Dancing-with-Baptists-Createspace-Final--A4

DANCING WITH BAPTISTS
liked Jelly a lot. He was always cracking jokes, doing voices, and kidding around. Greg
wondered if he had been a P.K. when he was little.
Jack counted the coins, Stoney transferred the “read my Bible” and other checkmarked
information on the envelopes into a large book. Jelly told stories about ball games
and acted out Milton Berle bits from the Tuesday night television show. While the rest of the
church sang His Eye is on the Sparrow, Greg’s eyes filled with tears from laughing at Jelly’s
stories. Greg wasn’t there five minutes when he knew this wasn’t punishment.
But not all of Jelly’s jokes got big laughs. Like the one about the people in a lifeboat
after a ship sank. “It was apparent to everyone,” Jelly said, “that there were too many people
in the lifeboat and they were taking on water. So a Frenchman got up, saluted, and said, ‘Viva
la France!’ and jumped overboard. Next an Englishman got up, put his hand over his heart
and said, ‘Long Live the Queen!’ and he jumped overboard. And then a Texan got up and
said, ‘Remember the
Alamo!’ and he threw a Meskin’ overboard.” Jelly, Stoney, and Martin laughed so loud Greg
was afraid they could be heard down the hallway and into the sanctuary. Greg laughed but
didn’t get it. Jack smiled but didn’t laugh.
Trinity Street Baptist Church
Another Sunday 1955
After the folding money and coins were counted, they were placed in a zippered
brown bank bag. Now it was time for the fun to begin. Between Sunday School and church,
Jack, the other men, and Greg would escort the approximately one hundred and seventy
dollars to the bank. Being Sunday, the bank, of course, was closed. Texas blue laws also kept
grocery stores, department stores, cleaners, and just about every other business in town
closed.
Jack would drive. Martin rode shotgun without a shotgun or any other weaponry as
far as Greg knew. Greg had to ride the hump in the middle of the back seat. He was
squeezed in between large Stoney and extra-large Jelly. Jack would drive to nearby North
Main Bank and up to the night depository. Within seconds, the bank bag disappeared and
they were off.
Why it took four grown men and a kid to stuff one bag into the night depository was
a troubling question for Greg. A question Greg never asked.
Had he asked, Greg might have been excommunicated from the best part of church,
Wally’s Restaurant. Wally’s was a 24-hour restaurant halfway back to the church. The four
men plus Greg would stop each week for four coffees and a chocolate milk. Greg never had
chocolate milk at home.
Even though they never prayed over their coffee or talked about Jesus at Wally’s,
Greg sensed a warm closeness between these men. They didn’t share Jesus with the waitress
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