Goodbye Jesus
Gig drove like a madwoman. She was always running late and always speeding behind the wheel. Every other driver on the road was an inconvenience in her path, long before the term "road rage" had been coined. She would be incensed if another car cut her off. "Don't get in front of me and then drive slow!" she'd bellow. Without the choice of secular swear words, she would instead yell entire sentences and DOT laws out the car window. "In the state of Florida you can turn right on red unless
She was immanently charismatic. People wanted to like her. She could be charming and funny and mock-deferential. And once she’d one you over with her “little ole’ me” charm, she could preach fire and brimstone with the best of them.
I didn’t know the word for this magnetic appeal she had till fifth grade, when we were studying World War II, Hitler, and the Nazis. Watching videos of Adolf Hitler speaking before fervent crowds, I recognized that same inspirational quality my grandmother
Peace, peace, wonderful peace
Flowing down from the Father above
Sweep over my spirit, forever I pray
In fathomless billows of love
This song was sung to me at such a young age, I had no understanding of its meaning. I imagined an angel with a broom sweeping green peas from a welcome mat, while a bearded white god rained down "pillows of blub", which to my young mind meant lard or cooking fat.
When children are steeped in theology and religious jargon before they have any real
Ostensibly, Gig was supposed to use a paint can stir stick for spankings. But in the heat of her anger, she would grab whatever weapon first came to hand, and we were often beaten with kitchen implements. There is a picture of me as a young girl in footie pajamas standing with a man we knew from a church home group and he is holding a wooden spoon. I don't recall the exact evening the photo was taken, but I remember even as a child looking at the picture and wondering if the spoon had been us
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About this blog
random notes towards my lifestory (to be published one day)
