John Marsh

December 4, 2011

Dear Daniel Pinkwater,

Reading “the after life diet I got a big chuckle out of your description of God playing dice with the universe–“motivator of the galloping dominoes” and all that.

Not being much a dice player, I never knew what the command “Fade him!” meant, as those around the table were advised to do. I looked it up this morning and found out that it means to bet against the person rolling the dice.

Now, if I were a gambler, and God was rolling the dice, I would want to bet with God. Unless, of course, God really is gambling, that is to say, in no way influencing the outcome, in which case, your odds are best betting against God, but would this still be a healthy practice?

Could it mean–“get involved in the game!”? That is to say, if life is a crap game, and God is rolling the dice, the only choice we have as mortals is to either bet against God, or just stand on the sidelines with our hands in our pockets?

If God were rolling the dice, why would we want to Fade Him?

I don't know. Why? What would God want us to do? I mean, being the way He is.