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Topic: rain (10/17/05)
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TITLE: Your Father Is Crazy! | Previous Challenge Entry
By Pat Sciancalepore
10/20/05 -
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“Okay, what is going on around here?” Miriam demanded.
Japheth feigned innocence. “What do you mean, Dear?”
“You know perfectly well what I mean!” Miriam moved in front of him, and by doing so, erased a part of the picture he was studying. Japheth grunted in annoyance, but Miriam didn’t notice. “All the women in the market were giggling and whispering when they saw us. I finally confronted one of them and asked what was going on. She laughed right in my face, and said, “You poor thing, your father-in-law has finally gone off his rocker.”
Japheth cleared his throat, trying to collect his thoughts. How was he going to explain this one?
Miriam continued, “So I went down to where Noah’s been keeping himself, and what do I find? Wood,” said Miriam, “Piles and piles of gopher wood everywhere; enough to build a city! And your brothers are building animal cages. So I asked Noah if he was planning to build a fort, and he said, ‘No, an ark.’ An ark? What in the world is an ark?”
“It’s like a big boat.” Explained Japeth, not looking his wife in the eye. “You see….”
“What do we need a boat for? And what’s with the cages?”
Japheth pointed to the drawing on the floor. “It will look like this. It’s got to be big enough to hold us and the animals….”
“What animals?” Miriam asked through clenched teeth.
Japheth mumbled, “Well, at least two of everything….”
“Everything!” Miriam shrieked, “As in everything? Snakes, slugs, rats? No way, José!”
Japeth took a deep breath. Might as well tell it all and get it over with. “Noah says that God spoke to him.”
Miriam sighed. Japheth seemed to be taking this very seriously. “Okay, I’ll play along. What did God say to Noah?”
“God told him to build an ark, like this,” he again showed her the picture, “to save us from the flood that is going to cover the whole earth. It is going to rain for 40 days and 40 nights,
“Oh, what’s a little rain? I mean why all this fuss?”
“Because,” Japheth pressed on, “God is going to wipe out all the people on the earth because he can’t take their evil ways anymore.”
Miriam took a moment to take it all in. “You’re serious!” You really believe that? You’re father is crazy.”
Japheth realized how incredible it all sounded. He kept quiet, waiting for the tantrum to come. It came.
“If you think I’m going to live on a boat with your family, and be cooped up with all those animals. And just us? No servants? So I get to clean out elephant cages? If you think for one minute I’m going to go along with this, you’re as crazy as Noah!” Miriam stamped her foot and folded her arms. “I won’t go, and that’s final.”
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A year later, Miriam stood on the deck of the ark, savoring the warmth of the sunshine, and looking at the rainbow in the sky. She felt the baby inside her leap for joy as she heard Noah convey God’s words, "I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.”
Miriam smiled, and said, “God is good.”
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