Linda: “…come to think of it…Bull’s relationship with me is like a dysfunctional marriage…”
Extra Saturday treat:
One of TB’s classic hatchet-faced female profiles!
Note from TFH: I’m handing over the helm of the good ship SoSF for a week to trusted first mate DavidO…I’m not going anywhere, my brain just needs a rest! I’ll be joinin’ you lubbers below decks as we sail the seas of snark!
Once again, Susan serves as Batiuk’s mouthpiece, preaching about the function of “art”, especially as it relates to stories about cancer. Meanwhile, Cayla apparently has checked her backbone at the door.
Another “punchline that wasn’t”. Les is still trying to gracefully say no to his old pal’s offer. Funky resorts to confusing Les by saying something that sounds profound but is in fact utterly meaningless and trite.
With the Funky-thon officially concluded, our narrative turns not to Summer sports, nor to band camp; neither to the Les-Cayla-Susan triangle. As “Crazy” Harry sits at Montoni’s counter abusing the free coffee, in the back of the pizza joint two co-workers pass like ships in the afternoon. Wally has traded in his ballcap for an olive drab schmatte, and carries a teetering stack of plates (a “lazy man’s load”, my Mom would say). Rachel, apparently desperately lonely and/or hot for Wally, responds to his offhand greeting as if it were a marriage proposal: “Yes? YES? SAY IT, Walter! Say the word, my soldier boy!” She is mortified when Wally orders her to stand down.
And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job, and that there is no one on earth like him, blameless and upright, fearing God and avoiding evil?” But Satan answered the LORD and said, “Is it for nothing that Job is God-fearing? Have you not surrounded him and his family and all that he has with your protection? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his livestock are spread over the land. But now put forth your hand and touch anything that he has, and surely he will blaspheme you to your face.
The Book of Job, 1:8-11
In the story of Job, God, at the Devil’s urging, singles out a good, decent guy, upon whom he visits misfortune after misfortune, just to see how much poor Job can take without losing faith. Despite having all his possessions destroyed, his offspring wiped out, and a hideous case of boils, Job hangs tough. His words to his wife sum up his attitude: “[S]hall we receive good from God and shall not receive evil?” Job’s friends come to visit and all wonder what Job has done to deserve this treatment. After his ordeal, Job is rewarded by God with double his riches, more offspring, and another 140 years of life on Earth.
Our modern-day Job understands and has come to accept his role as God’s Punching Bag. “I used to go years without stuff like this happening to me (Shall we receive good from God…) and now it happens to me every five minutes (…and shall not receive evil?)”
That’s our sermon for today, folks! Thanks again to David O for guest-blogging in this space last week.
Son of Stuck Funky 