You’ll find me in my room writing fiction. I also have some friends in the writing community and I volunteer for a group that aims to put books into the hands of young people.
The other day my family went to Chattanooga to visit my mother, who is getting married for the second time. We had a delicious dinner at Dos Caras. When we got back home I figured we’d hang out some more and then I’d spend some time in the studio until bedtime.
When the bell rang, my husband and I took the last bus that would take us to the nearest Barnes & Noble. When we were in there I opened the store’s magazine section and saw a new biography of Ethel Kennedy. I hadn’t heard about her before and I had to look it up.
It turns out that the reverend since 1974 is like a big extended family. She was the singer in the chorus of Broadway shows. She did holiday revues. She took singing classes. She coached young singers on the phone. She used to bring her Rebuttal seats to gospel concerts. She sang with a gospel band during the Kwanzaa Holiday.
She’s always had strong opinions and she loves to talk about the Bible. She didn’t know I was reading the biography of Ethel Kennedy so I thought I’d ask her some questions:
You know your grandma’s sister!
You’re going to read her book!
How do you feel about what happened to Ted Kennedy?
Don’t worry, I’ll ask you some questions that’ll help me understand.
Well my family was on that train. My brother (who is in the Navy) was on the train on the way home and we were on the team. Our sister-in-law heard the radio report that our brother and his friends were dead. It is unreal and I thought of you. It is hard and I pray.
Wow, I must get a lot of mail. How do you feel about going to heaven and hell?
I don’t know. I don’t believe in the Rapture or that the Rapture will ever happen.
Do you think that after death we’ll all go to heaven and then suffer in hell?
I don’t want to live in hell. I’m a religious person. I believe that God gives us, all of us, a message. How and when we will hear the message is written. We pray to God for guidance. But the message tells us not to read the messages out loud.
I just remember that Jesus was one of those people who knew about hell. No longer a believer now I’m a Christian. If you’re a Christian, you know Jesus is one of us.
You know me when I run. I’m a running machine! I’m lucky. I can work out and get down to breathable levels at any time.
How would you advise young people to get out and live life. Do you think it’s the responsibility of the government to take care of you?
Well, yes and no. You know, health care is a big problem. The government is supposed to take care of health care for the general population. If you have the money, you should take care of yourself. But if you don’t have the money, they are also supposed to take care of you.
You keep telling me about heart attacks and men having many affairs and depression and alcoholism. All of that stuff is the misfortunes of being a good person. I’m supposed to repent for being a good person. My father had a heart attack and he didn’t have the heart for me. He called me very hateful and mean and mean. So I just walked away from him.