THE STUDENT

This post is shared at Hazel's: Tell Me a Story !!  My fictional stories continue, please return to not miss any of the chapters.

Bible Teacher
courtesy free clip art

Having served at the pleasure of a local pastor yesterday, which was Sunday, it was back into class this Monday morning.

Still engrossed in the duties the pastor had given me to do yesterday; I knew that now I had to turn my attention to the task at hand.  Which task was of course to listen to the teacher of the Bible School.

He was old and revered as the patriarch of the school and I trembled whenever I came near him. He never spoke to me directly, he would perhaps grunt in my direction if our paths inadvertently crossed.

Trying to put yesterday's failings behind me (for I had made a mistake during service) I now tried to focus on today's lessons but it was going to be a struggle.

That minor error I made yesterday loomed larger than it should and the thought of it still turns my face red. While getting to my seat one of the classmates said, “Now Sammie don't worry about that mistake you made during the service yesterday for we all make mistakes.”

If that was supposed to make me feel better it fell miles short of its intended target. Why couldn't he kept his mouth shut and let me suffer in silence but no, he had to address it before several classmates that now wanted to know wherein had I failed.

Everything I said just made the whole thing worse (as if it could be any worse). Why is it when people try to help a situation they only make it worse?

About that time the door opened and the "teacher" made his way into the classroom without looking at anyone or saying anything. He took his place behind the lectern as the class monitor spoke up and said, “Everyone take his place and prepare internally for today's lesson,” and then he sat down.

Prepare internally? Did he know that there was turmoil raging within me?

That I could scarcely restrain it from being manifested outwardly before the whole class?

As the teacher prepared to utter his first words of the day it seemed as if he swelled up and became much larger as I shrunk into becoming a small child, feeling unworthy of even being there.

I knew each word he spoke would echo down into the recesses of my mind and I feared the import would be lost in the process.

This day was somehow different for the teacher looked out over the large class, saying nothing for what seemed like an eternity.

 

He came down from the platform and then he moved among the members of the class. Then he walked by me and I almost began to shake as until he moved on past me to the next person and then he stopped and turned to look directly at me.

I gasped for he had never looked directly at me where we made eye contact. Now it was like he was looking down into my innermost being seeing all my secrets. I stood ready to confess. Confess to anything. Even things I wasn't guilty of.

It was like God himself was leaning over the portals of heaven and examining me.

He then straightened himself up to his full stature and spoke words I shall never forget, “This morning Samuel will read from Daniel 7:1-18 and make his comments.”

It was like someone had struck me in the stomach and I couldn't get my breath.

He then spoke the first words he ever had spoken to me, “Do you have your Bible Samuel?  I quickly reached for my Bible dropping everything else on the floor. As I started to retrieve them the classmate next to me helped me pick up my papers and straighten them.

The teacher took his place on the platform and sat down leaving me standing holding my Bible. The teacher irritatingly said, “Come up to the lectern and please read.”

I didn't know which was worse, standing up where I was or going up on the platform and having to look out at the class while every eye was upon me.

As I took my place behind the lectern the teacher never looked directly at me which was a relief and I quickly turned away from his steely eyes.

As I took a deep breath and fumbled with my Bible a strange feeling came over me. Something that had never had happened to me before.

It was as if I had been transported to another room where all the faces of the people were anxiously waiting for my words. Then I found myself beginning to speak out boldly.

I started by saying this book is filled with words much like any other book. It will mean little more to you than any other volume unless you know the author personally.

 

The better you know him the more this book will mean to you. From the first word to the last it is a personnel message to your mind and heart. The words are words of life, life which by their nature are eternal in themselves.

Reading this book can be likened unto taking a journey, a journey whereby you can seesights you have never seen before.  

 

At each stopping off place you will enjoy all the scenery has to offer you, and will be refreshed as you stop there to rest. The refreshing comes from hearing and obedience to God's word.

‘Acts 3:19-21 Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord’.

Then further as Jude 1:20 states emphatically; "But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit."

This is something one must do without exception; because it is there you become acquainted with the author of the Book.

1 John 2:20 says, But you have an anointing from the Holy One. This anointing is that which comes upon man and the result of a marriage between the Word and the Spirit in the heart of the individual.

  
As I read the chosen scriptures ask yourself if you are prepared for the reading. It is possible to look upon the instructive words of the scriptures as suggestions when God meant them to be words to live by.

"Proverbs 4:20-22 My son, attend to my words; Incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes, keep them in the midst of thy heart, for they are life unto those that find them and health to all their flesh."

Our selected scripture for today is Daniel 7:1-18 and since I feel it would be wise to let those who are well versed concerning prophecy teach on the subject that these scriptures are directed to, I will limit my comments to the verse found in Daniel 7:18

"But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever."

This kingdom is the kingdom of God Himself and we are admonished again in Matthew 6:33, "But seek ye first his kingdom and his righteousness,"

Be aware that now, the burden of being prepared to read the Bible is as important as reading it for it is life unto all your flesh.  

Jesus spoke of his words in John 6:63; The Spirit alone gives eternal life.

Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.

James 1:21,"Putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls."

1 Corinthians 14:20, "Brethren, do not be children in your thinking; yet in evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature."

1 Peter 2:2 "Like newborn babies, desire the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation."

With those words the room returned to normal and with every eye upon me I sat down. 

 

After some time the teacher stood and instead of challenging me and my performance he stood and said "Class dismissed."

OH LAWD chapter 33

A Good Bye Dinner for the Brass
courtesy free clip art

          
For a while everything went along well.  - - - That is until the thing I feared happened. 

A Lieutenant stopped in and tasted the mess I prepared for the cooks.  Then tasted what was being fed to the rest of the trainees and he wanted some explanation for the big difference.

All eyes turned to me, and I started turning red. I wanted to try to lie my way out of this but I didn't dare.

I confessed that I had bought a few spices, and picked through everything before I cooked it, and the result was what he just tasted. I also left out the saltpeter, but I didn't tell him that.

He dumped out our food, and told us to eat the same thing as the rest of the men.

Shortly after I had been caught spicing up my food the order came down to find someone to cook for the officers.  The Lieutenant remembered that I seemed to know something about food preparation, so he ordered me to come and prepare the officer's mess.

I had a day or two to get ready to take over, and I immediately ordered what I would need to prepare some very tasty food. It didn't come near what I presented at my restaurant, but it was better than anything they had eaten before me.

After a few meals the Colonel came and asked me where I learned to cook like this.  I just said my Ma has a restaurant and she is a great cook. It was she who taught me as well the other cooks who worked there.

He said this is better by far than anything served here before. I was feeling pretty satisfied with everything, and I was eating fairly well also.  When I could I would fix myself something special. 

 

Again it wasn't as good as in the restaurant, but with what I had to work with, it turned out fine.

The Colonel had bragged on me and my food to his wife, and she said she wanted to taste what he had been boasting about.

When I found out she was coming for lunch I thought, “What the heck.”

I would fix her something that would cause her mouth to drool.

I made a trip to town, and picked up what I needed, and served her meal separate from the officers, and waited.

She came back after she was finished and said, “Alright, what’s going on? You are not an army cook. I have eaten at the finest restaurants around the world, and this compares favorably to all of them.”

I told her I had a little training.  She said, “Cut it out! I want to know where you learned what you know about cuisine, and how to prepare it.”  It was time to be honest, so I gave her a run down of - - well actually my life story as it related to cooking.  

She said, “I want you to come and prepare a special meal for around thirty guests. Do you think you can handle that?”  I replied, “Certainly I can, with a little help.”

She offered, “We are being transferred to the Pentagon in Washington D.C. and I want to say goodbye with a nice dinner.”  She continued, “Come by in the morning and we will work out the menu.”

The next day we went over the menu, and she gave me quite a bit of leeway which made it a lot easier.  

 

I started early on the day of the dinner fixing things that could be prepared in advance. The couple of guys I selected were a great help to me, and by the evening everything was ready.

She had gotten a couple of maids to serve, and I kept an eye on how the meal was going so each course was served at the right time.

After dessert the guests retired to the living room for coffee, tea and of course they had some brandy to finish off their meal.

With everyone out of the dining room, the cleanup began and in a couple of hours everything was clean, and put away, and I was completely exhausted.

Oh Lawd.       

 

To be Continued

 

OH LAWD chapter 32



KP Duty aint so BAD
image courtesy photobucket.com

I was too busy to concern myself with how the girls felt after I sent them home, and what they were thinking.

I had never gotten this aggravated with Marly before.  I usually let her have her way and didn’t say anything.  

 

Since I was a year older than she was, I always thought I should protect her, even when she got older; but what went on this past week was the end of letting her have her own way.  There is a time to speak up and that is what I did!

I was sure that being around those immature college kids was the source of this careless attitude, and I wasn't buying it. If this was the way she planned to act and live her life, then the less I saw of her - - the better, and that went for Linda also.

I hadn't changed only matured a bit.  Part of my harshness was the result of seeing this type of loose living on a daily basis.

 

While I wasn't what some call a religious nut I had enough spiritual training to know right from wrong and what I saw day by day was wrong.

Even though the girls were over twenty, I knew if Ma and Linda's mother knew how they acted when they visited me, they would have been shocked and hurt so I planned to keep it to myself.

The increased military presence in the gulf caused me to pay more attention to what was going on in Europe.  On December 7th my world changed along with the rest of America.

Last year (1940) the selective service was passed by Congress, and I had registered for the draft not expecting to be called to serve in the army.

My plans were to be a chef and eventually own my own place.

Men of all ages joined or tried to join the service while I hesitated because I didn't want to leave my work.

Then one day I received an official looking letter saying, “Greetings from the office of the President of the United States of America.”

It wasn't long before I was in boot camp with the lowest grade given to a solider. I looked pretty tacky in a uniform that didn't fit, and those boots were like lead on your feet.

I learned the second day of boot camp the one thing you didn't do was to complain about anything.

The sergeants were one hundred percent mean, and were looking for someone to vent their anger on.

 

The main thing I learned was to say, “Yes Sir,” and to hide out as much as possible, because if the sergeant saw you he would find something for you to do that you wouldn't relish.

One other thing worth mentioning was something called mess. That was another name for food.

The first time I sat down to this “mess,” I almost gagged, for I thought they had mixed up our food with the slop for the hogs.

Some guys lost weight during basic because of the rigors of training, but I lost many pounds because I couldn't stomach the food.

My mother was an excellent cook, and as I learned the cooking trade I did my best to cook decent food.  Up until now, I never ate anything that was unpalatable like what they were feeding us.

Now what was strange, there was this guy from the swamps who thought the food was great; better than anything he had ever tasted.

I usually passed my plate over to him, and watched him gobble it down.

 

One solution I found, before I perished from hunger was to do just enough wrong to be assigned to KP, where I did kitchen work, and I could fix myself something simple but decent to eat.

It wasn't long before the kitchen staff caught on, and they had me cooking for all of them. In their opinion, it was gourmet food.

Finally basic training was behind me, and to my delight I was assigned to kitchen duty for the time being.

Oh Lawd    

 

To be Continued

 

OH LAWD chapter 31

Toward the end of my second year as manager of the restaurant, Marly and Linda finished their four years in college. 

To celebrate, they came to New Orleans at Mardi Gras time.

They stayed with me at my flat which was in the French Quarter, and all they had to do was walk out of the garden and they were in the midst of the revelry.

I was even busier during this time, and all our reservations were filled. People from all over the world came and raved about our dishes which was gratifying to say the least.

One of the chefs that taught me in New York came and said, “You have learned well though it isn't quite New York.” This was to be expected for he was number one in his mind.  

 

Each night I made room for him and his party, for I felt I owed him for his patience shown to me and especially for sharing with me, his recipes.

Marly and Linda were having a wild time, in fact a little too good of a time.

Both of them had been drinking, and when I realized they had brought a couple of guys back my flat, I told them if that was their game then go get a room.

The guys were belligerent and began to tell me off. I told them either get out now or be carried out, and take your girlfriends with you.

Marly and Linda started to give me some lip, so I shoved them out the door, and said I wasn't going to put up with that kind of conduct.

 

They left with their guys but came back three hours later. Seems their boyfriends had dumped them, and had found themselves some new friends.  

About two o'clock I closed the restaurant and found them sitting in the garden.  They were sobering up and were apologetic about the evening, and kept saying "We never did anything wrong we were just having fun.”

The next morning I slept in until nine; the girls had already eaten their breakfast and were observing a few stragglers that hadn't made it home yet.

The streets were a mess, and the sanitation people were trying to get the rubbish removed before the whole thing started over again.  

The lunch crew was hard at work so I didn't have much to do after checking the food stuffs.

I went back into my flat, showered and changed my clothes after which Marly came and told me that I shouldn't have thrown them out last night for after all she was my sister.  

Linda was standing nearby and they both started telling me off.

I said, “Stop right there. In the first place I didn't throw my sister out, what I did was toss a slut out where all the other sluts were. I don't provide bedrooms for boys and girls to have fun in.”  

 

Marly said, “It wasn't like that for we weren't going to do anything.”

I asked her, “What do you think that two sailors on leave have on their mind when they have got two girls half drunk in the midst of ‘anything goes,’ and have got them next to the bedroom?”

I said, “I don't provide a place for my sister to have sex with a total stranger, and if you don't like that then it is too bad.”  

 

She still protested that her intention wasn't to be promiscuous, and she had no plans of doing what I was accusing her of.

I told her, “You are either ignorant or naive as to how the game is played around here.”

 

Linda tried to say something but when I stared at her, her voice trailed off without finishing what she had started to say.

Marly said, “I'm going home and tell Ma and Pa just how you treated us.”

I didn't think it worthwhile to respond except to say. “Hurry and get your bags packed for the next bus leaves in thirty minutes from just down the street.”

After they left I rethought what had happened, and how I reacted and concluded that I would do the same thing if it were to happen again.

Two sailors on leave where people lose all restraint, two naive girls caught up in an unguarded moment and half drunk. A secluded place would only lead to one thing.

Lunch was in full swing and the streets were filling up. This evening was going to be crazy because I had no place to seat more patrons, but we will manage somehow.   

 

Oh Lawd!        

 

To be Continued  

 

 

OH LAWD chapter 30

Fancy Chef
courtesy free clip art

After I left Linda's house I went home and packed my bag.

I called Kathy's place and told her mother I was called to work, and had to leave tonight. She said she understood and was sorry I couldn't make but the next time I was home to let her know and she would like to have me over.

With my bag packed I told Ma that I was leaving, and to tell Pa goodbye.

I told her, it will be maybe three weeks before I will be able to come back due to the fact I was expected to rework the menu and make some changes in the kitchen.

Also there were many other changes to be made, but it would be one step at a time. I caught the bus for New Orleans for the last train had come and gone.

After two hours I was back home in New Orleans and in my flat where all my things were.

 
I was still a little confused at the conduct of Marly and Linda but I had other things to worry about.

Since it wasn't too late I called my boss and told him I was back and tomorrow I would like to go over the plans for the restaurant. 

He said he was ready to make a new start with the restaurant and was going to depend on me to help him.

We closed the restaurant down for a week and made as many changes as possible in that short time. The front was repainted and the name was changed to Chez Jolie'. 

 

New menus and tablecloths and other simple changes of decor made everything look new, and then we had our grand opening.

We kept many of the old favorite dishes and added a new meal each week until the whole menu was new or upgraded.

I was so busy that I never thought about things at home for they were on the back burner.

As it turned out it would be two months before I had the opportunity to see Ma and Pa. 

It was then I decided to send for them to come down and see the restaurants new look that was taking up all my time since my last visit.

I could tell that they were impressed by the whole operation. I made them some of my favorite dinners while they were here.

I managed to take them to see the places of interest, and especially the French quarter music.

It was pretty much as I expected; Pa said he liked the Cajun music a little better, and Ma said that some of it was a little too loud.

I couldn't let them get away without them having a lot of things to talk about when they got home.  

I never asked about the girls but Ma mentioned that Linda had come over several times wanting to know if they had heard from me.

After a couple of days they got antsy to get back home, and to their restaurant so off they went.  

 

We had some postcards made of the new restaurant front so I sent one to Linda and said if she and her parents ever came to New Orleans they should come by the restaurant and I would fix them a special dinner.

I had eaten at their place many times and I thought I owed them a good restaurant dinner.

 

After two months I was still making changes in the old recipes and teaching the cooks about the recipes, which was a full time job.

Secret Recipes
courtesy free clip art

Out of view from everyone else, I always mixed my spices and kept them a secret, for that was the mystery to our dishes and made them superior to what the other restaurants were serving.

One of the near by restaurants hired a couple of my cooks hoping to imitate my meals but to no avail.

After a week they fired the cooks, and after that no one else on our staff would quit for fear they would get fired also.

I kept all my recipes in a safety deposit box and would let no one see them.

They were alive and well in my memory, and I didn't need to read them.

It wasn't long before the restaurant's customers had doubled and the clientele was still growing.

 

We were so busy I never did get back home during the first year.

 

If the coming events had not happened as they did, I probably would have made time to go back home and visit all my family and friends.

Oh Lawd!     

 

To be Continued

 

 

 

OH LAWD chapter 29

What about the Future?
courtesy photobucket.com

I woke up early on Saturday and just lay in bed thinking about my future.

One thing was sure I had prepared myself to be a top notch French Chef, and I had a job in a good restaurant in New Orleans.

Noonan had teased me about becoming a French Chef and said, “I hope they haven't messed you up so you can't cook first-class Cajun food.”

I said, “Well, you know they ain't much difference in cooking snails and crawdads, now is dey?”

He thought for a minute and said, “No, I guess not but I never heard of anyone putting snails in their Gumbo.”

There was something I never knew about Noonan and that was he used to work in New York at one of the finest restaurants.

He never would have told me about it, but I met a maitre d' who worked with him many years ago.  

 

He said, “Noonan was one of the finest cooks he ever knew. His wife died, and he just gave up and left his job.  No one knew where he went and what happened to him.”

I told him what Noonan was doing but asked him not to tell anyone for he was happy living in Gulf Port.  He appeared to be content in what he was doing, yet he seemed to be fragile and shouldn't be bothered by things and people of the past.

He said he understood and wouldn't tell anyone.

Since both Marly and Linda were working I had the day free to do what I wished.

I went down town and had lunch with Linda, and while we were eating an old school mate (Kathy) who happened to be female came over and talked to us.

She was a year ahead of Linda and Marly, and had been in some of my classes.  We were pretty good friends although we never had dated.

 

She invited me over for Sunday dinner, and I said I would like to see her mother and father again so I told her that I would be there around noon.

Jealousy courtesy photobucket.com

As she left Linda didn't seem to be too happy for some reason, and I just didn't understand why.

Linda said, “You can come over and have dinner with us this evening at six and then we can go to the movie.”

I didn't know it, but her parents had told her to ask me over for dinner but she wasn't what you might call warm when she asked.

I asked her if something was wrong or did I do something wrong?

She again coldly answered and simply said, “NO!”

After that I decided to drop it and let it play out.  As it so happened Marly had also been invited over for dinner, and she and Linda were off in another room while I was talking with Linda's dad.

After dinner Linda helped clean the table, and I asked Marly if something was wrong with Linda and she said, “I don't know, why don't you ask her?”

I said, “I did ask her, and she said nothing was wrong.”

Marly said, “Well if you don't know what it is then I guess I will have to tell you. On the other hand you will have to figure it out for yourself.”

I must say talking to those two was a waste of time so I just let it slide.

It was time to leave for the movie, but I didn't want to sit with someone who was ticked off about something, and wouldn't tell me what it was.

Asking Linda if she still wanted to go out with me was a little touchy for I didn't want to make bad things worse.

I finally decided to act as if there was nothing wrong and said, “Come on you lovely ladies we don't want to miss the beginning of the show.”

If Linda didn't straighten up I was ready to say ‘I feel ill’ and go home for I had enough of this foolishness.

Marly was fretting, and acting irritated, and Linda was still giving me her hard looks, so I told them, “I am getting sick, and I might throw up so I am heading home.”

They both stood there looking at each other as I walked out the door.

I figured. “I would let them settle what ever it was they were upset about was between themselves because it couldn't have anything to do with me!”

Oh Lawd!

Continued  

OH LAWD chapter 28

New York Fancy Woman
courtesy photobucket.com

 

I did enjoy telling the girl’s stories about women in New York that weren't true, but it wasn't entirely my doings, because they wouldn't have been satisfied with the truth.

The truth was I was so busy I didn't have time for socializing. My hours were long in the kitchen, and logging all the recipes in my journal at night for future reference took a lot of my time.  

Another thing was, I was getting paid with knowledge instead of money. They paid me just enough to squeak by and certainly not enough to go out and party.

There was one other thing I realized early on; Marly and Linda were dying to tell me of their exploits while I had been gone.

I deliberately put them off until they couldn't stand it any longer, so then I asked if they had been going out on dates.

It was as if a great weight was lifted from them as they began to tell of the guys they had met and went out with.

 

I acted as if I was really impressed but inwardly I was thinking, “So what?” Two healthy second year college girls should be dating and preparing for the future both in employment and - or marriage.

I asked, “How many of them were sailors?” And they both turned red and hemmed and hawed. Finally Marly said, “Some of them were.”

I said, “Tomorrow is Saturday so I suppose you have dates. I will call up one of our old schoolmates and see if any of them want to go to the movies with me.”

Linda spoke up and said. “I don't have anything to do so I'm available if you want company.”  Marly said, “I may have a date, but if not I will tag along with you.”

As the evening wore on they told me of their future plans, and where they planned to go to college and get their degree.

The next day I met Paddy down at the gym and he pushed me into a good workout. Afterward he said, “Would you like to go a couple of rounds?” and I said, “No way, not with you.”

I knew he wouldn't hurt me but I didn't want my nose to get in the way of his fist by accident. It had happened before and even when he pulled his punches it hurt like blazes.  

By the time we left the gym I was already getting sore, and I thought, “This is what happens when you don't have a regimen to follow.”

I went back to the restaurant and helped Noonan prepare for the lunch trade. I told him that I would make the Gumbo while he did something else. He teased me saying, “I hope they haven't ruined your cooking with all those fancy ideas.”

I said, “Nothing could hurt the stuff they serve here even if they tried.”

He said, “It had better not.” and I answered, “One pot of gourmet Gumbo coming up.”

By the time Marly got to work I had the Gumbo on and had set her tables, filled the salt and pepper and was ready for customers.

After the lunch crowd left Ma came down, and Marly and I went down to the Navel installation.  I could see it was a lot different than when I had left.

There must have been three times as many sailors as before. I supposed it had something to do with the war raging in Europe. There were guards that blocked your way where before anyone could walk right in.

We walked back to the restaurant and got ready for those hungry fisher men.

Noonan said, “That Gumbo was eatable so I suppose you might as well make another pot.” As I put it on I thought, “There is sure a lot of difference in the food here and what I had been used to.

Here they wanted big portions that tasted good and was just simple cooking.

In New York they wanted food to have a delicate taste that would stimulate the whole being.

Their palate was expecting a light hint of different seasonings with the portions being small.

They weren't like the hungry fishermen who had worked really hard and felt like they were starving.”

Before I went to New York Noonan gave me some helpful advice and that was, “Learn to complement the main chef. Pick your spot and say something that was apropos to the situation. Don't over do it or he will think you are just sucking up.

When you say something, speak as an equal on his level. If some ‘know nothing’ complemented him it would mean nothing but as an equal he would be impressed.”

I kept that advice in mind, and only when the chef did something extraordinary would I brag on him.

Oh Lawd!

To be Continued