A Visit with The Judge

"I'll take communion with you."

"You crazy preacher, this better be important because I was just rememberin' somebody askin' what is wrong with God."

-- That was Becky way back then but keep your mouth shut Mr. Jones.

"Well, we got to act."

Marsh pushed his drink aside and stood up and began to hobble around the room. "So tell me."

Griff did that, ending with his plans for his communion sermon on Sunday.

"I's an expert on this, friend, and you are asking for all kinds of trouble."

"Now you tell me."

Marsh went back to his drink and began. "You start trying to get people to act, Griff, and you stop being a respected educator and become a pain in the neck. A rabble rouser. All kinds of people are going to be unhappy and worse...."

"Like who?"

"You much smarter than that, Griff. But let's work it up the hill. The Quakers -God know why any ever came to Texas- the Quakers here are not social. They want to purify everyone but only one at a time. They are going to drag ass on you because you are trying to do it wholesale."

Griff laughed and took a good belt.

"Then we got the whites who honestly believe in equality and give you money and even talk tough to their friends. But you get into politics and most of them will drift away. The worst of them will say you want nothing but power. Very few of them will go down that lonely road with you."

"Yes, Marsh, and there are Negroes not too much all that different."

"Sure enough. I'll be very interested to see how big your congregation is after this big sermon tomorrow. Then we get to the really big ones-the businessman and the corporations, the politicians, the Navy and the Catholic Church. I know you got good friends out there with the airplanes, and so do I, but they can be shot down very easy. And the others I'm talkin' about don't give a shit who or how many they hurt. Some of them even like it. And don't ever forget The Klan. It is a long ways from dead."

Griff knew all that and had no answer. Except:

"Well, we got to try to get out of the privy sometime."

"I know, Griff, and I'll be there tomorrow and the next day. But let's be very tough and careful."

"Thanks, Marsh."

"One thing."

"Yes?"

"You got some hard stuff for my wine?"

"Puttin' it all in the sermon."

Table of Contents

• Introduction

1. Maggie and Mr. Hank
2. The Reverend
3. Squalls Along the Flight Line
4. Flying Home to Church
5. A Visit with The Judge
6. Communion
7. Afterthoughts
8. Monday Morning With The Admiral
9. Into the Dining Room
10. On Toward Walking the Streets
11. Glimpses of An Election
12. The Dream and The Reality of Violence
13. The Admiral Loses More Than a Few Good Men
14. Down That Lonesome Road

• Cast of Characters
• Credits and Acknowledgements