We love
because
He first
loved us.
[1 John 4:19]
**********************
"JULBIE!
I SAID NO!"
"AW!
Come ON,
MOMMY!"
"NO!
Now...how many times
do I have to
SAY IT?"
(Pout.)
(Mumble.)
"Come on....
it's no FAIR...."
"NO!
Now...you know how I FEEL!
Now, that's IT!"
(Pout.)
(Whine.)
"Awwwww!
Come ON!
PLEASE,
MOMMY?"
"JOACH'KA'LAH*!"
(Tearful whine.)
"D..A..D..D..Y!"
(Mumur, from behind
a big, black and white,
1960'S TV set:
barely heard, amidst
the cheering crowd
of a Phillies game.)
"Julie......
now.... your
mother said no."
"Aw!
Come ON!
You KNOW,
I always wanted ONE!"
(Exasperated voice,
coming from the kitchen.)
"Julbie!
You know I don't like
THEM!"
(Turning on of water,
at the kitchen faucet.)
"They always gave me
the SHIVERS...
every time
one of their TAILS
would brush up against me,
as a KID!"
"But......
M..O..M..M..Y!
THEY'RE REALLY CUTE!"
"Joach'ka'lah!
It's not that I hate them!
It's just their tails......"
"BUT....
they can't help, that
they have TAILS!
It's not THEIR FAULT!
They're REALLY SWEET!"
(Louder mumur,
from behind the TV set;
still barely heard,
amidst the louder cheering
of Phillies fans.)
"JULBIE!
SHHHH!
Now, knock it off!
Your mother said no!"
(Pout.)
(Mumble.)
(Tearful whining.)
(Noisy clamoring of
dishes in the kitchen
sink. The smell of
Joy dishwashing soap
fills the downstairs,
of a humid July night.
Through the open kitchen
window, children's voices
can be heard arguing over
a game of soft ball.
'What's New Pussycat?',
a new song by Tom Jones,
drifts into the cluttered
livingroom.)
(Forty-five minutes pass.)
(The Phillies lose.)
(Mumbling, from behind
the TV set. Rustle of
sports pages of the
Philadelphia Inqurirer.)
(Crickets can now be
heard, from the open
kitchen window.)
(Smells of 'ALL'
laundry detergent
drifts up from the
basement.)
(Sudden 'all'-knowing,
motherly tone, at
a fever pitch.)
"JUL...BIE!
JULBIE!
WHAT'S THIS?"
(Innocent voice.)
"WHAT?
WHAT'S A'MATTER?"
"This little black..
K..I..T..T..E..N?
At the top of the
basement S..T..A..I..R..S?"
(Silence.)
(Pitiful mewing.)
___________________
In memory,
Elaine Michaelson
*Family pet name:
'akahla' is a Yiddish
ending on a word of
affectionate endearment.
If you died today, are you absolutely certain that you would go to heaven? You can be! TRUST JESUS NOW
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