Good Friday

She sold autographed pictures of celebrities. She had a room full of framed pictures
Of Christie Brinkley and Dolly Parton and Andy Williams. The church office lady
Was a good saleswoman. She had a shrewd business sense. I had nightmares where
She sat perfectly still in a chair while bees crawled all over her body. In these dreams
I could not tell if she was alive or dead. There was a hornets’ nest under the church
Air conditioner. The priest said the hornets built it there so they could drink water
From the hose. He was the smartest priest I ever met. He used to sing “I Believe
I Can Fly” and “Wind Beneath My Wings.” Once at Sunday School we put a vacuum
Cleaner on top of a fire. It curled over and blew smoke out of the tube. Jeff said
Look it’s a bong. The priest said You don’t know what a bong is. We had books
By Zane Gray and Rudyard Kipling that had been damaged by the humidity.
We put them on the fire. Gary said It’s Armageddon. The priest said Kids don’t know
What Armageddon is. There were swastikas on the front page of The Jungle Book.
I held it open and they looked. That’s probably worth something, Jeff said.
There was a sticker on the inside cover that had a picture of geese and rabbits.
It said, This is what children’s dreams are made of. The church office lady
Put it on eBay and it sold for eight dollars. Sometimes Jeff helped the church
As part of his program. He mailed things the church office lady sold online. He said
Watch this, and he opened the book and spat in it and closed it and put it in the mail.