Carolina Summers Pt. 4 : The not so Slinky, Slinky...

My grandmother believed in two things: The Lord Jesus, and Oral Roberts. Whatever Oral said was law. If Oral was preaching from the pulpit about his desperate need for money, Nanason would accept the challenge and send in her dollars.

In return for her generosity she would get some small trinket as a token of Orals appreciation. After we watched Oral every Sunday morning, we would head to church…
 
That previous Easter, the bunny had given me a slinky. I loved my slinky. I took it everywhere. It even took the journey to Easley that summer. It was the rare occasion that both my parents dropped us off, my mother was with us, the next day they were leaving to go back to Florida.
 
We were dressed in our best, as we walked through the sacred doors of the Easley Wesleyan Methodist Church.  I remember the church quiet well, it was red brick and sat on the opposing hill across from Arial mill hill. You felt instant holiness the second you walked through the doors.

Nanason introduced us to all her friends,she proudly showed off her oldest son and his family. She told them all that we kids would be spending the summer and I was invited to the vacation bible school the church was offering.

I held my white wicker purse, and inside I had strategically hidden slinky. We said our prayers, and sang the songs, then all settled in to the pews to hear a fire and brimstone message from the pulpit.

 

When I saw Papa start to nod off, and my sister drawing, I took out slinky. First I was quiet; I bounced it up and down, and held it in my little hand. But then slinky got a mind of its own, and stretched itself out, I accidently let go and the darn slinky lunged in to the back of the little ole blue haired lady sitting in front me.  My mother was mortified, her eyes got big and she pursed her lips. Then she shook her head- “Oh lord”! I thought-not the head shaking! Fortunately she was not seated next to me.  

My sister and Nanason started to giggle, my dad had to reach out and untangle slinky from Blue haired lady’s head. He whispered his deepest apologies. My cousin Terri sat there and with teeth gritted said “I told her not to bring it”.  My mother stretched out her hand, and dad gave her my slinky. I sat there the rest of the sermon with hands in my lap, thinking about slinky; I feared I would be forever doomed for disrupting the service. But, Nanason in her way made things better-she gave me gum.

 I did manage to get slinky back from my mother, and I sat on the big porch the rest of that day playing with slinky not realizing that my slinky episode would again like so many of my childhood adventures, become family folklore... 

---To be Continued