Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

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

One day last week, Babs and I talked about being a child of God.

This week Babs had no idea what was about to happen.

I asked, “Babs, have you had a nice drive today?”

Babs smiled, “You have done the driving.  I have enjoyed our conversation.  I have enjoyed the scenery.  And those beef ribs were interesting.  I feel like Wilma Flintstone.”

I smiled, “Babs, I thought you had been living vicariously through Matt and Maddie’s videos and pictures.  I thought you needed a change of scenery.  Now, we can go home, shower, and get ready to go to bed early tonight.”

Babs nodded, “Yes, that sounds great.  Matt and Maddie are coming home sometime today, maybe late.  I want to be well rested when they come over.  I have so many questions.”

I laughed, “That is tomorrow, Babs.  Let’s just rest tonight.”

I drove into the garage.  I gathered the few things that Babs had purchased, and I followed her up the stairs.

Babs smiled, “That smells divine, Harold.  What are you baking?”  Then it dawned on her.  “Harold, if we have been gone all day, how could anything be baking in the oven?”

“Surprise!” People hopped through the door to the dining room, living room, and hallway.

Babs shrieked, “Don’t scare me like that!  What is the surprise for?”

Morrie said, “Your birthday, Grabbabs!  Matt and Maddie begged them to leave early so that they could be here.  This was the earliest they could get here.”

Matt and Maddie stuck their heads in the door, “Hi, Grabbabs.”

Babs huffed, “But this is not my birthday.  Why did you set this up for today?”

Sue McAdoo came through the dining room door, “It’s the only time we could get everyone together.  You do know that it is the summer and people have vacations.”

Babs turned to me, “And you knew about this?  You did not tell me?  We promised to not keep secrets!  You are in big trouble, Sweetie.”

I smiled, “The surprises keep coming, Babs.”

A voice came from the hallway, “When you left, I thought you were crazy.  You had no idea that Harold Dykstra was even a real person.”

Babs squeaked, “Rev. Dan Hamilton?  Harold, he’s the pastor who baptized me!”

They embraced.  The hug lingered.

“Coming through, coming through.  Babs, I have paperwork for you to sign.” It was an old voice that she never wanted to hear again.

Babs released her hug, and stood, ready for battle.  “Lester Shyster, I dreaded the day that you would show up.”

Lester said, “Please, Babs, this is good news.  I have settled all the lawsuits, most of them had no substance, but when you hand them a check of five or six digits, the lawsuits get dropped.  Some of the million-dollar lawsuits were settled by me giving them your accumulated stock of films.  Knowing how your life has changed, I am sure you would not want your image to be used in that fashion, but I saved you a very nice retirement fund.  And I have ensured that all those who were looking for you are not ready to come knocking at your door.”

Babs laughed, “Bring them on, Lester.  ‘But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: “Friends, why are you doing this? We too are only human, like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them. In the past, he let all nations go their own way. Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.”’ (Acts 14:14-17).  Lester, if they come knocking, they will hear the Gospel being preached.”

Lester laughed, “Suzy Q warned me.  This party is going to be interesting.”

I laughed, “The only thing that concerns me right now is that the crowd is simply too large. ‘They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them.’ (Mark 2:2).”

The door to the deck burst open.  Mabel said, “Make way for me.  You can sign papers later.  You can catch up with old friends another time, but if you don’t get out of the way, you gonna have burned shortcake.”

Babs giggled, “Mabel, I love strawberry shortcake.”

Mabel gave her a single eye that seemed to popout of the socket, “Then help make a path to the oven.”

Note: Never mess with Mabel.  Even when you are the central character of the party.

Mabel pulled cake pans from the oven. “Harold, you have a nice oven.  The idea of having something baking when you got home was a great distraction.”

Babs turned to me with daggers in her eyes, “Harold, did you set this up?”

I held my hands up in surrender.  “I only answered questions and planned a day trip to return at a specific time.

Babs said, “But there are so many people here.  There weren’t any cars in front of the house.”

Pink Lady came in from the deck, “We parked at your church.  And Grannie Fannie shuttled people to the house.  Harold was instructed to avoid driving by the church.”

Babs sighed, “So that’s why you wanted to top off with gas at the wholesale warehouse store.”

I shrugged, “I saved a few cents in the process.  ‘The wise store up choice food and olive oil, but fools gulp theirs down.’ (Proverbs 21:20).  It’s not olive oil, but gasoline is a fuel.”

Babs laughed, “Who all is here?”  I just shrugged.

Willie said, “Well, we have countless children running with Sugar.  The Niblicks brought Beauty.  So, Drew and Lou, Jayke and Janella, Gigi, Baffy, Andrew, Ibie, and Blue.  Then Pink has Kanok, Joon, and Sparkle.  But then she added Gwen’s children: Valin, Thanh, Asha, and Catalina.  I guess Mary’s little Ethan does not count.  From Lily the Pink, there is Pink, Mabel, TomCat, Joseph, and Mary.  Then there is Matt and Maddie with Mercy and Mike.  Then you’ve heard from Paster Hamilton.  His wife Leah is around here somewhere.  You know the McAdoos, the Niblicks, and the Jetson’s.  Mr. Shyster.  And from your church there is Eleanor and Tim.  Oh, from FHAT there is Amy with Chip, Ralph E, Dev and Naomi.  Sorry, I have not counted them all.  Oh, and the Painters.”

Babs asked, “If TomCat is here, where are their darling children?”

Willie shrugged, “Yeah, I was introduced to them: Reuben, Samantha and Levi.  And I forgot the three Grunge children.  I think Joe and Grace like each other, but all they will say is that they are just dancing partners.  I don’t think boyfriend, girlfriend is cool at that age.  They’ve been teaching the little ones that walking dance that is the craze these days.  Mostly, they are teaching the kids how to get their legs tangled and fall down, but as long as they are laughing and having a good time.”

About that time, Tony and Mary Jo came in with huge trays of pulled pork, baked beans, and coleslaw.  TomCat followed with hush puppies and toasted buns for pulled pork sandwiches, with or without coleslaw.  Tony had his workers helping: the crew from Pawnee Heights and the Turtle’s grease monkeys.  TomCat had a few helpers from the homeless community that asked him if they could come to help.  They had parked the FHAT food truck at the Painter’s house to hide the food while keeping the food warm.

As it was, I never got a good count of the people, but we had leftovers.  We made lunch packets for the homeless people who were there and they would distribute it as long as it lasted when they were dropped off downtown.

Sue McAdoo got everyone’s attention, at least those on the deck.  And on the steps leading to where the children were again playing with Sugar and Beauty.

Sue said, “Okay, we are gathered together to honor our birthday girl.  I brought a gift.  It’s one thing that Mr. Shyster did not sell to the new company owners.  And Babs, no one is naked in the picture.”

She handed it to Babs and encouraged Babs to open it. Babs ripped off the wrapping paper like a three-year-old.  It was a publicity photo of Suzy Q and Babs.  It had hung in Babs’ office, as I later discovered, but there was a new inscription at the bottom. “I love you, Mom. From Suzy Q.”

Sue said, “I have one just like it in our home in Maryland.  Part of Hugh’s job is to entertain.  And the only mother that the DC socialites will see is you on the wall behind the head of the dining room table.”

Babs gave her a big hug, “I love you, too, Sweet Suzy Q.”

Sue said, “But we are not done.  We know how you and Harold read Bible verses and turn that into a conversation.  We have prepared an odd collection of Bible passages.  The question is: What do they have in common?”

There were ooh’s and aah’s around those that were there.  I think a couple of adults were watching the children.  But the crowd in the backyard looked like an under-five soccer game, in a tight bunch, no child’s head distinguishable from the other ten in the bunch.  Maybe there was a dog in the middle.

Willie gave a name and a Bible reference, just like Jemima does in her Sunday school class.

Pink Lady (Genesis 8:5-8)  “Then God said to Noah, ‘Come out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives. Bring out every kind of living creature that is with you—the birds, the animals, and all the creatures that move along the ground—so they can multiply on the earth and be fruitful and increase in number on it.’ So Noah came out, together with his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives.”

Rev. Joseph (Genesis 39:13-14).  ”and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, ‘Come to bed with me!’ But he refused. ‘With me in charge,’ he told her, ‘my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?’ And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.”

Mary Jones (Exodus 2:5). “Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the riverbank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her female slave to get it.”

Mary laughed, “Willie, this is a hard quiz.”  Willie just smiled and looked for her next verse or two.

Tony Painter (Exodus 35:25-26) ”Every skilled woman spun with her hands and brought what she had spun—blue, purple or scarlet yarn or fine linen. And all the women who were willing and had the skill spun the goat hair,“

Maddie laughed, “I saw Pake’s eyes brighten.  I don’t think he has it, but he’s getting close.”

Willie huffed, “Oh, niece of mine, hush.  Do not give anything away.”

Maddie moaned, “I don’t know either.  I’m just reading Pake’s eyes.  I haven’t learned Grabbabs body language, yet.  But I think she’s still puzzled.”

Babs sighed, “I do not think this is fair.  I have not been a Christian as long as many of you.  I am trying to tie the stories together.”

I smiled, “That is why I might be ahead of you, and as Maddie said, not there yet.  But getting off an Ark, being seduced by the boss’ wife, being plucked from the Nile, and then skilled women spinning fiber and goat hair to make thread for the coverings of the tabernacle.  Babs, what do those things have in common?”

Babs groaned, “Nothing, Harold.  That’s why I am so confused.”

I nodded, “So, let’s eliminate the things.  Let’s eliminate what they are doing.  Although a few were in Egypt, let’s eliminate where they are.  Now, Willie, give us a couple more.  With what this is not about, maybe Babs will get it before I will.”

Mary Jo Painter (Exodus 38:6)  ”They made the bronze basin and its bronze stand from the mirrors of the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting.”

Mary Jo said, “Thank you, Willie, for calling on me.  I heard my married name.  That is so wonderful.  And this is so much like Stinker’s Sunday school class.  She calls out a person’s name and then the verses, and then after the verse is read, we talk about what we have read.  I love it!”

Babs scrunched her nose, “But I don’t know if I do.”

Eleanor (Judges 5:8-10)  “Through the window peered Sisera’s mother; behind the lattice she cried out, ‘Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why is the clatter of his chariots delayed?’ The wisest of her ladies answer her; indeed, she keeps saying to herself, ‘Are they not finding and dividing the spoils: a woman or two for each man, colorful garments as plunder for Sisera, colorful garments embroidered, highly embroidered garments for my neck—all this as plunder?’”

Maddie asked, “Do you have it now?”

Babs scrunched her nose, “If we eliminate the things, what’s happening, and the location, all we have left is people.  We know about the men, but the women who spin and the women who donate their mirrors are just about the women.  And the thing that has me confused is that we don’t know who any of these women are!”

The crowd erupted in laughter, but I had some saliva go down the wrong pipe.  I started coughing.  Mabel rushed to the kitchen and got me some non-alcoholic cider.

Sadie asked, “Are you okay, Pake?”

I smiled, “I am fine, and I am so proud of Babs getting it before I did.  After all, this party is in her honor.”

Babs spluttered, “But I don’t have anything but a bunch of no named women.”

I smiled, “Exactly.  This party is for you, Babs.  Is your name in the Bible?”  She shook her head. “Okay, in these Bible verses, do these women have a significant part to play?”

Babs shrugged, “What about Potiphar’s wife?”

I laughed,  “Babs, we talk about it all the time.  God’s will is not carried out in a straight line.  Joseph was the favorite son, sold into slavery, and then Potiphar’s wife had him thrown into prison.  If Joseph had not interpreted the dreams of the cup bearer and the baker, he would have never had the chance to interpret Pharoah’s dream.  Right?”  She nodded. “So, Potiphar’s wife played a role in God’s plan even when she was a pagan who did not believe in the true God.  Now Sisera’s mother illustrates our need to remember the original reason for Memorial Day.  Sometimes mother’s sons do not come home from war.  But even that is a lesson sent from God through a song written by Deborah, the judge and prophetess.  But you solved the riddle.  Willie, would you have gotten around to the mother of Samson?”

Willie sighed, “I was hoping we could get the woman who dropped a stone onto Abimelech’s head in Judges 9 and Jephthah’s daughter in Judges 11 before we get to Manoah’s wife in Judges 13.”

Babs sighed, “But all I do is help out at food banks.  And a lot of that is being there with Harold and not wanting to be bored.”

I shrugged, “It’s more than that, Babs.  If that is all there is of your substance, I would not have fallen in love with you.  You see people in need, and you see the need to help.  It comes from your soul.  If the women with the mirrors could not live another day unless they could gaze at their beauty, they would have never donated the mirrors.  Babs, you give of yourself and this deck might collapse because there are that many people who love you in return.”

Babs smiled, “Thank you, Harold, and thank you, Willie for this little test.  But watch out.  Being a preacher’s wife and getting a diabolical test to solve might be more stressful on you.”

Willie gasped, “Oh, Grabbabs, you wouldn’t dare!”

Babs only laughed in return.

Mabel announced, “Cake and ice cream.  How many candles?”

Babs sighed, “Put thirty-nine.  Any more and we’d have to alert the fire marshal.”

I said, “So, that’s why Jack Benny stopped at thirty-nine?”

Babs smiled.  “It’s as good as any other explanation.”

In hearing a call for cake, the kids were climbing the steps of the deck.  Grace Grunge asked, “Who is Jack Benny?”

Babs said, “A famous comedian who celebrated more than thirty-nine 39^th birthdays.”

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.

Beef ribs look a lot like the rack of ribs that the carhop places on the window tray of the Flintstone car that then tips over from the weight in the opening credits of the original show.

In researching what happens to companies whose owner disappears, it greatly matters who signs the checks.  If the owner has to do that, then the company ceases to operate or even exist.  But then if that company had obligations, they might sue to obtain assets so that their losses might be recouped to a degree.

And I have mentioned my old top sergeant in the past who could strike fear in anyone when he looked at you with eyes that seemed to pop out of the sockets.

My wife hated being put on the spot, but she would amaze me with the way her mind could solve riddles.  90% emotion, but that 10% logic was enough to solve complex riddles.

Jack Benny lived to be 80 years old, 42 years of being 39 years old.  If you are doing the math, the first 39^th celebration was when he really was 39 years old.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.