I pray this Memorial Day is a blessed one for you. As far as I know, I have no immediate kin who have died defending our nation but there are a number who have served and came back- for that I am grateful. We are in the debt of those who sacrificed their lives for the rest of us, born and not yet born. Memorial Day also serves as the first official day of summer for many in the education field including my colleagues and myself at WCS. I've started my to-do list, most of which is in some way tied to my month long Vietnam mission beginning July 4th. But, there's also basketball camp, some dental work, and apartment updates on the agenda as well as sleeping a little bit later five days a week. In our end of the year faculty meeting the first year I taught, I made the statement that I wish we could start the next year the next day. Fortunately, I'm wiser than that now.
Last week, one of my 8th graders gave me a Barnes and Noble gift card so I made a morning trek to buy a biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I also counted pennies for our Haiti/Honduras project, shopped for shorts at KOHL'S, prepared for my VISA application, and made a trip to buy groceries,specifically for the ingredients for my weekly crock-pot adventure which is cooking now. (Crock-pot lasagna soup in case you are interested!) While in the store, I crossed paths four or five times with a family. There was the mother and several children, ranging from, I would guess, eight to fourteen or so. The mom pushed the shopping court and the kids tagged along behind. We both started out in the produce aisles and made our way through the store in a right to left pattern. The kids seemed mild mannered and behaved but the mom was another story. Every time I was in their vicinity, she was cursing....... loudly. Cursing at the kids. Cursing at the world. It was the bad words, the ones starting with ----- and ----. I'm so embarrassed, I can't even use the first letter. The lady, who I think was in her mid to late thirties, also let it be known that she didn't care who heard her. Some of the employees seemed amused at her outbursts. The kids were unfazed as far as I can tell. I take it they've taken this all in before. In an odd way, I was almost fascinated. I was hoping to get close to them in the checkout to observe some more but I got directed to a different register. It was probably for the best- she might have started swearing at me.
As I drove away from the store, I was very thankful for my mom and grateful for my upbringing. My mother was upset with me on a daily, perhaps even hourly, basis but I can never recall raising her voice to me, let alone hurl invective my direction. I feel sorry for the mom I saw today. My take is that it was more than a bad day, that she is angry with the world and her lot in life. But I really feel for those children. I can't empathize because I haven't lived it but my heart goes out to them. They must walk on eggshells waiting for the next eruption- I don't know who could totally tune out all that venom although like I mentioned earlier, they did not seem perplexed. And I'm not saying she doesn't love them and they don't love her. I'm just sorrowful that children live with open hostility. My mom wasn't perfect by any means as she freely admitted in her public speaking events. But she quoted the Bible in her interchanges with her children and not the worst part of R rated movies. Some children miss out on that instruction done in a gentle voice and I hurt for them. And, I hurt for their mother as well. Life can't be very enjoyable when you are constantly at the boiling point. It's not enjoyable for you and it's really not enjoyable for the ones held captive in your profanity inhabited universe. They are locked into your orbit.
Applicable quote of the day:
All hockey players are bilingual. They know English and profanity.
Gordie Howe
God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1
www.hawleybooks.com
E-mail me at steve@hawleybooks.com
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