Jonathots Daily Blog
(3552)
Sitting on the tarmac in Butte, Montana, getting ready to lift off in the jet back to Las Vegas, Jubal Carlos desperately tried to capture pieces of his mind, seeming to float in his inner space.
The major question was very simple. What in the hell was he doing? He found himself interacting and working with people he hadn’t even known this time last year. They were nice enough, but a loneliness was settling into his soul–a yearning for purpose to join passion, to offer possibility.
The band he once loved was beginning to grumble and complain over the schedule, even though there was lots of money and a gentle atmosphere for the work. He cited to his mates that they were reaching people, but realized that they were becoming weary in all their well-doing.
The craziness of Washington, D.C. and the near-death experience of Jo-Jay hollowed out his insides.
But mostly, it was Butte, Montana. It was the most recently-selected little city to receive the noontime luncheon and show. Of the thirty-thousand-plus residents, a jubilant and warm-hearted five hundred came out to sit on the grass and “consider the lily.”
Shortly after the rally was over, Jubal excused himself and drove a rental car over to a nearby convenience store to buy snacks for the plane trip. In the parking lot he saw four young men sitting in the back of a pick-up truck, passing rifles back and forth.
It seemed fairly harmless.
Just before Jubal entered the store, one of the young men screamed across the distance, “So do you supposed to be Jesus?”
His comrades in the truck giggled.
Jubal just smiled, waved them off, and went into the store to acquire his delights. When he came out, the four fellows were gathered around his rental car. A shiver went down Jubal’s spine. Could be trouble. Yet small-town folks could just be curious, even though you’d swear it seemed threatening.
Jubal took a deep breath and walked to his car. He opened it, threw in his supplies and started to climb in himself when one of the young men grabbed his arm.
“You ain’t Jesus,” he said.
Jubal mustered his courage. “You sure are right. I’m not. No more Jesus than you are.”
“Well, I ain’t Jesus,” said another.
The boys showed no sign of being dangerous, but were certainly out on a lark, and Jubal realized that from their menacing profile, they could accidentally produce some mayhem.
A third one spoke. “We got all the Jesus we need here. What nationality are you anyway?”
Jubal smiled. “I don’t know. My mother died before I was two. My father split out after he found out I was gonna be born, and I don’t know where my grandparents are. So I usually have people guess. What nationality do you think I am?”
The fourth one piped up. “You look a little Korean.”
The other three laughed. “He ain’t no Korean,” said the second fellow. He was still holding his shotgun. The other three had leaned their weapons against the car, making Jubal’s departure more precarious.
The original fellow who had yelled across the parking lot offered, “I think he’s just a partially bleached-out nigger.”
“Now, Billy–you can’t say that word. It’s not proper,” laughed his friend.
“What? Bleached out?” said Billy, giggling.
Jubal decided it was time for him to use the gifts God had given him. “I could be bleached out,” he said. “You see, when I was a little boy, the foster home I was living in did laundry every Tuesday morning, and I wasn’t able to help much. So I sat on a stool nearby, watching all the grownups and older kids work on the clothes.”
Suddenly all four gentlemen were listening intently. Jubal continued. “Well, here’s what happened. Auntie Maria–that’s what we called her–well, she brought in a big bucket of bleach. And wouldn’t you know? I was so young and dumb I thought it was water. So when nobody was lookin’, I jumped in. I mean, the bucket was big enough to hold me, and I saw no reason to resist.”
There were a couple of snickers.
Jubal pressed on. “I wasn’t in the bleach very long. So I didn’t get totally bleached out, like you suggested. But word has it that before I went in that bleach, I was as black as an ace of spades.”
The young men stared at him curiously. Billy squinted. “So what you’re sayin’ is, you could be bleached out.”
“Maybe you are, too,” said Jubal.
Young Man Two jumped in, objecting. “No siree. I’ve been white all my life. I’ll live white and I’ll die white.”
“Well, I’ll probably die this color,” answered Jubal, “unless I get a hankering to jump in some more bleach.”
“You’re a dumbass,” said Billy flatly.
“Of course I am,” smiled Jubal. “What kind of idiot jumps in a bucket of bleach? So if you fine gentlemen will forgive me, I’ve got some friends waitin’ for me.”
There was a long pause as the group considered their options.They looked around the parking lot to see if they had gained any attention. There was a small crowd at the door, watching the events, since word had spread that the “Jesus fella” was in town and was picking himself up some Twinkies.
Billy peered at Jubal. “Do you think Jesus liked guns?” he challenged.
Jubal thought for a moment to make sure he portrayed that he was taking the question seriously. “I don’t know, Billy. I’m not real familiar with his feeling on firearms. But I do know that he loves people. And I do know he loves you fellas.”
They laughed him to scorn.
Billy turned to walk away, motioning to his friends to come on. “Like we were tellin’ you–we got plenty of Jesus here. You don’t need to come back.”
With a smooth, choreographed motion, Jubal slid into the car, shut the door and rolled down the power window. “Tell you what. Maybe I’ll just come back and see you guys. Thanks for the conversation. By the way, you didn’t ask me what I think about guns.”
Billy paused, turned around and frowned. “Well, that’s true.”
“You see?” said Jubal. “I’ve already got a reason to come back.”
He rolled up the window, started the car, backed up and drove away.
As Jubal sat on the plane, he realized that even though the moment in the Butte parking lot had been fraught with some danger, he loved it.
He loved the opportunity to meet people and see if he could sweeten their spirits and motivate their minds.
Off to Vegas.
Another three hours in the air, when he should be sleeping.
But his thoughts held him captive.
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