tasted it and knew the price, so he started cursing and cursing. He told me that Eid cakes should have conquered the world, as they were more delicious and cheaper. But it is globalization.. As for what really appealed to me, it was the popular kofta and liver sandwiches that Salah’s uncle sells in that restaurant next to the market, along with a cup of scorching fire water, which is salad water with the sauce that they call (the wine of the righteous)... These sandwiches are a hellish invention for you. Resist it so that you do not gain several kilograms in weight. As for head meat, akkawi, and mambar, this is another topic..! If breakfast time comes, I love eating beans and falafel from a bean cart. You shove a loaf of bread into those small metal plates and smash an onion with your fist. Imagine that at this moment there are people who break their fast with orange juice and croissants or what they call (intercontinental breakfast)? As for drinking tea after breakfast, I have never been able to like upscale cafeterias and hotel lobbies. There must be a popular café where the sound of table chips rings out, and the sound of the shisha gurgles with coughing. If this is the time of a match, you watch it on the café TV as if you were in the stadium itself. So, over time, I realized that I was not qualified to get rich. There are strong poverty genes embedded in my cells, and I only like what is cheap, popular, and simple. I must have been born in a hospital to a poor family, and then was accidentally switched to be taken in by my current family. I do not regret it in any case, as I have experienced cane juice, ras meat, falafel, and popular cafes, pleasures that cannot be obtained otherwise.

Ahmed Khaled Tawfiq