Rocky Raccoon

I'm back. It wasn't a very long trip that I took, but it was refreshing. I was not in the Bible belt - that's only the Midwest, isn't it? - but I was definitely in a more rural area than I live in. I saw several Christian billboards about marital counseling, abortion, and the local churches. When I didn't see a Gideon's Bible in the hotel room, I jokingly shouted "What is America coming to?" until I found it in another drawer. Sister asked why they leave Bibles in hotel rooms. I said that perhaps they are there in case travelers are lonely and need Jesus. She asked, "Need Jesus?" and I said, "Well, yeah. They're not purely for entertainment. You never see a copy of War and Peace in there." That was the extent of the religiosity of my trip.

Now Rocky Raccoon, he fell back in his room
Only to find Gideon's bible
Gideon checked out and he left it no doubt
To help with good Rocky's revival.

Mother went shopping while the rest of us were still asleep, and when she returned she informed me that she bought me WOW 2005. For those of you who don't know, WOW CD's are annual double-CD sets of the Christian hits that come out each year. When I was a teenager I collected them. I have WOW 1996, WOW 1997, WOW 1998, WOW 1999, WOW 2000, and WOW 2001. I lost interest after that. When she told me she bought it for me, I wasn't sure if it was a well-intentioned attempt to patch up my broken spirituality or just a bad joke. When she saw my surprised reaction and asked, "You like those, don't you?" I realized it was neither. Mother is just a saint, no pun intended. I don't deserve her.

Anyway, I have been listening to the CDs and I find that I really enjoy them. I know most of the songs because of the radio (and that's another thing, what self-respecting doubter still listens to Christian radio?) and I really like them. As I was listening to them, I was thinking to myself that all I want is to be a regular Christian minus the extremism and the harsh feelings towards God and other Christians. I think that fundamentalism has soured me towards something that I have a real, deep-rooted love for. If this was not the case, I would be throwing out my Christian CDs and I would not want to attend an Episcopalian church. I also would not have signed up for yet another church book group. Yes, I did. I don't know what made me do it. I don't even go to the church anymore. Between their three Sunday services and tons of members, I don't think they even notice.