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Beloved:
The plane from Brunswick, Georgia to Atlanta held about thirty people. My seatmate was the last passenger to board, huffing and puffing to our row. A big fellow, taking his seat and a good slice of mine. Imagine Bobby Knight in a baseball cap, hoodie and bad jeans, smelling not just a little campy. His briefcase was open with everything spilling out. He juggled two cell phones and muttered in a southern accent so complicated and drawn I recognized one word out of four. Hearing the word bullets I decided to focus. As he restuffed his laptop and book and files and jacket and snacks he sighed, “Good Lord, thought I’d never make this flight. I been forever in that security line explaining that I didn’t bring no gun. I bought a new one on my last trip and left it at home but I forgot about the forty rounds of ammo in my briefcase. No big deal. Nothin’ they oughta be worried about or holding this line up for.” His air conditioning vent didn’t work. He fussed with it a good while as he told about his job as a rep for the American division of a Japanese motor company. He goes to manufacturing plants to advise them how to increase efficiency in their energy consumption. “They don’t never believe me at first, that turning down the thermostats by three degrees in one factory will save sixty thousand dollars an hour. Sixty thousand an hour! And they’ll still raise the price of cars and blame in on their fuel costs!” He shook his head and sighed again, “Lord have mercy am I tired. I haven’t been off the clock in four and a half days,” When our plane stalled on the tarmac I was thrilled to have longer to listen to him and he did not disappoint. He got home around ten the night before and met friends at a bar to celebrate his upcoming birthday. Two hours into the party he got an email from his boss that he has to be in Albuquerque the following afternoon. He celebrated until 4 am, gave the new gun to his friends and drove back to the airport. He showed me pictures of himself at Bar 26, an Arizona cattle ranch once owned by John Wayne who bequeathed it to the Apache-Navajo Nations who now run it. “A few times a year the two nations go to war against each other over various matters, the casinos and stuff, which is bad because cain’t nobody can buy beer until the council meetings settle the war. Them Indians get tipsy and they’ll start a fight with a light post don’t you know.” I promise I am not making this up. Six months ago he found weed in his seventeen year old’s dresser drawer. Talking it over, his son explained that marijuana is a superior treatment for his ADD than traditional medication. “I told him, ‘yer too young and it’s illegal.’ So we struck ourselves a deal. If he could do as well on his schoolwork with weed as with them pills, I’d allow it. So three months went by and he was fine. Three more and if I ain’t sittin’ here, that boy is just doin’ beautifully. So I told him, ‘Well then son, I ain’t gonna condone it but I ain’t goin’ harass you about it neither. Just know this, don’t go eatin’ more athis than you can swaller. You get caught and it’s on yer record. No getting a job as a game warden,’ that’s his dream ya see, ‘cause they won’t be any state jobs for ya, ever.’ All ‘n all he seems to be doin’ pretty well.” I folded my hands in grateful prayer for scoring him next to me. The flight attendant came by and he asked for some tomata juice. As she went to fetch it he said, “I’ve brushed my teeth three times but can still smell the liquor? Mam, you mind if I ask? Can you smell it on me?” I hedged the truth slightly and say, “Hmmm, yeah it’s definitely there.” He said, “I’ll be meetin’ my boss in Atlanta. Now he’s a heavy drinker himself, but the fact is I’ve been up all night and I worry it might show on me a little more.” He drank the juice then dug something out of his pocket, a tobacco tin. Shifting his back to me he stuffed his lip full. He turned back, flakes falling everywhere but with his original problem solved. Around this time he dropped his cell phone and it bounced under the seats behind us, occupied by two boys watching cartoons on an ipad. They chased down his phone and he thanked them, offering to buy them drinks at the Atlanta airport. I cheerfully noted that they are both pre-schoolers which reminded him of a family trip to Vegas in which his young nieces were accidently served non-virgin daiquiris. He agreed not to call in the law in exchange for an unlimited free bar tab the rest of their stay. Noticing my book I learned he’s also a reader. His all time favorite is Moby Dick and keeps the unabridged version on his phone so he can read it anytime anywhere. “But mostly I read professional articles, tryin’ to keep up with the industry don’t ya know.” The man on my next flight had a nice watch and good manners. We nodded but didn’t speak. I wished Johnny had been going to Indianapolis instead of Albuquerque but he won’t be in Indiana until February. One of his factories is in Lafayette. I wish the flight had been longer. I wish I could remember more that he said. He was as entertaining a person as I have ever met. Not a character in a Clyde Edgerton novel but a living, breathing, talking human being. A dad, a drinker and a reader of great literature. Being his next door neighbor is likely not as fun as being his seatmate on a 38 minute flight but I’m glad he was mine that one day. Not many folks share their hearts and minds so freely, so fearlessly, so simply themselves wherever they go. It’s good to be home and welcome the winter. I pray you are keeping warm and well. ~peace & prayers, pastor annette
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Beloved -
Normally I don’t write to you while on vacation but I need to get this down while it’s fresh. I have arrived in St. Simon and here's my first favorite story from vacation. It's way funnier if you know my friend Charlotte. She not five feet tall and won’t let me tell her age. Let’s call it old enough to know better. She is hilarious and when I am with her I sometimes amaze myself. Last evening we drove to the Michael's over in Brunswick to buy yarn. While waiting at a stoplight a young man on a bike rides up along my side of the car and motions me to roll down the window. "Hey, can I hook my bike on your bike rack and get a ride across the causeway?" We look at each other and Charlotte says, "Okay. But I am going to tell you something, I am armed!" I almost die inside. "That's fine," he says. While he snaps on the bike I get out my phone and cue up the camera. "Sit behind the driver," I tell him. I ask his name and tell him we are Christian ministers and that while Charlotte drives I am going to talk to him about Jesus until he wishes he could curl up and die. I have no idea why I say such a thing - but being with Charlotte makes me do stuff like this. He points to the squiggles on his jacket which I do not recognize. “It’s 666,” he says, “and there’s a cross on my back.” I can’t think of what to say to this so I ask him how to spell his name and tell him to get ready because I'm taking his picture. "Why?" he says. "So I can text your picture and name to my husband. That way he has it if you try anything sketchy." We learn he works for Domino’s Pizza and has a baby girl. He plans to go to paramedic school. Charlotte asks why he biked over to St. Simon. He explains, “To have some brews with my buddies. I’m actually a little wasted right now.” We are not wildly surprised by this. However, what he really wants to talk about is what I plan to do with his picture on my phone. “When you get out and we are safe I’ll delete it.” He seems relieved then says, “You think your husband will delete it immediately?” “No way of knowing,” I reply. “Maybe we should take a selfie of all three of us,” he says. So we do and then let him out of the car. He rides away and we laugh our heads off. Then Charlotte starts the long story of how last month she got kicked out a Mexican restaurant with her friend Vanessa. You can pray for us if you want but we are fine. Having a wonderful time in fact! ~ peace & prayers, pastor annette Beloved:
I took the dogs out at first light this morning. The air is warm and windy below a sky full of clouds aching to release the rain which www.wunderground.com gives no chance of not falling. Kids will wear slickers to the bus stop and everyone will drive a little more carefully. The very last of my leaves will drop and the back yard will become even muddier. The dogs will sigh piteously in their pining for the dog park. Summer seemed to cross deep into the fall, leaving us suddenly at the beginning of winter. It’s been as beautiful as any I remember but I’m glad for the break between heavy gardening and heavy snow shoveling. Now is the time for reading and quilting and knitting. For looking up thanksgiving recipes and planning my grocery lists. For being excited about the holidays. All things considered I guess I don’t mind the rain and cold too much. It keeps me grateful for a dry roof, a cozy chair and indoor things to do. I pray the day finds you likewise grateful for blessings of your own. ~peace & prayers, pastor annette ** Here is an easy, yummy, healthy and cheap dish I adapted for groceries I already had. A pile of cold spinach and warm black beans squirted with lime juice made a nice side. Easy, yummy, healthy, cheap is my favorite supper. Enchilada Casserole ~ Annette H. Briggs 1 lb ground sirloin 1 medium onion, chopped 1 tbsp butter 1 tbsp garlic, minced 2 tbsp all purpose flour 1 envelope taco seasoning 1 cup beef broth 8 oz can tomato sauce 4 whole wheat tortillas ½ cup monterey jack cheese plain greek yogurt ~ Pre-heat oven to 400. ~ Spray pie plate with cooking spray. ~ Cook ground beef & onion together in skillet until browned ~ In medium saucepan saute’ garlic in butter for one minute. Add flour and seasoning, coating garlic & cook for 30 seconds. Whisk in broth & tomato sauce and cook until boiling, stirring constantly. ~ Pour ⅔ of broth mixture into beef/onion and stir together. ~ lay 1 tortilla in pie plate, cover with ⅓ meat mixture, ⅓ shredded cheese. Repeat layers twice more. Pour remaining sauce over the top. ~ Bake 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and sauce bubbly. ~ Allow to sit 10 minutes before cutting into 6 triangles. ~Top each serving with plain greek yogurt |
I write a Tuesday morning devotional to members and friends of UBC. It is also posted here.
Enjoy! Pastor Annette Copyright
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July 2022
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