Come prodigal children

by chuckofish

The other night when I was looking around for something to read I re-read Shirley Jackson’s great short story about Charles. You remember, the one about the disruptive kindergartner in her son Laurie’s class.

The day Laurie started kindergarten he renounced corduroy overalls with bibs and began wearing blue jeans with a belt; I watched him go off the first morning with the older girl next door, seeing clearly that an era of my life was ended, my sweet-voiced nursery-school tot replaced by a long-trousered, swaggering character who forgot to stop at the corner and wave goodbye to me.

He came home the same way, the front door slamming open, his cap on the floor, and the voice suddenly become raucous shouting, “Isn’t anybody here?”

At lunch he spoke insolently to his father, spilled Jannie’s milk, and remarked that his teacher said that we were not to take the name of the Lord in vain.

“How was school today?” his father asked.

“All right,” he said.

“Did you learn anything” his father asked.

Laurie regarded his father coldly. “I didn’t learn nothing,” he said.

“Anything,” I said. “Didn’t learn anything.”

“The teacher spanked a boy, though,” Laurie said, addressing his bread and butter. “For being fresh,” he added with his mouth full.

“What did he do?” I asked. “Who was it?”

Laurie thought. “It was Charles,” he said. “He was fresh. The teacher spanked him and made him stand in a corner. He was awfully fresh.”

I seem to recall that it was a favorite story of the boy and I hope he will read this story to his two kindergartners. I bet they would all get a kick out of it and the wee twins could learn some new words like “spank” and “fresh”…also insolent and renounce and regard. It is an artfully written story, as all Jackson’s stories are. On second thought, maybe he should not. It might give them ideas.

You can read the entire story here.

Today my Bible Study starts up again. We are reading the Epistle to the Hebrews, which is the perfect follow-up to Leviticus.

Now if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek, rather than one named after the order of Aaron?

–Hebrews 7: 11

I will be in a different group since our old leader has gone back to school to start work on a degree in Christian Counseling. I will miss our old group, but look forward to getting to know some more women at my church.

If you feel like it, you can toast Francois de La Rochefoucauld (1613-1680), the noted French author of maxims and memoirs, who was born on this day in Paris to a noble family. His great-grandfather François III, count de La Rochefoucauld, a Huguenot, was murdered in the St. Bartholomew’s Day massacre.

He did not seem to hold a grudge.

The reason why so few persons are agreeable in conversation is that each thinks more of what he desires to say, than of what the others say, and that we make bad listeners when we want to speak. Yet it is necessary to listen to those who talk, we should give them the time they want, and let them say even senseless things; never contradict or interrupt them; on the contrary, we should enter into their mind and taste, illustrate their meaning, praise anything they say that deserves praise, and let them see we praise more from our choice than from agreement with them. To please others we should talk on subjects they like and that interest them, avoid disputes upon indifferent matters, seldom ask questions, and never let them see that we pretend to be better informed than they are.

–Reflections on Various Subjects

Grace and peace to you this fine Thursday in September. Read some de La Rochefoucauld maxims here.

And I like Zach Williams’s new song: