How did my Sunday worship go? armed and dangerous... sometmes I can be cool

   I woke from a dream about the military as a younger man, which I hope to write about later since it has much to do with how my day went.  First Sunday of the month, make bed, shave and have a breakfast as I watch Sunday on CBS, Jane Pauly's legs are thinner than I remember from her younger years. She was talking to a famous actress I can't remember the name of, but I do remember the movies she got big credit for and a lot that I haven't seen.

   Time to dress, want to remember to carry my tools and still look good, so I get the fresh ironed shirt, and then the last suit I bought, with suspenders. Put it on, with a black tie, tied in a Windsor knot. I am so fat, sighs the man in the mirror, but there is room for not imprinting. So find the dress shoes, start the car and listen to that new noise and my wife and I are off to the church.  After church go to the Fellowship Hall for checking my English Ministry personal data, giving them my email address. I have a doughnut and talk then off to finish the new comers class, great discussions. We will get certificates of completion next week or so.

   Back to the Fellowship Hall, along the way meeting a confident young man munching on an egg roll, and I stop and ask how he is, he says fine and says people tell him he is cute. I assure him that he will outgrow that, and he mentions he still has baby teeth, and I nod sagely and say they will disappear, too. So we go into the almost empty Fellowship Hall except for children's Sunday school classes out a bit early to buy some food to nibble upon. And the teacher that has been taking my class because he is a good man is there and happily gives me back the teachers books and fills me in on where they are. I walk over and talk to Caleb and his buddies, mostly young boys looking for leadership in boy stuff, and I figure Caleb is providing that pretty well. I ask about what they are eating, how much they like it (very Korean food) and they tell me. Even showing me how to dip the the fish dough into the cups of soup... learning always learning.

   The last service, which is Korean language, is over and the main congregation shows up to buy food to support the cause and talk over before they go home or back to the store or restaurant. The first two ladies in are in their twenties and drop dead gorgeous, luckily I remember that I am glad we are on the planet at the same time, but I am the fat old guy with really thinning hair. Now there had been dangerous looking man in English language service but nothing happened. During this fellowship, lots of people moving, buying, eating and socializing.  Suddenly tension breaks out, and Mike is getting ready to deck someone - he comes back to his seat fuming and raging. Seems someone isn't doing what he should, isn't listening and the police might have to be called.  I say a quick prayer after looking to see who the problem is... okay, got it. So I get up, pass him by and talk to the young people around Caleb cause he is about to move out to the playground with his groupies or gang - friends, really. Then I stop in the Men's room, washed my hands and came back and pulled the seat out beside the problem turned mine around so there isn't anything between him and I.  And I say hello, how is it going?, nice group of folks isn't it? looking around at the busy moving socializing going on.  I ask if he liked being here today, was he going to come back next week? I told him they were waiting to take him back to the shelter, where upon he said he didn't want to go with that man, and I grabbed Harold's arm and said he must be a fearsome fellow to offend such a nice man. Harold laughed, former Special Forces type, and then I asked his wife if she were driving.  She said yes, and so I asked the problem person if he would go with her driving, and he said yes. So I thanked him and patted him on the shoulder and told him to come back next week.  Then I went back to my chair since my wife had purchased some food for me and when I got back Mike wanted to know what I had done that made the problem person cooperate and leave with the van. Mike will be reflecting on it for the week, since he is younger and much more aggressive than I, it will be good for him.

     We did a little guy talk about one thing or another and then I decided to share the dream, now everyone has military dreams (not talking about nightmares, just dreams) so when I told them that I was dreaming that there was a woman in my unit, in my dream, and she had decided to challenge and compete with me - they understood immediately when I said 'and no way is she going to win'. Mainly because that is what young soldiers do - with all their competitors, even best friends. She was going to go down hard as I could take her.  And if you are going to be my friend you have to struggle to put me in the dirt and rub my nose in it, no quarter until you say uncle or tap out.  I heard they don't teach life that way any longer, one has to remove his combat patch to not threaten the un-bloodied new guys and gals.

  Ah well, I feel heroic, and I so not. Still I have returned to the safety of my home, Netflix and movie madness, and good looking comfortable 3XL stuff that I could wear three or four weapons under. They will be outlawing hoodies one day.