By the time Joe pulled his mules to the door to unload his wagon, it was sleeting. His life had never looked more hopeless as he brushed the icy hay from the tattered quilt covering the children’s burning faces. Though it was unchristian, he’d half-hoped to find them already dead from the fever, solving the problem of their care.
He struggled to get them into the cold cabin where he heard the scurrying of a rat. “Damn it all. I got to bring the barn cat in.”
Laying them gently on his bed and covering them, he was able to rouse each enough to get a bit of water down. Setting the cup to the side, he moved on to the fireplace to uncover the banked ashes, put a stick or two next to the backlog, rekindling the fire. At least they wouldn’t die of thirst or cold. It angered him to feel pity for them. That’s all he could do for them for the moment.
He hurried in with the provisions, the pathetic mercy the town had shown, leaving to get his horses tended, milk the cow and tend the stock. Finishing his tasks, he miserably returned to the burden of the sick children fate had forced upon him. Upon entering the cabin, the sight meeting his eyes nearly undid him. A filthy, battered woman dressed in rags studied the little girl. God in Heaven! Would this nightmare never end? Had he buried the woman alive and now she’d scratched out of her grave?
Mutely, the woman clutched the child to her bosom protectively as though she thought he might put the two of them back in the grave.
“Oh my God. I thought you were dead!” This did nothing to set her at her ease. Shamed, he turned his back mumbling. “Poor wretch. What she must be thinking?” Shame at having buried her, then trying to get rid of her sick children shamed him, bringing him lower than he’d ever been before. I don’t know why I didn’t leave it alone when it was good enough. He fled from the cabin and made his way to the barn, tossed some hay on a saddle blanket settled in to try to get some sleep. Jack, his dog, and the barn cats settled in next to him, glad of the unexpected company. He lay awake a long time, thinking of the girl who’d made him want a wife in the first place.
“These young’uns is got scarlet fever. You ain’t leaving ‘em for this town to deal with. Jist take ‘em on back where you come from.” The sheriff steadfastly refused responsibility for the children.
“But they ain’t mine. I don’t even know their names.”
“Ya married their ma ago ain’t cha? Then they’s yourn! I hate it for ‘ya, but I ain’t gonna letcha leave ‘em here to sicken the whole town. We’ll getcha some provisions to help out, but that’s it. Ya got to git out’a town with them sick young’uns. Pull this wagon out to that mesquite tree ‘n I’ll git ‘cha some supplies.
Morosely, Joe waited on the edge of the sorry town as a wagon pulled up. Shouting at him to stay back, a gimpy old geezer rolled off a barrel of flour, putting a burlap bag of beans beside it, and piling a few cans of milk, a bolt of material, and a few paper wrapped parcels on top of it. He went on his way, leaving Joe to wrestle them into the wagon the best he could, stowing them so they wouldn’t crush the burning children.
Joe felt as low as he’d ever had, pulling up to his rough cabin. He knew nothing about children or the sick. Maybe these poor wretches wouldn’t suffer too long.
Two friends met in the street. One looked sad and almost on the verge of tears. The other man said, “Hey my friend, how come you look like the whole world has caved in?”
The sad fellow said, “Let me tell you. Three weeks ago, an uncle died and left me 50-thousand dollars.”
“That’s not bad at all…!”
“Hold on, I’m just getting started. Two weeks ago, a cousin I never knew kicked-the-bucket and left me 95-thousand, tax-free to boot.”
“Well, that’s great! I’d like that.”
“Last week, my grandfather passed away. I inherited almost a million.”
“So why are so glum?”
“This week – nothing!”
A woman takes a lover home during the day while her husband is at work…
Her 9-year old son comes home unexpectedly, sees them and hides in the bedroom closet to watch.
The woman’s husband also comes home. She puts her lover in the closet, not realizing that the little boy is in there already.
The little boy says, “Dark in here.”
The man says, “Yes, it is.”
Boy – “I have a baseball.”
Man – “That’s nice.”
Boy – “Want to buy it?”
Man – “No, thanks.”
Boy – “My dad’s outside.”
Man – “OK, how much?”
Boy – “$150”
Man – “Sold.”
In the next few weeks, it happens again that the boy and the lover are in the closet together.
Boy – “Dark in here.”
Man – “Yes, it is.”
Boy – “I have a Wilson infielder’s glove.”
The lover, remembering the last time, asks the boy,”How much?”
Boy – “$350”
Man – “Highway robbery. Sold.”
A few days later, the father says to the boy, “Grab your gloves, let’s go outside and have a game of catch.”
The boy says, “I can’t, I sold my ball and my glove.”
The father asks, “How much did you sell them for?”
The boy says, “$500” The father says, “That’s terrible to overcharge your friends like that… that is way more than those two things cost. I’m going to take you to church and make you confess your greed.”
They go to the church and the father makes the little boy sit in the confession booth with the Priest to confess his sins and he closes the door.
The boy says, “Dark in here.”
The priest says, “Don’t start that crap again, you’re in my closet now.”
Four religious men of the cloth go on a fishing trip…
That night in the fish house they decide to confess their greatest sin to each other. The Catholic priest says, “my greatest sin is lust. I look at porn constantly online and when I can I have crazy sex with parishioners.” The Rabbi says “my sin is greed. I never give to charities and sometimes steal from the Temple.” The Islamic imam says, “my sin is gluttony. At least once a week I go to the liquor store for a six-pack and then head to McDonalds in the middle of the night and get a big bag of Big Macs, Bacon cheese burgers and fries and eat and drink it all while sitting in the parking lot.” The Baptist minister says, “My greatest sin is gossip and I can’t wait to get back to town!”
This is a series I wrote in 2015. Not many of my current followers have seen it. I hope you enjoy it.
Their union had a bleak start. Meeting at the train in the freezing rain, she clutched his letter. They married minutes later at the preacher’s house, barely speaking as they shivered the two hours home in his open wagon. In her letter, she’d not mentioned the two little ones, though with all fairness, the marriage was only one of need on both parts. They were proof she could bear the children he hoped for. Burning with fever by the time they got to his homestead; dead by the next sundown, she left him with two little ones he had no taste for. Barely reaching his knee, they toddled mutely in perpetual ,soggy diapers dragging to their knees, uttering gibberish only they understood. As soon as he could get her wrapped in a quilt, he buried this stranger wife and headed back to dusty Talphus, Texas with the sad burden of her orphaned little ones. The church or the town would have to do for them. Loading them in a snug in a bed of hay, wrapped in a ragged quilt, hay heaped over them. he pitied and grieved for them on the long trip back to town, knowing the hard life they faced. Stopping several times to make sure they were warmly covered, he was relieved to find them pink and warm. He hardened his heart against them, knowing only too well the life they were facing. He’d never known family, just been passed from hand to hand.
Lou soon knew why Lynn liked Sue so much. Sue was good-natured and loved playing outdoors. They climbed trees and played in the creek as much as they wanted. Sue had no chores, so nothing interfered with playing. Aunt Julie wasn’t fussy about how dirty they got. She rinsed them off with the water hose before they came in.
The only low point was Aunt Julie made all the kids come in and take an afternoon nap. In reality, only Aunt Julie and the boys took a nap. She just made them all lie down. Lou hadn’t taken a nap in years. There was no way she could go to sleep in the middle of the day. The girls started out lying on Sue’s bed talking quietly. Of course, they soon got giggly, then rowdy. Aunt Julie kept rousing up telling them to be quiet. By the time they had a pillow fight and broke a vase, she was furious. She gave up on her nap and ran them outdoors.
Fortunately, she didn’t stay mad long and brought out popsicles. The girls had the creek and vine to themselves while the boys napped. In the late afternoon, Troy and Billy woke up and came out to play. Aunt Julie brought the rescue puppy. He was the cutest little guy. Once he got over his shyness, he got rowdy and played enthusiastically.
A railroad track lay in the woods not too far behind Sue’s house. Two abandoned boxcars stood on a sidetrack. “Have you ever looked in those boxcars?” asked Lynn. “That looks interesting.”
”Let’s go see what’s in them,” answered Sue. The girls took off running. The boxcars were a lot bigger than they’d looked from a distance. They had to boost each other up, then pull the last girl up. It took a minute for their eyes to adjust to the darkness inside the boxcars.
The walls of the interior were covered with graffiti. There were two huge dragons battling each other, spewing fire from their mouths. A huge Jesus covered the end with the giant word, “”Repent!”There were a couple of women with their clothes falling off. There were numerous poems the girls could never repeat. It would have taken hours to see everything but it was getting dusky. From the house, they could hear the honking of a car horn. Sue looked startled. “Oh no, I bet Mama’s looking for us!” They climbed out and raced back home through the tall grass.
Sure enough , Aunt Julie was waiting for them. “Where in the world have you girls been? Troy said he saw you headed for the old train.” she said. She looked upset!
”We looked in them,” Sue said. “You should have seen all the pictures on the walls!”
”Don’t you ever go around those boxcars again! That’s dangerous! There could have been hobos hiding out there. There’s no telling what could have happened to you. Lynn, if your daddy ever finds out you went in those boxcars, you’ll never get to come back. You’d better think hard about that! Oh my Lord. You girls scared me!”
Big-eyed, the girls exchanged glances. Thy knew they’d never tell!
Ben and Kelly had been married seven years with three children. He was a CPA with a large firm, a very lucrative position. Kelly was a registered nurse. Kelly had to work alternate weekends so she wasn’t as involved in church activities as Ben. One day he announced to Kelly that he intended to leave home s CPA position, attend seminary, and become a minister.
Finish the story:
I got several very different but interesting responses. Can you relate to any of theses?
What the hell Ben, you’re Catholic and Catholic priests can’t be married, Ben replied I said minister not priest, I don’t intend on telling them I’m Catholic, so you’re going to become a minister in a different religion and just not tell them you’re Catholic and attend mass weekly are you going to continue to go to mass? Ben took a deep breathe and said yes I will continue to go to mass, Kelly just looked at him like he was out of his mind, which he must be unless this is some kind of joke. Yes Kelly thought this is some kind of joke he can’t be serious, so I will play along. Ok if this is what you truly want I will support you.
So when will you be going off to the what did you call it a seminary and how long will you be gone and do they pay you while you are there learning how to be a minister?
Ben said he didn’t know he was going to find out more the next day, Kelly said ok just let me know and do we have to sell the house and do you get a car like you did with the job you had because you can’t drive mine, I need it.
Ben looked confused and said let me find out more and we will talk about it later. Thinking to himself what the hell and I getting myself into.
Anyone know what comes next………
It never occurred to me they might be Catholic! What a twist!…..
Kelly was stunned to say the least. She knew with Ben as a CPA and her as a nurse they could live a very lucrative life. She told Ben that perhaps he should rethink his decision, after all she said, we could donate more financially to the church if you continue on as a CPA and the church could really use the funds. “Ben” she said, “please rethink this. You can keep on volunteering and you could even get a little more involved in the church. Become a assistant pastor.”
“I can’t do that Kelly, God has called me to a higher calling.”
“But all the years of schooling you’ve already done. What about our dreams to buy our forever home? What about having children and traveling? You becoming the coach of little league? What about our dreams?” Kelly asked as she held the tears from overtaking her.
“Kelly, I have to do this. I understand if you want a different life, but I am committed to the church and to God.”
‘I am too Kelly shouted! I am too. I just don’t know if I want to be a preachers wife. This is something that never entered my mind. Lots of great and amazing people attend church and are involved, but they don’t all throw away their careers and lives to become preachers.”
“My mind is made up Kelly, I’m doing this.”
“Well Ben, I sure do hope they can teach you there in that seminary school that when you are a married man, you don’t just make life altering decisions without talking to your spouse. I hope they teach you that as a husband you need to consider your wife’s feelings and work together in coming to a place you both want to be. I hope they teach you that you can still give your all to God and the church without being a pastor or minister.”
Ben thought about what Kelly was saying. He looked at her and he began to cry. Ben took her in his arms and begged her to forgive him. They fell to their knees and Ben began to pray out loud pleading for God to hear his prayer and to give him guidance. Ben petitioned God in prayer and he thanked Him for the blessing that was right in front of him, his wife Kelly.
It was in that moment that Kelly took Ben’s face in her hands and in the most loving voice told him, “follow the path that God lays out for you, no matter what that path is. I will support you and stand by you. I love you.”
At first I think she was in shock. She didn’t understand his desire because she worked and didn’t attend church with him. Hopefully she accepted it after much discussion with him
Kelly slapped him across the face, what does he think he’s doing making a life change of that magnitude which affects the kids without discussing. Then she asked him to sit down and explain his plan, where is the money coming from, how is he going to replace the missed income, does he plan to go to school out of state and who the hell is going to help with the kids. Whne Ben could not answer a single question, Kelly said the plan was on hold and that he can start to get a feel of what giving your life to the church is like by volunteering twice a week. I like strong smart women!
Kelly rightly informed Ben that her salary alone woul not be enough to support their family and she could not do more hours without the family suffering. She asked that Ben reconsider his change of job only when the children were no longer dependant and thre was no oustanding mortgage on their property. At that time she said she’s be more in a position to support his move to the Ministry. Ben agreed that his timing was perhaps not right and would delay any decision until their children no longer needed his financial imput and their education was complete. He would continue to offfer support to his church at his current level until a change was viable.
I loved all these responses. It’s interesting how everyone sees the situation differently. I would have had a hard time being supportive of supportive of a husband choosing to go into the ministry. I don’t think any man interested in the ministry would want me as a partner. Lots of times I’m the last to know what’s about to come out of my mouth. I’d probably get us both tarred and feathered.
These are all wonderful writers. Please click on links to check out their sites. Thanks to all of you.
Joe met Francie working in kitchen at Oklahoma State Correctional Center. She was in for breaking and entering. He’d been busted for car theft. Thy found they had a lot in common. Frankie moved in with her sister Sue when she got out. Joe followed her to Sue’s when he got out. Joe came up with twenty bucks. Sue was broke but needed cigarettes. They agreed to buy her a pack if she’d give them a ride to the store. She waited in the car while they went in. Remembering something she needed, she decided to go in. Once inside, she saw Joe and Frankie stealing Finish the story in the comments.
Two brothers were walking to school. As they passed the gas station, a tall redheaded girl in a green hoody waved at Jerry, the older of the two. He told Lane, “Uh oh, I forgot my English homework. I have to run home and get it. You go on.”
Lynn’s mother met her at the back door bouncing a crying baby on her shoulder. “I saw the barn doors open, so I knew….well, who is this?”
“Mother, this is Lou. She and her Grandma were out riding and got caught in the storm. Is her grandma here?”
“No. Nobody’s here but me and the babies. I need you to rock the little baby while I start supper. Please don’t make noise and wake the big baby or we’ll have double trouble.” Lynn took the baby and plunked down in the rocking chair, looking disgusted. Sure enough the baby wailed till Lynn got the bottle in her mouth.
Lou looked down like she was going to cry. Lynn’s mother gave her a hug. “Oh Honey, Don’t cry. Grandma might have walked down the road looking for you. As soon as I get supper on, I’ll rock the baby and y’all can walk up to the neighbors and see if she’s there. Miss Betsy is probably taking real good care of her. She’s a nice lady.”
“Lou sniffled, “But Grandma’s gonna be worried. My parents are probably wondering where we are by now! We’ve been gone a long time.”
“I know Grandma’s looking for you, too. We’ll get y’all back together. It’s real quiet out here. Nobody would hurt you.” Lynn’s mother smiled reassuringly. “Go rest on the sofa while Lynn gets the baby to sleep.”
Lou sat on the sofa and dozed off to the creaking of the rocker. She wasn’t deep into sleep when she heard Grandma humming, “You are My Sunshine” like she’d done ever since Lou was born. She kissed Lou on the forehead and said “Goodnight, sleep tight, don’t let the bedbugs bite”
“Oh Grandma. I must have had a bad dream. I thought we out riding and got caught in a storm. I couldn’t find you! I was scared!”
“It’s okay, Sweetie. You know I’d never leave you. It wasn’t a dream. You got jolted back in time by that lightning. Let me give you a clue so you’ll know what I’m telling you is true. Before dark today, you’ll see a turtle with a big yellow X on its back. Be brave. I am coming for you, but it might be a while.”
Lou was startled awake by Lynn tapping her shoulder and giving her the quiet sign. “The baby’s asleep. Mother said we could walk up to Miss Betsy’s to see if your grandma’s there.”
They tiptoed out the door, then down the long gravel road. Lou felt so much better thinking about her dream. “Maybe we’ll find Grandma.”
“Sure we will!” Lynn answered, skipping and singing in a falsetto voice. “You are my Sunshine” as loud as she could. Lou laughed and joined in.
By the time Joe pulled his mules to the door to unload his wagon, it was sleeting. His life had never looked more hopeless as he brushed the icy hay from the tattered quilt covering the children’s burning faces. Though it was unchristian, he’d half-hoped to find them already dead from the fever, solving the problem of their care.
Nutsrok 