Last night on Drayton Harbor RoadWow. And Uh-oh.
Their momma claimed Christianity.
Me, not so much.
I was raised in The Church, dragged there every Sunday and sometimes Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday depending on who had choir practice, bible study, vestry meetings, confirmation class, acolyte rehearsal or which god-damned Holy Day was being observed. I dutifully studied all the ways in which some foreign hobos were tortured to death 2000 years ago because I touched myself.
I came to the inescapable conclusion that Jesus and God belonged on the same shelf as the Tooth Fairy, The Easter Bunny and Santa. I could NOT for the life of me, figure out why my parents clung to such an obsolete and downright screaming insane superstition. I knew better than to challenge their faith, though. My father threatened to kick my ass once, when I expressed a bit of doubt that God really wanted America to have nuclear superiority.
So what to tell the young 'uns?
'Dad' was just a nickname. I couldn't very well tell these fresh-faced kids how all religions were a steaming pile of putrid horseshit, invented by cheap scam artists too fucking lazy and dishonest to work for their supper. Had I actually been their father... oh, hell yeah. I would have gone on at length.
Instead, I said, "The universe is a very large and frightening place. We're just tiny little ants on a blue rock spinning around some star. For lots of people, the idea that there is a friendly, dad-like, invisible creature watching out for them is very comforting. It makes them feel not so small and unimportant. I'm not one of those people."
There was maybe ten seconds of silence from the back seat, I glanced in the mirror, terrified that I'd said the wrong thing and scarred them for life.
Both faces were staring disinterestedly out their respective windows. The oldest piped up and said, "Are we almost to the fireworks place?"
2 comments:
wow, very well written! a beautiful story. belongs in a book ( hint)! more more more please!!!!!!!
i hate those effin questions! kids are so tuned in. can't wait for questions like mom did you ever try heroin or break in and entry and steal or tons of other things i've done that i'm not proud of-or how can i honestly say-yea-i did that and effin loved it. yea i used to make fun of retarded people too. gads-it all comes back at ya.
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