Fried Chicken Salvation

Being someone who's grown up in a family of primarily Southern Baptists and a few scattered Nazarines.....I am no stranger to the inside of a church. However having said that, I will also tell you that I'm not one of their best customers either.

This is not to say that I don't have faith. Or that I don't believe in worship or in god. I do. I'm just not really good about getting in there on Sundays to hear the sermon.

I cant say that in my family I'm alone in this bad behavior. But I will say that the upper branches of our family tree frown down heavily on all those who choose to practice this as a rule.

This brings me to Great Uncle Mack. Uncle Mack is what could only be thought of as a sport model. The man has personality to burn. And from the whispers I've heard on occasion around our family reunions, a pretty colorful past back in the day.

Uncle Mack would be someone that the Great Aunts and the Grandmothers felt needed to be in church on a daily basis, for the rest of his days on this earth, just to make up for his misspent youth. Although they would never come right out and say that. In our family its one thing to look disapprovingly at ones relatives because of past indiscretions, its another to talk about it openly and call attention to them.

Its not that Uncle Mack didn't go to church and attend services. He did. But Uncle Mack was selective about his attendance. It usually coincided with a church social or some sort of covered dish dinner being held after church was over. Uncle Mack used to say, that was one time you could have six deserts on your plate and nobody thought any less of you for having them. As a matter of fact it was sort of an insult to those fine ladies of the church if you didn't at least sample all the baked goods on the table.

My Great Grandmother was always beside herself over Great Uncle Macks hit and miss attendance at services on Sunday. It didn't help matters at all to know that on the days he wasn't at church he was probably out at one of the family ponds trying to drown a worm. Fishing on Sunday is a BIG NO NO....

Once during one of our many family encounters, I heard my Great Grandmother start once again on the subject of Uncle Macks salvation. She proceeded to tell Uncle Mack he wasn't getting any younger and one of these days, probably sooner than later, he would be standing in front of his maker. Then what excuse would he have for not taking hold of salvation?

Uncle Mack said he wasn't opposed to salvation and he'd get around to it directly. But we knew that the only thing that got him in the front door on Sunday mornings were the get togethers and the food.

I once asked Uncle Mack while we were eating dinner at one of our family reunions.....We were both outside under the big oak tree munching on a Southern Baptist staple, fried chicken.

I said "Uncle Mack are you ever going to give in and just do what they want you to do"?

He said "Well girl....Its like this.....The way I see it.....I'm just one fried chicken dinner away from it now".