Saturday, July 4, 2009

One special effects, hold the plot

My mother passed through Germany once, on her way to join an excursion of American bible-folk to Holy-Land places. I went down to Munich to meet her, and we drove on to Vienna (can't remember why). The sky was overcast after heavy rain, until suddenly a gigantic hole opened in the clouds and 11,000 Hester Prynne units of light streamed downwards - much as in Mab's picture, but on a larger scale.

My mother was, of course, overcome with quiet excitement. She said: "that's what it will be like at the Second Coming of Christ". I too thought it a fantastic sight, but this remark of hers spoiled it for me. I think I said to her something like: "oh you should go to the movies more, that kind of thing is old hat" - trying to spoil it for her too.

Back in Cologne, I considered what a sarky, blasé bastard I had been to say that - no matter that I dislike the woman for her fanatic and surreptitiously manipulative brand of Christianity. Let Christ come in all His glory for all I care. I merely need to proceed as Ralf does with MacDonald's hamburgers - first he removes the pickles.

2 comments:

AJP CROWN said...

I wouldn't want to say mean things about anyone's mother, but it sounds as if she was the blasé one, having that much familiarity with the proceedings. Even if I were expecting the second coming of Christ, I'd still want a few surprises left for when the time came.

Stuart Clayton said...

That is an acute observation, don't worry about anybody's mother. In point of fact she doesn't like surprises (aka "being in denial"). The sunshine display is simply a reassuring part of the familiar story. When you go to Radio City Music Hall, you expect to see the Rockettes, right?