The Betrayal

If

Someone tells an untruth about someone

At a social gathering

And they go home and tell their wives

And the wives tell their children

And the children tell their cousins

So that long after this person

who was slandered is dead

No one recalls the many extraordinary kind deeds he did;

only remembering that he was a villain.

Feathers in the Wind

One day the Rabbi asked to see the woman who loved to tell untruths about others. "There's something I want you to do for me," he told her. He gave her a cushion and told her to go outside, cut it open and release all the feathers to the wind. "But why?" she pleaded. "Just do as I ask," he told her. The woman went outside, slit the cushion open and released all the feathers to the wind where they were quickly blown far and wide and out of sight. 'Now," said the Rabbi, "I would like you to go out and bring back all the feathers." "But I can't," she pleaded. "They've been blown from pillar to post, down the street, over the hill. I'll never be able to bring them all back." The Rabbi looked at her sternly. "And so it is with words," he told her. "Words once spoken can never be taken back. There is no telling how far they will travel and what harm they could do. From now on, I want you to think before you speak." And she did.

All God’s Critters Got a Place in the Choir

Gays.
Gun Control.

Global Warming.

Did you know forest fires emit more pollution than all the cars on earth?

And volcanos?  There are always at least five erupting at any given time emitting fumes.

The weather fluctuates.  Always has.  Always will. 

A professor (by name) I know at Utah State who invented the heat shield for the space rockets submitted a report on global warming word for word like the scientists at some prestigious institution back east but on the front one said “evidence against global warming” and the other said “for global warming” and the one for global warming got the so many million dollar grant.  It’s all political.
Know-it-all.

Muslims.

Did you know the Koran is evil?  Evil.  Evil. Evil.

He has read it, have you?

Did you know Mohammad had a 14-year-old wife and an 11-year-old wife?

Well,

who are we to talk?
Am I wrong in assuming that all religions
are based on the divine fundamental core 
of the Golden Rule?

Women’s rights.

Priesthood.

Women can’t hold the priesthood because then what would the men do?

Obama.

Constitution.

The only books you ever need to read are the Bible and the Book of Mormon.  I read them cover to cover, front to back.

One hour and 20 minutes of lambasting some of the views I cherish and hold most dear as if we think like he thinks.

I’m friends with Mitt Romney.

I’m friends with Orrin Hatch.

I’m friends with the Governor.

I know many people in high places.

Does he think we are stupid?

Egocentric.
Homogenous.

Prejudice.

Arrogant.

Narrow minded.

Conceited.

Vain.

Insensitive

Self-absorbed.

Self-obsessed.

Careless.

Amy finally came in and said dinner is ready.  She’d heard enough.  “Do you want to eat with us?”  “No, we’ll have a prayer, then leave.”

A prayer?  After the way you’ve castigated all of God’s children who do not believe exactly as you do?

“I’ll say it,” he boasts, like we don't know how.

Amy has four little Muslim students in her class.

“Did you tell him our two cats are Muslim?”

“And one is a black Muslim.”  Oooooooooh.
"Too bad they are opposite sex
or they could be gay too."

I seethe.

It’s about more than I can bear each month.

Next morning

the Visiting Teachers came.

They retold the story President Monson

told in General Conference about the little boy

who was bleeding so they had to make an emergency landing

causing other passengers to miss connecting flights

but not one person grumbled or complained.

“And I’ll bet some of them weren’t even Mormon,”

her partner concluded.

Are we the only nice people in the world?

Are you discriminating against the elderly?

For 10 years we’ve been going to the Clearfield pool.

For 10 years we fit in as best we can.

The swimmers swim and the players play,

mindful of each other’s space.

Today, two people were in the first swim lane;

and one in the narrower second;

So Eddy and I went to the next lane.

More than half of the pool was empty.

Four little kids were on the steps in a swimming lesson.

A life guard came up to me and said,

“You can’t swim here.”

“Where do you want us to swim?”

“You’ll have to wait.”

“Wait?  When half the pool is empty?”

“Yes.”

A guy in the first lane heard us and said,

“I’m getting out.  You can swim here.”

So I put Eddy in his lane.

Soon the girl in the second lane got out

and the fellow swimming with Eddy

offered to move over and let me swim there.

Soon another guy came in and got in the lane where

Eddy and I tried to swim.

No one said a word to him.

Soon others came and there were three or four swimming

there like we’ve done for ten years now.

I couldn’t let it go.

When we got out,

I went over to this life-guard and asked

if he were discriminating against the elderly.

He said he wasn’t,

What would you think?

It’s a great big wide wonderful world.

The Waterbed

We had one more shelf to go in the shower.  We hoped they’d delay even more because we didn’t have to pay in full until the job was completed.  DeRay forgot to tell me that they called and said the workman was on his way over.  Of course, he didn’t hear the doorbell.  It rang twice.  I finally grabbed Amy’s robe and went to answer the door.  There stood a grubby man.  He knew it too because he shoved the work order in my face as credentials.  “DeRay!”  “Oh, yes, I forgot they called.”  DeRay shows him the shower.  I find him electricity outside; he finishes the job and leaves.

Soon the doorbell rings again.  

“I just noticed the waterbed in your trailer.  Are you throwing it away?”

“We’re taking it to the dump today.”

“I have a bladder but those drawers look lots better than the ones I have.”

By now I’m dressed and I call out the door, “DeRay, give him the headboard in the basement too.”

We had thought we would attach it to the new bed but if someone could use it, we’d gladly part with it.  I just didn’t want to send it to the dump.

“Oh, thank you so very much,” he gushed.  “I am so appreciative.”

He got the plywood from the deck, the headboard from the basement and loaded all those drawers and frame onto his truck and thanked us profusely over and over again.

I felt so happy.

Our waterbed had a home and didn’t die at the dump.

Then that night when I couldn’t sleep, I went down to the kitchen.  We don’t necessarily close our blinds at night so I felt vulnerable in the eeriness of the quiet night.  And I kept thinking I could see this grungy man, who on first sight reminded me of pictures of Brian David Mitchell, lurking at the backdoor.

I’m sure he was just as honorable as he was polite.

Why am I so jaded?

Why couldn’t I just be happy (like I felt) that someone wanted the discarded waterbed?