I recall a pivotal moment in my church experience. I had "left" the "Recovery" for about five years (late 70s), gotten married, and somehow my wife became interested in it. She invited a couple (well, more honestly, they invited themselves) to visit us in my Prodigal Sty State for a weekend. I reluctantly agreed to the visit ... and then I realized with horror that it was the same weekend as the Indiana high school basketball state finals, as important event in Indiana at the time as, oh, I don't know, maybe Mardi Gras is to the Nawleans crowd.
Anyway, I made my wife call the couple up and warn them that I was going to be watching basketball on the Saturday evening of their visit. She did it and told me, laughing, that they said, "No problem! They'd watch with us."
I was stunned. They came, I turned the game on but we only watched cursorily, and I began to think, Gee, maybe there is a niche somewhere in the LC I could fit in. I loved the teaching but, man, I loved my "old man" too, especially if he was getting the ball inside the paint just ready to drop-step and put two on the scoreboard.
Anyway, I think Hope's stories are true but I also think there were others who didn't have his freedom. My freedom came from my hiding from powers that be. His perhaps because he was a power that be.
For what it's worth.
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