When Death Stares You in the Face, Sickle Poised
Sunday, June 11, 2006
Relevance and Kitts’ first anniversary – already. Only a year ago, Kitt’s had been close to fainting in the bridal-getting-ready-room with her bridesmaids. At least, that was the word around town, at the time. Carrie-Bri was worried that Kitts would fall flat on her face at the altar, but she didn’t, and the ceremony turned out to be uneventful, despite the fact that Carrie was also having difficulty breathing in her blue dress, recycled from Collette’s wedding.
As for Saturday, it had been a day for ACTs – Curly’s first time and Rose’s third. Pizza Street for Joe, Wallace, Curly, and Rose afterwards. And then there were those sorts of people (Ben-Hur, for instance) who blew away the exams with a 35 and never had to see the likes of such a test ever again. Collette, who had just managed a 30, five years before, (due to her great incompetence in the area of science reasoning), had been quite humiliated at Christmas upon the revealing of her score to the rest of the Snicketts family. There was her step-aunt, Amanda, for example, who had taken a 33 (if she remembered correctly), Bristol, who had to go get a 34 or a 35 his first try, without studying, and the others who had 31s, 32s, etc. Although maybe Brit and Esther had received 30s as well. Perhaps she had not been the only “dunce” of the family after all. Collette had always been of the mind that the ACT was a nearly useless test anyway, and didn’t really have much to do with measuring intelligence. But that was one opinion among the many.
Later Saturday afternoon, Dad, Mom, Frances, and Linnea dropped off Great Grandpa and Grandma’s old cabinet and an old set of encyclopedias, all courtesy of Grandma Combs, who had just been officially moved into her new apartment by everyone. She had also donated a television and television stand to the youth group, along with an intricately carved wooden chest for Joe.
It was to the movies that evening with a great blue storm in the west – OLeif, Collette, Ben-Hur, Augustus, Susie, Rose, Molly, and Sunrise. Cars – at The Great Escape Theatre. And during almost the entire film, Collette could hear the roar of the thunder and the crash of the rain. But it was not enough to distract her from the film, which had been, as always, another smashing Pixar show. As they departed from the theater afterwards, Collette watched the neon glow of The Great Escape sizzle beneath the web of another fantastic lightening display.
And so OLeif, Collette, Ben-Hur, and Rose dropped in at Jack in the Box once again, where Joe met them to grab a soda.
Joe gave the usual Joe:Wally:Curly Report – how they discussed why, if white women wear black mascara, why don’t black women wear white mascara, and of how they climbed up on top of the Hobcoggins’ roof through Wallace’s window to watch the storm come in.
The lightening continued to flash throughout the meal. On the way back home to drop off Molly, she explained to them that her grandmother had given her a commission.
“She wants me to paint a picture of my mom and us girls. And she gave me this postcard that she wants me to model it after – of these… girls. But they’re wearing white eighteenth… century dresses, and big… straw hats, and red curly hair, and they’re on the… beach. And I’m supposed to coordinate the colors with the comforter in the guest room.”
OLeif laughed.
“Yes. Cream and burgundy.”
“Oooh… Uptight colors.”
“Ahhhhhhhh! It’s cramping my artistic style!”
“Life is so hard…”
Sunday consisted of wonderful gray and rain, and Sunday School where one of the boys suggested that Moses killed the Egyptian by pushing him off the top of the pyramid. And for Collette, there were three hours of pain at the apartment, half-watching the ball game (which she never did) while Joe had Sunday brunch with the Hobcoggins, Frances and Creole spent the afternoon together, the other youth kids went to Steak ‘n Shake, and OLeif was at a mission trip meeting and youth. Collette arrived half an hour late to youth when she was feeling mostly normal to find that there were two new additions to the gathering – Starr and Ben-Hur’s friend – tall, thin, red-headed Olive Circles. The boys caused trouble, threw pillows, and rocked back in their seats (more specifically, Bob B.) during the entire discussion. And Joe tossed around a fake banana while Rose pulled bits of jean fiber out of the hole in her jeans and landed them in Joe’s hair, without his knowing it.
“I like your blue jean highlights,” Olive laughed at him afterwards.
In other fantastic news, Carrie and Elizabeth had been driving back from work and a party the night before. And a tornado touched down in their wake, right beside them. Carrie, as a result, found herself driving 90 miles per hour down the highway in the rain. How they hadn’t been carried off, Collette could not understand. And the sky was pink, apparently. Joe would be telling the world about that one for years to come. How often, did one see death sit by and watch?
Everything about you is how I wanna be.
Your freedom comes naturally.
Everything about you resonates happiness.
Now I won’t settle for less.
Give me all the peace and joy in your mind.
Everything about you pains my envying.
Your soul can’t hate anything.
Everything about you is so easy to love.
They’re watching you from above.
Give me all the peace and joy in your mind.
I want the peace and joy in your mind.
Give me the peace and joy in your mind.
– Matt Bellamy