there were missionaries who would spin wonderful stories of life overseas. i wanted so much to be a missionary in order to travel. usually my questions were 'what kind of animals live near you?" or "what kind of food do you eat". i held most missionaries on a pedestal, so i reserved my most poignant moments for other guest.
there were ministers and evangelists who told about churches and people throughout america. i delighted hearing how others did church. but more delightful and seductive were the stories 'about' people... what they did... didn't do... what they said... didn't say.... what they wore.... didn't wear... the possibilities were endless. once, a minister with an 'honorary' doctoral degree was eating a meal with us. i just HAD to ask, 'are you a real doctor'? i wish i could remember the response. oops!
two single women sang for a revival at our church when i was no older than 7. one, i addressed by her name. the other, by 'coocoonose'. she was a good sport. frequently, i had nicknames for our guests. luckily, i kept most of them for private use.
one married evangelist couple who sat at our kitchen table proceeded to make negative comments about other people within the nazarene denomination. i took in some really 'good' information. but rather than adding to the conversation, i delighted in watching my mom's and dad's eyes divert, avert, squint, open-wide, and stare. try as they might to change the subject, my parents realized the couple would continue to 'spill the beans'. after dinner, we were encouraged NOT to spread the good news to others.
speaking of which, a pastors wife, while eating with us, spilled the green beans all over the table. she was not embarrassed just once, but by anytime we would remind her of the incident. her accident was so thrilling to us kids... so much so that for years, we would always mention it when our family had 'memory' time.
another evangelist brought his wife and children to our church for the weekend. at sunday dinner, i asked another fun and frequent question.... 'what church do you go to?'. the evangelist explained very tactfully that his wife was not a christian and didn't usually attend church. oops!
of course, members of the church were in our homes frequently. many were like family, loving and kind... a few weren't. some would come over to babysit, others would visit my parents, and some came over to pick up a key or a book or who-knows-what. once, a woman came over to talk to my dad. while she was waiting, she was asked by a little red-haired boy if she peed in her kool-aid. she handled it graciously, but
a group of church members had a meeting at church long into the evening. my mother baked pies and invited them over to wind down i suppose. it was a school night, so i couldn't stay up to talk and listen. instead, i hid in a hall closet and just listened. imagine my surprise when i awoke to the relief of my parents' voice when they finally found me. apparently, they had search all over the house before trying the closet. oops!
even though it didn't happen at our church, i must tell another story. this happened at our annual campmeeting. a woman asked her teenage daughter to deliver something to another woman in the camp. the teenage girl invited me, a 9 year old, to come along. the woman invited us in. and before i knew it, i had asked her, 'why are you so fat'? the woman turned red. the teenager gasped. we left quickly. the teenager told her mother. the mother gasped AND told me how rude i had been. duh! and.... oops! imagine me face. imagine a brilliant color of red.
for better or worse, i still enjoy engaging in all sorts of conversation. and as fate would have it, i still have 'oops' experiences. recently, a friend of mine said something that was confusing to me. when she asked, 'does that make sense'? i seized the opportunity to be 'cute' and humorous, by saying that her comment made no sense at all. as i laughed at my joke, i realized she was not laughing with me. rather, she took offense to my flippant comment.
oops!
No comments:
Post a Comment