Saturday, August 11, 2007

Know your left from your right

It's snowing and they are heading out for a long trip to drive to his parents' place for the weekend. The toddler is buckled into the backseat in his carseat but he is restless so the mother sits in the back beside him.

The father turns around and glances over his shoulder at the child to verify that he is buckled in but he can't see the whole picture from this angle.

"Is the seatbelt over his left shoulder?" he asks.

"No, it's over his right shoulder," his wife answers.

"It should be over the left."

"I don't see how it can go over the left."

"Just do it, will you."

"Okay, but it is rubbing on his chin."

"Look I'll have to do it. You are so incompetent," the husband gets out of the car and goes around to the back seat, opens the door and adjusts the seatbelt.

"Why can't you get it right the first time. Just do as you are told, why can't you."

"It was in that position, that is where I had it before but you told me to switch it."

"No, I told you to put it over the left side, for goodness sake. You can't even obey a simple order. Why not? "

"That's where it was."

"It wasn't - I saw it. What I asked was why you can't even obey a single order. Give me an answer right now."

"I tried to do as you said, I did what I heard you say."

"That isn't good enough. What I want to know is why you didn't obey me. You had better answer now."

"I'm sorry. I tried."

"No you thought you knew better. What will happen in an emergency, I wonder. If you can't give me complete and immediate obedience the children's lives will be a stake."

He cuffs her and her glasses go flying. She scrambles around in the snow to find them - they are broken. She goes into the house for tape to cobble them together.

Finally they leave, the child cries half the way and pukes up all over the back seat, the road is icy, they drive off the road at one point. Fortunately they don't hit anything and they get back on the road and continue unharmed.

Life is shit.

4 comments:

Kevin Knox said...

Once again, you stopped me cold.

Yes, shit.

And this is what it means when Christ says He has overcome the world. He has overcome personal, brutal, life-destroying shit - evil. And in Him we fight it.

Amazingly cold story, amazingly common, and amazingly told. Thank you.

Suzanne McCarthy said...

And this is why I advocate for equal, entirely equal and mutual submission between husband and wife.

Don said...

Is this fiction or real? In any case, it is powerful. It is so very sad that some think this is what God wants.

Sue said...

Hi Don,

You can find my email in my profile if you want to ask any questions.