The Day That I Finally Had My Fill of Disparaging Comments

Around the year 2001, I was sitting in a booth at my favorite place for lunch (at the time), the Walmart Snack Bar, with Jenny, the woman who delivered my St. Louis paper in the wee hours of the morning. I had shared with Jenny key aspects of "My Second Vocation in Life", but, as is usual and very much comes with the territory (that I sadly would learn over time), it made no positive impression on Jenny as she still spoke of the "Antichrist to come one day", which I tried to assure Jenny was a myth.

Jenny told me, in a rather charitable way, that some of the people here in Hannibal saw me as a "nut".

I finally had my fill of taking comments like this from anyone and I very firmly told Jenny, "Back in November, 1991, I quietly became determined to spend the following eight years---and beyond, if necessary---writing letters to those in the highest positions of power, authority, and influence as lucidly, intelligently, and sensibly as one possibly could, the local people around here BE DAMNED!!!!!!"

Jenny then looked at me and asked me, "How well did you do in school?"

I replied, "Valedictorian of my high school class of 18 students followed four years later with a B.S. in agricultural engineering, cum laude, with a cumulative G.P.A. of 3.80 (out of a perfect 4.00) for all four years. Does that sound about right?"

In her craggy voice, Jenny replied, "Yeahp."

Jenny then got up from our booth and as she stood at the end of the booth's table (while I was still sitting), I told Jenny, "Back in 1989, I really did think that I, and this religious young woman that I knew, would perform a two person ministry that would start out small and become widespread in scale, with all of the bells and the whistles."

Jenny replied, "Yeah, and I'll bet that you wanted all of the money that came with it, too, didn't ya?"

I exclaimed, "Well, yeah, I did!!!!!"

And after Jenny and I shared a good, hearty laugh, I told Jenny, "But I eventually realized that such a ministry just cannot be done in today's world."