Girls Bullying

Chapter 30
J.P. took a few minutes to bask in his delight of the scene before he said, "We're shooting the conversation about bullying next. The deck is set up already. Calvin," he called and exited the screen door.
"Scene 7- Take 1-
The Rabbi and Lucy are sitting on rattan chairs with coffee cups in hand. Ethel is poised on the edge of her seat, ready to converse but also ready to serve more coffee.
Lucy really wants this conversation to go well for both Ethel and Rabbi Thomas so they will want to repeat it.
Rabbi Thomas sees a book that is spread open on the bench in front of him and he says, "Is this your book Ethel?"
Ethel turns her head swiftly to zero in on what the Rabbi is looking at. She breathes a sigh of relief when she realizes that the book on the wooden bench is not one of her romance novels.
"Oh, yes, I picked it up the other day. Lucy has really been influencing me to think in new ways so I thought I'd surprise her by reading something 'Christian.'"
"May I?" The Rabbi asked for permission to scan the book.
"Oh yes, please go ahead," Lucy seemed pleased that he would want to know what she was reading.
"Tell me what it's about," Rabbi Thomas encouraged. "'No More Christian Nice Girl' is certainly a catchy title."
Ethel blushed. "Well, I've never felt very comfortable around church people so when I found this book at the grocery store, I thought I'd like to read what I already feel about myself."
The Rabbi thought the title may have been a sagely divined choice. "Have you read anything by Paul Coughlin or J. Degler before?"
"Oh no, I didn't even look at the authors. It was the title that caught my attention," Ethel stated bluntly. "The book is about bullying. There was also one for 'boys.'"
"What have you learned so far?" The Rabbi was very interested.
"The definitions of 'nice' and 'good' are a fresh take and new thinking for me," Ethel stated. "One of my sisters once told me that the reason I always get in so much trouble is because I'm confrontational. I was really insulted because she spoke the words like they were poison."
Ethel was barely seated on her chair now. She was so excited. "In this book, I learned that this Jesus that Lucy always talks about was VERY confrontational. He called people on their crap all the time." Suddenly Ethel sat back, embarrassed that she'd let an expletive slip out. Her chin came up and with face red, she looked at the Rabbi, blinking rapidly.
The Rabbi gave a robust chuckle, "Yes, He sure did call people on their crap, didn't he?"
Lucy relaxed her tense shoulders. "The most interesting thing about the book, so far, is that females are just as big bullies as males. They just do it differently."
Rabbi Thomas leaned forward with great interest. Lucy was doing some serious internal praying.
"How do women do it?" The Rabbi asked with true interest.
"Women cherish relationships so when they bully, they cut other women out of the loop. They don't invite them to things and they won't communicate with them. It's their," Ethel paused, "our, I guess, way of bullying and showing contempt and disrespect."

Sexy 40

Chapter 29 (cont'd)
Simmy came out of the dressing room wearing the bright cloth.
Monique came over to the mirror and said, "That's cheerful and elegant."
"I noticed you have some interesting artwork. You've got great style. I love this kind of a shop in the middle of cottage country. It's so classy and that little holiday surprise is a savoury memory to add to a photo album." Simmy smiled her approval.
"I was determined to be true to my philosophy that fashion is for everyone- not just the under-thirty crowd," Monique stated. "I took some photos of women who were willing to be 'on my wall', so to speak. Then I had them made into artwork and it's really been working well for me. I sell more clothes."

Sound of Crickets

Chapter 28 (cont'd)
After a church service with the smallest 'United Church' congregation that one could imagine, Sam and Simmy headed down a few country roads to enjoy the abandoned country scenes.
"Pull over," Simmy demanded.
There was a small copse of trees, a once cared for homestead, now abandoned, a happy place for crickets and birds. Now.
History- there were signs of history here. A barn- a livelihood or a shelter- at one time. A house- habitable- in the past. Crickets, lots of crickets, echoing memories. Purple phlox, very pretty.

Cloudy Love Cloud

Chapter 27 (cont'd)
"Love is a cloud," Sam tried for something more poetic.
"Very good, Sam. 'Love is a cloud that hides the sunshine, but for a time, for love has a conquering brightness that cannot be diminished and will be tested true when one searches for the signposts of sacrifice creating a bedrock of beauty that bursts from behind the hidden deeds of giving to announce, 'You are worth this and we give it to you freely because you are so worth this."
Simmy sighed and Sam replied again, "I told you, you're the one with the gift of words."

Blueprint of Excellence

Chapter 27 (cont'd)
"What are you calling this photo?" Sam looked at what had been included and what had been left out of the artistic expression.
"I'm calling it... "How do you see your life?"
"What is the meaning for you?" Sam asked.
"Most of us just see the ashes of our failures but life is more about 'attaining excellence.'"
Simmy reached for 'The Lady, Her Lover, and Her Lord.' She turned to page 52.
"T.D. Jakes says, 'Excellence is an ambition, not a pedigree. It's about the woman's destiny, not her origin. Excellence speaks to her self-perception and the standards that she will not deviate from. It draws a line in the sand and says, "Nothing less than this will do in my life anymore!" A woman of excellence knows what she deserves and will work tirelessly to attain it."
"The burned house is a metaphor for 'life's failures.' But... that one piece of galvanized metal roofing on the barn is so poetic, like the person who patched it, announcing to anyone, 'It's worth fixing! The barn is worth fixing!' The flowers blooming in their natural state is also very poetic- they never give up!
Quoting T.D. again, "Excellence is ...a title given to someone who persists and rises above her calamities. A woman of excellence is armed with a road map that is marked, and her destination is set. This woman has a blueprint for living. A woman of excellence is like a thoroughbred, graceful and strong, a creature of rare beauty. She is a diamond that has started out as coal but turned into a jewel. She is as rich in class as white wine served in a chilled... goblet."
Sam picked up his wine glass and waited for Simmy to raise hers. "To a woman of excellence, you have endured and now you're a beautiful shining jewel capable of leading others into excellence."
"Thank you, my Lord."

Every Knee Bow

Chapter 27
Did you get any pictures that were inspiring today? Sam picked up the camera and started scrolling through the digital images.
"Here, I found one for you, Simmy! The clue to how to purge the pain you feel when others tell you 'their story.'
Simmy reached for the camera, already laughing, knowing which photo Sam had found. She took the camera just to confirm her thoughts, "Yep, that's the one I thought you were looking at. Poignant!"
"To the point!"
"That says it all!"

What is Shame?

Chapter 26
It was dreary and cloudy and the evening felt dismal. Sam and Simmy were sitting in their cabin, fire blazing cheerfully, wine glasses topped up with the labour of hands that understood vines and had harvested the fruit of them.
"What is shame, Sam?"
"You are the expert on that subject, Simmy."
"Yes! Maybe!" Simmy scrunched her legs up, took the velvet throw and tossed it over her legs before putting her chin on her knees. In this ape-like posture, her body melted into relaxation. She held her wine glass on her knees and peered through the clear liquid at the flames dancing in the fireplace.
"I think the antidote for shame is mercy. Sometimes it may be grace... undeserved favour... but a person who is feeling shame can't even be told that the favour they are getting is 'undeserved.' That would just add to the shame. MERCIFULNESS, a disposition to be kind and forgiving, that is sort of good."
"I felt shame when we invested in what we thought was 'a good soil' organization just to find that 'in the hidden' we didn't agree with how the money was spent," Sam spoke as he stoked the logs.
"As you're getting older and you give up some of your paycheque to charity, you're getting angrier and angrier if you see it is spent without regard for the sacrifice of those who give out of their 'retirement fund' or even 'would love to go on a vacation' fund... things you see everyone around you do but you haven't been able to yet. That seed of anger grows in you, Sam. I hope you aim it in the right direction when it's ripe. As your body aches and groans in it's aging rhythm, your mercy evaporates toward those who don't sacrifice at your level. I understand that," Simmy offered. "I have rarely had a paycheque, and so I have only been able to give my talent. The cross of an artist- seeing too much, experiencing too much, receiving too little."
Sam just stoked the logs, keeping the room cozy.
A bitter spew came from Simmy, not a good laughter but a scornful one, "How many pastors, counselors, teachers do you think have been abused as children? The number should be fairly high if T.D. Jakes is right. He says, 'The antidote is made from the venom.' So, they can't really give sage advice if they 'haven't been there.'"
Sam didn't want to talk about this. So, Simmy just continued her monologue.
"Do you remember the woman who came into the store where I worked last year?"
"Which one? There were a lot of them!"
"Oh, sorry! The one who had bought a home in Mexico, to retire. I asked her if she and her husband went to church. Her face changed, it was like a steel wall came down over her face and she said something like, 'No, we used to but we were so terribly hurt by our friends in church, we will never go back there.'"
Sam tried to remember which story Simmy was recalling. There had been a lot of them in the twenty one months Simmy worked there. "Was she the one who was leaving her money to the children of Mexico?"
"Exactly! Her and her husband didn't have enough respect for any adults anymore and they were going to rescue 'the children.'"

Dance with Butterflies

Chapter 25 (cont'd)
Simmy sat down on the bed, dressed and ready to start the day. She was trying to find ways to make Sam's day better. She looked out the window of the bedroom and gasped with joy!
"Sam, get the camera," she burst out of the bedroom and was out the door as quick as a wink.
The yard of this small cottage was filled with butterflies. They'd stopped for a visit. It was breathtakingly beautiful! The darted and chased each other. Two of them ganged up on the large Monarch. Simmy felt the camera being thrust into her hands and she went to get some close-up shots.
"Hey Sam, this one is a poser. It isn't even moving and my camera lens is almost touching it," Simmy spoke quietly so she wouldn't frighten it off.
There was a whirr and a flutter of excitement as three more burst on the scene and for a minute Simmy put down the camera to dance and laugh with them. Sam was stalking the Monarch to see where it landed, hoping to get Simmy a shot of that one.