July 31: The Tomb, Red Crayon, Peace

I was the only one left in the tomb then.  I sort of liked it, in a way.  It was so nice and peaceful.  Then, all of a sudden, you'd never guess what I saw on the wall.  Another "Fuck you."  It was written with a red crayon or something, right under the glass part of the wall, under the stones.

Holden has a few moments that are nice and peaceful in Catcher.  This is one of them.  He's in a tomb in the Egyptian exhibit in the Museum of Natural History.  He's by himself, and, for a few brief seconds, he finds calm contentment.  It doesn't last very long, but Holden's safe and almost happy among the mummies, until the outside world intrudes with another "Fuck you" graffiti-ed on the wall.

For a little while this morning, I experienced a "nice and peaceful" time.  I was saying my a.m. prayers and reading my devotions.  The devotion was all about celebrating successes in your life.  When I got to the end of it, I actually felt comforted.  I felt like God was watching out for me, no matter what.  I wasn't worried about my job or money or cars or kids.  Because I knew God had my back.

That lovely, no-worry zone lasted for a while.  At one point, I found myself whistling as I was completing a task at work.  I think that's why portraits of saints are always so serene.  It's that complete trust that saints have.  They know God is with them.  He has their backs.  When they're hungry, God's going to send them pizzas.  When they're tired, God's going to find beds for them.  That's the difference between a saint and a normal person.  A saint says, "Oh, God, I need a few dollars to buy some food, please."  A normal person says, "Oh, shit, I need a few dollars to buy some food."  It's all about the red crayon worry on the wall.

Unfortunately, most of the time, Saint Marty is an "Oh, shit" person.

I got this,,,for a little while