“I can’t arrest someone if there is no crime, you know that, Reverend, and I can’t see as how this stranger has committed a crime, can you?”
“It’s vagrancy, this stranger keeps showing up around town and where is he sleeping at night, huh, where is he at night, whose backyard is he in?”
“Reverend, is he still attending your church services?”
“Yes, he is, and I have to tell you it has been quite distracting, what with everyone gaping at this guy all through my sermons and many have even started imitating him, just praying away, oblivious to the proceedings.”
The sheriff’s brows went up, and with a slight bemused smile he asked if the reverend wanted him to string the stranger up.
“Of course not, Thomas, come on, but you know bums like him are always bad for business; you have to run him out of town.”
This six sentence story written for Unchartered Life under the Radar cue word “up” continues last week’s story, “Passing”.
ShiftnShake 
Ah, compassion… gotta love it!
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Oh yes, it’s good for business, compassion. Makes the world go ’round.
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““…imitating him, just praying away, oblivious to the proceedings.”
After all, religion has gone to the trouble to write, market-test, re-edit and verify the words that god has proven (to a +- 93% of focus groups, demographically-verified) to respond to; can’t go letting no un-credentialled nobody degrading the market-base and dilute the sacred metrics
lol (thank you, I am reminded why I tend to avoid the ‘real’ world, as I have within a streak of outrage at the pesky tricks man will play on the masses, given half a chance.)
The Wakefield Doctrine actually does weigh-in on the topic: religion is by and for the rogers; spirituality is pretty much a clarklike thing, if you can call it that, tough to get a straight answer outta them on the topic.
enjoyable Six, Missus Avery, ma’am.
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Glad you enjoyed the six, good sir(s). A follow UP on last week’s tale, “Passing”.
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You’d think the good reverend would be happy for the poor guy’s presence, praying away and not distracted by anyone or anything else. Oh the irony, eh?
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Maybe he doesn’t like feeling shown up?
Thanks for coming by.
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I wonder what he’s praying for? Delightfully different.
Click to visit Keith’s Ramblings
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Questions like these sometimes lead to a series. ‘Cause now I’m thinking he’s praying for the Reverend.
Thanks for reading!
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Yeah, this could lead to future cause and effect scenarios. Lovely story Ms. Avery.
Do read mine at https://neelwritesblog.wordpress.com/2017/09/28/neelwritesupndownlikeayoyosixsentencestoriesfiction28092017/
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The aid and comfort given to this poor man from the community church is staggering…NOT. A sadly real tale, well-written.
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Thanks.
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I half-expected a reveal that the vagrant was Christ himself.
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That is the implication that you are inferring. (I heard somewhere once that He was going to return, but so far in this story no one is recognizing such a possibility; I heard somewhere once that that might be a problem…)
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If only we treated everyone as if it might be a possibility. How different the world might be.
Great story.
Must have missed “Passing”. Passing back that way now.
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So did I!
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Who knows?
Thank you for showing up for a read.
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Well done! When I was a catechumen my spiritual advisor told me the poor are an opportunity for us to practice our faith.
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