Comfort and Affliction

by Michael Frosolono

  “Better away from the office. Jean’s all right with you?”

  “Always. I’m most partial to her tuna salad.”

  “As long as she gives you a double helping of potato chips.”

  “A tuna fish sandwich requires copious amounts of barbecued potato chips.”

  “Let’s remind the citizens we’ll still here,” the chief said at a volume sufficiently loud for the other personnel in the main room to hear.

  “You want to walk to the coffee shop?”

  “Be good for our constitutions and aging bodies.”

  The two men walked a short distance from the police station. Chief Holderfield said, “I have some information we need to act on.”

  “I see. What?”

  “The idiots from Ohio plan to be here for the funeral Monday.”

  “The ones from the True Word of God Baptist Church?”

  “They would be the idiots in question,” the chief said.

  “How do we know this information?”

  “Informally from contacts within another law enforcement agency.”

  “Homeland Security?” Captain Timmons asked.

  “The information came to them through local sources in Ohio.”

  “Someone has infiltrated Hathaway’s church?”

  “Probably.”

  “How did the True Worders find out about the funeral?”

  “Matter of public record, I suppose,” the chief said. “Maybe someone here gave the word to Hathaway.”

  “Damnation. I can guess who.”

  “Probably didn’t commit a crime—there’s no law against passing along publicly available information, as long as nobody plans any violence,” the chief said. “While the True Worders aim to irritate, they haven’t committed any violence so far, at least in the legal sense.”

  “Jack, I keep telling you we should bug Whitfield’s house. Be no problem, we got the people and equipment to do the job.”

  “We can’t ask any of our people to commit an illegal act. We for sure couldn’t get a warrant based on the information we’ve accumulated so far.”

  “Well, I’ll plant the bugs.”

  “I sure would hate to try to arrest you if you were ever found out.”

  “Be interesting,” Captain Timmons said.

  “Before we go into Jean’s, I need to ask you to do something legally on the quiet.”

  “Don’t have to be too legal, if we gonna try to bedevil Whitfield and the True Word perverts.”

  “Perverts?”

  “Right. They pervert the Gospel. Anyhow, what you want me to do?”

  “You still have friends in the Patriot Bikers?”

  “It’s not a segregated organization, and I’m a semiretired member in good standing.”

  “I wonder if the Bikers would like to be here Monday—maybe help us escort the hearse from the funeral home and take up positions on the street around Aldersgate?”

  “The Bikers will sign on. They hate the True Worders. We could issue the Bikers a parade permit. Might give us some legal help, if the True Worders get nasty.”

  “You’ll emphasize no violence to the Bikers?”

  “Violence would be counterproductive to the group; it might interfere with their future actions. Even so, I’ll suggest the boys and gals put on their most fearsome faces.”

  “You’ll make the call?”

  “Away from the station. No problem. I’ll hang around for a few minutes when you leave to go back to the station.” Captain Timmons opened the door to the coffee shop. “You plan to speak to Reverend Jameson?”

  “Thought I’d inform him about the potential.”

  “I imagine he could put a hurting on the True Worders, if he had a mind to. From what I hear, he be some tough dude.”

  “Other than what’s been made public, what did you know about the good Reverend?” the chief asked.

  “One of my younger branch kin served at a base in Afghanistan when Reverend Jameson was there. Said the Reverend’s a fierce warrior, loves to fight, and knows about fifty ways how to kill someone, expert in all of them.”

  “I’ll urge him to stay in the pulpit and let us handle things.”

  “Good idea.” The men sat at a table. The captain grinned. “Sure would like to legally precipitate some violence from the True Worders while they’re here. Be a grand opportunity to lock them in the jailhouse and throw away the key.”

  “Well, you know the limitations we face.”

  “I do: Equal protection, equal service, and equal force of the law applied to everyone. It’s just too bad we can’t consider Whitfield and the True Worders sub-human.”

  “You speak true words.”

  CHAPTER 17

  Monday, 15 September

  My Lord in heaven!” Allison exclaimed when she greeted Eric at the front door to her home. “You make a heck of an impact up close and personal in your dress uniform.”

  “Formidable,” Joseph said. “So once you’re an officer, you’re always an officer?”

  “The commission stays in effect until the person holding it dies or loses the rank though a court-martial.”

  “You could be called back to active duty?”

  “Really?” Allison asked.

  “True,” Eric said, “although highly unlikely, unless we find ourselves in World War III.”

  “I read an article the other day,” Joseph said, “about how the armed forces will drastically reduce the number of men and women in uniform.”

  “The president says he wants an even leaner and meaner military.”

  “How do you feel about a major reduction in force?” Allison asked.

  “Depends on how the Defense Department goes about the task. Noncombatants should bear the bulk of the reductions, not the front-line troops.”

  “Thank God you’re no longer on active duty. You can concentrate on fighting sin here in Vickery.” Allison stood on tiptoes to give Eric a light kiss on the lips. “No-smear lipstick. Your image won’t be damaged.”

  “Well, I am human, a real live person under this uniform as well as under my ministerial garments.”

  “What’s the plan for today?” Allison asked.

  “Vehicles from the city police and county sheriff will escort a hearse with the casket containing Sergeant Rollins’ body from the funeral home to the rear of the church. The honor guard will travel in SUVs on loan from the local Ford dealership.” Eric smiled.

  “What’s so humorous?” Allison asked.

  “Chief Holderfield says perhaps as many as fifty Patriot Bikers will also be in the caravan.”

  “You really think the demonstrators from the True Word Church will be here?”

  “They applied for, and received, a legal parade permit at the last minute,” Eric said.

  “What a shame.”

  “Did you know Master Sergeant Rollins?” Eric asked Allison.

  “I prepared his will and other final documents. Phillip and Joseph are in the same class, although to my knowledge they don’t hang together very much.”

  Joseph said, “We’re friendly, not friends. He’s much more of a jock than I am.”

  A police cruiser pulled into the parsonage driveway. “Here’s our ride,” Eric said. “Let’s head out.” Captain Timmons stepped out of the cruiser to open one of the back doors for Allison.

  “Good morning, Captain Tiny,” Allison said, extending her hand.

  “Good morning to you, Counselor,” the captain replied, shaking her hand with a firm, not overpowering grip. He shook hands with Joseph and nodded approvingly at Eric. “Reverend Jameson, will you ride shotgun with me or in the back with the counselor and Joseph?”

  “I’ll sit in back, Joseph can take the shotgun position.”

  Captain Timmons drove through downtown Vickery and turned right onto Georgia Highway 17. He gave a short message on the radio, “Timmons approaching.” The police car blocking the entrance into the full church parking lot pulled away sufficiently for Captain Timmons t
o pass through, and quickly reclosed the gap. Several Patriot Bikers patrolled the street leading into the lot, their motorcycles emitting throaty growls. When Captain Timmons, Eric, Joseph, and Allison left the cruiser, they could hear the sounds of the True Word demonstrators from Baker Street, where the front of the church faced. “Don’t worry about the idiots getting to the church,” Captain Timmons said. “We’ve stationed men at barricades on Baker Street and the sidewalk twenty yards on either side of it, precisely what their parade permit allows.” He grinned, “About a dozen of the Bikers took up positions in front of the demonstrators.”

  “Are those arrangements legal?” Allison asked.

  “No one has complained,” Captain Timmons said. “We’re using our judgment about letting people through to the church. If we don’t recognize them or they can’t show a local or nearby address, we don’t let them pass. Same thing for the parking lot. Still an unholy mess, though.”

  “I suppose the True Worders have their usual signs?” Eric asked.

  “What kind of signs?” Joseph asked.

  “The nasty signs the True Worders show off when they picket.” Timmons looked briefly at Eric. “America is Doomed, God Hates Fags, Thank God for 9/11, Fags Doom Nations.”

  “That’s lower than whale—” Joseph began, only to stop while he searched for a word his mother would approve.

  “Just this once, go ahead and say it,” Alison nodded.

  “Shit,” Joseph said. “Reverend Eric, you ought to preach a sermon on gay rights. Most kids my age couldn’t care less if someone is gay.”

  “I served with gay and lesbian soldiers back in the time of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. On the battlefield, the only important thing about sexual orientation is whether or not the people with you have your back. When the bullets fly, nobody thinks of sex.” He gave a wry laugh. “A great American and military officer, Sen. Barry Goldwater, once said back in the 1960s, ‘You don’t have to be straight to be in the Army; you only have to shoot straight.’”

  “Joseph, the issue confounds many people, even well-meaning ones. If Eric were to preach such a sermon, there’d be a great uproar,” Allison said.

  “As if he hasn’t already irritated a lot of people, present company excluded,” Joseph said. “Why stop now?”

  “Do you think any True Worders or their sympathizers might have penetrated your security?” Eric asked Captain Timmons.

  “Highly doubtful. We know everybody local. The officers we have inside will arrest anybody who tries to act out. We won’t necessarily be gentle.”

  Allison shook her head, “Oh, Lord.” Eric gave a thumbs-up to the Captain.

  Eric escorted Allison and Joseph into the rear door of the church. “Miz Lizbeth and Jackson should be saving your seats next to them. I’ll walk with you.” They passed through the rear door to the sanctuary. He had a moment to see the casket in place before the altar rail in the center aisle, the honor guard sitting in the front row ahead of Miz Lizbeth and Jackson. Several men and women in the sanctuary wore military uniforms. When Eric’s group passed the casket, the honor guard rose to salute him, even though military protocol did not specify the honorific under the circumstances. Eric snapped to attention and returned the salute. Allison and Joseph took their places as the honor guard sat again in the pew. Eric stopped by the two pews at the front of the sanctuary where the Rollins family sat opposite the honor guard. He shook hands with Linda and her three sons. “Be strong,” he said, “we’re with you. God’s love surrounds you.” Eric went to his place behind the pulpit.

  The pianist and organist began a medley of hymns appropriate for the somber occasion. The retired uniformed men and women in the audience rose from their seats and marched in single file down the central aisle to the casket. The first retiree, a two-star general, saluted the casket and turned to salute Eric, who stood behind the pulpit and returned the salute. The general shook hands with Linda and the three boys, and returned to his seat. Each of the two-dozen military retirees carried out the same procedure. The last retiree, an elderly man dressed in a World War II uniform and assisted by a teenage boy, completed the procession. Eric thought, We’re not exactly following military protocol, yet we’re doing the right thing.

  The choir, along with three trumpeters and two drummers recruited from the Alexander County High School band, rose under the direction of John Carlyle. He motioned the congregation to stand. The assembled musicians led the congregation in singing “O God, Our Help in Ages Past”. The congregation sat at the end of the great hymn of affirmation, and Eric went to the center of the chancel.

  “Those of you unfamiliar with military etiquette may not have understood why some of us were saluting at the beginning of this service. Salutes evolved from an ancient form of greeting between warriors, and reflect an exchange of respect rendered without any sense of subservience. Once officers in the armed forces receive their commissions, those commissions stay in effect until death or removal for cause. All of us former officers in the congregation today continue to be subject to recall to active service, and we’re entitled to wear our uniforms on special occasion such as this one when we honor Master Sergeant Phillip Rollins and his beloved family. The honor guard seated in the first row and the military veterans saluted me because of the Medal of Honor that forms part of my uniform.” Eric touched the medal, held in place by a blue ribbon around his neck. “They saluted the medal out of respect for what it stands for, not necessarily me.

  “I would gladly give up this medal and all other honors accrued to me during my military service in exchange for the lives of brave comrades, men and women under my command, who made the ultimate sacrifice in battles. I am sure other men and women in this congregation feel the same way.” Eric saw many nods of approval. “We saluted the coffin containing the earthly remains of Master Sergeant Rollins out of respect for him and to honor the ultimate sacrifice he made for this country and for all citizens of this great nation. We can render no higher honor other than to take care of his family and assure them they remain encompassed in our, and God’s, love.

  “Please listen to these familiar words from our Lord and Savior as recounted in the Fifteenth Chapter of St. John’s Gospel:

  ‘This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.’

  “I believe many people, including some early Christian communities, have thoroughly misinterpreted what Jesus meant when he told Peter to put his sword back into its place because all who take the sword will perish by the sword or, as we commonly say, live by the sword, die by the sword. The actual meaning of what Jesus said teaches us not to purposefully commit violence as a way of life. Honorable military service, such as Master Sergeant Rollins exemplified, conforms to a noble ideal: No greater love exists than for people to be willing to risk, even to lose, their lives for others.

  “Master Sergeant Rollins was born into and raised in this church. His family continues under our care. He gave up his life in defense of the ideals and freedoms characteristic of this great country, especially the principle of free speech. In fact, Master Sergeant Rollins sacrificed his life so that terribly misguided people can demonstrate outside this place of worship at the time we have gathered to honor our hero and to support his beloved family. The demonstrators outside this church, even if they sincerely believe in their cause, do not deserve anything from us, not even our contempt, a strong emotion not worth wasting on them. We best honor Master Sergeant Rollins by ignoring the demonstrators. Any attention we give them only fuels their idiocy.” Eric heard a soft murmur of agreement ripple through the congregation.

  “Not only did Master Sergeant Rollins die in performance of his duty, sources from my former profession tell me his heroic actions under fire saved the lives of many comrades. Documents circulate even now to support the awarding of an appropriate medal in honor of what he accomplished.”

  A few persons began to clap, the appl
ause soon coming from the entire congregation.

  “Mrs. Rollins, Phillip, John Luke, and Frank—all of us realize such an award will not make up for the loss of your husband and father. This nation also suffered a great loss, as did this Community of Believers and this city. Nevertheless, Master Sergeant Phillip Rollins did not die in vain. Hear now God’s great promise St. Paul presents to us in the Eighth Chapter of Romans:

  ‘Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, ‘For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.’

  “The answers we obtain depend upon the questions we ask. We humans have a propensity for seeking informative answers by asking uninformed questions. An uninformed question we may be tempted to ask today is Why did Master Sergeant Rollins have to die? Another formulation of the question might be Why did God’s plan for Master Sergeant Rollins and his family require his death? We cannot answer these questions in a satisfactory manner; but, we can ask a truly important question, a question generating a meaningful and comforting answer: Are there any circumstances under which we can be separated from God’s love in Jesus Christ? St. Paul assures us we can never be separated from God’s love in Jesus Christ. God’s love shown in Jesus Christ surrounds Master Sergeant Rollins who is in heaven.” Eric looked directly at the Rollins family. “The same love encompasses and supports you now, even in the midst of this tragedy.

  “Our final Scripture for today comes from First Peter:

  ‘Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith—being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.’”