Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

The Scriptures will be embedded in the story.

Boilerplate

I’m Harold Dykstra.  I’m retired, but I go to food bank distributions all over Tracy and talk to people that need someone who will listen to their story.  My time is well spent.  A police lieutenant suggested that I write down the conversations that I had with an angel.  I did not know she was an angel at the time.  The angel, for a little over a year, indwelled a life-sized posable action figure my children bought me, so that I would not be perceived as travelling alone.  And in a way, she was training me for what I do while talking to the needy.  She probed my heart to find out what I believed and how I express love for others.  She changed my life.

In her leaving, she said someone would come.  I had thought that was Jesus, in His second coming, but a new Babs, a little older, the model for the posable action figure arrived.  While I had no desire to start over with romance, Morrie helped her move in, thinking she was the other Babs who had returned.

This Week’s Question

Last week, Babs started the new year by giving thanks.

This week, our Bible study was delayed.  Babs was at a Bachelorette Party.

When she arrived well after dark, she said, “39 days and counting.”

I smiled, “Well?  How did it go?”

Babs snickered, “Well, what goes on at a bachelorette party stays at the party, Harold.  How dare you ask.”

I gasped, “That pertains to Las Vegas and then a few other places claim that, but they are just copycats.”

Babs sighed, “Oh, Harold, it was just girl stuff.”

I huffed, “Girls can get into as much mischief as boys can.”

Babs scrunched her nose, “But I told Garry and Larry that what we did in private would not be divulged.  But I can say that they were GREAT!!”

I moaned, “Babs, I doubt very seriously whether there were guys named Garry and Larry.”

She suggested eagerly.  “Harold, how about Barry?”  She giggled.

I shrugged, “Babs, the only Barry that I know is at the County Line Farm, tending llamas, goats, and cattle.”

Babs laughed, “Llamas, goats, and cattle!  Oh My!”

I snickered, “The line from the movie is Lions, Tigers, and Bears, oh my.”

Babs sneered, “I have been around a llama who thought someone was invading his space.  They can be very nasty.”

I groaned, “Babs, you might be drunk.  You are acting very goofy, but I will give you three reasons that you did not get lap dances from naked male dancers.”

Babs smiled, “Who said anything about naked.  They had on these thongs.  Really long thongs.  I mean really long.”  She held out her hands to suggested four or five feet.  She added, “Okay, I love it when you give me three reasons, Harold.  Give me all three.”

I laughed, “One, the party was at Lily the Pink, and Pink Lady would not have anything to do with that kind of a party.  Two, the party was being hosted by a preacher’s wife.  If Willie snuck the dancers into the party room, and then if anything went wrong, Gil would be the one answering the questions with the church’s ruling body.  He could lose his job.  And three, I know what you used to do and how the idea of doing that in a way that displeases God makes your stomach upset.”

Babs giggled, “Rats!  You were right on all three of them.  I’ll have to cancel my date with Alphonse.”  I looked at Harold and he was tired of the joke.  “Harold, I have never seen that vein stick out in your neck like that, and it’s throbbing.  I was just joking, dear.”

I said, “Yes, Babs, I know you were just joking.  And I know that innocent girl talk is nothing to put a barrier up between the two of us, but we have promised to not have secrets.  If it was tame innocent fun, then why not just say so?”

Babs groaned, “It was tame, innocent fun.”

I groaned, “If you had started with that, I would believe you.”

Babs giggled, “Everyone wanted you to change your name.  One of the games was taking the wedded couple’s married names and make the most words out of it that you could.  Dykstra gives you a couple of letters you don’t usually find, but why have a ‘K’ without a ‘C’?  And you have everything for Dusty, except for the ‘U.’”

I laughed, “My name is my name, but that sounds more like a game for the shower.  We don’t need a wedding shower.  We have everything that we need already.  We are not a young couple.  We already said that if anyone wanted to give us a wedding gift, they should make a donation to FHAT or their local food bank.”

Babs said, “Yes, Harold, but that is when Amy G. Dala and Gwen Quinn decided to collaborate on the Swag Bag.”

I asked, “Is that SWAG, meaning ‘Stuff We All Get’?”

Babs scrunched her nose and nodded, “Yeah. Amy has done computer work for most companies in town.  So, cosmetics and jewelry.  You know, stuff with company names on it as advertising, but it’s still free stuff.  She gave us codes for interesting phone or laptop applications.  And you know what Gwen Quinn’s specialty is.”

I laughed, “No, I hardly know her.  Gwen is the quiet type who keeps in the shadows, but she has been the president of Lily the Pink, and their production and subsequent sales have never been higher.”

Babs giggled and said, “Of course not.  She came back before the Washington state operation was up to full capacity.  And the efficiency improvements made by Jim Kaiser have also helped the bottom line.  But picture yourself in a brothel.”

I sighed, “This conversation just took an ugly turn.”

Babs giggled, “I love you, Harold Dykstra, but when a customer asks for a particular fantasy, you need to have a dress that fits a particular woman and puts the fantasy into motion.  That’s why I got my wedding dress at a discount.  Gwen somehow got in touch with a notable designer and told her what she might need in a hurry.  From what Gwen says, Baldwyn Apple left her alone, for the most part, as long as she cooked food for everyone, stayed to herself, took care of Pink’s needs, and got costumes made in a hurry.  This designer saw that these costumes could sell to everyday people, and Gwen’s requests for naughty lingerie opened an additional money stream for the designer.  She became famous for making everyone’s dreams come true.  But then, Gwen’s superpower is looking at you and knowing your size.  No, I see your eyes.  She is only in the ballpark with guys.  With women, she is remarkably accurate.  The designer made all kinds of measurements on me to have the dress perfect.  Gwen had almost all of them.  They were only off by an inch on one measurement.  The two of them argued, and then Gwen said I would be dancing in the dress and that extra inch would be a lot more comfortable.  Otherwise, the dress is like an extra layer of skin.”

I gasped, “You have the dress?”

Babs giggled, “The designer was there and we tried it on.  The designer asked Bea if she would dip me.  I fought it until Bea said that she was probably stronger than you, and if I doubted that, Anahera was available.  But when I let Bea hold me that way, the designer turned to Gwen and said, ‘You’re right Gwen.  She might not be as comfortable with one less inch.’  So, then the fashion show started.”

I asked, “What kind of fashion show?”

Babs scrunched her nose, “Naughty Lingerie.”

I asked, “Who did the modeling?

Babs smiled, “Missy’s friends.  Beatriz, Aiyana, Anahera, Diya, and Dominika.  If you added Amara, you’d have the ladies in Missy’s wedding party.  Cassie, the mayor’s wife, was the matron of honor, and she was there.  But Cassie is expecting.  Amara was studying for a big test.”

I asked, “And who was in attendance?”

Babs smiled, “Pink, Gwen, the dress designer, Amy, Eleanor from our church, and all the women in the wedding party.  Jemima and Mitzi were there to take photographs.  The designer might use some of the photographs and pay the model and the photographer.  Some of the stuff was newly designed.  Some of the stuff simply looked exquisite with the different ladies.  Amara was the darkest skin, and it was unfortunate for her to not be there, but she really wants an accounting position at Lily the Pink.  But with the others, there were some exotic looks.”

I held up a finger, “You said the women in the wedding party.  I guess that excludes the girls.”

Babs laughed, “No, they were all there.  The models used nude pasties for their skin tone when things might otherwise show.  Janella thought they were the goofiest bikinis she had ever seen.  Don’t worry, Harold, her swag bag has age-appropriate night wear, and that goes for Grace.  Jemima told them that she was so bummed when she got her swag bag from her Aunt Pink’s wedding, but until she got pregnant, those things became her usual bedtime attire.  Then the naughty stuff was only for special occasions.  And really, it is not naughty when you are married to the person who is watching you.  And Madison and Mercedes are getting some naughty things, but not the inappropriate for a teenager naughty things.  Sadie was at the party, and the other mothers will be told what their daughter has.  Then each mother than set the rules.  Frankly, if Maddie and Janella come over for a sleepover, I would love to have some girlie-girl time with them.  And as for my swag bag, I got one of each of everything that was modeled.  I already had my first night attire planned, but the rest is going to be fun, and for your eyes only.”

I nodded, “So, the naughtiness of a bachelorette party was simply watching some friends being scantily clothed.  Why all the mystery?”

Babs giggled, “Just being an enigmatic woman.  I cannot tell you all my secrets.  But you are not going to get your hands on the swag bag or its contents until the wedding night.  I have it locked away in an undisclosed location.”

I smiled, “I think Gwen Quinn has it in her closet, either that or Amy, since Amy is our ride to the mysterious honeymoon location.  But let’s look at secrets.”

Babs smiled, “Like ‘A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy person keeps a secret.’ (Proverbs 11:13). ‘A gossip betrays a confidence; so avoid anyone who talks too much.’ (Proverbs 20:19).  ‘The prudent keep their knowledge to themselves, but a fool’s heart blurts out folly.’ (Proverbs 12:23).”

I smiled, “Sure, we could look at God telling us that it is wise to know when to speak and when to keep a secret, but let’s look at a story about a well-kept secret.  It involves a beautiful woman, but not nearly as beautiful as you.”

Babs slipped her watch off and held it over her head, “Save the watch!”

I smiled, “Babs, I think you are the most lovely woman in the world.”

Babs snickered, “Yeah, but you are besotted.”

“Yes,” I said, “And King Xerxes was besotted with Esther.  Vashti had refused the king.  In a rage he said things that he later regretted, but when the king said something, it became law.  So they set up a beauty contest and Esther was one of the virgins selected.  ‘When the turn came for Esther (the young woman Mordecai had adopted, the daughter of his uncle Abihail) to go to the king, she asked for nothing other than what Hegai, the king’s eunuch who was in charge of the harem, suggested. And Esther won the favor of everyone who saw her. She was taken to King Xerxes in the royal residence in the tenth month, the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.
Now the king was attracted to Esther more than to any of the other women, and she won his favor and approval more than any of the other virgins. So he set a royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti’ (Esther 2:15-17).“

Babs said, “Okay, Xerxes had it bad.  It seemed Esther was very wise in having the eunuch pick the gift.  The eunuch would know what would please the king.  The other ladies picked what they wanted, but what secret did she keep?”

I nodded, “’But Esther had kept secret her family background and nationality just as Mordecai had told her to do, for she continued to follow Mordecai’s instructions as she had done when he was bringing her up’ (Esther 2:20).  So Mordecai’s tutelage contributed to Esther’s wisdom.  ‘During the time Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s officers who guarded the doorway, became angry and conspired to assassinate King Xerxes. But Mordecai found out about the plot and told Queen Esther, who in turn reported it to the king, giving credit to Mordecai. And when the report was investigated and found to be true, the two officials were impaled on poles. All this was recorded in the book of the annals in the presence of the king’ (Esther 2:21-23).”

Babs said, “But Mordecai did not treat Haman with the respect Haman thought he deserved.  So, Haman devised a way to kill all the Jews.  He did not know that Queen Esther was a Jew.”

I nodded, “Yes, part of this is acting wisely, but a lot is God’s providence.  Mordecai saved the king’s life and then the king forgot to reward Mordecai.  Now, Haman being angry at the Jews, really angry with Mordecai, the ethnic cleansing order is issued.  Mordecai went to Esther. ‘”All the king’s officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned the king has but one law: that they be put to death unless the king extends the gold scepter to them and spares their lives. But thirty days have passed since I was called to go to the king.”
When Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai, he sent back this answer: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape.”’ (Esther 4:11-13).”

Babs asked, “So, do you mean that for Esther to plead for the lives of all the Jews, all of the Jews throughout the empire, she might lose her life before she could say a word?”

I smiled, “Yes, but Esther decided to stand outside the danger zone.  The king could see her, but she was not intruding.  It’s like what you do at times.  You mind your own business, but I see you, and I lose track of what I was thinking.  So, I put the work down and watch you.  But Esther was simply playing it coy, until the king extended the scepter.  Then she plays a game, taking two days to ask one question and getting the king, Haman, and herself in the same place, eating a banquet meal. ‘Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor with you, Your Majesty, and if it pleases you, grant me my life—this is my petition. And spare my people—this is my request. For I and my people have been sold to be destroyed, killed and annihilated. If we had merely been sold as male and female slaves, I would have kept quiet, because no such distress would justify disturbing the king.”
King Xerxes asked Queen Esther, “Who is he? Where is he—the man who has dared to do such a thing?”
Esther said, “An adversary and enemy! This vile Haman!”
Then Haman was terrified before the king and queen. The king got up in a rage, left his wine and went out into the palace garden. But Haman, realizing that the king had already decided his fate, stayed behind to beg Queen Esther for his life.’ (Esther 7:3-7).”

Babs scrunched her nose, “How did that work out?”

I smiled, “I think you know what happened.  ‘Just as the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet hall, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was reclining.
The king exclaimed, “Will he even molest the queen while she is with me in the house?”
As soon as the word left the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face. Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs attending the king, said, “A pole reaching to a height of fifty cubits stands by Haman’s house. He had it set up for Mordecai, who spoke up to help the king.”
The king said, “Impale him on it!” So they impaled Haman on the pole he had set up for Mordecai. Then the king’s fury subsided’ (Esther 7:8-10).”

Babs asked, “But, Harold, you have said that we should not have any secrets between ourselves, but didn’t Esther keep a big whopper from her husband?”

I nodded, “Yes, but it was God’s plan.  God was preserving the ancestors of Joseph and Mary.  God’s plan was going to be done, whether Haman liked the idea or not.  But as for this afternoon.  You had fun, and it was relatively clean fun.  But if you had run off with Larry and Garry, I would have been forced to give them a thrashing.”

Babs smiled, “Good, you forgot all about Alphonse.”

I stared into her eyes, and she couldn’t help but laugh.  I kissed her briefly.

And Babs said, “You are not getting away that easily.”  And then she wrapped her arms around me, and we lost all thought of time.

Credits

All these conversations remind me of my conversations with my wife.  We would talk about anything and everything.  And most of the time, it sounded like a discussion in a Sunday school class.

My wife’s matron of honor was married to a policeman who was a martial arts enthusiast.  The three of them went on a trip, I think to Dallas, where there was a large gathering of martial arts experts.  An up-and-coming fighter/actor was selling his first book at the gathering, Winning Tournament Karate.  The matron of honor’s husband got the author to agree to date my wife, about a month before we married.  But my wife quickly backed out of the deal.  The fighter/actor/author was Chuck Norris.  At the time, he had only been a bad guy in a Bruce Lee movie, but Steve McQueen had talked him into taking acting lessons.  Two years later, he had his first leading role.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.