Well, about ten minutes ago. The scene: me, sitting outside. Partaking of Happy Hour, cigar in one hand and pint glass containing a 2 Below in the other. Two earnest looking, be-suited young men approach from starboard.
First Young Man: Hello...
Me... holding my cigar hand up, palm facing outward: Stop right there. You are intruding... unbidden... on my peaceful, contemplative Friday afternoon. Get thee behind me, and right now!Both young men turned on their heels and retreated without a further word. All this transpired exactly as written - and only as written... no more, no less - The Deity At Hand strike me dead if I lie.
The Diva had two young Morman men hanging out at her house this summer. They traded their black suits for Wranglers and cowboy boots. They got in trouble with the folks back in Utah and got moved.
ReplyDeleteHa! I love it!!!
ReplyDeleteLOL!!! That's funny! Had a couple of those come by here one day, ran into my husband working outside. They didn't stay long, he wondered why for a minute, then realized he was wearing a firearm in plain sight on his hip.
ReplyDeleteI've got a great deal of respect for young Mormon missionaries. Even though I don't subscribe to their doctrine, you've gotta give them their due for loyalty, work ethic, and courteous demeanor.
ReplyDeleteI have some really good friends that have done their mission (in all points 'round the globe). One really good buddy who did his in Scandanavia way back, and now has a son doing his in Mongolia...
I had a son do two years of mission work in Romania myself (not Mormon) (eldest son btw), so I guess I have a soft spot for young folks with a passion to spread their faith.
I think that Harry Reid is the only Mormon that I could not bear to sit and visit with for a good long while.
But, there are a whole bunch of my fellow "Protestant Christians" that I can think of that I'd rather chew barbed wire than be forced to drink a cup of coffee with.
Lou sez: They got in trouble with the folks back in Utah and got moved.
ReplyDeleteWhy? For being out of uniform? ;-)
Kris: Thank ya, Ma'am.
Jenny: That's funny, too!
Andy: I don't know for sure if those guys were Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Orthodox Jews, Fuller Brushmen,or Outback Bushmen. But their dress and demeanor suggests they were LDSers.
I have a great deal of respect and admiration for any and all missionaries of whatever faith, as long as they're building schools, clinics, irrigation systems and the like. And I've been known to hang with Mormons in the way-back, although they were backsliders of a sort. I draw the line, however, at anyone who presumes to interrupt my meditations uninvited. If those guys were Mormons the beer and the cigar should have been a dead giveaway that I'm a heathen and beyond redemption.
I think your over-reacting. If the two had been 20 year old women, with legs, you would have let them have a sip. But still, no good can come from young men in suits...
ReplyDeleteI have yet to hear of anyone who has been visited by the two young men in suits, and as a result of the visit, have joined the faith.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I don't travel in the right circles, but have you heard of such a thing?
Heh.
Buck, I totally understand. I don't appreciate myself a knock on the door from an uninvited party.
ReplyDeleteI'm with ya' on the role of missionaries.
And Staci, yes, I know of two or three that have converted from the door to door deal. But most are either born into it, or have LDS friends that tell them about it. I'm not a Mormon, and don't have the figures, but I've got to believe that the percentage is pretty low. Same for JW's...probably even lower, because it seems they insist on early Saturday morning for some reason. ;)
Oh Buck, Eldest son worked in Romania at an orphanage by day (heartbreaking), and ran a "Christian Rock night club" by night in Targoviste, Romania. (kickin' fun for a musical prodigy)
ReplyDeleteThe man is smart...now proficient in 4 languages, and works like a dog. The AF got a good catch in eldest son.
Just tootin' the Reeves horn. ;)
Heh! I always say, "If kin don't brag on you, who else is gonna?"
I'm willing to bet they were Jehoviah's Witnesses. We've got a pretty good population of them around here (including a dental hygenist we both know and love).
ReplyDeleteAnon sez: I think your over-reacting.
ReplyDeleteI used to know someone who occasionally comments here using "Anonymous." This same person also used to invite these sorts of people into the house just to fuck with 'em. Would that be you, Anon-Today? ;-)
Staci: You and Andy do a good "point/counter-point." Much more polite than Ackroyd/Curtin, too. ;-)
Andy: I don't blame you for the horn tootin' on your SN1. There's that ol' "no brag, just fact" thing, too. I do a fair amount of horn tootin' on my boys as well!
Jenny: No kidding about Victoria? How do ya know these things?
There are certain advantages to being a Geezer......I see our man Buck has been exercising them of late.... :)
ReplyDeletePS: Late, but really enjoyed your posts on China, etc. Gives that 1st-person feel that only comes from someone who's been there, done that. BTW, I'm supposing that that whole old security clearance thing that used to be so limiting concerning travel to Communist countries prior to the fall of the wall--even for ex service members--has gone by the boards. How does that work?
ReplyDeleteHeh. That's one good thing about Moogie's Mansion -- the old wrought iron gate won't stay closed unless it's locked, so uninvited guests don't stand a chance (except, of course, for the occasional armed fence-jumper. The 80-pounder has cut way into their opportunities, however!).
ReplyDeleteVeriword = rejec
Virgil: Yeah... I'm gettin' snippy in my old age. And thanks for the kind words!
ReplyDeletere: Security clearances. Funny you should ask, coz I was under those same travel restrictions, what with having held an SCI clearance in the way-back. I insisted that my company check on those limits and we found there's an expiration date, five years IIRC, on the restrictions. I was well past that date when I went to China. I have NO idea how it works today.
Moogie: Hopefully you don't get all THAT many armed fence-jumpers! And your 80-pounder brings new meaning to the term "dead meat!"
Heh. Well done Buck. When I lived in Utah, one afternoon the youngsters showed up and introduced themselves as Elders so and so. I told them they couldn't be elders as Webster defines elder as "exceeding another in age, senior, older" and obviously I was their elder. They sort of chuckled then went on down the street.
ReplyDeleteI have a bit of an issue with how the LDS church handles the mission field. In my faith, you are called to the mission field by God, not highly encouraged to go by your church.
Well played, Buck!
ReplyDeleteI respect that these young lads are out doing the Lord's service, so I never treat them badly. With that said, I'm secure in my chosen Christian faith, and have no desire to switch to a different brand. And no, I don't them to clean my house. I have kids for that.
Some get the message a little faster than others, who may a little more encouragement to move on.
Thanks, Guys.
ReplyDeleteHaving been one of those people who would ring your doorbell on a Saturday morning, usually interrupting reveries or Saturday morning cartoons... I must say - after having been almost raped, shot at, attacked, had rotten vegetables thrown at us... your comment was - well - a breath of smokey fresh air.
ReplyDeleteNow - I don't do the door to door preaching anymore. I now subscribe to the STAND-ON-THY-SOAPBOX-AND-PREACH-SISTA-PREACH type of faith. But lemme just say - seen it all. Experienced too much. And still laughing.
KC
Not Victoria; Consuelo. She and I worked together 16 years ago at the ill-fated Alco store (what is now C&S parts and tire store). Hubby also went to school with her at Floyd. Her daughter is best friends with one of my daughters and have been in the same class together since preschool, they are now in 5th grade. Whenever there is a Christmas party in their class she goes to her aunt's classroom (the 4th grade teacher who chooses to give semester celebrations rather than holiday parties).
ReplyDeleteThat's small town for ya. You can't fart without everyone knowing what you ate for dinner in this town. LOL!
KC sez: ...a breath of smokey fresh air.
ReplyDeleteI gotta save that one for future reference. It WILL come in handy in future!
That said, I'll repeat what I said above: I admire the dedication of missionaries.
Jenny: Thanks for the clarification. But I think of Consuelo more as a technician, which is why when you said "hygienist" I thought of Victoria. And you're right about small towns. I'm constantly surprised at just how much folks know...
Jenny's comment takes me right on back to my days in P-Ville. Once upon a time all the young men of Floyd were allegedly going to kick my ass for the sin of leaving a few hickeys on the neck of a gal who attended Floyd Church of Christ. The ass-kicking did not happen.
ReplyDeleteI'm told by one who knows that if a Mormon missionary converts TWO people, his mission was a huge success. The numbers add up, and they're in it for the long haul.